Taylor healer

Fake.

I was currently trying to eat a rather unsatisfying Salisbury Steak from the cafeteria, while stoically ignoring my hanger-ons. A small advantage was that I could eat in the cafeteria again, which meant no more early mornings preparing a lunch that could be eaten in the bathroom, but that was a silver lining. I'd almost prefer the stalls over… this. The round table I sat at wasn't supposed to actually hold nine people but the poor thing was managing it. I wanted to elbow Gavin and Dan, the two boys who'd managed to nick the treasured spots next to me today, directly in their six pack abs.

I'd begun running daily because I felt embarrassed by the pudge in my stomach that had been developing after eating so many cinnabons with Amy, as had become nearly an evening ritual. It was paying off, as at least I didn't feel both fat and ugly around all these fuckheads who probably didn't do anything other than work on their bodies. Such a horrible bunch of superficial jerks who hadn't given a damn about me before.

But they did now.

"So Taylor, have you seen the new patches that have been going around? They're awesome aren't they." It wasn't a question. The way his spoke left no doubt that he was certain his little creations were perfect, whether I thought so or not. He had way too much confidence. Not a humble bone in his body.

I did actually like them, but I didn't like the way he just assumed I would.

I let my eyes wander from my food up to his cocky grin and fixed him with a half glare. "I couldn't not see them. You got everyone to wear them!"

"Uh. Yeah. Duh. Its awesome," He replied. It wasn't actually offensive, but I'd been on the receiving end of that tone for so long that it was hard for me to distinguish friendly sarcasm from abrasive insult.

I hunched my shoulders a little, a habit I'd developed when I'd learned to do my best not to be seen.

"OH!" A sudden cry from a few tables away rang out over the din of the crowd and I turned just in time to see a girl I didn't know plummet to the ground, her tray flying wide as she tripped and smashed into the ground.

The tray sailed over one of the round tables and seemed to explode with food, covering Greg, of all people, with salisbury steak. Peas and milk spilled all over the table.

Laughter burst out.

From the table that I sat at. From the people who swarmed around me. From people whose names I knew. My entire table was laughing, at another person's accident. I laid my eyes on the girl through the legs of people tables and chairs in the way.

"Oh h-hey, you okay?" Greg seated at a nearby table, asked the girl as he picked the tray off himself. He didn't find it funny in the slightest.

Neither did I.

I stood, and sent an icy glare to every person at my table, and found myself shocked when they flinched away from my gaze. I only spared them a moment though before I walked over towards the girl, despite the laughter.

Getting around the table I approached, trying to keep my disgust towards these leeches around me to a minimum. Coming closer, I realized why the people immediately next to the fallen girl weren't laughing at all.

Her face had smashed into the concrete floor, blood dripping from her nose as her hands shakily covered her face.

"Oh thuck oh thuck… my nose!" She was mouthing through her busted lips, under the din of laughter that was slowly fading as people realized she was well and truly hurt. "Shut the hell up!" I bellowed to those surrounding her, and was again surprised when near dead silence overtook the room at my words. I ignored the rest of them.

"Hey, no worries." I told her softly, kneeling down next to her and laying my hand on her shoulder. She was Asian, and obviously ABB from her clothes alone, but that didn't matter to me. Practically every Asian was affiliated with them in one way or another. As if they had a choice. "I'll heal you right up, okay?"

Her teeth were covered in blood when she looked to me and I realized with a small bit of horror that she'd bitten off the tip of her tongue. A tongue that had once been pierced. She was shaking. I wished I knew her name. Maybe talking to her would sooth her a little. My detect, so habitual that it was almost a passive effect around me now, read her around 64% health. Not life threatening by any means but still painful.

I let the green waves flow around me, pulling a large portion of my mana. I'd been healing with Panacea for almost three weeks now and I'd discovered many new spells in my efforts to find that elusive one that could heal sicknesses.

Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!

Light seemed to appear above the girl along with a ghostly halo circling her head before the effects began to melt the damage away from her face. My cure had grown more powerful somehow and that was emphasized by the ever more elaborate light shows that my powers produced. I could see the relief roll across her eyes and she turned to me with that thankful look that I was becoming all too familiar with.

"Th-thank yo–!" Gratitude in her eyes suddenly morphed into horror.

"The fuck!?" She hissed as she stood. "Goddamn bitch! I don't need your pity. Get the… get the hell out of my way."

She was almost convincing. I took her seething anger stoically as she stormed off, leaving her fallen tray and treading through the silent accusation her words had caused. Rude muttering followed the girl. Words like "Ungrateful Bitch." and "Chink didn't deserve…" and "Fucking ABB."

But as she reached the exit and turned, I caught the apologetic eye she sent my way.

Of course. She couldn't be seen thanking a white girl. She was ABB. Probably not by choice either.

God I hate this place.

The chatter that followed her silenced slowly as I turned my gaze around the room and glared daggers at the slugs that adorned my table. I hated them. Hated them.

"Funny. That was really funny. It's funny when people get hurt, humiliated. Every bit as funny as it was when it was me. You all are disgusting." I put as much venom into my voice as I could possibly manage. Finally I sent a sharp glare towards Emma and Madison, both of them looking at me with a little bit of shock from a few tables away.

Land of mercy, loosen tight fists! Float!

The usual green nova's burst around me as I cast. The food, the tray, and somehow even the liquids lifted both out of Greg's clothes and off the floor where they had strewn all over. I stormed out of the cafeteria to the utter silence of everyone present, followed by the ominous ghost tray which deposited itself in the bins as I left.

I hated myself a little then. Hated myself for taking so long to drop their attention. For falling into the cliques and being low enough to think myself one of them. To care about their damn pecking order, when I could be so much better.

I stormed all the way out of the school uncaring for the remaining classes in the day. I had more important things to do.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Well, look what the cat dragged in! A stranger from on high, come back to find her roots!" Stephanie said with a broad smile. There was no malice in her words, no offense taken at my long absence. Only humor saturated that kind tone. Her smile faded a little with a short glance at the clock. "Hey, shouldn't you be in school?"

I let my eyes go a little hard at that. "Not… today. I don't want to go back there today."

Something in the way I spoke must have clued her in to my mood. A full half hour on the bus to get to the clinic where this had all first started and I was still steaming about what I had seen. What I had unwittingly almost become a part of.

"Well… if you're sure. I won't tattle. Cross my heart." She winked at me, and before I knew it, I was grinning conspiratorially along with her. I imagined she was sort of what an older sister might be like.

And just like that, she handed me a pair of scrubs and set me to work. Two of the more elderly patients, with health percentages that would never again reach their maximum no matter how many Cures I used, were sent on their way soon, feeling healthier than they had in a decade.

Stephanie didn't question me. No one was really amazed or even shocked at my abilities now, even though this was the first time I'd been back to this clinic since I'd been outed. The doctors I'd known and other nurses greeted me as if a day hadn't passed since I'd been here last time.

It did wonders for my mood as I went from room to room, casting my spells. Stephanie even clapped giddily at my first spell, while a few doctors had watched in awed silence, gathering when they heard a cape had come to volunteer for them.

I'd grown used to this sort of thing by now though.

Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!

"Its still hard to believe. Your power is incredible," Stephanie beamed at me, watching as my power worked its magic on a coma patient who still might not recover.. "Heh, you're gonna put us all out of the job."

I blinked horrified. "N-No! I wouldn't! Er… I mean. I…"

She smiled happily at me. "I'm kidding Taylor. One new parahuman doesn't shift the balance quite that much. Brockton Bay will always have more injuries than even Mana and Panacea can heal. You're doing a good thing. Just like you were before you triggered."

I suddenly felt a little guilty. "I… I didn't start coming here until after I triggered. I only came here so I could practice. I'm not really that good of a person."

She put a hand on my shoulder and I looked up at her to meet her eyes. We sat down in the lobby to take a little break, and she finally started speaking.

"I think we all kinda knew." She said slowly. "Patients recovering from fatal injuries in weeks, not months. Older folks arthritis clearing up overnight as if they'd never been? We could… feel something happening whenever you came. Despite what TV might tell you, a lot of us actually do love helping people. I was always happy when you came, because I knew I probably wouldn't have to watch anyone die. You're a great person Taylor. With or without your–"

Abruptly she cut off, a startled look in her eye.

I turned and glanced over my shoulder, blinking at what I saw.

A… a military man dressed more for a fight in a third world country than for a trip to the hospital had just stepped into the room. Tall with camo fatigues and a sharp head of short greying hair framed a rigid face. The most startling thing about the man though was the assault rifle he carried in both hands with a sling wrapped around his shoulder. The rifle looked almost like a normal military weapon save for an odd widened tip, and an ominous purple light that seemed to zip up and down the weapons handgrip.

He turned surveying the room and the people watching him. The wide-eyed receptionist behind the main counter had only a moment to stare in shock before the man casually aimed the weapon at her and pulled the trigger.

A sharp zap burst throughout the room, followed by a purple ring of light that burst from the weapons round barrel. It hit the woman but had no visible effect other than causing her to instantly slump over out of sight of Stephanie and me, eyes rolling into the back of her head.

"Wh-what are you–!" The man's reaction was almost instantaneous. He turned and fired the weapon again, and Stephanie fell to the ground with a ragged slump.

I stood and backed away as the man walked slowly towards me. To my horror, three more men, just like him were walking into the building as if nothing unusual were happening at all.

"Stop! What did you do to her! Wh-why!? Why did you do this!?" I demanded.

The man didn't say a word, stepping closer towards me. I backed away, almost tripping on the table that held all the magazines doctor's offices held. I kept glancing down at Stephanie horrified. Was she alright!? Who were these people and why–!?

The purple ray hit me before I even thought of casting a spell.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I awoke to the pounding of my skull. My head was burning with a migraine the likes of which I had never felt. Blearily, I rubbed my eyes.

So soft…

The bed I lay on was like nothing I'd ever felt. The softest mattress I had ever lain on had been Emma's, and that didn't hold a candle to this. Like laying on feathers.

Where… where am I?

I traced my hands down the luxurious blanket, but my eyes scanned the dark room warily. I was suddenly horribly glad for my enhanced vision as I wasn't sure what I might do if my glasses weren't here. A dark square room, lit by a small reading lamp in the corner. I quickly realized that the bed was the only soft thing about this place. Metal floor, metal walls, metal ceiling. A large steel door at the end of the hallway with a small window slot.

I gulped.

A prison cell. But why the bed?

A small side table, identical to the one that held the lamp in the corner of the room sat directly next to my bed. In it sat what appeared to be an empty drug prescription bottle, a tray of hot food that smelled delicious, and several books. They were, all of them, my favorites.

I shuddered.

"H-Hello?" I called. No one answered. I called a little louder and shuddered as my voice echoed loudly in the room. The metal room. Reminding me of a smaller room where my voice had also echoed, to no avail. Fear, real fear, began to grip me as I realized that my clothes had been changed. I wore robes of the purest white.

"N-No." I whispered. "Not again."

I took further stock of the room and sighed in abject relief when I realized my flute was there. Who would do this…? Where?

A loud crank like a submarine latch from the movies echoed outside the door. Once, twice, thrice, like heavy locks opening. I cringed back into my seat and grabbed my flute to hold it close.

Pr-Pr.. Precious light, b-be our armor to-to protect…

The spell failed, my concentration broken by pure terror as that heavy door swung open to reveal a thin, wiry older man in a costume. I had no idea who he was, but as he stepped into the light I shrunk back.

"Hello, my pet. Welcome."

Pet!? Wh-what!?

A knot of defiance seemed to lodge itself through my spine, anger at the demeaning word.

"Who the hell are you!?" I yelled, much more bravely than I actually felt. "Where's Stephanie!? Wh-when New Wave finds out abou–!"

I screamed as a sudden jolt of electricity seemed to burst through my skin emanating from a cuff wrapped tightly around my wrist that I hadn't noticed until now.

"Tone, Pet. You're to be quiet unless I need you, yes? I'd like to tell you a little about why you're here. You must be patient. Well now. Recently, a significant investment of mine was heavily damaged by a rather annoying reptile. Some would say damaged beyond repair. I would like you to help me fix these… investments."

"Fuck yo–AGGHH!" I screamed as the jolt wracked my right arm once again.

"Yes. I thought you'd need a little more encouragement than I'd planned for my other pet. You must learn to obey, for now. But don't worry. As soon as you have finished helping me fix a few broken people, I will let you go. Back to your father. Back to your friends. Hmm?"

I had no doubt that he was lying. Not a single doubt in my mind.

"Silent light! Shield from ev–AGGHH! Fuck you! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!" I screamed in rage as another bolt cut off my spell and locked my burning arm into a rigid board. I had no idea what was causing the bracelet to shock me, no idea what the trigger was. Tears streamed down my cheeks. "I won't help you, not even if you kill me!"

He tilted his head pityingly and approached, sadly touching my cheek as if he were a disappointed grandfather. Patronizingly he said, "Ohhh, of course you will. Once the addiction sets in you'll come over just fine. Of course, you could always resist, but that would also mean letting innocent people die. People I simply want you to heal. Is that too much to ask for?"

I glared, finding my will strong. Suddenly stronger than it had ever been.

I reared back and, to the man's supreme shock, slammed my slim knuckles into his nose. He staggered while I kicked the comfortable quilt off me and bolted for the open door.

Lightning lanced through me from the bracelet around my wrist, but I didn't fall. Instead I grabbed the bracelet with my other hand, wailing from the pain of electricity blasting up my other arm. I staggered for the door, tugging and pulling at the intricate metal cuff. It didn't take long for me to reach the door and dash through it as fast as I could with the searing pain almost blinding me.

For but a moment, I thought I was free.

I collided with a man so strong he might as well have been a brick wall. I hadn't even noticed him, hiding in the shadow cast by the ominous metal door. He didn't even lose his footing but I plummeted to the ground, bouncing off him. No more hindrance than a twig. I lay there for a moment, shuddering, holding my burning wrist close to my body.

I began to whimper, curling myself into a small, terrified ball.

Footsteps approached me from behind, walking until they stopped to hover over me.

"Bad girl." He said simply. "You are grounded, my pet."

He casually stepped over me, not even glancing back. "And remember to eat your dinner. Wouldn't want you to starve."

"Wh-who are you?" I demanded from the floor. I glared up at him, hatred in my eyes.

He gave a grin that might have looked kind at a different time. In a different place. To me, it seemed a sadistic parody of what an old man should be.

"I'm known as Coil, my pet. And I am sorry I've been so rough with you. Once you begin to cooperate I'll be sure to remove that nasty band on your arm, alright?"

I shuddered once again as the metal door swung closed.

Addiction? Did he say...?

I cried a little harder.

"Alexandria… Panacea…? Please help me…" I begged the dark room, and my whispers echoed off the dimly lit walls.I didn't eat the food that night. Or was it day? I had no way of telling time in my room, my box. All I had was a slowly nursing rage along with an ever growing sense of hunger and thirst.

I sat on the bed, forcing myself to calm down, to take in the situation. My captor was a supervillain. That I was pretty sure of but I didn't know who Coil was other than a vague mention of his men fighting Lung, and that he employed military commandos. Even whether or not he was a parahuman was in question. He could just simply be rich.

I wandered through the possible reasons he could want me as… as his pet. I was a healer, and I'm sure that would always be helpful. Moreover, I was a buffer, capable of bestowing temporary mover powers, even on regular people. Using slow on a cancer patient to give doctors more time to heal them, using haste to allow the effects of withdrawal to run their course faster, and my protection spells which could buffer against different types of attacks made me feel like I might actually be able to help on the battlefield.

Useful as I was in my capacity for healing, I couldn't help but feel that something was missing. I could heal myself for one, which was almost unheard of among parahuman abilities save for passive regeneration. I could use my abilities to target myself fixing everything shy of severed limbs. Even Amy couldn't do that.

I didn't wear a costume, never had, but I admit that I'd considered asking Panacea to help me make one so I could have real name of my own.

I traveled these thoughts desperately seeking a reason for Coil to kidnap me. He wanted me to heal associates of his. An investment he'd called them in a way that made me sure they were no less prisoners of his than I was.

But I was well known. Lung had gotten a kill-on-sight order for hurting Panacea. What would happen to the person who kidnapped Panacea's savior?

A short flush of pride swelled in me at that. A silly time to be feeling pride but I'd become known as the savior of the savior. Villains and Heroes alike thanking me for the things I had done, the healing I'd become a part of and the easy friendship that any could see between me and the cleric themed member of New Wave.

I dreaded the next Endbringer fight, but now, kidnapped as I was, perhaps I wouldn't have to. Silver linings, I guess.

Coil had to know that kidnapping me was suicide, no matter how good his power was. That Alexandria herself had taken me in for recovery was a known fact. She would be out for his blood even if no one knew precisely why.

Once my terror had lifted, my clouded thoughts made a rough sense of it all. I could only think of a few scenarios in which he might be able to escape. None of them favored the thin man well.

If Coil could convince the people I was already dead then at least they wouldn't be looking for me. That might just make the heroes and villains on my side redouble their efforts to find my killer. Not to mention any corpse they left that was supposed to be me would have to pass Panacea's inspection and she knew me well. He probably wouldn't go that route.

If he could ward the blame off on a different villain it might keep him alive for a while. That was also unlikely. His attack had his signature all over it, which made me certain he'd intended people to know it had been him who kidnapped me.

There was a chance he actually planned on keeping his promise to return me home safe and sound once I'd healed his… investment. But then, why the bracelet? Why tell me in so few words, that he was going to get me addicted to something? Why the damn mind games and the fucking prison cell?! He could've just asked me to heal people and I'd have done it even if they were the Slaughterhouse 9! If he's spied on me enough to know my favorite books, he surely knew how much I wanted to be like Panacea!

None of it made sense.

Unless…

Unless he was being coerced into kidnapping me. Unless he was a pawn of someone even stronger and had no choice.

Who would want me kidnapped? Who would want me afraid?

I didn't know. I couldn't understand any of this. Kidnapping me seemed like a monumentally stupid move on any villain's part. I just wasn't that valuable on my own, especially not when my healing was universally free and everyone knew it. I wasn't worth the risk of turning everyone against him.

But apparently I was.

Another thought came to my mind. Could he be insane? Could he just be that fucking stupid?

Something in the man's shrewd eyes let me cast that thought off easily. There had been far too much clarity, calculation, in Coil's voice. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he was doing it deliberately.

Infuriated at my spinning thoughts, I got up off the bed. The lamp lit the room well but it was far from my corner of the room and it appeared the wall outlet where the lamp sat was the only one in the room.

I stood, admiring the soft velvet feel of the white dress I wore. It was incredibly comfortable along with the bed. Stark contrast to the uninviting metal walls and unsteady lamplight that made shapes seemed to dance on them.

I pushed the side table that held the books, my flute, and the untouched tray of chicken and green beans out of the way.

Silver linings. There are plenty of silver linings here. I knew, one way or another, I'd be free soon. New Wave wouldn't leave me here, and it was unlikely any other villain would either. I would be free.

Unless he plans to simply kill you after you've done what he wants.

I shoved that thought down with all the vigor I could muster. He wouldn't have wrapped me in these robes, bated me with books and left me with my flute if that were the case.

No. Something in the background must be happening to make this man go to such extremes.

My spindly arms, grown a little stronger now that I'd begun running, were more than enough to let me move the bed over to the lamp. The room was cool but there was no airflow, making me almost certain I was underground.

I pushed the bedside table over to the bed and hoped up on top. Slowly, I picked up my flute.

Spell break, turn into an avenging light! Reflect!

Layer upon layer, make your mark now! Haste!

Casting spells with the flute enhanced their power, but only a little. I burned through almost every one that I'd learned, hoping that some form of attack might grow out of my abilities, as of yet it had not. I knew rescue was on the way but I didn't know how long it would take. I had no intention of being the damsel in distress. Not if I could avoid it. I would work as hard as I could to save myself.

Precious light, be our armor to protect us! Protect!

I burned my mana the proper way for Protect, feeling the defensive layer of protection swell around me. A protective skin tight bubble that made things just not hurt as much. I could still be hurt, but the protection of the spell nearly gave me a brute rating, from what Glory Girl had told me.

I felt a small itch. Could I burn it all? What would happen if I tried to burn nearly a full quarter of my mana in one shot? A hot chill ran through my fingertips at the thought. I shuddered, fearfully. Something was there.

Silent light, shield from evil! Shell!

The desire came over me more strongly. Burn it all! Just burn it all at once! I forced the impulse down. That wasn't a spell, it was suicide!

Life's refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cura!

My mana reserves had grown truly massive in the weeks since I regained my mother's flute. None of my spells even made a dent anymore in my total mana pool. All of that left maybe 91%.

But that feeling. That itch. That burning desire… So much. It cost so much! I didn't even know if I would be able to stay awake after…

No. It must be my imagination. Every spell I'd found so far had only taken a small portion. This… urge. This new way of burning felt… different. Frightening. I didn't want to do it. Not unless I had no other choice. I wouldn't be able to heal if I spent so much. Who knows what he could do to me after that?

I cast my spells. Staring at the door. Waiting. Watching. Knowing that each of my spells had been cast with the notes of my flute. He wouldn't know… couldn't know. I could get out of this. The moment that door opened...

I was in that mindset, hours or maybe even a day later, that the door finally did open. I had almost half an hour of Haste left. Protect was maximized with a definite fourty minutes left on its effect. Shell, maybe only fifteen minutes. It would have to do.

Before the person on the other side could blink I darted from my bed through the open crack of the door, darting under his arm.

My jaw locked as I grunted, ignoring the pain that raced up my arm with the activation of the bracelet. My Shell spell coated my body in a subtle magenta hue, while protect gave a blue one. Before now, I'd never understood the value of shell. It hadn't protected me from anything I could see but now that not-quite-color became a visible neon flare as the arcs of lightning seemed to lance off my arm. Like a barrier, the pink field wedged itself between the bracelet, my wrist, and the lightning bouncing off it unnaturally, lessening and diverting the damage that would have turned me into a spasming heap.

The man at the door was muscled as all of Coil's commandos seemed to be. He held a tray of food just like the untouched one in my room and it smelled just as good as the other one had. He was completely unprepared to be bum rushed so I hauled back, pushing through the sizzling tingles sliding off my arm, and kicked him hard in his unready side.

He grunted but stumbled, not fell. For a moment I feared he would shrug off my kick without even a pause and catch me before I could get away. Luck was on my side though. My kick unbalanced the tray of hot food. I grinned as whatever hot drink he'd been carrying, tea I thought, splashed all over him. He screamed and flung the food against the back of my cell's door, shattering the plastic against it.

I felt pride and satisfaction roll through me, laughing at the thought of Coil cleaning potatoes off my cell door. The buzz in my arm was growing more intense though. I didn't take the time to gloat.

I ran, darting to the right down the hallway, flute in my hand, blasting past two more shocked guards with the power of my haste spell. No one but Alexandria had known that I could enhance people like this. Coil couldn't have known. My feet seemed to dance along the stark hallways. I moved as fast as my legs could take me, blasting around corners until I knew I could never make it back to the cell without a guide.

Dim lights lit all the halls, each one white and about twelve feet apart. I ran through light and then darkness in equal amounts as none of the small white lights gave off enough to brighten any of the long corridors fully.

Three turns down narrow hallways later I skidded to a halt at the two widened purple guns aimed directly at me. I hit the floor in time with the bursting "Zzzzt!" of the soldiers discharging their weapons in sync.

Two purple beams sailed just over my head. I gulped shuffling back towards the hallway and stumbled back to my feet, narrowly managing to dodge another purple ray before continuing down the hallway in another direction.

An alarm suddenly blared, highlighting the hall in a waving red light that only made the room seemed more intimidating. I ignored it, ignored everything all in favor of making sure I didn't stop. Couldn't stop! Eerily reminded of a darker factory version of the hospital Alexandria had taken me to, I found myself passing door after closed door, afraid that any stop would be enough time for them to catch me.

A sharp burn was coursing down my arm now. I feared that my shell wouldn't last a quarter of the time it was supposed to, but I'd never been able to test it before. Worried that the pain might overwhelm me, I brought my flute to my lips. The spell for Regen singing wordlessly in my mind, still one of the few I could perform without the chant.

Another turn down a smaller hallway had me backpedaling instantly. Before the two soldiers, together wide enough to block the entire hall, could get over their surprise and raise their weapons, I was already off once again.

Two? Why always two?

Despite the odd thought, a sprinkle of confidence began to overwhelm me. Coil really was an idiot! He didn't know my power could enhance me! He hadn't been prepared to hold me at all!

I toyed with the idea of exterminating him, finding him and shutting him down for good, maybe even with one of the guns these soldiers used, but tossed it out quickly. I wasn't offensive and I knew it. I had to escape and find New Wave. Then I could think about revenge.

"Stop or we fire!" Came a baritone shout just before four men poured out of a side hallway directly in front of me. The first two knelt down while the remaining two still standing took aim.

I gasped and hit the floor mid run, my legs skidding along the cold metal. No luck. One of the soldiers had fired low! To my shock, yet another shimmering barrier, this one clear as water yet somehow still visible in the dim light, intercepted the incoming beam. It bounced back and the man fell silent.

Reflect. It had to be!

I didn't take the time to risk them shooting me again. I had barely a moment to slide into one of the narrower corridors.

As I ran and more soldiers kept appearing in front of me, but never behind. The confidence was slowly replaced with an ever-growing feeling of dread.

They're bottlenecking me. Leading me somewhere. I have to cut through a group of them. Do something they don't expect.

Turning a corner I was shocked at the abrupt ending of the hallway and a large line of double doors like the ones in a gym, metal bars along each one. I cursed. Just when I'd decided to break through one of the groups I reached where they were leading me.

Arriving one of the doors, I pushed hard on the metal bar and flung it open, hoping to feel the sun on my skin and get out of this horrible place.

No luck.

The door behind me slammed shut with an ominous thud, and the clink of metal told me I'd been been locked in.

O-Oh god.

My blood ran cold at the sight in front of me as I slowed and came to a stop.

The room was a huge chamber, dimmer even than the hallways but but lit by fluorescent lights high above. Through my terror, I noticed a massive vault door, like those you might see in a bank. The door was swung wide open.

I could hardly pay that any mind though. Standing in front of me was nothing less than a thing of nightmares. Two massive heads, both like some hideous mix between a dog and a pig jutted out from the front. Both of them were alive. Moving around as if searching for something to feast on. Out of the beast's backside jutted what looked like fingers. I was thankful I couldn't see what might've been on the otherside. Alongside it all was a sick stench of blood and meat and sweat that mingled, all wafting out of that open vault door.

Perhaps the most horrifying thing about the beast was the juxtaposition of the humanity just on top. Just above the two heads, came the waist of what was might've been a normal girl. She even wore a small sweater. Not beautiful, but not ugly either. She might've even been afraid.

All six eyes were looking straight at me.

"D-Don't let her see me!" The girl seemed to moan. "I don't want her to…!"

"Noelle… Noelle she's our hope. She's our only chance."I jumped at the sound of their voices. Both so normal by comparison to this chamber that they seemed alien. I tried, oh I tried, to tear my eyes away from the monstrosity the girl had become, but I couldn't look away. Not even for a moment.

"They… said you were the healer. They said you could help her."

My mouth was hanging open, and I clicked it shut as I let one eye fall to the boy, taking care to never let the beast out of my sight.

"I… I am." "Well. Can you?"

"I… who are you? Who–What is she!?"

"I'm Trickster, here. This is Noelle. My…" He trailed off as if what he were about to say was ironic. "...girlfriend."

She gave a sort of piteous moan at that. One of the two heads snapped its jaws and I jerked away, pushing on the door with my back.

"You–! Coil! He did he kidnap you too!? Did he do this to her!?"

Oh god, what will he do to ME?

The girl, if she could even be called that, flinched. The boy gave a bitter laugh, that echoed through the halls. A laugh that somehow conveyed more pain than anyone I'd seen in the hospitals of Brockton Bay.

"If only…" he breathed with regret. "What happened to her is my fault. My fucking fault. I don't know any Coil but… they told us that a healer would come here. A girl who could… Save her."

Th-they don't know Coil? But how could they not know him!? His men are all over this place!

"They lied! I was kidnapped, I was–!" I paused giving the girl another fear-filled look. "I… but Coil he–!"

"You are a healer, aren't you? They brought you to us. They really did it!"

"I-I!" I gulped. "I don't know anything about a they. He just…! Coil kidnapped me! Electrocuted me! Told me he planned to drug me! And then I escaped and–!"

And then I found you. Like… like...

Suddenly I realized that the thrumming in my arm had faded. Fortunate. Shell, too had faded from my skin. Had I been running for that long? Haste. Haste makes my other buffs fade faster. Protect should still be alright. For all the good it will do me if that girl decides her faces need a snack.

I gave the girl another hesitant look and averted my eyes quickly. To my shock, the girl did the same. So… strangely human. So shy. More than even me, maybe.

"I don't want to help him. He must've wanted me to try to heal you! I don't want to be his pet!"

The boy walked up to me, covering my view of the monster, tears in his eyes. "I… Please? Please? Can you try? Please."

"Please….?" The monster of a girl echoed him. Begging me, as if I were her very last chance. Such a human voice.

I felt my will crumbling and breaking. God what kind of sick torture is this? No. Guilt wouldn't be the way I became a slave to that bastard. If he wanted me to heal his monster than his monster would be mine. Metaphorically.

"I… Okay. I will try. If you get me out of here."

Trickster nodded without even a second thought.

"Promise me! Promise me you'll get me out of here! Even if I can't heal her yet, you promise me! I won't even try till then!" I barked with multitudes more confidence than I actually felt.

Trickster didn't hesitate to nod a second time. Noelle? She actually spoke.

"We won't let this Coil have you if you can heal us. If it comes down to it, I'd kill him for even a chance that you could heal me. Please… just… I'll do anything to be normal again. Anything."

A well of pity erupted in my heart. Guilt at being so callous. Whatever had happened to this girl…? No. Best not to think of that.

Burn it all. Burn all of it! I don't need to pander to this monster! I can break out on my–!

I gasped as the feeling suddenly drained away. Again I shoved the desire to spend all my mana away. That wasn't what I needed. That couldn't be it. Slowly, I brought my flute to my lips and echoed a solemn note.

Soul of the distant and the unknown, reveal unto me your secrets… Detect!

Stronger than a bear. Her intelligence was high as well as her wisdom. None reached Alexandria's levels but what really worried me were the effects. Effects were rare. I'd come across Poison a few times. Amy had been affected by Charm more than once, and Eidolon had been under the influence of berserk. My dad was a victim of Sadness. But otherwise they were incredibly rare.

Noelle had eight.

Poison would've slowly crushed her body but fell worthlessly against her Invulnerable status. Trouble scared me as I couldn't understand what it was even doing. Mental Break? Was her mind cracking as well? Regen? How does that even make sense!?

Good god, Zombie and Curse? What could have made her this way? Who would do this…?

The final status effect scared me the most of all.

Doom. A small number in my head told me exactly how many days she had left. To live. One hundred and twelve.

To my surprise, the detect spell continued to give me more information. Special skills? Draintouch, Skillsense, Gobble… Vomit? I shuddered as more and more information came to me, and a deep fear began to settle in my gut.

I can't heal this! I c-can't! I don't have the right skill yet!

No. Calm. I had to be calm. Poisana could heal the poison and I could work from there.

Her health 100%. No one's health was 100%. But hers was. Every moment I watched as poison failed to drain her, Invulnerable protecting her from the damage. Regen keeping her perfectly healthy.

"I… don't know… if I can bring you back to…!" I began, watching their crestfallen eyes.

But I felt it. The tag of a new spell. A light in my mind, or maybe finding a new lock that I'd had the key to all along. The burning sensation of a new way of healing. A sudden pulse. My heartbeat quickened. Instinct took me along with a hidden thrill.

Esuna! Its Esuna! I've found it!

The spell that could heal Eidolon of his Berserk! Could heal any human sickness! A grin slid across my features. "Noelle. I'll have you back to normal tonight. I can do it! I know it!"

Their eyes lit up as confidence spilled out of my heart. I picked up the new angle of burning on my mana, watching as neon green waves began to flow off me. My hair lifted flying around me. My flute even floated in the air in front of me while bursts of light and the signs of some hidden language seemed to float in the air around me like snowflakes.

Each new spell grew more gaudy in its full performance, and this one was the worst yet, but I didn't care. With this, I could cure anything!

Heavenly wind, carry us to fountain of power! Esuna!

A burst of purple beams lit the floor around Noelle. She stepped back, her huge body lumbering. The heads on her front end seemed to whimper at the purple circles forming on the floor at her feet, making a ring around her.

One lifted, followed by the next, each rising in a line surround her in beams of light. Fear washed away from the girl's face as she breathed in. The healing rushed through her body, my detect spell telling me of the poison it eliminated. Then it went further, eradicating her Mental Break. Trouble dissolved, leaving her clearheaded for what might've been the first time since she'd become so grotesque.

The spell faded and washed away.

The doom counter, more a feeling in my mind, told me her life would still end no matter what, in one hundred and twelve days. Curse had not left her, lingering in her body like a leech. Zombie, the effect that told me she was only half of what she should be, the other half rotting and broken, clung to her, unwilling to be lifted by my spell. Invulnerability and Regen both didn't even seem to notice my spell. They were a buffs, not a hindrance. Esuna… only worked on… bad statuses? But not these. Not Zombie. Not Curse.

I couldn't cure these. Somehow I knew, no spell I had could fix...

"It… did it work?" Trickster breathed aghast, his eyes searching between me and the girl before us with hope, and maybe a little fear.

"No. It didn't." Noelle seemed to know before I did. It hadn't worked. The euphoria left her, and even without Poison, or Trouble. Without the Mental Break, the others were too much. "Nothing works. Nothing will ever save me!"

Curse surging up with vengeance, as if the effect itself were angry that I had tried to exorcise it. Like it was alive. Drowning Noelle in despair and rage.

"This was supposed to work! You were supposed to be able to SAVE ME!"

A snarl of rage crossed the girl's features that made the inhuman heads below her look almost human. "Well. If you aren't good enough, I'll just make a better you!"

"N-Noelle!" Trickster shouted. "Wait, Noelle!"

Too late.

The huge monstrosity was already hurtling towards me, both mouths wide. Burn it all. The whole pool! Do it!

I couldn't tell if the thought was me or something else. But as I watched the monstrosity approaching me, the world seemed to slow down.

No choice. No chance. Burn my entire mana pool on a faint hope or be… eaten by this fucking mutation!

I brought the flute to my lips, and began to play a low, ominous note. Fear tugged at me, this time from my own power as red novas began to flow around me. Red Novas.

Why the fuck were they red?

The drain was enormous. My mana seemed to spiral as if being sucked down a drain. My eyes narrowed as I felt a great heat from far below the earth. Something was coming! Some–!

The world lurched. Without warning I was not. To my shock, I'd been displaced. The spell failed along with my concentration and the sharp loss of mana left a burning numbness that spread down my arms and to my fingertips. Disoriented, I fought for half a moment to figure out what had happened.

Noelle came screeching to a halt, smashing both her lower faces into the ground to stop before she ran into Trickster, who was somehow where I was before.

"Krouse wh-why did you–!?" Noelle screamed at him, now only a few feet above him, with her lower body sprawled on the ground.

"We promised Noelle!" He interrupted. "You're not thinking straight! What will hurting her prove!?"

The rage seemed to break, along with the girl herself. She backed up, fearful of his words, or maybe herself. Her body, the human part of it, turned to look at me. Shame filled her visage.

"I… I'm sor–!"

Without warning a beam of blue light appeared from above me and two my right, blasting into Noelle with all the force of a bullet. Electric currents seemed to pulse along her distorted grey skin and she screamed in pain.

I craned my neck in shock to see who had attacked her. A man hovered there in midair, like Scion. A man anyone would recognize.

E-Eidolon?!

"Use it!" He barked.

"Wh-what!?" I asked. "What are y-you doing here?"

Noelle was recovering. Snarling. "Y-You! Why would you do that!?" She seethed through burning shaky lips. "You brought us here! You said you could help! You told us she would help!"

"I'm saving you." Eidolon said to me, ignoring Noelle's pained cries. Why? Why did she seem to know him?

"Your spell. Your Esuna! USE IT!" He demanded cutting off my chain of thought with words pulled from cold fury. He didn't even look at me, eyes locked on Noelle, who was already rising. Trickster was on his knees, at level with the body of the girl who'd been rolled onto her side, looking as if he wished he could help her up, but afraid to touch her. He snarled as he turned to stare at the most powerful cape in the known world except Scion himself.

I gulped but wasted no time. Lights flowed once more, embracing my white robe as I began to cast again. Green waves flowed as I followed Eidolon's instructions, but inside, a nagging gut feeling told me I was helping the wrong person.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The sounds of anger echoed below, booming thuds and the snarls of loud teeth. The disgusting squelches of bile occasionally made him a little queasy. A rank stench that even the thick walls and glass could not fully block stabbed his nostrils.

Coil ignored it all in favor of the woman sitting casually at the table next to him, sipping tea as if the smell weren't even there.

"So. You've killed me then?" He asked patiently.

"You're quite dead. The double is perfect. Even Panacea wouldn't be able to tell a difference. Are you ready to assume control here?"

He nodded, but couldn't help giving a jab. "Not that its what I wanted."

"You were going to drop your Coil persona anyway soon enough."

"Yes. After I'd managed to sever a few of the heads off the current gangs running this town." He said, trying to keep himself from sounding too annoyed. He gave a tired sigh. "You're done with me now, yes? I don't have to worry about you mucking up my hard work again?"

"You have paid us back in full Coil. And a little extra."

"Ah yes. My payment for all the plans you derailed with this…?" He made an offhand gesture to the floor. A sharp thud sounded beneath. Probably Eidolon slamming into cieling.

The woman placed a small suitcase on the table, and then took another sip of her tea.

"Four Vials. Each as powerful as your own. Most likely to give Brute, Mover, Blaster, and Changer powers respectively. Use them well."

Coil, or rather, Thomas grinned.

"I intend to."