[hr][h1][color=#ffe0bd]Rhea Harlow[/color][/h1][hr][hider=Lunara][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_WeI3AzIT4[/youtube][/hider][hr]
[u][i]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills[/i][/u]

Rhea left Malik a note stating she had some business to attend. One could call it a craving, or habit of sorts — not [i]just[/i] because she felt stir crazy. Earlier that day, dressed in her grey hoodie and sweats, she melted into the shuffle of visitors at a modest hospital. It was located in a place she knew to be anti-metahuman. They banned healers from their doors some time ago, preferring technology over something they didn’t understand.

Eavesdropping on the conversations around her, Rhea picked up on the most critical of the patients. Her plan was simple and she put it in practice many times before - find three stories and bring a happy ending.

As always, the stories were easy to find. An older lady came to her, immediately recognising what she was. In a hushed tone, she said it was Rhea’s skills that repaired her friend’s failing lungs. She said her grandchildren were here. Rhea followed her to a boy in a coma, who soon woke. Then, after some searching, she found and healed that boy’s sister, who was paralysed. They both survived a car accident by some miracle, according to the grandmother. 

It wasn’t long until Rhea found the third story. A father left a room, saying he’d be back within a few hours with a home-cooked meal. As she casually leaned against the corridor wall, faint sniffles could be heard through the open door. Small, with a feminine sound.

Rhea knocked on the doorframe. “May I come in?” The room was lit with a large window and held a single bed, two chairs and medical equipment. A woman, maybe in her late 20’s lay on the bed, bald, frail and asleep. A young child sat by her, gripping a white hand.

The child glanced at Rhea, tears streaking her face. “Who are you?”

“A… family friend,” Rhea said softly, closing the door as she moved to sit in the opposing chair. “How’s your mother?”

The child went silent, fresh tears slipping down her cheeks. [i]Ah, lucky guess.[/i] Rhea thought, shifting her gaze to the crocheted doll in the girl’s hand.

“Is that for her?” Rhea asked.

“...Y-yeah,” said the child, holding it up. “I made it all by myself. It took a very long time. I hope… I hope mum likes it. Mum’s still sleeping.”

“You’re very patient,” Rhea said, appraising the sleeping woman. The bald head and sickly hue of her skin looked very similar to what she had seen in other cancer patients. As always, it was a delicate case to heal.

“...Would you like to see your mom get better?” Rhea asked.

The child gave her a confused look. “The doctor says he’s doing everything.”

“Mm, indeed.” Rhea nodded. “But what if she got better really fast? Like, in an hour? Would you like that?”

The child gained some enthusiasm. “Yes! Then she could come home with us!”

“I can help your mom. But to do that, I’m going to need your help.”

“With what?” the girl asked.

“Wishes only works if you believe. So I need you to try [i]really[/i] hard for me.” Rhea said, demonstrating. “Just close your eyes really tight, hold onto that doll, and wish for mom to get better. I will do the rest.”

The girl tilted her head, considering it. Then she nodded, closing her eyes. “Okay!” The hope in her voice was so innocent, so endearing. Rhea felt a piece of her heart melt.

As the child wished, Rhea summoned up a vibrant feeling of life. A ball of translucent, water-like energy pooled above her open palms. Rhea breathed in and blew it into the woman, where it passed through the skin. Within several seconds, colour began to fill the woman’s cheeks, and fresh hair grew half an inch off her head. Her breathing went from tense and shallow to a slow, full rhythm.

Phase two. Rhea hovered her hands over the woman’s body, using the battery in her back pocket as an energy source. White sparks flew from her fingertips, dancing along the patient’s skin. Intuitively, Rhea felt a tumor near the head and concentrated her efforts there. The static charge worked under the skin, dismantling the offending material and flushing it from the area. This process continued on for 20 minutes until Rhea was satisfied with her work, and lowered her hands.

The child was staring at her, mouth hanging open. Rhea could only smile, then looked at the mother expectantly. Already, the woman was stirring.

“M-Mum?” the child said, eyes wide. Her little fingers wrapped around her mother’s hand. “You’re… so warm.”

The woman blinked, confused but awake. She smiled wide, reaching up to hold her daughter’s cheek. “Hey, honey. How’s my little girl?”

The child burst into tears, hiding her head in her mother’s chest. “Oh, mum… You can home with us now, right?”

The mother gently embraced her child. “Well…” She noticed Rhea, eyebrows furrowing. “Who’s this?”

“Just a friend,” Rhea said. “You’ll be able to go home today. Your daughter wished very hard.”


“Yeah!” the child looked excitedly up at her mother. “I wished really, really hard. And I think…” the girl leaned in close, whispering in her mother’s ear.

“Huh.” The woman said, giving Rhea an odd look. “She says you’re an angel.”

Rhea looked at the two with their arms wrapped around each other. The tears were gone, replaced with smiles. “Mom, I think it’s your daughter who’s the angel. She was very keen on you making a full recovery.”

Moving to stand, Rhea politely bid the family farewell, listening as she walked out of the room.

“Mum, mum. Look what I made you~”

“Oh sweetie, what an adorable doll. You did this all by yourself?”

“Uh-huuuh!”

As the room moved out of hearing range, Rhea’s smile was quickly shattered as she saw a loathsome trio march up the hall toward her. The lead nurse, and two rather large security staff, ready to sink their teeth into something. The nurse had a stern, almost angry look on her face.

“You.” A sharp finger jabbed in Rhea’s direction. “You have no licence to be waving your wand in [i]my[/i] hospital. Despicable metas.”

“Excuse me?” Rhea said.

“Don’t play dumb. You act like you’re above the law, you and your… [i]kind[/i].” The nurse raised her fist in fury. “But not today!”

The security closed in on Rhea, one grabbing her arm tightly. She tried to pull away. “Don’t touch me.” 

The nurse smiled wickedly. “I’ve already called the cops, so if you’ll be a dear and follow us to our security office…”

Rhea huffed, turning her head away. [i]Just play it cool, Rhea.[/i] Obedient in the first few steps, she gave the impression she was no threat. At the moment she saw the staff turn his eyes away, her foot swept out to trip him. This loosened his grip, and as he stumbled she spun to bury her elbow in his solar plexus. The other guard could barely react before Rhea jabbed a pressure point in his neck, and he collapsed by his winded co-worker.

The nurse pulled out a walkie, spitting into the receiver. “Security to the second floor!”

Rhea was already down the next hall, using her Empowerment to create winds in her speedy wake. She leapt down the stairs and was just reaching the main doors when two cop cars pulled up.

Her arms pinwheeled as she ground to a halt. “Shit.” 

The visitors and patients in the lobby gaped at Rhea, many giving her worried looks as she turned heel and ran up the flights of stairs once more. As she reached the second floor, a small team of hospital security barred her way.

“Stop right where you are!”

Rhea gritted her teeth as they moved in, slowly backing up until she bumped into the wall. She turned her head, noticing the light coming through frosted glass on her left. [i]Perfect.[/i] Without hesitation, her hand charged up with static and punched straight through the single panel. It was enough for her to slip through, although in her haste the glass sliced her up some. Her hand reached for the next ledge as she parkoured her way up. There was some colourful language thrown her way as she moved out of reach, and when Rhea reached the roof she didn’t stop freerunning for many, many blocks.

[hr]
Some time later, Rhea felt safe enough to fully heal the glass cuts as she leaned against a roof’s maintenance door. The repair was simple enough, though she could do little about the stains ruining one of her few outfits. She made a mental note to have CID pull a few strings; the last thing she needed was [i]any[/i] media attention. Not that the paper would be able to identify her, but she was sure 98% of the ripples were monitored by [i]them[/i].

Checking the watch clasped to her wrist, Rhea scowled at the time. She was running late for the meet-up. If she wished to be on time, Rhea would need to empower her sprint the entire way, which meant more freerunning. Couldn’t keep Malik waiting, after all.