That science background really helps with your powers. I would not have considered using your power to turn objects invisible, Nobilis thought back to him.
Yes, it does. Ethan closed the closet door. “Treya?” he asked aloud.
“Be out in a second!” she replied from the bedroom before exiting a few moments later dressed in casual clothing. “Ready to go get food?”
Ethan nodded, “Let me throw on some outdoors clothes.” He slipped by her, giving her a quick kiss before going into the bedroom, changing, and emerging once more. “Where do you want to go?”
Treya smirked, “You can go anywhere, right?”
“As long as I’ve seen it.”
She walked over to the computer and pulled up a live feed of Paris near the Eiffel Tower. She pointed to the screen, “Does this work?”
Ethan smirked, “It’s night. You want breakfast, right?”
Treya walked over and lightly tapped his nose with her fingertip, “There’s always little cafés open.”
Ethan raised a palm, Heaven’s Gate. The shimmering golden portal opened, and he took Treya’s hand as they walked through, emerging in an alley far off at the back of the camera feed. They walked out onto the street and Treya hugged his arm tightly. Good to know that I can go anywhere I can see with at least a live feed. I’ll have to try recorded locations as well.
The fact that he had just gone across the whole world instantaneously overshadowed the tiredness he suddenly felt. He was heaving breaths, and Treya paused her hug, “You good?”
“Just…a lot…of energy,” he replied between puffs. “It costs…more…the farther…we go.”
After he recovered his breath, and they were sure no one had noticed him, the duo went down the street. Ethan had never been to France before. Heck, he hadn’t been anywhere in Europe. But everywhere he walked, he heard people talking in a mix of languages. He heard a handful of people speaking English, and a word he consistently heard was Imbued.
He leaned in to Treya, “It’s not just Los Angeles anymore, is it? With Imbued.”
She frowned, “I don’t know. I was in my depression nest and…just shut myself off from the world. Except our guild – we didn’t get world first. Far from it,” she said with a little dejected sigh.
He ran a hand through her hair, scratching the back of her head how she liked it, “It’ll be fine,” he replied. “I can do some digging later.”
After a short while they found a cute café nestled in between two large boutique stores. They had several pastries and different coffee beverages available. Thankfully, the owner – an elderly woman with a hunch – spoke fluent English.
“Hon,” Ethan said as he finished up his second croissant. “I forgot my wallet.”
Treya frowned and pulled out her wallet, “I’ve only got dollars.”
The owner overheard this and came over with a frown, “It works. Next time, bring the right currency.”
Ethan chuckled nervously before turning to her in his seat, “Thanks.”
“Of course,” the elderly woman replied as she turned back to her work.
“Hey, hon,” Treya gripped Ethan’s hand. “Since we’re here, want to go up the Eiffel Tower?”
Ethan grinned and stood up, gently gripping Treya back as they walked down the boulevard and towards the edifice. The other tourists crowding the area and taking pictures with their phones stopped their leisurely stroll, and they had to shift course many times.
As they passed a group of college-aged women speaking in thick German, a man bumped into them, and they cursed at him for interrupting their photo session. Ethan’s eyes tracked the man’s movement as he deftly lifted several valuable objects from them. Ethan stepped up and gripped the man’s wrist. “Hey, knock it off.”
The man looked up at him with a frown. “Laisse-moi partir,” he growled.
“Sorry. I don’t speak French.”
The young women who had their possessions stolen descended on the pickpocket, thwacking him with their purses as they retrieved their items. One of them turned to Ethan and gave him a nod. “Danke mein Herr.”
Ethan subtly nodded his head and turned the pickpocket loose, shoving him gently down the road. Treya sidled up next to him and intertwined her arm through his as they continued their walk. “I’m surprised he was that brazen,” Ethan quipped. I’m also surprised I just went right to holding him up.
Your power changes you. And each death will cement those personality changes, Nobilis replied in a neutral, bored tone.
I’m having personality changes? Ethan thought back.
Yes. You were acting heroic and trying to be the “super hero”, and so your personality has slightly shifted in that direction. This recent incident is proof of that – you interacted in a way that you might not have normally.
The thought that something external was forcing changes on Ethan filled him with a sense of concern, but even deeper than that, he felt a twinge of fear. If everyone’s power is changing them bit by bit-
The changes will take far longer to manifest. For you, death accelerates the process.
So avoid dying.
Generally good advice, Nobilis replied…with a slight chuckle. That was a funny joke.
Wasn’t meant to be one, Ethan thought back as he redirected his attention to Treya.
“It’s a tourist trap. Probably lots of thieves. I read that they happen more in Europe.” Treya said. She pointed ahead, “Look there.” The front entryway was clogged with a large line of people. Treya groaned and looked over at him, “Want to quickly warp up top and bring me along?”
Ethan glanced around, “Around all these people?”
She nodded, “Why not? We are surrounded by other people. It’s not like one tourist vanishing will cause alarm.”
He scanned the nearby buildings, “There’s cameras. What if someone spots me?”
“Then I’ll stay out front, and you go find an alleyway somewhere.”
He nodded and walked out of the crowd, finding a small, secluded space behind some bushes. A couple was already sequestered there, lost in each other’s embrace. Ethan glanced up to the top of the tower. Leap of Faith, he thought as he warped atop the structure. He scanned the crowd below as he easily spotted Treya amid the throng. “Rescue,” he said softly as he pointed at her. She warped next to him and gripped him immediately.
“Wow! Look at that view,” she said breathlessly as he held her tightly.
Ethan nodded, “It is amazing.”
The very last of the crimson and orange from the setting sun tinged the cityscape and Champs de Mars in dim shadows. The crowd at the base of the tower did not notice the two figures perched at the very top, gripping the tallest spire and each other as the sun finally descended and the lights flickered on.
“Heaven’s Gate,” Ethan whispered as he pulled Treya through the portal and they emerged atop a large downtown structure miles away, with the whole tower alight far off from them.
Treya sighed and gripped his arm, “Thank you. Best date night ever.”
Ethan gently stroked her hair as he placed a hand on top of her arm, “Anything for you.”
She glanced over at him and gave him a quick kiss before staring back at the tower. “What a beautiful sight.”
“Give me a second,” Ethan said as he willed another Heaven’s Gate open, exiting to their living room. He went to the invisible-to-all-except-him armor rack and rustled around, pulling a small, platinum band with a large speckling diamond out. He walked back through the portal as it snapped shut, once more back on the rooftop with Treya. He lifted her hand and slipped the ring onto her finger. “I told you I’d marry you. I’m making good on it.”
She gasped and giggled slightly, “It’s beautiful! Where did you get it?”
“From our guild headquarters,” he replied bluntly, not thinking anything of it.
“Come again?” she asked as she gasped.
“Oh, right. I didn’t tell you everything about my death. I figured the less you knew, the less painful-”
She leaned against the lip of the rooftop, “I want to know.”
“Well, when I died, I went to a place called my Sanctuary. I could design it however I wanted, so I made it into our guild headquarters. The whole thing, vault included, and everything inside of it.”
“I thought I recognized this ring…Does it work?”
Ethan nodded, “It should. A Ring of Contingent Rescue.”
“I know what it is,” she replied as she looked at it once more. “Where’s the rescue-point?”
“Fred Lark’s office.”
“Your agent? Why there?” she asked as she kept spinning it around her finger, a broad grin plastered on her face.
Ethan leaned against the roof ledge next to her, “He is an Imbued who can manipulate people’s minds. I figure he’s the safest person for you to be near other than myself.”
“And the trigger?”
He frowned, “I couldn’t change that. It’s still only on grievous injury. But it will still put you into stasis. I can always heal you.”
She nodded, “It will keep me alive if somehow, someone figures out who you are and tries to get me to get to you.”
Ethan nodded and gripped her tightly around the waist, pulling her in close. “I’ll always come back to you.” He leaned in and kissed her passionately before pulling away gently, “You’re my everything.”
She grinned and whispered back, “You’re my all.” She glanced around, “I don’t see any cameras up here, and I do have this nice jacket…”
The two re-emerged from a Heaven’s Gate back into their small home. It was still somewhat early in the day. Ethan patted his pocket and cursed. “Damn. My phone is gone.”
Treya looked back at him, “Did it get smashed when-” she stopped herself short before gesturing to the closet where the old costume was located.
“It wouldn’t be there. Give me a moment. Ascend Beyond.” Ethan opened the portal to his Sanctuary, stepping through quickly and snapping the portal shut behind him. “Heaven’s Gate,” he opened another portal and stepped through to his lavish bedroom. Where is it? he thought as he looked all around and under the bed.
What brings you back so soon? Nobilis asked in his mind.
Where’s my costume?
I put it in a display stand in the main hall.
Ethan dashed to the door and rapidly descended the stairs past several of the silent mannequins who performed various cleaning and maintenance duties. He arrived in the main entry hall and saw Nobilis in front of one of the two large fireplaces, a sizeable pile of books next to him. He looked up, “Why do you need that shattered carapace? It’s not nearly as good as your new armor.”
Ethan walked to the display case and used Rescue to snag the concealed storage pouch, unzipping it and – to his relief – finding his cell phone undamaged. He held it up for Nobilis, “I need this to keep in touch with Fred and Detective Matthews.”
Nobilis nodded as he closed his book and stood up from the chair. “I figured putting your prior failure on display would be a good reminder that you are not invincible.”
“Thanks, I guess.” Ethan replied feeling a bit of affront, but understanding.
Nobilis gestured to the grand edifice surrounding them, “I must admit, the late-medieval style abode is intriguing. Quite comfortable as well. Not my personal cup of tea, but still excellent aesthetics.”
Ethan chuckled, “You can thank some of the guild members for that.” He sighed as he looked down at the dead device in his palm, “It’ll take a while to charge. Guess I won’t be doing any hero work in the meantime.”
“As a side note – Cheat Code dropped by.”
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed and he turned his gaze onto Nobilis, “What? How’d he get in here? I thought we couldn’t visit each other’s Sanctuaries?”
“He apparently can cheat his way out of even the rules of The Entity. But, not to worry. The Entity personally showed up and told him to knock it off, and that further breaking of Its rules would result in Cheat Code losing his powers. That scared him off right quick.” Nobilis smirked, “The Entity even apologized. Apparently, Cheat Code is causing a bit of trouble across the world.”
“If It is effectively God, then why can’t It stop Cheat Code?” Ethan asked.
Nobilis walked back to the fireplace and leaned on the mantle, “The Entity does not like to meddle too much with what goes on in the world. It uses Imbued to help improve things.”
“That part makes sense – but if Cheat Code is causing problems, why not strip him of his powers?”
“The Entity does not interfere unless the entirety of the world is at risk. Or, as I learned with that recent visit, his own divine realm is threatened by someone who thinks they can violate the rules.” Nobilis shook his head, “Anyways, Cheat Code seemed to be scared off…I may have implied that you and The Entity had a deal in place, so I don’t think the villain will try anything against you and yours until he determines whether or not that is the case.”
Ethan felt some relief that the villain that had killed him would be off his case for the foreseeable future. “Thanks for lying.”
“Lies and misdirection are two different things,” Nobilis commented as he walked to the chair and picked up a burnt-orange colored tome. “I was reading through these other Abilities that you can’t use…and I thought to myself, what if you could?” Nobilis flipped the book open to the center and pointed to an ability, “Extreme Environment Adaptation.”
“Yeah, that’s not something that the class my powers are inspired by can use.”
Nobilis smirked and reached over to the mantle-top, grabbing a slim, bright green booklet. He handed it to Ethan, “In the game that your powers are inspired by, there are rules for crafting custom abilities, is there not?”
“Kind of? The process is complex, takes lots of time, lots of resources. Powerful blessings from gods and goddesses within the story, which don’t exist-” He stopped as the idea clicked into place, and he smirked at Nobilis. “You are smart.”
“Indeed. You may not be able to visit other Sanctuaries, but I can. I can prepare everything necessary for you to obtain these other abilities within your current power suite and then take a short trip to a an Imbued who was known as a god or goddess. Their power should be enough to cause the same effect.”
Ethan smiled broadly and gave Nobilis a huge hug, “That’s awesome news!”
Nobilis gently pushed Ethan back and straightened his neatly embroidered shirt. “Enough of that now.” He pulled the green booklet from Ethan’s hands, “I have work to do. In the meantime, just don’t die again.” He sounded sincere, but still distant.
Ethan smiled and nodded, raising an arm, “Ascend Beyond.” The white portal opened, and he stepped through, arriving back in his home. Treya was sitting on the couch watching the television as Ethan plugged in his dead phone. “What’s on?” He asked as he flopped onto the couch next to her.
She smiled and pulled him in to cuddle, “Some show about vampires.”
Ethan nestled next to her and relaxed. Nothing to do now but wait.
Hours passed before Ethan heard a loud series of electronic notification noises. He glanced over to his phone and picked it up. Wow, you miss a lot when you’re dead. Ethan scrolled through dozens of notifications – various texts and voicemails from Detective Matthews, Fred, Agent Druthers, and many, many requests from hospitals across the world. That surgeon at UCLA must have spread the word. He quickly typed up the same message to all of the various healthcare requests;
To whom it concerns, I apologize for the late response. I am more than happy to try and heal as many as I can. Reach out, and we can schedule a date and time. I’ll need a live video feed to get to you. And, make sure you group everyone together when I do arrive – I can only affect those within one-hundred feet. - Radiance
He set the phone down and sighed, brushing Treya’s hair. “I might be busy over the next few days. I’m going to try and go around and heal as many people as I can.”
Treya looked up and over at him, “Good. Use those powers. I have some labs to run in the next few days anyhow, so I’ll be busy.”
Ethan sat up, “That reminds me.” He walked over to the closet and grabbed a small satchel he had brought along with the armor and equipment. He handed it to Treya. “That’s a few hundred gold coins from my Sanctuary. Make sure you quit the lab assistant job and just focus on the coursework you want to focus on.”
Treya’s eyes went wide as she opened the pouch and poured the square-shaped coins onto her palm. “I’ll put in my resignation. Spend some time going around to sell this at different pawn shops.” She looked up at him and smiled, “And hopefully Fred is going to have some work lined up as well.” She gestured to the room around her, “I love this place, but it is on the small side.”
Ethan laughed, “I can ask Fred to buy us a place, keep our names off of the records.”
Treya stood up and put the pouch into her purse. As she did, Ethan’s phone rang. He picked up it. “It’s the Detective,” he said. Treya nodded and put a finger up to her lips as she smirked. Ethan answered the call, “Radiance here.”
“Hey, got your phone working again?” the Detective asked in a gruff tone.
“Yeah,” Ethan replied giving Treya a thumbs up. “It just died was all.”
“Well, you might want to get something more…robust. I know a guy. Does off-the-grid devices. Take out your SIM card, come down to my station, and I’ll have a replacement that the Feds can’t track.”
Ethan felt a pit in his stomach. Even using a burner app, a government agency surely had the means to track his number. “Shit. Doing it now.” He turned off the phone, got the SIM card out, and then crushed the phone in between his palms – his strength from all the consumables in the recreation of their Guild Hall having been vastly amplified. He tossed the phone in the trash.
“What’s that about?” Treya asked.
Ethan walked over to the closet, deactivated Denial of Light, and began putting on the armor. “I am getting a new phone.”
She leaned back on the couch and kicked her feet, “Game plan?”
“I’m going to check in with the Detective, see about this initiative that the Mayor is still running and try to help out, do some healing with these different hospitals now that it just costs energy and I’m not capped in a number of uses per day-”
“Slow down, babe,” Treya said softly as she sighed. “You’ll stress yourself out like you do sometimes.”
Ethan nodded and glanced over at her, “Mind making me a to-do list?”
She reached over to the coffee table and snagged a composition book and a pen, flipping to an empty page. “Got those three. What after?”
He kept rattling off his list of tasks he wanted to accomplish, and she jotted them down while he suited up. The armor was not intricate or complex, but it was inspired by medieval fantasy and had to be put on like full plate would – straps, buckles, the whole deal. Thankfully, he seemed to have a knack for it, and after five minutes he was fully suited up. Slotting a new memory card into the camera and swapping out the battery, he lifted the visor and kissed Treya.
She ripped out the paper and shoved it into his hand, “Stay safe out there.”
He gave her a curt nod and used Heaven’s Gate to walk through the opaque portal and right next to Detective Matthew’s desk.
The man jumped slightly, “Jesus Christ!” he exclaimed as he kept himself from falling out of his chair.
“Closer to the mark than you’d think,” Ethan replied as he sat down at the chair opposite the Detective.
Matthew’s grabbed a small packet of gum and popped it into his mouth, chewing rapidly before reaching down to a desk drawer and pulling out a smart phone. He handed it to Ethan, “This is fully undetectable to any type of tracking, courtesy of a guy I let off the hook. It only works connected to Wi-Fi, is the main downside.”
Ethan cracked open the back cover, slipped in his SIM card, and was relieved to find that all of his information was carried over – but the actual carrier information from the cell-phone company was blocked. “Just gotta hook up to that free Wi-Fi then,” he chuckled.
“It’ll automatically check for any open, no-password networks and take a priority, or some shit like that.” Matthews leaned back a little bit. “Thanks for helping with that whole thing at the Getty.”
Ethan felt eyes watching him and looked around the room. He was, of course, the focus of everyone’s sight. Dozens of officers were looking at him. Even a few people who were in the small holding area were just staring at him. “Can we talk somewhere else?” he asked.
Matthews frowned slightly, “Gotta keep it transparent.”
“Fair enough,” Ethan replied as he focused on the Detective. “Tell me about what happened in my absence.”
“Shit…where to start? A bit over a month ago, FMG and Cheat Code showed up on Livestreams all across the web. They showed off Stormbringer’s corpse – guy’s real name was Nathan Martinez. Anyways, FMG-”
“Guessing shortened nickname?” Ethan clarified, “For Full Metal Gangster?”
“Yeah, FMG and Cheat Code then played a video of you getting your shit rocked and then blown up. But you vanished in a flash of gold and white – no body.” He sighed, “Cheat Code’s not in Los Angeles, thank Christ, at least as far as we know he’s not around anymore. FMG took over South Side with the La eMe – sorry, Mexican Mafia, forgot you’re not LEO. FMG had been a member, but now he’s a kingpin who controls Cerritos and Artesia – between the 605, 91, and Lincoln Ave.”
“How does that work?” Ethan asked as he leaned forward, “He’s taken over the neighborhood?”
Matthews nodded and cracked another piece of gum before popping it into his mouth, “Yeah. He threatened the Mayor’s office.” The Detective tapped a few keys on his keyboard then gestured for Ethan to come around to see. Ethan got up and walked behind the man, seeing the steel-skinned man on screen. He was standing in front of a green flag with a black palm print across it, the letter M large in the center. There were armed men standing around him, holding different types of guns, and their identities were disguised by balaclavas and bandanas.
“Stay out of my territory and you stay alive. Pull the pigs out, keep them out. Everything between 91, 605, and Lincoln is my territory. Shut off the power or electricity and I’ll go on a fucking rampage. Cerritos and Artesia are mine. You can keep Hawaiian Gardens. We gonna put up signs and shit – stay out unless you’re invited in.”
Matthews paused the video and sighed, “Mayor has basically abandoned that section of the city. Only basic city services are allowed in and not fucked with – garbage, maintenance, that type of thing. It’s kind of like…what’s the name-”
“An enclave!” another officer who was listening in shouted.
“Thanks, Pauly.” The Detective turned in his chair to face Ethan, “I wouldn’t advise going in there, even if your new armor makes you look like a badass.”
“Why not call in the National Guard? That was a thing that was going to happen, wasn’t it?” Ethan asked as he recalled something about that.
“Nope. Governor said we have to deal with it.” He rolled his eyes, “Something about ‘saving budget’ that’s way above my pay grade.” He popped yet another piece of gum in his mouth.
Ethan leaned against the desk behind him which was thankfully unoccupied. He crossed his arms and frowned under the helm, but his outward expression was unreadable. “What about the Imbued that are caught? How’s that stuff going with the whole justice system and the coma thing?”
“Habeus whatever was suspended for Imbued,” Matthews replied with a slight scowl. “I don’t necessarily agree with it, but hell, Park can make fucking lava in his hands. Can’t hold that guy in a prison cell. Until something more permanent is figured out – some way to…negate them? We can’t give them due process.”
Ethan knew that what the Detective was saying was reasonable given the circumstances, but it still made him feel unease that people were being held without a chance to face justice. However, the necessity made complete sense. “What’s the protocol then when you call on me?”
“If it’s Imbued we’re dealing with? Depends on what they can do. That Python guy, for example, we got his real name. Mitch Rolt. He went up on the reduced charges and plead to a lesser charge to get out.” He shrugged, “You’d have to check with the parole division, but some of these Imbued are keeping a low profile.”
That was a bit of a relief. I won’t be dealing with Imbued all the time, he thought. I can still do be a hero, but I won’ constantly be putting out fires with super powered villains. He uncrossed his arms and stood up straight, “What about larger picture? That’s the local stuff, but there’s gotta be more going on in other places.”
Matthews glanced over to the officer that had spoken up before, “Pauly, you watch all the news and shit. What you know?”
Pauly practically ran over, the medium-height and well-muscled Hispanic man brimming with excitement. “Holy shit, you’re him! First off, huge fan-”
“Pauly,” Matthews said, drawing out the name slightly. “Tell him about stuff going on that you know about.” He stood up, “Good seeing you Radiance. I’m going to take a shit.” He walked away.
Ethan turned to face the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed officer. “Can you tell me about stuff nationally and internationally?”
“Oh, sure. The feds are still trying to figure out how to tackle the whole Imbued thing, but Los Angeles was just the first wave. Other countries – basically every country – has Imbued showing up. No clue how many, but the biggest nations have thousands at this point.” He fumbled with his phone as he pulled it out of his chest pocket and turned the device to Ethan, “There’s a website run by this guy, no clue who he really is, but he’s got a catalogue of known Imbued and their powers!”
Ethan grabbed the phone and typed “Radiance” into the search bar. He saw a picture of him in his old costume, with a side-swipe to the new armor, and then him wearing his helmet and wearing the casual clothes from meeting with Aaron – all without a background. Below it was a list of powers – things Ethan had said, along with a basic description from an outside observers point-of-view. They have no clue how I warp, or how Holy Smite works – which is good, since that’s all at light speed. They know about the healing, the barrier, Crusade, Heaven’s Gate, and Illuminate.
At the bottom was a comments section, and as he scrolled through he felt a mix of elation and despair as people were arguing in the comments over whether or not he was actually dead, if the “new” Radiance was just an imbued taking up the hero profile of the old, dead one, and even the nature of his power source.
But more concerning was a comment thread that went dozens of pages, and as he scrolled he felt tension build in his chest as the comments were talking about, because of his healing and coming back from death, how he was the Second Coming, and that the world was about to end. He had to hand the phone back to Pauly, who was still eagerly looking at him. “Thanks for that.”
“Can I get your autograph?” Pauly asked as he held up a pen and a small notebook.
Ethan grabbed it and quickly jotted down his signature, “Keep up the good work,” he said as he waved his hand. Heaven’s Gate, he thought as he stepped through the portal and appeared atop the skyscraper he had perched from before he had died. Sitting down on the ledge, he stared up into the sky.
I don’t want to be seen as some religious figure, he thought to Nobilis.
Comes with the territory of holy powers. Like I said, you will go down in history as a deity or demigod in the grand scheme of things. Heck, thanks to Immortality, you could choose to try and rule the world or pull a Gilgamesh. He never got Immortality, but he was on that track.
Ethan leaned back and stared up at the small spire ascending from the top of the building. I don’t want to rule the world or anything like that, he thought. The idea of being seen as a religious figure sounds really dangerous, also.
I would not be surprised if given many religions’ view on holy healing that you would be seen as such a person, regardless of your desires. Nobilis chuckled and sounded amused, If you did decide to reveal the existence of an afterlife and judgement, then that would amplify the message all-the-more.
Ethan shook his head, Too big scale. I just want to focus on local issues for now. He sat up and tapped his phone – which thankfully had connected to a local network. He tried calling Petal, and her voice came through loud and clear – but with tons of buzzing in the background.
“Go for Petal,” she said with a dull tone.
“Hey, it’s Radiance.”
“Holy shit! You’re alive?!”
Ethan felt enthused at her happy tone, “Yeah, I came back from the dead. Long story. How you been?”
“Good! I’ve been in the Amazon for a few weeks. I’ve pretty much regrown everything, and I’m working on other projects down here in South America before heading to Australia. Plus, I met someone.”
“Oh? Do tell,” Ethan said, delighting in just ignoring the thoughts he had before that were so vast and he did not want to ponder.
“Another Imbued. The guy can manipulate weather, but it takes a long time. But, we are going to be working on refilling resevoirs, re-freezing the Arctic circle – all types of stuff! There’s a cool new initiative put together by a guy calling himself King Blood out of Japan. He’s running the IRE. Imbued Restoring Earth. The guy can make blood out of nothing! Single-handedly refilling hospital stockpiles, one city at a time.”
Ethan felt ecstatic at the idea of going around the world helping people – especially since as he had just learned from his Paris trip, he could travel super quickly. “Well, count me in. If there’s some mass disaster, I can show up and heal people or help evacuate.”
“I’ll call King Blood and let him know. Mind if I forward him your number?”
“Go ahead!” Ethan said as he pushed himself to his feet. “Good to hear you’re doing well. Keep in touch, I’m going to go do some hero stuff.”
“Same here. Take care, Radiance.”
Ethan hung up and scrolled down the list of various requests from hospitals, mental institutions wanting to try out his healing on patients with various disorders, and even a handful of private individuals who offered huge payouts of millions of dollars for him to show up and heal them, specifically.
He called up Fred, “Hey, Fred. Question. I got a bunch of people wanting healing, some offering millions of dollars for it. Thoughts?”
The agent chuckled, “I got those too. You’ve got so many requests. My advice? Go for the positive PR spin. Start out with children’s cancer centers. Don’t go to the rich people, because once one of them gets word you can be paid for healing, then your rep will be tarnished. Instead…yeah, no, don’t worry about the money thing. I’ve already got merch deals that are raking in the cash.”
“That reminds me,” Ethan said as he recalled Treya’s request. “Any chance you could buy a property for me – using my cut of the money, of course – that my fiancé and I can stay at? Some place safer than our little house off-campus?”
The agent replied, “Mhmm. Can do. Any preference on area?”
“Somewhere safe, but not too upscale. I don’t want us to draw too much attention. Preferably near USC?”
“I’ll find something. House or apartment?”
“House,” Ethan replied. “Thanks, Fred. I’ll contact some of these cancer centers and see what I can do.”
“Sounds good. Go get them, light boy.”