Brockton Bays Marvelous Mage

My first stop of the day was to check in with the hospital. A day had passed since I had been there to heal Amy, so there were plenty of people waiting for me to help. I ended up healing nearly thirty people over the span of two hours, with injuries and illnesses ranging from a child with severely broken bones to a single case of HIV. When I claimed I was done, one of the doctors tried to guilt trip me into also healing people who settled firmly into the "not urgent or necessary" list. He insisted that Panacea wouldn't have left anyone injured or in pain, even if their problems weren't life-threatening.

I managed to resist the urge to put him on that list myself.

I did, however, end up sending a message to Sarah Pelham explaining that Amy absolutely had a legal case against the hospital if that was something they were interested in. They had very much taken advantage of Amy in ways that were more than a little dubious, even though they knew she was a minor. Just the amount of stress they must have put her under was criminal, but worse, is that they should have known better. She thanked me briefly but said nothing else after that. I didn't blame her for that, however, as they already had a lot going on.

Once I was done healing everyone who needed it, making a cool chunk of cash in the process, I quickly found somewhere to change into civilian clothes. While shopping in costume would have made my life much easier, it would have raised a lot of questions that I wasn't ready to answer quite yet.

The first stop on my shopping journey was another jewelry store, a different location from the first one I had gone to. I spent a good chunk of cash refilling my precious stone supplies, nearly buying them out of their stock of lesser-quality stones. At this point, I was worried I might be showing up on some people's radar as a tinker. This would be my second large purchase of stones, though they had been in different stores.

Until I could figure out some more long-distance travel solutions, I would need to hold back from doing this again. I had already investigated teleportation circles with my ritual creation, but it was either beyond what I had access to, used something else entirely, or was so specialized and different that it was considered another subject entirely. Either way, I couldn't make one.

Yet.

When I was done with my shopping, which included buying the rest of the supplies needed for golems, I once again got changed before heading out to the Docks community. The communal space was bustling, with people cleaning, working, and all sorts of business. A small group of people had set down blankets and were hocking wares, selling everything from food to second-hand clothes. Looking around, the community had definitely grown, and as I walked through the crowds, guiding Troy through rather than riding him, I got quite a few appreciative waves and handshakes. Eventually, I found one of the people I was looking for.

"John… what's going on?" I asked the older man, finding him standing under some shade, talking to what looked like a dock worker. "There's a lot more people here than last time."

"They heard this place was protected," he explained, nodding his head to one of the golems as it carried a box around. "And that there was food. Some of them are people who would have lived alone, a few from Tasha's old crowd. That's the people selling stuff."

I looked over at the people sitting on blankets, trading and selling their goods. Before I could comment, John waved me off.

"Before you ask, none of it is stolen from anyone who's gonna come after us, and they sell it cheap, especially since they are eating for free here," he explained. "Tasha had a whole system set up, and I've been shifting it to fit with us. So far, it's been working."

"Who is it stolen from?" I asked with a frown.

John winced, but now it was my turn to wave off his concerns.

"I'm not gonna shame anyone for doing what they need to do to survive, John," I assured him. "I know you can't wear "law-abiding" as a coat when it snows. But I would like to know where or how this stuff gets here."

"...Most of what's stolen is from quick grabs, snagging things off chairs and benches at the mall and around the city," He explained. "The food is from several businesses around town, getting rid of stuff that is about to or has already hit its expiration date. Most businesses have rules against that, and it's illegal to knowingly sell 'expired' food, so it's all under the table. Some stuff is snagged from abandoned homes, picked from trash, and repaired."

I frowned and nodded in understanding.

"Listen, if possible, encourage people to focus on scavenging and repair," I said, leaning in closely. "I will personally supply the cash needed for sewing and repair kits, patch material, and things like that so people make more from less."

"That… would help a lot," He admitted, nodding his head with a considering look. "I know we sometimes get halfway decent clothes from second-hand stores throwing out worn-down stock…"

"Good, here," I said, pulling out a stack of bills and handing it to John, whose eyes went wide as he quickly pushed the stack into his jacket. "Use this to buy what they need or whatever the community needs. Talk with Charles about it."

"Dammit, kid, you can't be flashing around that kinda money," He warned, shaking his head, looking around to make sure no one had seen us. "Living like us, it can change some people. Getting this much cash rubbed in their faces, they can't help themselves. I've seen sweet old grandma's pull knives on friends for half this many bills."

"Right… sorry," I said with a wince, rubbing the back of my head. "This is… all pretty new to me."

"I know, but you're only trying to help. And so far, you're doing a damn good job," He admitted, patting my shoulder. "Just be careful. I'll get a few guys together to go shopping, grab some essentials, and talk to Tasha's people. I'm sure with the right incentives, we can get everyone on the right page."

"Great, fantastic," I said with a nod. "You seen Sarah/Mary around today?"

"She was here earlier," he said with a frown, looking around for a moment before shaking his head. "I swear that girl is flightier than a rabbit."

"Can only imagine she has a reason," I pointed out, the man wincing and nodding.

"Fair point," He admitted.

We chatted a bit more before I spent about an hour healing some of the community. Thankfully, there weren't any significant injuries, but in conditions like these, even the smallest scratch could spiral out of control if it wasn't watched or fixed. When I was done, I made my way back through the large open space in the center of the community, Troy following after me. I had been around long enough to assume by that point that if Olivia was somewhere hiding, she would have seen me. I just needed to get somewhere more private.

"I see her," Alya said as I made my way down and away from the group. "She was hiding along some of the rafters in the warehouse. There's a sort of walking maintenance area she has claimed for herself."

"Thanks," I said, sitting down on the same broken and cracked stairs the two of us had met on before. "Wait, how are you seeing her in the darkness?"

"...That is strange. I can sense her physical shape but not see it," The awakened elemental explained with surprise. "It appears that my awareness trumps her stealth."

"Well that's good, means I can find her if she ever gets injured in a shadow she is blended into," I pointed out.

We waited patiently, sitting on the old cracked stairs. Eventually, Olivia turned the corner, rolling her eyes as she spotted me.

"You know, coming by asking about me is very suspicious," She pointed out, throwing an peach at me, which I caught after bobbling it a few times.

"I only asked John, he knows you're around and keeping an eye on things," I explained with a shrug. "You must have been watching when I asked, after all."

She didn't respond, instead stepping into a shadow and jumping up to the top of the stairs. The jump was a bit too fluid, a bit too extreme to be a normal jump, though not by much. When she was sitting, she nudged me.

"So what's going on?"

"I told you I was going to make something for you, remember?" I said, standing from my spot to walk alongside Troy, using magic to open up his side and pull out the paper bag. "I finished it last night."

"You finished it?" she asked, her eyes wide. "That was just the other day! I didn't think tinkering worked like that…"

"I don't know, honestly," I said with a shrug, passing her the bag. "I'm not a normal tinker."

"You're not a normal anything," She responded, accepting the bag carefully. As flippant and sassy as she liked to be, she wasn't mean or stupid enough to manhandle a gift, especially a "tinker tech" one.

I watched with a smirk as she opened the bag and pulled out the cloak, turning it over in her hand. The super, unnaturally dark look shimmered slightly as she moved it to study it from all sides.

"A cloak? Like as part of a costume?" She asked. "It's nice, a lot darker than… well, anything I've seen… "

"Put it on."

She gave me a look, before pulling it around herself, wrapping the cloak around her shoulders. Just as she managed to get the thick, dark cloth over her body, she let out a gasp.

The cloak suddenly surrounded her, pulling closed and settling on her body as if put on perfectly. All evidence of who she was disappeared in an instant, the hood fluttering up over her head, the interior vanishing into a pitch-black pit. As the cloak sealed and hid her identity, it also lost all sense of cloth or clothing, forming instead a cover of wispy shadows and darkness. Dozens of hanging strands of shadow seemed to waft and float around her, suspended in the air. The deep black material reached down to her feet, coalescing into a sort of formless base of shadowy tendrils and whisps. She looked like death, floating straight from nightmares to reap souls.

"Holy fuck," I said, taking an involuntary step back before I regained control of myself.

"I-Wait, what is it?" She asked, stepping forward. "What's wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong, you just look intimidating as fuck," I explained, shaking off the unnerved feeling, focusing on her voice. "Way more than I anticipated. Why did you gasp?"

"I feel really good," She explained. "It's… like being in the darkest darkness I could find… and then finding a shadow to hide in. All my enhancements have been pushed to eleven and... And I feel free, like… it's soothing a craving for something."

"...Do you think your power might have been pushing you to find dark areas?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "From what I understand, getting powers can do stuff like that sometimes."

"I… Maybe? I would have called you crazy a minute ago but… I can feel some sort of difference," She admitted. "I feel the calmest I've- Holy shit!"

As she was talking, she looked down at herself, finally noting what she looked like. She shook her hands, like she was trying to flick the strands of shadow off of them.

"What the fuck, Arc? What did you do to me?" She asked, a lilt of panic in her voice.

"Relax, it's okay," I said, stepping forward and reaching out, my hand passing through the shadow to find hers, holding it tightly. "This should be pretty responsive to you, try thinking about what you would like it to look like."

She nodded, her head tilting down as I assumed she closed her eyes to concentrate. After a minute, she let out a long breath, and the cloak started to change. The coils of shadow and black wisps didn't disappear, but the majority of the material did shift to a dark cloth. Still intimidating, still scary, but it didn't feel like I was holding hands with the Grim Reaper anymore.

"Not bad, see?" I said, stepping back to take a quick picture with my phone so she could see for herself.

"Damn… I still kinda look like a villain, though…"

"You're not wrong," I admitted with a wince. "Okay, try this. Instead of focusing on pure darkness, focus on the dark night sky, filled with stars."

She nodded, and after a moment, her look shifted again. The cloth effect faded quickly, but rather than the sinister strands of wispy shadow, it was speckled with thousands of twinkling stars. The floating strands still existed, but they were thicker and less intimidating. It was surreal and nonsensical but ultimately beautiful.

"Woah," Was all I could manage to say as Olivia looked down at herself, also struck speechless. "I… I think that's the look to go for, unless you're really trying to scare someone."

"Yeah…" She said softly, still watching the cloak swirl and shift around her body. "This… how did you make this? It's… Arc, this is incredible! I feel bad accepting it now!"

"Don't, it's yours," I assured her. "It will never work for anyone as well as it works for you. It would be pretty pointless to take it back."

"Well, in that case... Thank you, I… How do I take it off?" She asked, her still obscured face turning to look at me.

"Just focus on it going away," I explained. "It should-"

I couldn't even finish before the whole cloak began to pull away, thick strands of star-scattered darkness sliding off her. I expected the cloak to return to normal and for her to take it off manually. Instead, it just continued pulling off of her, revealing her completely as the strands and coils of darkness were dragged over her shoulders, down her back, and into her shadow, vanishing from sight. After a moment, it reappeared, going through the whole process in reverse as the darkness coiled and grew around her, the cloak escaping her shadow and once again covering her completely.

"Arc, don't take this the wrong way," Olivia said, looking down at her hands as the process repeated for a third time, the cloak vanishing into her shadow, this time staying there. "I love this thing... but it is spooky as hell."

"How do you think I feel?" I asked, getting a raised eyebrow from her. "I had no idea it could do that!"