Erythropoiesis 2.5
I was heading towards the animal shelter, sorting out my thoughts for the umpteenth time. This idea, capable of solving most of my problems, had appeared in my head quite a while ago. Of course, I could have simply continued going about my daily business, training my power, but a stable and quiet life did not lead to the progress I needed. Over the past few months, I began to notice that every new training session developed my skills slower and slower. Yes, there was a small amount of growth, but much less than when I was just starting to figure out my ability.
I suspect I have slowly started to approach the limit of my normal "blood vision". Yes, with the acquisition of new medical knowledge, I understood the received data better, but the distance and detail of perception had practically stopped expanding. Now I had to push myself to my limit to gain every extra millimeter.
Blood manipulation was also gradually beginning to reach its maximum, because there were limits to what shape my mind could imagine. I was able to create detailed and maximally thin objects from a few drops of blood, however, I needed truly large volumes to develop the ability further. After all, qualitative development had its limit. I am not going to cut myself, I cannot get human blood, and I won't take it either, but animal blood is possible. It also increasingly began to unnerve me that a part of my powers remained completely unrevealed due to resource limitations.
I am sure that I can heal, but who would allow a child to touch people? No one in their right mind. And there were doubts whether I would be allowed near people even in adulthood if I didn't have a medical degree and only a hero's cape on my back. And it wouldn't matter that I had spent years studying medicine and was capable of understanding the body better than any device on earth.
Of course, Vought would want to take advantage of the situation and find a loophole in the laws so I could promote their brand, however, always relying on the obvious "evil corporation" was a bad idea. To avoid being their puppet, I need to have skills and resources. And to get them, I need to learn how to heal others on my own. And injured animals are perfect for a start—there are always those who need help, but disastrously few willing to provide it.
Besides, I will often be able to bring benefit even with just my "blood vision", without the intervention of manipulating the scarlet liquid. Trying to heal with blood manipulation right from the start is not the best idea. For a year or two, I can just help by pointing out all the ailments, and only then, slowly and carefully, under the supervision of professionals, begin to change something.
In addition, a completely different problem came into play here—creating the right image. I didn't want to be a clown jumping on the big screen, fighting for every crumb of fame, however, I didn't plan to simply forget about all the opportunities that come with fame either. When I grow up, I won't be able to constantly rely on my parents, and therefore I'll have to look for means of survival somewhere. And so as not to end up in this situation unprepared, I decided to build a reputation as a healer-hero in advance, rather than a bloody maniac. Technically, I could have just gone to a regular farm where animals are "cared for", but a completely different fate awaits them at the end...
No one gives a cow or a pig to a shelter. And there, I'm sure, there would be a lot of blood for me. However, the fame of working with butchers... Well, I'm sure that could be monetized too, but I'd rather at least just try working with pets. People love animals and those who help them, which will only positively affect my image. Plus, I have a couple of ideas on how to achieve true fame in this business without any Vought interference.
As soon as I got close enough to the building, a tall red-haired man in a work shirt and simple pants, who was carrying some sack on his shoulder, spotted me. He noticed me, then put the sack on the ground and started wiping his hands, approaching me. From his face, it was easy to tell that he clearly didn't expect to see me here.
"Hey, are you lost?" he asked in a loud and powerful voice. It was obvious he was used to physical labor, but he didn't seem intimidating.
I simply nodded to him and came closer, beginning to explain everything.
"I came here to help. The day before yesterday I called Mr. Doutle and said I could help the animals. Well, and I can probably handle this too."
Just for the fun of it, I walked over to the sack that the man was carrying with obvious difficulty and lifted it with one hand. Hmm, about fifty kilograms—I had to exert some effort, but it was still far from the limit of my strength. The man clearly didn't expect this, if I understood his widened eyes correctly. People were used to seeing supes on magazine covers and TV screens, but definitely not in everyday life. And definitely not an ordinary child.
"Uhhhh, well okay... That happened. Alright. Well, since you arranged it with Bob, then everything is fine, I guess? Okay, come on, I'll show you where this needs to be put..."
The man clearly didn't understand what to do in such a situation, and I was amused watching it. He waved his hand at me, after which we headed towards the entrance to the building. I had a thought to show that I was also significantly faster than an average adult human and run back and forth like lightning, but I decided to spare the poor guy's sanity. Besides, I soon had a new activity to maintain my interest. Stepping inside, I began to examine the spacious building of the animal shelter: it was a curious light-yellow room that had a whole bunch of various vegetation.
Various bushes and flowers grew in pots here and there, making the whole place simply dazzle with a multitude of different colors. The moment we walked in, I saw a red-haired girl of about twenty-five standing at the reception reading something in a book. However, the moment we appeared, she quickly raised her head and threw a quick glance in our direction, after which she returned to reading. But about three seconds later, she raised her head again and started looking with surprise alternately at me and the man behind.
"Ummmm, good afternoon? Jim... Is this? Hi, boy, are you lost?"
The man behind said nothing and simply spread his arms in surprise. I kept as serious a face as possible, however, inside I was laughing my head off.
"I arranged with Mr. Doutle that I could meet him and discuss a common good cause."
The girl threw an uncomprehending glance first towards the office behind her, after which she looked at us again. Then she sighed heavily and finally answered, pointing her hand behind her.
"He's currently helping Mom... Martha. Mmm, you can put the sack right there."
I simply nodded to her and walked towards the door she indicated. The man, whose name turned out to be Jim, was still following me, but after a while, he finally got used to the strangeness and started talking to me. He opened the door for me, after which I heard his clearly perplexed voice.
"Umm, if it's not rude... Are you... You're a supe, right?"
I chuckled, passing into the new room. It turned out to be a long corridor with a bunch of doors, at the end of which was a new passage to somewhere.
"Yes, I have powers. And I came here to arrange with the shelter director to use them for a good cause." I answered, occasionally looking around.
All the doors were closed, so I couldn't see what was in them as I walked, however, vision is secondary. I heard the noise of refrigerators working, microwaves, and even water starting to boil. Also, I wasn't afraid to use my "blood vision", which allowed me to find two more people besides the ones I met earlier. Specifically, an older man and woman who were busy with something far away from me.
They were surrounded by dozens of large blood sources, which clearly belonged to different animal species. Also, conducting an analysis of the bodies of all five, it was not difficult to notice that they are all relatives, since all of them, except the woman, had the same harmless genetic mutation. I won't be able to determine what it is, but I feel something like that in the blood. But it's not like I didn't know that the whole Doutle family runs this animal shelter.
"And... If it's not rude, of course... And what is the power? Yours." Jim asked timidly.
Now this made me genuinely smile. It was funny seeing how an almost two-meter-tall man was so shy. However, I didn't have any negative feelings towards him, for I truly respected him. I felt from the heartbeat of these people that they sincerely simply didn't understand who I was and were just trying to satisfy their curiosity. And I was even sure that they were good people. Caring for injured, abandoned, and simply lost animals was infinitely far from a profitable business, and judging by their not-so-expensive place of residence, they worked practically for the cause, living mostly on what they grow. I couldn't do that, and therefore I respect them for it.
Honestly, they are much bigger heroes to me than some member of The Seven like Translucent—they help those who cannot stand up for themselves, and receive neither fame nor money in return. They do it simply because it's the right thing to do.
"I can heal."
After my words, the man fell silent, clearly thinking about something. I suspect he was going through all the heroes in his head and trying to find someone similar. But I know he won't find anyone, because I had spent the last few years looking for one in all the books, comics, or even special forums. But I rarely hung out on the latter, because only after a while did I realize that Stormfront is not just a gathering site for fans of "proper" heroes... Long story short, I spent years looking for a healer-supe, but never found anyone. And it's unlikely he knows more about this topic than I do...
"Oh, so, is it like with Mindstorm? I think he helped doctors during surgeries."
Here I stopped smiling and rolled my eyes. I had spent years and countless hours thoroughly figuring out the topic of heroes and superpowers, which is why I couldn't overlook such gross mistakes.
"No, Mindstorm, according to some sources, could only knock people out better than any anesthesia, because of which it was possible to perform surgeries even in the most difficult situations like the wars in Afghanistan or Vietnam. And in general, he used this trick only in the movie, and there was no mention of such a thing in Crimson Countess's biography. And all because his power is not just mind control, but a special immersion into the inner world. As with many telepathic supes, they actually..."
"Oh, hi Jim. And who is this with you? Oops! Boy, are you lost?"
My little lecture was interrupted right in the middle. This was done by a gray-haired woman who started looking at us with a smile. She was about fifty, however, she had a surprisingly strong and healthy body for her age. The active lifestyle takes its toll, as well as the fact that she spends most of her time outdoors.
Fundamentally everyone here was healthy. Also including the older man who was currently helping a horse. It was in a stall, and judging by the tension in its muscles, slight spasms, barely visible redness, and relative blood congestion in its neck—it had some kind of injury. Hmm, judging by the barely noticeable change in blood flow—a dislocated vertebra. Robert Doutle, as I could guess, was currently holding its neck and trying to help the poor animal, which was clearly in pain. I immediately put the sack on the floor, after which I headed in their direction.
"I called you, arranging volunteer work here. And so that you can verify my skills, I advise you to raise your right hand twelve centimeters up. Hmm, right... The matter here is serious, I see that it has a problem with the second cervical vertebra. I don't work with bones, especially in such a difficult situation. A professional veterinarian is needed here, is there one? If everything is done correctly, surgical intervention can be avoided."
The moment I finished speaking, the number of surprised looks increased to three. And while the woman simply looked at me uncomprehendingly, Jim was literally shocked. But Doutle Sr. merely chuckled, after which he turned to his wife. She quickly came to her senses and nodded to me.
"I graduated from Cornell University as a veterinarian, plus I took chiropractic training."
I chuckle respectfully, approaching them. Touching the horse, I slowly ran my hand over its coat, heading towards the injury. I couldn't reach it, however, being so close to the organism, I felt it much better. I felt the animal's heart beating significantly faster than usual, and its muscles trembling slightly, because it was experiencing severe pain. And although I had no way to somehow numb it, I made sure it didn't have a seizure or anything else. I didn't have any special feelings towards animals, however, I couldn't just walk by seeing how it was suffering. Especially if I was capable of helping and it would cost me nothing.
"Let me show you the dislocation site and I'll make sure everything goes smoothly."
The man and woman nodded to me, after which the healing process began. The man held the horse and helped it cope with the pain and prevented it from twitching just in case, while the woman began to slowly and carefully wrap her hands around the beast's neck, while I guided her. Fortunately, the problem was not that serious and everything could be fixed with one correct movement. When the woman placed her hands in the correct position, I gave the signal. She began to slowly and as carefully as possible move the horse's neck to the side, after which she jerked it slightly.
I made sure there were no problems, and fortunately, everything worked out. The horse suddenly became significantly more cheerful and active, practically jumping and clearly wanting to run. The faces of everyone around instantly relaxed significantly, and even small smiles appeared. Jim still continued to stand shocked and clearly not understanding anything, but Martha and Robert cast very interested glances in my direction.
"Well, first of all, I want to say thank you very much for helping. Betty," he touched the horse with his hand, running it along its mane, "had been acting out of character for the third day already, and we didn't know how to help her. Secondly, I understood what you were talking about during the call. I admit, at first I thought it was some kind of prank, because supes, they... well..."
I chuckled, listening to him, because I understood perfectly well what he meant but was unable to say.
"Rarely help just like that, not on camera? There is nothing wrong with that, I am still too small to care about such things. For now, I just want to help whoever I can. If you don't mind it, of course. I can come here a few times a week and check on the animals to see if any of them have gotten sick. Well, and help in cases like this," I nod toward the horse.
Robert smirked, after which he shifted his gaze to his wife and son. They obviously had no problems with me either, so they simply nodded to him.
"Then we agree."
I smiled, putting my hands behind my back. It's always nice when your plans go like clockwork.
"Excellent, then we have a lot to discuss. And get down to business, of course. However, I want to ask you one last question. You're not afraid of blood, are you?"
Read Advanced Chapters on: p@treon/Amiii_
~Every 150 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]