The first 12 hours were a blur. First dozens of people got to the airport in the first hour. Those were just the locals, arriving by car.

  A handful of charter flights, packed entirely with Scourge victims and medical staff, arrived in the dead of night. Southwest Airlines stepped up and got flights in the air around 3 AM. It was strange to see an airport that was shut down for the night suddenly come back to life. But people were willing to work to make it happen.

  As the first early morning flights came in, hundreds more showed up. I could clear about 80 patients an hour, but that clearly wasn't going to be enough. My healing rate is dependent on two Creation cool downs. (Technically I can substitute some of my other creations for the cure poison requirement, but my other creations have much longer cooldowns, so that's really just an emergency option, and not sustainable.)

  I have just two levels to spend. Amid the chaos I discovered a solution, using my level 100 Synergist perk.

  So if I pumped up these two subclass perks:

  Upgraded, they became:

  The Absolute Biological Operative perk allows me to apply a poison to a technique without putting the poison on cool down, though it multiplies the Ki Point cost by 6. I could Rapid Strike for 12 KP (usually 2) and inflict Scourge Poison. My KP regeneration is 7 per minute, so I could get an extra cure off every 102 seconds.

  Obviously using Rapid Strike on people with a real weapon could kill them, or at least upset them, so I used a spork to lightly slap them on the hand. People are more confused than angry when you slap them with a spork.

  The damage I take from curing a case of Scourge feels like acid reflux. I checked the behind the scenes mechanics of it and discover the damage I take is internal, and reduced by my Toughness and Constitution. So it would probably kill someone who was a straight Operative, focused on Dexterity and Agility. Me, I can cure Scourge poison basically infinitely. I just have to drink Pepto Bismol.

  Though, that's really because I'm applying the poison and immediately curing it, so the “damage already done to the patient” is super low. I could probably kill myself if I cured a few poisons that had done a lot of damage.

  So there was some triage and prioritization that had to be done, but once they hit Denver, people knew they'd survive.

  I told one of the medical professionals about my KP regeneration, and, just like what happened to Odysseus in LA, people came forward with anything they thought would help my KP regen. Some people had single-use items to recover Ki Points. At one point I ate a can of pineapple chunks that got me back to full. Others had items which provided passive buffs. I got two rings that increased my regen by 5% and 10%. Someone had a sledgehammer that increased my regen by 11% so I ended up walking around with a demolitions grade tool bungie-corded to my back. The best boost, however, came from a lady who had a summoned gecko that doubled the KP recovery rate of whoever it was perched on, so long as they were below 25% of their max KP.

  The gecko's name was Gordon. I summoned Biscuits to see if she'd get along with another summoned creature, but I ended up having to separate them. She reeeealy wanted to eat Gordon.

  -----

  7/26

  Field hospital outside of Denver International Airport

  1:30 PM

  One of the nurses is on the phone, a worried look on her face. I walk over to her.

  “Hit the gas, ignore the speed limit. We'll take care of the tickets later.” She speaks calmly to the person on the other end. I can't make out the words, but the man she's talking to sounds panicked. She snaps her fingers at me and said, “I need a calculator.”

  I point at myself. “I'm it, tell me the math.”

  She asks the man on the phone where exactly he is. “Car driving north on 25, just passed through Pueblo. The car can barely do 80. This guy's brother has under an hour before...”

  There are still people here to save, but nobody in the tent is going to die in the next half hour.

  I check Google maps. 122 miles. They aren't going to make it. “Tell them to park, I'll come to them. Make, model of car?” She asks and gives me the answer. “Tell the driver to sit on top of the hood or roof so I know it's them.”

  The nurse starts to say, “we can have the helicopter-” but I'm already moving.

  I leap over a few tents, land on an ambulance, and leap again to get over the airport security fence. Each leap takes me hundreds of feet forward. I hit the ground, dig in my feet, and push forward with a tremendous burst of speed. I blast past Blucifer, who is stomping around as usual.

  I'm out of the airport in under a minute. I'd already estimated my top running speed to be over 400 miles per hour. Time to test that out.

  Just south of DIA are fields and farms. That suits my needs nicely. Nobody to accidentally plow into. I run faster. Crops whizz by. I run faster. I'm already south of Denver. I run faster. Ahead is a neighborhood. I leap up over the first houses, my velocity carrying me hundreds and hundreds of feet forward. Before I start descending, I pull on my Atmos Sky Dragon armor and fly. I buzz just slightly over the tops of the houses. My speed starts slowing as my flying speed takes over from my running momentum. Right, that perk that gives me +50% running speed doesn't apply to my flying speed. As soon as I clear the neighborhood I drop down and keep running, getting my speed back up to the point at which my 292 Reflexes can barely keep up with 509 Agility.

  As I'm running, I start to do the math again. Top running speed before the system was 28 mph, so that's what 40 Agility would give you. 509/40 is 12.725, so I'm running at 12.725 times 28 mph, which is 356.3 mph. Except that's my +50% running speed perk I got at 100 Agility. So 356 is my top fly speed, but 534 mph is my top running speed. That would explain why I just passed Colorado Springs, which is 50 miles south of Denver. And also explain why my feet feel like they're on fire. I don't think my magical Spell-Storing Boots were rated for 2/3rds of supersonic speed. I take to the air again, this time to just let my boots cool off.

  Also, I notice that my peripheral vision was blurred going that fast. Slowing down to a cool 300 mph is definitely better for spotting the white Chevy station wagon from the 1980s I'm looking for.

  I spot a white Chevy station wagon from the 1980s. It's got a long haired white guy standing on the roof.

  Deceleration proves to be of a problem. Just cutting off my flight leaves me still hurtling through the air. I flip around and try flying backwards, and that is immediately a really, really bad idea. I feel the pressures of momentum from two different directions exert themselves on me and feel like I'm being crushed. This fortunately lasts briefly before I drop like a rock into the grass by the side of the highway.

  I have to jog a hundred feet to get back to the Chevy.

  “You thuh healin’ man?” The redneck asks.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  I let my armor pop away from my body and the panels turn to motes of light. “Yeah, who's sick?”

  The man jumps off the roof and goes to open the back door. “Muh brother Jeeter!”

  I didn't really have to ask. The man in the back is moaning and sobbing uncontrollably. He's in the end stages. Soon the pain would push him into unconsciousness. Then death. Except, you know.

  I walk over, do my thing, and Jeeter shudders and sighs, his eyes closed.

  “He ain't dead is he?” Jethro or Billy Bob or whatever his name is asks me.

  “Nope, just unconscious.”

  Jeeter groans and sits up. He must have a pretty good Constitution to be up and ready so quickly. He blinks and just looks around.

  Apparently this is enough for Jethro Bob to not worry about his brother anymore, because he eyes me up and down. “Does anyone ever tell yew that yew look like thuh hot Asin guy on Arresting Heat? That one with thuh abs?”

  He said “Asin” not Asian. Seriously, how do you watch TV and still talk like a fucking idiot. The people on TV don't talk like that!

  “No.” I say flatly. Arresting Heat is the cop show my brother Ji-Ho is on. “But I know that guy you're talking about.”

  Jethro Bob raises an eyebrow. “You know him well? Do yew talk to him? Could talk to him?”

  Jeeter opens his eyes and yells at his brother. “Dear God, Eddie, how have you not come out as bisexual yet!?!”

  The two brothers squabble about Eddie's sexuality and I think that I should probably talk to my brother too. Not about his sexuality. Just like, in general.

  -----

  7/26

  Field hospital outside of Denver International Airport

  1:35 PM

  To get back I test out my new teleportation perk. I mentally think about the perk and everything shimmers for three seconds, then with a popping sound I appear inside a laundromat. It really, really smells like weed in here. I turn to see that I'm inches away from a mid 40s stoner who really, really smells like weed.

  “Are you, like-” he starts to say, eyes wide, before I cut him off.

  “Gotta go. Sorry I stepped on your... Two dozen Hartford Whalers(?) hockey jerseys.”

  -----

  When I get back to the oh so glorious big white tent at the airport, I text my brother as I get back to healing the sick with my magic spork. It's become quicker to explain to people, “magic spork, hold still,” than my whole ability suite.

  It occurs to me that I haven't actually contacted my brother since I got out of the military, and that was when I got a new phone and email. Oops.

  He immediately calls me. I hesitate before picking up. My brother was always the outgoing, popular, athletic, handsome one of the family. Ji-Ho is also 5 years older than me, so we never really spent all that much time together as kids. When I was 5 he was 10 and running around the neighborhood. When I was 10 he was 15 and out dating. We just never connected all that well.

  And yes, I'm aware that his IMDB page says he's 29, which is just one year older than me. It also says he's 5'10”, and I know he's taller than me. And it says his name is David Han. He dropped Ji-Ho to be more .

  I sigh and pick up the call.

  He seems a bit emotional.

  There's a silence on the other end for a second.

  He speaks more calmly, more seriously.

  AH is the acronym for my brother's show, Arresting Heat. “AH” is also known for being what the thirsty women sigh when all the hunks are on screen. It's on Starz, so it's trashy and full of soft-core sex, with an emphasis on the female gaze. Seriously, it's one female main character and 5 or 6 hot guy actors.

  There's apparently a LOT of slash fiction for the show.

  I give in.

  I never tell people outside of Dallas that I live in Carrollton. Nobody's ever heard of it.

  He seems interested. Even with 100 Wisdom it's hard to tell feigned interest vs real interest over the phone.

  I say it nonchalantly.

  Two women get brought into the tent. I immediately heal the one who's clearly in more pain. The one I don't heal right away looks at me pleadingly.

  “Hey, you're going to be okay. It takes me like 20 seconds before I can go again,” I say to her.

  My brother sounds incredulous, but also like he's hoping that it's true.

  He groans.

  -----

  Ji-Ho lands six hours later. Basically everyone at the airport knows about me, so they let Mercy and I meet Ji-Ho at the gate.

  Ji-Ho is wearing a loose hoodie, jeans, San Francisco Giants ball cap, and a face mask. I see his eyes glance past me, so I wave at him. His eyes come back to me, then get big. He strides over.

  “Jun Kyung? Jun!” He grabs me in a big hug. He's not taller than me. In my head he was always taller than me and Hak-Kun, but I guess that was just our age differences. “Holy crap, dude, you look amazing! You must be working out!”

  “Eh, I used to, back in the Army, but now it's just stats. You need to pick up a bag?” He's got a decent carry on with him.

  He shakes his head. “Nah, if I'm going to stay anywhere for a while I just buy cheap clothes from wherever, then donate them to a homeless shelter when I leave town. It's usually cheaper than checking a bag nowadays.”

  I roll my eyes. “Where the hell did you learn to be so generous? It certainly wasn't from dad.”

  “Mom,” he says seriously. Right. He was 10 when mom died. He has a whole childhood of memories with her. To me she's this blurry woman who loved me.

  A man in a suit walks past, escorting someone else in a face mask. This person has gloves and almost every part of their body is covered. I can barely tell it's an elderly black man. He's shaking.

  “Elmore?” I ask the sick man. The CDC team sends me messages about who's coming and when, so I was expecting Elmore Davis.

  “Step aside, sir,” the probably Air Marshall says, dismissing me.

  “I'm the guy you're looking for,” I say, looking right at the victim's eyes. He meets my gaze for just a second before his face goes from pained to relief.

  I do the magic spork routine. I've already done it hundreds of times. “You should take a seat,” I tell him. I turn to the Air Marshall and hand him a $100 gift card. “Can you take Mr. Davis to get some food? The BBQ place over there smells good. Oh, and go to the Westin afterwards. They'll put you up there for a night, on the house. I'll tell the CDC guys you're on your way.”

  Elmore Davis closes his eyes to check his status, sees that he's cured of Scourge, and tears roll down his face. He grabs me by the shoulders and speaks in the rough voice of a long-time smoker. “Thank you, young man, thank you so much. And thank for your ability!” He pulls down his mask. “Thank you Lord, for I WILL LIVE THIS DAY!” he yells up at the ceiling.

  When I cure them, there's a 65% chance the person thanks God, a 95% chance they thank me as well, and a 5% chance they walk away bitterly.

  “Hi, I'm Mercy Mahar, Jun's fiance.” Mercy holds out a hand to my brother. He shakes it, seeming to be totally out of it for some reason.

  -----

  7/26

  Field hospital outside of Denver International Airport

  8:10 PM

  “So this is real?” my brother asks, sitting inside one of the CDC non-treatment tents. There's half a dozen people on computers and phones around us. The shitty plastic folding tables on this side of the tent are left clear for eating and other temporary stuff.

  “I mean, as much as anything is nowadays,” I reassure him.

  He still seems overwhelmed. “You got some special power. To heal Scourge? The thing that's incurable? What else can you do? Can you cure cancer?”

  “It's not a direct cure. I have to poison someone with a deadlier form of Scourge, then cure them of the poison. That fixes everything. I'm not sure how into Dracosys stuff you are, sorry if that's confusing.”

  I have to go over it in more detail with him. And then explain that I got the Synergist class which lets me pick and choose stuff. And then explain why normal people pick and choose stuff. Maybe I should just record an explanation to play for people.

  Afterwards he seems to finally come to grips with it. “And you're getting married,” he says, clearly desperate to switch to a more familiar, less paranormal topic.

  “Yep!” Mercy says as she glomps my arm. She presses her chest against me, sliding my arm between her breasts.

  “She's got me right where she wants me,” I say.

  Ji-Ho looks at her, then at me, then smiles. “Yeah, you're his type alright.”

  “What does that mean?” I ask.

  “Gabrielle Parker,” he says with a knowing smirk.

  “Ex?” Mercy asks me.

  Ji-Ho laughs. “She was this girl I tutored when I was a high school senior. So Jun was... 13? And this girl was 16.”

  “An older woman!” Mercy gasps, fanning herself from melodramatic shock.

  “I didn't have a crush on her,” I insist. Then my new Wisdom shakes its head at my old Wisdom and sighs. “Ohhhh! I had a crush on her!”

  His smile turns from a smirk to genuine warmth. “And I never went for her, because I you had a crush on her.”

  That stops me. “I... didn't know that. I thought you just weren't into black girls.”

  Ji-Ho holds up fingers to count. “One, that is definitely not true. Vancouver is a very diverse city and I date a variety of women. Two, I have been into her, but I wouldn't hurt my little brother. Three, I was trying to get with her older sister, who was a college freshman.” He looks off into the distance wistfully. “Janesha had those muscular legs... That tennis team skirt...”

  “I'm starting to see the resemblance,” Mercy says. “You both go off into dreamland when it comes to girls.”

  It was more than that. Now that I was grown up, it was clear that we were brothers. We had the same build and similar faces. With my Charisma clearing up the dark circles under my eyes, I looked even more like the TV star. I should really have more confidence in my looks. I mean, Mercy is into me and she's .

  “Oh, right,” my Ji-Ho says casually, not realizing he's about to learn about war crimes. “You said Hak-Kun was up to something pervy? I already know about that smut he writes.”

  Mercy squeezes my hand. She's here with me. I take a deep breath. “Okay, so you know how humans made the Dracosys?”

  “They did?” Ji-Ho asks.

  Damn. This is gonna be a whole thing.