It didn’t take long for Kiki to seek me out. After that first day in the clinic, I began traveling to every medical center and doctor’s office I could find.

There was something therapeutic about easing the pain of others that somehow filled the aching emptiness inside of me. Being in a group together, Kiki was able to track my progress on the map.

She immediately stood out when she entered the lobby of a small clinic I was working in. Kiki had dyed her hair orange and tied it up in a topknot. She also wore dark eye shadow and makeup that I suspected was masking the fact that she cried more often than she was ready to admit.

Seeing her in that condition made me want to heal her too. Having just cleaned a young girl’s blood of the flu virus, I stood up and did the only thing I could think of and pulled my sister in for a hug.

She stood there limply in my arms, her emotions sealed away in a vault. I cracked first.

Do you think she doesn’t want to talk to me anymore now that she’s home?

Finally, Kiki wrapped her arms around me. There is no way that could be true. This is her home. She loves you.

After having put my feelings to words, the dam inside of me broke and I found myself bawling in a waiting room. Kiki held me tight for what seemed like an eternity.

She released me after I composed myself and we silently went back to the business of healing the sick. Not everybody wanted my services. While I didn’t mind using the power of magic to thwart evil receptionists and doctors, I refused to use it on the patients. Every person deserved the right to choose whether or not they wanted treatment. Melvin didn’t always know best after all.

With Kiki by my side, I got a lot bolder. The next hospital we visited, I set my sights on some of the specialty departments. It turned out I was the cure for cancer. Growths, tumors, and abnormalities in the body were easily spotted by my Shaw Bloodline. Using my powers of manipulation I was able to DELETE growths and only growths, even when they tried to invade nearby critical organs.

Cleansing blood was also easy because I had total control over the substance. I idly wonder why Lady Shaw was unable to cleanse herself after drinking my blood. In the end, I concluded that it probably had something to do with corrupted mana not being so easily cleansed. I made a note of that for future reference.

We skipped the maternity ward. I decided I was just a little bit too young to be exploring the miracle that was the human nesting doll. Also, the idea of being present in a delivery room made me nauseous.

My friends began to worry when I started skipping classes to go on my healing escapades. Joe and Wendy sat me down for an intervention one morning. Wendy sat next to me, saying, “Look, Melvin. I know you miss Kalli but she wouldn’t want to see you like this. We’re here for you. Besides, I miss you in wind class.”

“I’ve found something that makes me feel better.” I began. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Joe, who was sitting across from us on the other couch, said, “Tell us about it. What have you been up to?”

The tales of my exploits gushed out in a flood of stories about how I saved the lives of countless people. Every story was more dramatic than the last culminating in a story about how I singlehandedly deleted seven bullets from the chest of a kid about our age and repaired all of the damage while refusing to let him bleed out.

They were enraptured in my story until I got to the part about my dynamic duo. “When Ki showed up at that clinic I thought she was going to make me stop but she joined me and together we have hit almost every medical facility in LA.”

“You were with Kiki?” Joe asked tentatively.

Wendy hesitated and said, “Melvin, you know she was supposed to be detained somewhere right? I don’t know all of the details but you could get into a lot of trouble if you’re caught with her.”

I pulled away from Wendy, rising to my feet. “Do you realize that this messed up world could also punish me for saving someone’s life? And why? Just because they aren’t awakened? Explain that one to me.”

Wendy sighed and looked down, refusing to meet my gaze. “I can’t explain that. It’s wrong. I agree with you. I just don’t want to see you get in trouble, Mel.”

Wendy using my nickname stung. That was the nickname Kalli had given to me and I didn’t want to let anyone else use it. Joe’s eyes were filled with sadness when he looked at me from across the room. I knew that I was making things difficult for my friends and my attitude wasn’t helping.

“Please.” I started. “I need this. Give me some time. Once I summon Kalli back everything will go back to normal.”

Wendy finally looked up hopefully from the couch. “Do you know how you are going to do it yet?”

I nodded, acting more confident than I felt. “I have been studying the summoning ritual every day. I am going to need all of your mana to pull it off though. Let’s agree that we are going to try it the first week of summer.”

Joe rose to his feet and said, “That sounds like a plan. We will gather more people to help you as well. You can count on us.”

The only class that I attended without fail was the only one I had been paid for. Mr. Ramsey took full advantage of my two days a week and had me awaken countless bureaucrats. I was starting to wonder if what he was making me do was legal in the eyes of the awakened world. I never asked about it though. He had helped pay off Kalli’s contract after all.

When I wasn’t in school, I was a full-time medic with my new nurse, Kiki. She taught me a lot about contracts during our adventures. On occasion, she demonstrated on the particularly annoying medical staff.

When a contract was imposed on the unawakened they were subconsciously compelled to uphold their end of the bargain. We both laughed when a snooty doctor who drove a Jaguar was turned into our personal food delivery service just for our commitment to stay out of his way when he walked down the halls.

He spent a lot more time getting me cheeseburgers than he gained by not having to step around us. The best part was that Kiki added a clause where he had to provide service with a smile. While it was a little creepy, it always made us laugh seeing the strained smile on his face.

After a few weeks, I found out about a service that delivered the patients I wanted to treat the most. I discovered that words of power worked over the phone when I contacted them.

The person who answered the phone said, “Make a wish foundation. How may I direct your call?”

I grinned, not having to deal with a machine, and said, “I’m glad you should ask. Please put me on the phone with the person in charge.”

After a lengthy wait, assuming the person I spoke to had to pull strings to get someone important on the line, a gruff voice picked up the phone and asked, “Who is this? Why do you want to speak with me?”

Using my best ‘I am magical and you must do what I say’ voice, I instructed, “You will get me a list of all of your customers in Southern California.”

“I will do it.” He droned back. “How would you like the list?”

Smirking at my ability to manipulate the man, I said, “Email it to Murphina[email protected]”

“It will be done.” He croaked as he hung up.

We hit more clinics while we waited for the list to arrive. Kiki refused to talk about her situation and I was starting to get the feeling that she was on the lam.

When the list arrived, I realized that we were going to have to travel to hit most of them. Digging through my bag, I pulled out Kalli’s dress. The sight of it brought back a stabbing pain that I thought had been healing.

I sucked in a deep breath and pulled the gown over my head. It immediately began to transform the moment it touched my skin. When it tried to cover my torso the artifact armor that clung to me as a vest pushed it away. Fortunately, I was able to shunt it down my left arm in the form of a sleeve. I could see the phoenix, Suzaku, coiled around the fabric.

Holding my breath and praying that it would work, I supplied the pattern with mana. It quickly uncoiled and soon the full-sized fiery bird knelt before us, becking me to mount him.

I stroked his plumage and greeted the guardian, “Hello Suzaku. I wasn’t sure you’d come out for me.”

He nuzzled me with his beak and replied, “The princess would want me to look after you. Consider me on loan.”

“Thanks.” I chirped as I climbed onto him and helped Kiki up.

Our first patient was over an hour away. I edited up some clothes with the Make-A-Wish logo on them because we didn’t want to startle the family.

Kiki gave me a critical look when we landed. Do you think they are going to buy a kid being a doctor?

They didn’t complain in any of the hospitals that we visited.

She straightened my shirt. You never claimed to work for Make-A-Wish before.

Good point. What should I do?

Kiki rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment before asking, Is that Ramsey Bloodline just for show?

I don’t think so. Why?

She took a moment to work it out before taking a step back. Melvin, the headmaster’s primary ability is illusions. He can make anything appear any way he wants it to. That includes himself. Why don’t you try to make yourself look different?

I squeezed my eyes closed and imagined the first celebrity face I could think of. The thought demanded mana which I happily supplied it with. I expected to feel my flesh melt and reform into a different form but all I felt was a shimmer around me.

Kiki giggled and said, Really, Melvin? That was the illusion you chose? Justin Beiber?

You put me on the spot! It was the first thing that popped into my head.

In the end, I decided to go as Mr. Ramsey. He looked old enough. I also found it hilarious that an old man that looked like Dr. Gandalf was going to interview a dying kid.

Fortunately, the kid only had cancer. Her cancer was far more advanced than any of the patients that I had encountered. Kiki distracted the parents while I went to meet the seven-year-old girl.

When I did my initial examination under the guise of an interview I found the poor kid’s body decimated by mutated cells that ran rampant through her system.

To make matters worse, the kid had undergone radiation therapy that had made her frail constitution even worse. The first thing I did was awaken the child. Her tiny core was shaped like a heart the mere sight of it filled me with love. I caressed it with my mana, causing the core to come to life, turning a rich red color.

Then I pulled her newfound mana out and attached it to her channels, it flooded through her body, sparking life wherever it touched. I added my own mana to hers, reinvigorating her body as much as I could.

Then I began the tedious task of eliminating tumors. They were everywhere, clinging to nearly all of her vital organs. She gasped and grunted as I deleted growth after growth. The mutated cells in her lymphatic system were a different challenge altogether. There were far too many of them to delete individually.

I was forced to do a purge. It wasn’t like the boy in the clinic where everything came out into his diaper. This cancer was everywhere. I was forced to find exits for it anywhere I could, usually through sweat glands. By the time I finished, the girl was coated in toxic sticky slime.

She panted and looked up at me as I towered over her. I took a deep breath and said, “You might not believe this but I’m a wizard. I’ve just cured you and I’m going to use a special trick to clean you up. I need you to be brave for me though, okay?”

The little girl nodded, her lower lip quivering. I gave her a reassuring smile and used a familiar spell.

“Pvruzth”

She giggled uncontrollably as the flame washed over her body, devouring the sinister disease that once plagued her. When she was all clean, I retracted the flame and sat down across from her.

We looked into each other’s eyes for a moment before she asked, “Are you really a wizard?”

“You just saw my flame didn’t you?” I offered.

She continued. “And, am I really cured?”

“Yep, completely healthy.” I confirmed. “You should live a long life now.”

She thought about things for a minute before asking, “Can you do something about my hair?”

Looking at the poor kid’s bald head made me sad. Growing her hair would probably cause problems as hair wasn’t supposed to just magically appear. Did I even know how to grow hair?

I placed a hand on her head, probing her scalp with my mana. The tiny follicles were already beginning to do their job of creating new hair. I added condensed mana to aid them in their growth. Nothing happened immediately but I had a good feeling about it.

When I removed my hand she let out a breath and ran her fingers along her scalp, frowning at me and asking, “There’s no hair but that felt tingly. Did you do something?”

I shrugged and informed the girl, “It should grow back quickly now.”

Seeming to be satisfied with my answer, she asked, “Do I still get my wish?”

A little annoyed that the girl would still want her wish even though I had just saved her life, I asked, “What was your wish?”

Turning red, she fidgeted and said, “I wanted to meet someone…”

“Who?”, I asked, not sure I was willing to go hunt down someone for the little brat.”

Hiding her face in her hands, she announced, “Justin Beiber.”

I groaned and told Kiki,

You’re not going to believe this.

Our second visit didn’t go as well as the first. In fact, it was a complete and total disaster. Frantic parents raced to the door when we got there. The dad shouted, “It’s not them. It’s stupid Make-A-Wish.”

Calming a bit, he informed me, “You’re too late buddy. The paramedics are on the way. Little Timmy is dying.”

“Take me to him.” I pleaded urgently.

I wasn’t sure if I’d used magic in my voice but he complied without question, leading me to a nursery where a toddler convulsed in a crib, being attended to by his frantic mother.

She looked up at me and pleaded, “Please save my baby. I beg you.”

I immediately rushed into action, holding my hands out over the boy. When my mana reached the kid, I found a body where everything was going wrong. Rather than being dead, it felt like a war was being waged within his little body. Pulses of light came down through the nerves that caused the muscles to react in strange ways. The white cells in the blood were attacking everything, taking massive swings at perceived invaders.

There was damage everywhere. The term CASCADING SYSTEM FAILURE flashed before my eyes. I tried to DELETE it but only ended up stopping the warning which just flashed back up again.

Panicking, I worked my way to the child’s core. What I found made my heart stop. I arrived just in time to watch the tiny marble blink out of existence. I grasped for it with my mana but found nothing. I briefly considered replacing it with an edited object but decided not to. That might create some kind of abomination that would be worse than death.

When I backed out of the body, I looked up to see two grief-stricken parents staring at me. The father growled, “Get away from my child.”

The mother huddled over little Timmy as though he wouldn’t truly be gone if she didn’t let go of him. I stood in front of them frozen in shock. The father softened a bit and said, “Look, Justin, we didn’t even wish for you. You got the wrong house. Leave us in peace to mourn our son.”

Just then the doorbell rang causing the dad to flinch. I looked down at my popstar body and informed the dad, “Don’t worry. That’s the paramedics. I’ll get the door on my way out. Stay here with your son. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

It was all I could do, all I could say.

You should have told me I was still Beiber.

Kiki felt just as sick as I did. Sorry. It was funny at the time.

That sucked.

She squeezed my back as she clung to me on the phoenix. I know.

I don’t know if I can do this anymore.

She rested her head against my shoulder. I know. Me too.

We were halfway home when it happened. I felt a lurch in the spot Kalli still occupied. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Kalli is in trouble. I have to get to her. We need to do the summoning tonight.

Kiki was silent for a few minutes as we flew in silence. Then in a low voice even in my head, she said. I might know a better way.