As much as I hated giving up my sleep, I couldn't deny that eight hours of extra time a night was going to be incredibly useful. Honestly, it was more than eight hours since I was also cutting out a bunch of prep, wind down, and in-between time as well. It sucked, but there was no doubt in my mind now that my wake-up spell was worth the time it took to develop.

By the time I finally called it quits, putting my notebooks, calculator, and spell book aside, it was approaching nine AM, and I had been working on magic for around thirteen hours. I took a handful of breaks to keep from going crazy, but the pull of creating great works of magic kept pulling me back. I was having fun with my work, and what I had been able to achieve was enough to keep me excited for every step.

When I finished showering and having some breakfast, I made my way back to my living space, grabbing my uniform to put on when I noticed something. In hindsight, it was something I probably should have noticed a lot sooner.

"Kali, I know you've been cleaning my clothes, but did you… did you repair everything as well?" I asked, suddenly having flashbacks to my fight with Lung. "Have you been fixing my stuff since Lung?"

I felt a wave of confirmation come through our connection, but also the sense that it had been happening before that. Before I could respond, I felt the incorporeal genus loci wrap me in a hug and pat on my head. I couldn't help but smile at her affection.

"Kali, thank you. I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner," I apologized. "That means you're doing pretty well, doesn't it? Mixing and heating up some food is one thing, but fixing ritualized clothing? That's impressive."

I could feel her being a bit bashful but, at the same time, enjoying the compliments. I chuckled and smiled at her attitude before an idea popped into my head that I quickly voiced.

"I don't know if you're interested, but while I'm gone, consider if there is anything you want," I suggest. "A more advanced golem, maybe a specific building. Hell, maybe even some books for you to read. You deserve a reward for your work. And honestly, Alya, you do as well. If there is anything either of you want, let me know."

"I will… consider it, William," Alya responded, at the same time that Kali seemed to send a wave of excited agreement.

"Good. Now… it's time to head into town," I said, unable to stop an even bigger grin from growing on my face. "You ready, Alya?"

"I am, but are you sure?" She asked. "Should you not test it somehow?"

"I'm confident the three levels in spell crafting would have picked up on any errors," I assured her. "I also double-checked my math manually. This is safe, I am certain."

I whistled to Troy, who made his way from his area, following me as I made my way to the middle of the ritual platform. It was a nice, flat, open space for me to work with. It wasn't strictly necessary, but it was nice to start with something easy. As Troy climbed onto the platform, I put my hand on his back, gripping one of his handles tightly, waiting for Alya to pull me close around me. When everyone, including myself, was ready, I summoned my spellbook to my hand, the book whipping out of my holster and to my hand, a mental command opening to the spot I wanted.

The page the book opened to contained everything someone could need to know about this particular spell. Obviously, it had the proper chanting incantation and some notes about casting it, like how mana-intensive it was, the effects on the environment, and how many arcane symbols it used. It also contained some shorthand notes on the math involved, mostly as a reference if I wanted to modify or use it to make something else later.

It was probably overkill, but I had the space, so I wanted to fill it. I decided that it was better to give each spell its own page so they would be easier to find quickly. Plus, it would help if my notebooks ever got destroyed or lost or if I just didn't have access to them.

Once I confirmed I had the right page open, I slowly read through the chant again. This was my first complicated custom spell cast, and I wanted to make every effort I could to make sure it was successful. Finally, I took a deep breath, holding my spell book with two hands and concentrating my magic through it.

Then I begin to chant.

"Aperi memoriam meam in locum fui, in locum quem novi. Coniunge locum hunc locum per virtutem meam et magicam, obstruendo positionem meam et locum a memoria mea. Aufer me hinc ad destinatum meum, portans me per inane secure et sana. Loca disiunge, ne peregrinationem meam ad rem impediant. Ite nunc, ut propositum consequar!"

As I began to chant, getting through the first sentence, a pale white circle appeared around me, big enough to fit Troy as well. By the time I finished the second sentence, a second and third circle appeared, both of them slowly spinning along the inside of the larger circle on opposite sides. All around the inside of the smaller circles were nearly a dozen arcane symbols, repeated and arranged geometrically inside. Finally, as I reached the last sentence, a simple line appeared in the void of the larger circle, slowly growing in length until it connected with both of the smaller circles.

A flash of light pulsed, no more than a basic camera flash, followed by the sound of something heavy being dropped into and through a thick, viscous liquid. For a moment, I was awash with an intense cold before suddenly I could feel the sun on my face again. I opened my eyes to find I was standing on the small lawn area just outside the front entrance of the Brockton Bay Hospital.

The teleportation spell had worked.

I let out the breath I had instinctively held as the spell had completed, looking around at the area. A few people had noticed my arrival, probably hearing the final shlorping sound of Troy and me sending the concept of space to the corner to cry itself out. I waved and smiled at those who were watching before sending Troy to the parking lot to wait for me.

The healing at the hospital went well, especially after I cleared up with security that, yes, I did teleport. There was no real danger on this side of the landing, since it was less of an explosive arrival and more of a gloopy drooping drop. At worst, someone might get shoved to the side, but I could fix them up pretty quickly.

Still, considering the reaction I got from the hospital, once I was done healing everyone who needed it, I decided to teleport to the general area of the PRT and walk the remaining distance, rather than dropping on their front porch.

Another cast of Teleportation, this time with an audience in the parking lot, and I was standing in a small, tucked away space not far from the PRT. I had changed a few times here before, and since the Teleportation spell functioned on memory, it was better to use something you were familiar with.

After a quick ride on Troy, I arrived at my final destination, stepping inside the secret building to find Miss Militia standing there instead of my usual PRT officer escort.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Miss Militia, good to see you," I said, shaking her hand. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Director Piggot wanted to confirm some news we heard," She asked, gesturing for us to walk and talk, her face turning up to a smile behind her bandana.

"I could only imagine it was about my new method of travel?"

"That's right. She was hoping to get some details on the ability," she asked, raising a hand to hold off any complaint. "We know you are currently living in the woods, but depending on the limitations of the ability, it could be extremely useful. Potentially something we or other branches of the PRT would pay for."

"Oh. Well, I can't take more than six or seven people at once, and I can only go places I have been to before," I explained.

Of course, what I wasn't mentioning was that I had yet to try if my memories of places from before I was sent here still worked. I wasn't a major traveler, but I had been to a handful of places around the country, as well as London, Ireland, and Hawaii.

"And distance?"

"Global."

She stopped, turning back at me and staring for a moment before turning to continue walking.

"That is extremely useful, Arcanum," she said, her tone once again serious. "You need to be careful. You have far passed the point where you are worth a lot more than the trouble it would take to capture you."

"Yeah, I know, I'll be careful."

We chatted a bit more, talking about New Wave agreeing to help with patrols, as well as the news breaking that Lung and Oni Lee were in custody. Apparently, they released the news yesterday, including mentioning that it was Olivia and me who had taken him down.

"Hopefully, that will make people think twice about taking me on," I said, walking out of a hospital room, having just healed a nasty arm break.

"Potentially," Miss Militia said with a shrug. "It also means that people will take you seriously, so when they do go after you, they won't be underestimating you. Also, now that it's been confirmed, it's very likely our ABB patrols are going to get a lot less boring."

"Dammit," I said with a sigh, shaking my head. "Well... at least it's not going to blindside me."

Not long after that, Miss Militia left to get back to her duties, and I finished my healing before being escorted out of the facility when I was done. By that time, I needed to get ready for my patrol. Luckily, I already knew exactly where Olivia would be waiting for me, so I could teleport right to her. Once I was out of the facility, in the motor pool area with Troy, I cast teleport again.

"Jesus Christ on a fucking cracker, that the fuck?" Olivia shouted, having fallen off her milk crate chair. "Wh- Goddamit, Arc, what the hell was that?"

"Teleportation," I explained with a smirk. "No more running through the city, trying to get to everywhere on time," I explained with a flourish of my coat. "Now I can get anywhere I've been before in just a few seconds."

"Just about the freakiest thing I have ever seen," She said, shaking her head. "Like you were dripping out of a mirror, except it wasn't a reflection, just more stuff."

"Well… Either way, if you need anything, just call me because I can be there in seconds."

"That... okay,l that might be worth the creepy drooping reality thing."

We started our patrol, both of us riding Troy, his back elongated slightly, and Crow sitting behind me, once again side-saddled since her cloak got a bit in the way. I noticed for the first time that she had her crowbar strapped to her back, seemingly being carried and partially hidden by her cloak.

"Do you want an actual scythe?" I asked with a smirk, looking over my shoulder at her. "I could probably make you one that isn't horrifically lethal."

"No, I kinda like the crowbar," She admitted with a shrug. "Plus, it kinda works. Crow, crowbar."

I snorted but dropped it, if she didn't want something new, then that was her choice. I also had to admit that the crowbar did look intimidating as all hell when she used it.

We patrolled through ABB territory for four hours, from about eleven AM until three PM. During that time, it was easy to see the effects the PRT's news about Lung had on his gang. They were more aggressive, flying colors more openly and watching Crow and me from the benches and chairs set up along the streets. They were bold and ready to fight, a powder keg ready to explode.

Just as bad were the people who thought the ABB territory was open for easy pickings. We stopped three robberies and a mugging, and for each of them, I could feel the ABB gangers watching us, just waiting for an excuse.

"We are going to have to start working them down soon," Crow said quietly as we watched a police car very quickly pull away from the curb, carrying a pair of dumbass muggers. "The ABB is just as much of a stain as the Empire, I don't like just walking by them."

"I don't either, but they aren't doing anything," I responded. "If we find any threads, we can start pulling on them a bit, seeing where they lead. Until then… we need to keep the peace."

"What if we did some late-night investigations?" She asked, even quieter now. "I could ask around the docks, see if anyone has spotted anything worth turning over. Then we head in and investigate."

I chewed on her idea for a long minute, frowning as Troy guided us down a long street, eventually turning deeper into ABB territory.

"I'm worried that if we do anything, we will set off the powder keg, with no chance of catching up with the fire it starts," I admitted. "That said… I don't like it either, I want to start working them down as well. Let me talk to New Wave about it and see what they think. They have been doing this for a lot longer than both of us, so it would be stupid not to at least ask their opinions. But go ahead and ask around anyway. If you find something interesting, it might be what convinces them."

She nodded in agreement, thankfully, and we continued on our patrol. Eventually, we pulled back along the docks, and I dropped her off at the community. I checked up on the orchard trees and caught up with John and Charles before healing anyone who needed it. I was glad I stopped by when I did, as the snapping cold from the day before had brought with it a few cases of the flu, which I could thankfully stop before it became a problem.

Once everyone was healed up, I left a few hundred bucks with Charles and John for emergencies before heading out into an alleyway and teleporting back home. I landed right where I left, on the ritual platform. I patted Troy on the back, the mindless golem slowly walking away to sit down by his rock. As I watched him slowly walk away, I let out a long breath.

"Right. Time to work on New Waves equipment," I said, chewing my lip for a moment before smirking. "After a soak in the hot tub."