Beacon of Hope



Chapter Twelve

DISCLAIMER :: This fanfiction is based on Superman from DC Comics. All rights reserved. Art by CWBlaine on Deviant Art.
Author's note: Perhaps it is the start of a new collaborative universe or a standalone project for myself. I don't know, yet.

(( Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysSxxIqKNN0 ))

Even a couple of days after a full month since everything happened, the feeling of actually being able to fly cannot be understated. Now having the suit, the freedom to do so was a growing sense in my heart. The suit was performing admirably. It fit me like a glove, moved with me, and the streamlined profile really added some maneuverability. The only thing flapping was the cape but it brought a sense of pride in me to feel it as it reacted to the air around me. The nobility inherent in such an adornment was felt in my soul. I felt like I not only had power but also purpose. I could now do what I had set out to do a short time ago. Like any uniform, this suit would distinguish me from anyone else and command recognition. I wasn't looking for fame or fortune. I just wanted to help and the suit would soon be that bridge between me and the people of Chicago.

Closing my eyes, I spread my arms as if I were imitating an airplane. I flew through the air at a leisurely pace. The wind tickled my skin, whipped my hair around, and fluttered the cape as I moved along. My heart fluttered and a smile formed on my face. I felt as happy and fulfilled in that moment that perhaps Robin Williams imagined what truly flying might have felt like in that scene from Hook where he takes flight for the first time. There have been many actors that have tried to capture this feeling over the years, but I think Mr. Williams got the closest to really capturing it.

A sharp shriek interrupted my reverie. I recognized that tone almost instantly: a mother's almost helpless, worried scream. Coming to a stop and hovering midair, I followed Týr's advice and closed my eyes. The shriek came again and, once I had discerned its point of origin, I tried to determine what was happening. As if I had a powerful pair of binoculars, my gaze landed on a child that was likely about three years old wandering into the street chasing after a rainbow-colored ball. The young woman I could only assume was her mother had a frantic expression on her face and was running toward her child. There was an old pickup truck approaching the location of the child and traveling at far too high a speed for such a residential area.

There was no hesitation in me. I immediately accelerated toward the child, hearing a sonic boom behind me. The world slowed down as I rushed toward the scene. In mere moments, I arrived, scooped up the child, and forgot how to land correctly. I held the little girl close to my chest and wrapped my cape around her while I rolled a few times. As I came to a stop, I could feel the truck hit me from behind and the front end buckled on impact. I had already cradled the little girl in my arms and protected her with everything I had. Upon a survey of the scene seconds later, I knew the danger was over.

The girl's mother ran toward me with tears rolling down her cheeks and her mascara completely destroyed. I gently pulled my cape away and the girl turned her head toward her mother's frantic screams. Giving the child a quick glance, there wasn't so much as a bruise or abrasion on her. I stood and delivered the girl to her mother's exasperated arms. She held her baby to her chest and mouthed the words "thank you" before collapsing to her knees. A crowd was gathering as I turned and narrowed my eyes at the driver of the truck. He looked a bit dazed and had a nasty bruise on his forehead from hitting the steering wheel.

"What were you thinking?" I asked him.

He turned and looked at me, seemingly confused. I could smell alcohol on his breath. "Didn't I just hit you? How are you standing here?"

"Doesn't matter. You need to get to the hospital and make sure you don't have a concussion. You should be ashamed of yourself for driving while intoxicated. You nearly killed a child. If I hadn't been here, you would have. Think that over, friend."

Angered, I ignored anything further that man had to say. The mother had taken her child out of the street. I spotted the ball and jogged over to pick it up. When I brought it to the little girl, she seemed very pleased.

"There you go, little one." I almost cooed at her. "Do me a favor, though? Get an adult next time the ball goes into the road, okay? Safety first."

"Okay, Super Lady," The little girl smiled.

Her mother, still distraught, spoke in shrill waves. "Thank you, so much. You have no idea what she means to me."

I smiled at her. "I kinda do. Glad you're both safe."

"What's your name?" The mother asked me.

I shrugged. "Don't have one. It's my first day."

Without another word, I took to the skies again. A hole in my heart was filled in that moment. My years-long search for purpose had come to an end. Not since helping my parents with volunteer work or working for a newspaper had I felt the genuine joy of being able to materially help people. This more active role was starting to feel like a well-fitting glove.

Moments later, my eyes fell on an older man in an electric wheelchair. The infrastructure in this part of town didn't seem to have been maintained well at all. The corner curb cut had long since crumbled. The sidewalks themselves had been darkened by years of neglect and the sections were uneven. He was just a guy trying to cross the street and was stopped with a stuck wheel. Being a little more conscientious of my landing, I gently set down nearby and calmly strode over to him. His hairline had long since receded and his waistline had expanded. He was struggling and getting more frustrated by the second.

"Need a hand?" I asked while calmly approaching.

He appeared startled and took one look at me, trying to ascertain my intentions. Or so I thought. "There a comic book convention in town I didn't know about?"

I chuckled. "No. It's my new uniform. Like it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why does it look like a Superman costume?"

I shrugged. "That was more of an inspiration." I pointed to his chair. "Looks like you're a little stuck."

He groaned. "Damn city hasn't fixed the sidewalks in years. They'd rather pay for patchwork fixes to the major roads and forget they've got a legal mandate to maintain the ADA-compliant stuff."

"Yea, they're not the best at that." I agreed. "Trying to cross the street?"

"Yep. Trying to get to the corner shop for a pack of cigarettes."

"Well, you really shouldn't smoke, but I'm not your mother." I moved behind him.

He laughed. "How's a little girl like you gonna help my fat ass get loose?"

Without much effort, I held the sides and lifted the entire chair then began walking him across the street. "You really shouldn't talk about yourself like that. There are so many reasons people gain weight. It's not an indictment against your character."

He locked up and stiffened himself in the chair. "Holy shit! How are you doing this?!"

"Doing what? Lifting you? Easy, I just did it." Neither of us said much until I set him back down on the opposing sidewalk. "There ya go. Should be easier getting to the store, now."

His eyes looked at me and his face carried an air of incredulity. "With that much strength in such a small package, why help me?"

I offered a smile. "Because it's the right thing to do, friend. Are you going to be okay getting home?"

He slowly nodded at me. "I should be fine, if I avoid this street. Sidewalks are crap, too."

I nodded. "Yea, I noticed that. You be careful, okay?"

"Sure thing."

I leapt into the air right there with him still wearing an expression of incredulity. The poor guy was flabbergasted. It was his questioning of his own worth that made my heart sink a little bit. So many people like him feel so unworthy of positive attention. Hopefully, I can help change that perception in some small way.

Sure, I'd done some good, but I was also supposed to be testing the suit. After a thought hit me quickly, I began to climb upward. Once free of the airspace generally occupied by local aircraft, I kicked it into high gear. A couple sonic booms sounded behind me, but it didn't seem like anything was negatively affecting the suit. Even the cape that flapped constantly in the wind showed no sign of deterioration at all. Not a thread seemed to be loose. Once at a sufficient height, I turned and decided to see just how fast I could get going while encircling the city. I'm not completely sure how fast I was going but I know it made me dizzy watching the greater Chicago area spin that fast.

As I hovered in an effort to cure my dizziness, the high-pitched wail of an emergency vehicle reached my ears. The sound had a long rise and fall in pitch, denoting an ambulance or fire truck. My eyes searched for the source of the siren. I couldn't immediately see it, so I had to follow the sound a bit to figure out its point of origin. Flying quite a bit lower, I spotted a five-car pileup on I-90. As if the midday lunch rush weren't enough, it had apparently slowed all traffic in the area and the ambulance was behind all the rest of it. With the cars looking like mangled hunks of metal, time would be of the essence. That ambulance had to get through. I zipped over as quickly as I could.

For the moment, I bypassed the scene of the collision. I kept low and just over the traffic. When my path came close to the ambulance, I slowed to a stop and slowly hovered toward the driver side window. Initial instinct told me to tap on the glass, but the driver noticed me immediately given that I'd just flown in.

"Is everybody buckled in securely?" I asked the driver.

"Yea, we're good and safe. Really wish these drivers would move so we could get through." He answered.

"Are you heading to the collision?"

"Yes, we are. Who are you?"

I chuckled. "Don't have a name, yet. Hold onto something. I'll get you in there."

My eyes darted around me looking for a solution. I could just shove cars out of the way, but that would cause even more damage than had already occurred today. Glancing back at the ambulance, something obvious stood out to me: the ground clearance. Hoping with all my heart that my hare-brained idea worked, I floated to just behind the ambulance. After setting down on the street, I got my hands under the bumper and started lifting. It didn't take very much at all. As I lifted, I walked my hands down the frame until I could get enough leverage to fully lift the entire ambulance off the street. Gently, I lifted the thing over my head before taking flight once more. I floated just over the cars and carried the ambulance toward the site of the collision.

Once I found a clear spot to set down the ambulance, I worked in reverse to set it back down again. I could hear the EMTs inside leap into action. They started grabbing kits. I walked up to the driver's window once again.

"What should I look for?" I asked the driver.

"The worst cases." He answered.

"How would I know who's the worst off?"

"Look for neck, spine, or rib injuries. You've got the flight and strength like Superman. You got the X-ray vision thing, too?"

"Yes, but I'm not a radiologist. I'm not sure what I'm looking at."

"Look for broken bones in the neck, back, or ribs. We'll triage from there."

"You guys have backup enroute?"

He nodded. "Yea, but who knows if they'll make it through the traffic!"

"I'll do what I can." I nodded firmly at him.

The first thing I did was zip over to the vehicles a few feet away. I tried each door. If I couldn't open the door, I ripped it off. Next, I did what I could to concentrate. No part of me was looking forward to seeing another human's skeleton and innards, but it had to be done. The first vehicle at the back of the pileup was a black SUV with a family inside: dad, mom, and two kids. The doors opened fine and–after a once over with that blue filter in my eyes–they all seemed okay. I asked them politely to go to the EMTs. The next vehicle was a gray Tesla. The guy inside was generally okay, but there was a small fracture in his forehead, so I alerted the EMTs.

The next three were hard. The chassis were mangled messes. No way to open the doors, so I ripped them off. The first car was an older sedan with an elderly couple inside. After scanning the man and the woman, I determined there weren't any skeletal injuries but that didn't mean much. I'm going to have to learn to decipher what I'm seeing with these eyes. The next vehicle was an absolutely giant black SUV. There were six occupants inside, all teenagers. There were two broken legs, a broken clavicle, and one fractured rib. Their injuries looked a bit worse but were mostly bruises.

The first vehicle in the line was the worst. I couldn't tell what it was originally. I actually had to tear open the roof to get to the people inside. There was a toddler in the back seat, kept safe by the car seat. No significant injuries. The front seat was a different story. They were a young couple. A pregnant woman had been driving. Her neck, back, and ribs all checked out. Her left arm was broken, as well as a few of her toes. The young man was in the worst shape. He was unconscious, there was a crack in one of his neck vertebrae, and two in his spine. Both legs were broken. His heartbeat sounded faint.

I zipped over to the EMTs and alerted them to the situation in the first vehicle. As I ran over with them, I explained what I had seen of the injuries. They worked quickly and jumped on the radio to request a helicopter. I asked where the backup was and they stated I may have to help a couple more ambulances get through to the scene. I wasted no time in doing just that. The EMTs addressed the situation with the young couple and I brought in two more ambulances that had gotten stuck in the snarled traffic. After quickly dispensing with the pleasantries and informing them of the situation at hand, they got to work.

Part of me felt a little useless to help beyond what I'd already done. I'm not the one with any medical training, that was my wife. Thus, I stood back and let the real heroes do their work. There was a moment where I had to pull the mangled mess of the car away from the husband in the passenger seat, which I executed proudly. In the midst of all of it, the wife regained consciousness and began screaming. The EMTs assisting her did their best to calm her down, but something was definitely wrong. One of them approached me.

"Look... uh... whatever your name is," She began. "We've got to get this woman to a hospital quickly. She's been in labor this whole time and we can't get her there quickly enough."

My posture straightened. "Say no more. Where's the closest maternity ward?"

"Ascension Resurrection over off of West Talcott."

I nodded. "Get her ready for transport and radio ahead for me."

Working together, we wasted no time in preparing the woman for transport. She wailed in pain emanating from different sources. Once she was ready, I took her gingerly in my arms and held her securely. I took to the air and headed west by northwest. Naturally, the mother wanted to know the state of her toddler. I reassured her that the little one was safe and that I would bring the child to the hospital for her. Upon arrival, there was actually a team on the way out the door to greet us. They took the woman and I informed one of the nurses that I would be bringing her toddler to her. They informed me they would get the woman's full name and see about calling her family as quickly as they could. Thanking them, I was in the air once more and headed back to the scene.

It was really nothing at all to remove the toddler from the back seat. The hard part was finding the stuffed bunny that seemed to have gotten lost in the wreckage. I had to wait until the young father was finally removed from the car before I could search in earnest. My heart sank a bit as I glimpsed at his limp, unconscious form. Thankfully, his heart was still beating and he was breathing, albeit very weakly. When he was free of the vehicle and on a stretcher, I searched for the stuffed bunny and the toddler's diaper bag. The bunny had gotten wedged under the driver's seat–where I also found a phone–and I had to tear the part of the car that used to be the trunk in order to get to the diaper bag. They were going to life flight the father to Advocate Lutheran, which I would relay to the nurses at Ascension Resurrection for the mother's knowledge.

There wasn't much more I could do to help. The professionals were hard at work. I was thanked for the assistance before I took to the skies again with the toddler belted into the carseat in my arms and diaper bag strapped across my body. The nurses took the child and diaper bag from me and assured me immediate family would be notified. I had to specify that I had just brought the mother in whilst she was in labor so they knew whose child I had just brought. I then relayed the information of where they'd taken the father. I also turned over the phone. Leaving the hospital without any knowledge of the fate of that family was more difficult than I ever anticipated. I'd have to see it on the news like everyone else.

The passage of time had really escaped me in all the chaos of the moment. I made my way back to Northwestern. Landing somewhere inconspicuously, I used my speed to get back to Dr. Voss' lab. When I arrived, I couldn't immediately see either her or Lauren. A couple of giggles came from the back office, though. Walking at a usual human pace, I approached the office door to see Lauren and Dr. Voss with a couple glasses of wine and apparently building some camaraderie.

Dr. Voss checked her watch. "Took you long enough! Where have you been? I thought you'd just circle the city a few times and come back."

With a smile, I shrugged. "Well, I helped fix a couple of problems."

"Translation: you did superhero things to test the limits of the suit further than simply going for a flight?" Dr. Voss wondered.

"Saved a kid from getting hit by a car, helped a guy in a wheelchair get across the street, and assisted some EMTs at the site of a pretty bad accident." I recalled.

"How bad was the accident? Everybody okay?" Lauren wondered.

My body slumped. "Don't know for sure. Mostly some broken bones and maybe some bruises. One family was hit pretty hard. The toddler in the back seat was okay, but Mom and Dad weren't so hot. Mom was pregnant and she's in labor now. Dad had some very precarious fractures and his heart was sounding pretty weak. I hope they make it."

The whole mood soured. Lauren nodded. "Yeah, me too. Sounds like today was not their day."

"They were lucky I was there. Three ambulances were trapped in the snarled traffic. I had to carry them in."

"And the suit fared well through it all?" Dr. Voss inquired.

I nodded firmly. "Yes. I got going at an amazing speed around the city. It even made me dizzy." I made some seemingly erratic movements with my arms and legs. "This suit is amazingly comfortable and really holds up to the way my body moves."

"The flexibility was the hard part." Dr. Voss admitted. "In case you hadn't noticed, silk isn't exactly known for elasticity when woven into fabric for clothing. I had to weave it a certain way with other natural fibers to get the kind of flex of spandex without the synthetic fossil fuel materials. It's actually natural rubber spun into a fiber about as thick as the silk. The graphene is just carbon. The nanotech that allows for the inflation and deflation as the zipper is up or down was constructed with titanium and carbon fiber. It'll also repair the suit if it ever gets damaged, which I highly doubt it will. It's amazing it only took two weeks to put together."

"I am thoroughly pleased with and impressed by the suit, Dr. Voss. Thank you." I smiled in her direction.

She took a final sip of her wine from the glass. "You're welcome." Her glance turned to the window as the light of the day faded. "When you answered my question the day you first came in here, I didn't know what to make of it. I suspected–and your friend here has confirmed–that you're a terrible liar. So, when you told me you didn't want to be a hero but rather just wanted to do the right thing, I knew you were the right person for my first suit."

"Your first suit?" I wondered.

"Oh, yes. Your friend and I have been workshopping." Dr. Voss' eyes landed hard on me. "You've got quite the legacy to live up to. People are going to mistake you for the big blue boy scout..." She looked me up and down. "...well, his cousin, anyway. Either way, with what you've been given in the form of powers, they're going to expect certain things. Remember: you're not him and you're not her. You're your own kind of person, but—"

I deeply sighed. "With great power comes great responsibility."

Lauren finally chimed in after nearly choking on her wine and laughing. "Dude, that's Spider-Man's thing!"

Dr. Voss rolled her eyes. "I was basically making that point, myself. Really, what I'm saying through the haze of wine is this: I think you've got the chops, kid. You've got the right mindset and I can't wait to see what you do." She poured herself at least a splash more of wine and held up her glass. "Here's to the future of the Angel of Chicago."

Lauren clinked her glass against Dr. Voss'. "Here, here!"

My cheeks felt warm as I blushed. "Guys, it's not like that..." A sound reached my ears. The rise and fall of a fire engine's wailing siren. "Something's happening, guys. I... I think I gotta go?"

"The super hearing thing? What are you hearing?" Lauren asked.

"Fire engine sirens. Four of them." I answered. My eyes darted between the two of them. "Stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can."

As the world slowed to a crawl, I ran out of the office and then out of the building. Taking to the air, I searched frantically for the source of the sirens. They seemed to be originating from a few miles into the city. I could see smoke rising into the twilight sky and rushed toward it. Once again as if my eyes were binoculars, they zeroed in on an apartment building about ten stories tall. It seemed to be something that may have been built near the start of the twentieth century. Worse, it was engulfed in flames and smoke billowed out of open windows. The fourth and final fire engine was just arriving and the crew was beginning their hookup procedure.

I swooped in and did everything I could to land gently near the gathered fire engines. Several firefighters stopped for a moment and gawked once I did so. I looked around at all their faces.

"Who's in charge, here?" I questioned the gawkers.

For a moment, none answered. They simply looked around and looked at me with disbelief. When someone finally did speak, it was through their breathing apparatus. "Captain's in the lead engine."

I nodded cordially. "Thank you." Turning toward the lead engine, I walked up to the one guy yelling into a hand mic without a breather mask. "Are you the lead on this?"

He glanced at me, then looked me up and down. "Little girl, I don't have time for your cosplay convention shenanigans."

Frowning at him, I turned to the building and went toward the front door with him calling after me about how dangerous it is for a civilian to go into a burning building. Naturally, his pleas were ignored. At the entrance, I took a deep breath and exhaled at the flames in the foyer. My breath was like a fog and I watched as the flames died out fairly quickly, replaced by snow-like sediment. I turned back to the Captain and put a hand on my hip.

"Let me help, Captain. This is no cosplay. I'm the real deal."

He nearly dropped his mic and stood aghast for a moment. "Jesus Christ, it's a genuine article." He shook his head, trying to clear his amazement. "Look, this thing's out of our control and we've got to get to the upper floors. There are people up there that couldn't evacuate. Think you can handle it?"

I nodded firmly. "I'll clear a path."

Turning back into the building, I did just that. There was a stairwell at both ends of the building situated in the middle of the structure. They seemed load-bearing and should have served as escape routes under other circumstances. Sadly, both were engulfed in flames. There were a couple of hose teams trying to extinguish the fires close by so they could access the floors above. Meter by meter, I used my frost breath to clear a path. Once a central corridor was established, the hose teams moved in to extinguish the flames on the periphery. I set about clearing the stairs.

As Dr. Voss had said, I'm a terrible liar; so I won't even try denying fact: I was pretty scared. I'd never been in a raging inferno before. However, the cries for help above me kept me moving. Part of me knew it was hotter than most temperatures I've ever experienced in the building. A few embers had landed on the suit, but it seemed to shrug them off as if they were just lightning bugs. Neither me nor the suit endured any damage in the endeavor. Frightened as I was, the people trapped by these flames were probably twice as scared as I. They didn't have the invulnerability that I did. Scared as I was, I pressed on for them.

As I moved methodically through the building, I tried different options to locate anyone that might be trapped inside. Strangely, I learned that I did actually have a "thermal vision" mode to my eyes, but that was useless in this situation. X-ray vision came in very handy. Thankfully, everyone on the fifth floor down had been able to escape. The humans, at least. There were a couple of birds, some hamsters, and a turtle that hadn't been able to escape with their humans. I had located them with my vision, then used my breath to clear a path before evacuating them in quick succession. Each time, I was back in the building and making my way to the next one. Flames in slow motion are more terrifying than they are at regular speed. I was doing my best for every creature affected by this fire to reach safety. There was a little pushback from the firefighters for rescuing the animals before the humans, but every victim of this fire was equally important to me. My retort was simply to tell them to call an emergency veterinarian as well as EMTs for the humans.

Once I reached the sixth floor, there were humans as well as animals to get to safety. An elderly couple, a young couple with their first child, a lesbian couple, their cat, three dogs, and a family of five were all brought out of the building in a methodical manner. The firefighters not on hose teams helped usher the people toward the EMTs and they had thankfully called in a veterinarian for the animals. Continuing onward, I went floor by floor evacuating any victim I found. There were even a few I had to fly out the window and down to waiting EMTs. After finally rescuing victims from the tenth floor, I really thought I was finished and everyone was safe. I took a breath, relieved that people were safe.

That's when the cries of a child and the small howl of a dog reached my ears. My eyes darted upward. I knew that I'd checked every floor. The blue filter closed in over my eyes and I scanned the entire structure. That's when I saw a small human and a dog on the roof. In haste, the world slowed as I jumped into the air and landed on top of the building. I found the child, about ten years old, and a dog huddled in a corner. There were two small paper bowls nearby. One appeared to have a small amount of water while the other had the remnants of table scraps stuck to the side. The dog started to bark even before I slowed to normal speed. When the world returned to normal, the dog jumped toward me in a protective posture in front of the boy and unleashed the warning barks.

I've grown up around dogs. I knew what that meant. In response, I slowly turned to the side and shrunk down before trying to move closer. It would be a bad idea to make eye contact. When I got within non-threatening nose distance, I stopped and watched the dog in my peripheral vision. After a moment, the dog got silent and cautiously approached. Not a single one of my muscles moved as the dog's nose did the work. After a moment, the dog seemed to accept my request to approach and returned to the boy's side. The boy appeared confused.

"I've never seen him act like that," The child noted.

I shrugged and smiled. "I pretty much told him that I'm a friend in his language and he gets it. I've been around a lot of dogs in my life."

"Seems like it."

"Are you two okay? Where are your folks?"

The boy shrugged. "I think they got out before I got trapped here by the fire. I couldn't leave Buddy. He doesn't have anybody but me."

"Buddy, huh? Is that the dog's name?"

"I dunno. It's what I call him. He got left here when his family moved out. I've been taking care of him."

"That's very kind of you. Why haven't you moved him in with your family?"

The boy frowned. "My parents don't want a dog. They say they shouldn't be in apartments."

"Well, I've rescued a few dogs today. I can tell you they do okay. Maybe we can talk to your parents about it?"

The boy shook his head. "They know about the other dogs. They don't care. But Buddy doesn't have anybody else. I can't just leave him." He leaned his head against the dog that merely sat by and panted.

I smiled warmly at the boy. "I've no intention of leaving him. We'll get you both down on solid ground and work from there, okay?"

"Did you bring a ladder?"

I shook my head and chuckled. "No. I'm going to carry you and Buddy while I fly you down to the ground."

"You fly? Is that why you kinda look like Superman?"

"He was an inspiration for my uniform. You like it? I just got it today."

"It's kinda cool. But you're a girl. Why Superman? Why not Supergirl?"

I motioned to the suit with my pointer fingers on both hands. "This is more my style. What do you say we talk more on the ground, huh? It's safer down there... for both of you."

The boy shrugged. "So long as Buddy comes, I guess."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

Gently, I picked up the boy in one arm and the dog in the other. Once they were both secure, I slowly rose off the roof, floated over the edge, and slowly descended to street level. The dog was not pleased about the heights and fought to get free of my grasp, but I held him fairly well. The boy's head was pressed against my shoulder. I think he liked the height less than the dog. When my feet touched the blacktop of the street, EMTs approached to attend to the boy. I cradled the dog and stayed near the boy, stroking the animal in an effort to reassure him things were okay. A veterinarian approached and almost tried to take the dog out of my arms. I shook my head.

"The dog needs to stay near the boy. Can you examine him in my arms?" I asked.

The vet nodded. "Not like I haven't done it a million times before." She thoroughly examined the dog physically. She checked the teeth, the body, the paws, and the ears. She shook her head. "This dog is still a puppy. About ten or eleven months old, I'd say. He's malnourished, too. Is he the boy's dog?"

I shook my head. "Not really, no. The boy told me that a family moved out and abandoned the dog. He's been taking care of it the best he can. His folks won't let him keep it, though."

"Well, we can take the dog to the shelter, but they don't usually get adopted at this age. He's past the cute, adorable puppy-breath stage."

My heart sank. It would seem that many people's adoption habits carry from adopting humans to adopting pets: most want babies. I shouted more towards the boy. "Hey, kid. What's your name?"

"Dontae," he shouted back, taking off the oxygen mask for a moment.

"What do you think about me taking Buddy with me, Dontae? I know a really nice lady that lives on a farm that can take care of him. She'll feed him and give him all the love he can stomach."

Tears started to form in the boy's eyes. "You're gonna take him away?"

I shrugged, feeling a knot form in my throat. The vet had finished her examination, so I moved closer to the boy. "Well, kinda. The doctor says he's not doing well, Dontae. He needs good food. I know you're doing your best, but he needs a little more. Maybe even a family of his own, y'know?"

Tears rolled down Dontae's cheeks. "I'll never see him again?"

"I'll make you a promise, Dontae: all you have to do is call out to me. I can hear a lot from really far away. I'll hear you. Call out to me when you want to see Buddy and, as long as it's okay with your folks, I'll bring you to see him. Any time you need to. How's that sound?"

"I don't even know your name."

I chuckled. "Well, I don't have a superhero kind of name, yet. What do you think I should be called?"

Dontae sniffled as he thought for a moment. "I dunno. All I can think of is 'Blue Angel'."

I chuckled. "That works for me, then. You can call me when you want to see Buddy." I moved the dog closer so he could lick Dontae's tears away. There was a lot of love between the two of them and I would never want to sever that connection, but the vet was right: the dog needed someone that could feed him adequately.

After a few minutes, tears still streamed down his face, but Dontae looked up at me. "Okay. Buddy needs somebody. He needs good food and to sleep with someone at night, not alone up here on the roof. It's not fair to him. If you promise to take good care of him and let me see him, I'll let you take him to a good home."

I smiled at the very gracious kid. "You're a strong, brave little boy, Dontae. It's not easy saying good-bye to friends when you don't know if you'll ever meet again. Thank you for trusting me. I'll see that he has a good family that will love him. I promise you that and I promise you'll get to see him whenever you want and your parents say it's okay."

"Okay." Dontae stroked Buddy's head and choked up as he spoke. "See you later, Buddy."

The EMTs lifted the gurney up into the ambulance and closed the doors. I helped Buddy wave his paw at his friend Dontae.