Hemostasis 3.1
Taking a deep breath, I jumped forward. And as soon as my feet stopped resting on the roof, I immediately began to do a somersault right in the air, ending already on the surface of another building, thanks to which I was able to transfer the energy from the fall. However, I didn't stop and a second later made a new dash forward, moving faster than the wind.
A blood-scarlet cape fluttered behind my back, not hindering my movements in any way. My entire body, in general, was covered by a suit. Most of it was completely white, and only on the chest was my symbol depicted—a silver moon on a red background. The suit itself seemed to consist of spandex, but that was only at first glance; in reality, it was created from Keprotec, an especially durable fabric reinforced with Kevlar.
It won't stop a bullet, of course, but it won't tear from my punches, and it won't leave me naked during all sorts of heroics like saving people from fires. Besides, it was very comfortable and relatively light, which made it no problem for me to make my way across the whole city like this while wearing it. Only right now wasn't exactly the situation for that, and just as I made my last dash into the night's darkness...
"And cut! That's a wrap on your scenes for today, Mark, you can go. Good job, the last shot was just chic! Alright, now let's move on to the orphanage scene..."
Nodding silently to the director, I exhaled and stopped at the very edge of the stage. After that, I took one more tiny step forward and jumped off the set. Leaving the film set, I walked to my room, already taking off the suit on the way. I walked past the film crew, occasionally seeing people off with quick nods. We had already gotten used to working together, and I know the folks by name. And they knew my habits, specifically that I liked to be alone after a tough day.
Therefore, I entered my room alone, immediately walking up to the mirror. Looking into it, I saw a real superhero who belongs on some comic book shelf. Well, or in a movie about protecting the hometown and other nonsense.
A clean white mask hid my face, and not even my eyes could be seen behind the silver lenses. It was the mask of a true hero, and one could easily tell it was inspired by older legends like Black Noir. When I was just thinking about how I wanted to look, I was inspired precisely by the images of such heroes of the past—quiet, devoid of everything unnecessary, like screaming colors, but no less stylish for it. The only exception I allowed myself was the cape. A thing as impractical as it is cool.
And even though my agent strongly disliked my ideas regarding a not particularly friendly image, I wasn't going to compromise here. Besides, as time has shown, I didn't miscalculate. Margaret nagged me for a long time back then, telling me how this wouldn't suit me, a teenager, practically still a child. Initially, I even agreed with her arguments, but as soon as she pulled out a suit "suitable for me," I immediately refused and began to ironclad insist on the image of a sort of bloody knight. God, how many little stars were on there...
Removing the hood and taking off the mask, the reflection of a rather attractive young man of about seventeen, with short light brown hair and calm gray eyes, appeared in the mirror.
My above-average height and athletic, toned body also stood out. I have to admit, I looked quite good, but this was not only the merit of genetics alone but also of real hard work, cemented with a proper and active lifestyle that I had led since childhood. As a result, I became quite attractive, and the number of my female fans confirmed this in practice.
One of the most popular heroes in his age group, as polls say. Second only to the superhero team "Young Americans," who spend most of their lives on shoots and concerts and literally perform at concerts. However, I am second to them despite the fact that I don't sing songs on stage and almost always wear a mask, because I don't like to show my face, unlike practically all other young supes.
But partly because of this, I gained my fame—while all other professional heroes are like clones of each other, doing only what is popular, which makes them barely distinguishable, my image is fundamentally different from everyone else's. Besides, I am one of the few supes who stepped away from the general theme of a hero for "the whole family," which is why my appearance deliberately included quite a few elements adding mystery and greater seriousness. Yes, they don't produce cereal and pajamas for all ages with me, but I don't need such "success." I have my niche, and apparently, people had been wanting something new for a long time.
Actually, this whole game of costumed hero was a rather amusing thing. It resembled an attempt by a gigantic and immovable elephant in the form of Vought to catch and crush one nimble and very annoying fly that had too many of its own opinions.
Practically every decision or desire of mine encounters an obstacle in the form of representatives of an international company simply refusing to take any risks whatsoever. Why? Because risks mean uncertainty and instability. And how can investors bring money into such a firm? They can't, and therefore Vought is so dependent on public opinion, not risking doing anything that could upset them.
And honestly, they only tolerate me for one, but very weighty reason—the people like me, and there is simply no one to replace me with. This was an amusing consequence of working with supes, in whom only their powers were of interest. You can find a thousand talented musicians or actors, but where do you get even a dozen flying demigods who shoot lasers from their eyes? And so I remained the single healer-hero known to the public, for whom there is simply no replacement. And in a world where superheroes have existed for almost seventy years, something new and previously unseen sells with incredible success, which is why they hold onto me, albeit begrudgingly, but fulfilling my demands.
Of course, if I had completely become their loyal lapdog, my ratings would have skyrocketed tenfold, but I don't want to sell my honor. Besides, I wasn't risking testing the limit of their patience anyway, which is why we continued working together. I brought them money in the form of new investors, advertising deals, and so on, and they gave me access to practically anything I wanted.
And it's not to say that I disliked every idea proposed by the company. Well, who, for example, wouldn't want their own TV series dedicated to themselves? I viewed it more as an opportunity to inspire young and future heroes to do something worthwhile, and not just perform for the amusement of the public, however, there was a bit of ego satisfaction too, of course.
Actually, the process of creating the series was a separate case when Vought's and my opinions clashed once again. I was very attentive to it, doing everything so that the result wouldn't be another mediocre show that people watch and forget, let alone face harsher criticism. Over the years, I had watched, it seems, every series or movie about supes, which made me quite knowledgeable on the subject. The most "low-quality" material, true, I watched just in the background while practicing my powers, but that counts too.
As a result of such long preparation, I began to understand the topic at least a little bit and had a rough idea of what must or absolutely must not be done for success. And since I was the main actor, without whom the series simply wasn't possible, I had a fairly significant level of power.
Vought wanted to assign some narrow-minded and young director with a team of unqualified writers who planned to add a bunch of unnecessary elements to my series simply "just to have them" and to satisfy current trends, but I immediately said no and requested a new team. Margaret almost tried to strangle me then, but we managed to get out of it anyway.
The budget, of course, was cut in half, leaving mere pennies, but I wasn't a greedy person and agreed to a reduction in my own fee just so a worthy thing would come out. We could save on CGI anyway and simply let me perform all the stunts myself. I just wanted to make a truly high-quality product that I myself wouldn't be ashamed to watch. And therefore, as soon as they gave consent to creative freedom, I began a full-fledged race to find the right people.
First, I requested one number from Margaret, after which I headed to an already quite old, but no less legendary person for it. I had to, of course, travel practically to another state, however, I managed to persuade an elderly director, who had long stopped working, to perform one last time.
Honestly, it wasn't even particularly difficult, as he was simply bored, and just a couple of my assurances about great creative freedom convinced him to take on the job. I was a true fan of his work, because he shot only true classics twenty years ago, but they didn't really hit the mark in terms of box office, so he left not particularly famous. However, I considered him one of the best in the business, which is why I invited him to the shoot. Besides, he was a master of working with a small budget.
Next, I sent letters to several well-known comic book writers capable of helping to write a good script, and other personnel who burned with the idea of working at least once without the all-powerful supervision from above. I attracted not mastodons who would demand millions, but those who, due to the desire to truly create something worthwhile, failed to achieve wide popularity.
And then began the rather long and painstaking filming process, where we gave it our all, creating something truly unique.
And how did the risk pay off? What a surprise, but when professionals are given creative freedom, something truly worthwhile often comes out! The first season of my series, which was created for mere pennies, burst like lightning to the top of Vought's streaming service.
For the management, my success turned out to be a complete surprise, except the effect was the opposite of what I counted on—during the filming of the second season, attempts reappeared to push through their "very valuable proposals," which were supposed to "increase the popularity of my brand among demographics that had previously shown no interest..."
Fortunately, I had the final say, and since the streaming race was currently ramping up, our series was unlikely to be canceled. They'll let us shoot at least one more season so the public doesn't get too angry, and then who knows. Hmm, I'll need to talk to the old guys about a more or less logical finale for the second season. We are unlikely to be renewed, so it's better to go out on top.
Leaving the dressing room, I headed towards the exit of the soundstage. In the corridor, I met more people who knew little about my habits, which is why I had to walk much faster than desired past joyful greetings and attempts to chat with me. I wasn't a fan of such recreation normally, but right now, when I was truly in a hurry, I had even less desire. Somehow I managed to decline the offers and reach my car.
Quickly getting into the back seat, I waved my hand to the driver, giving the signal to go. He already knew the route, so I didn't need to say anything here either. As we moved, I looked out the window, continuing to dwell in my own thoughts. Office buildings where other shoots for other shows were taking place initially flashed by, but quite soon we managed to drive out of this area.
It had been almost four years since I accepted Margaret's offer and almost eleven since I arrived in this world. Honestly, although I tried to keep memories from my past life, some of them had already begun to fade. Over such a period, it seemed an eternity had passed, however, time continued to inexorably move forward.
After a long shoot, melancholy suddenly pounced on me while I was moving, which gave me a barely restrained desire to simply drop everything and go rest right now, however, I had my obligations. And studies were one of them.
Driving past small houses and buildings of a few floors, the car headed to another part of the city. We didn't even enter the main city limits, as the filming and my place of study were located far from the center. But if the former was related to the need for a sufficiently quiet place, the latter was much more significant. The closer we drove, the more often truly old buildings became visible, which were seeing not their first century. Mansions of truly rich people flashed in the distance from us, but I no longer paid attention to them. My gaze was fixed towards a huge building, practically a castle, visible in the distance.
After I received offers to study among many famous and incredibly prestigious institutions, the desire to continue meaningless studying at school disappeared completely. What's the point of wasting time on something so useless to me? Because of this, along with the desire to start a full-fledged hero career, I immediately told my parents about my desire to finish school as soon as possible. Of course, I immediately gave them the letters and brochures inviting me to study at some of the most elite educational institutions in America.
Funny enough, it was much easier to resolve issues with this than with Vought, since Paul and Indira themselves worked at universities and were fully in favor of my desire to get a higher education. And since my second job will solve socialization problems, I really had no reasons left to stay in school.
Of course, there were still a million organizational questions, however, the help of an incredibly powerful international megacorporation, which loves it very much when attention is drawn to it, was needed exactly for something like this. And what will attract more attention than the first supe in all of history to finish school as an external student and, already in his teens, enroll in one of the most eminent universities in the world?
Margaret latched onto this news like a hungry shark, promising to hype it up to the maximum. And only when cameras from the most famous news channels appeared at our house did I realize how influential and effective this "business lady" is. In less than a week, she turned my desire to finish school faster into a real story that millions soon saw.
I admit, at first I was seriously shocked by her speed, but I quickly got used to it. As I later became convinced, she generally belonged to the category of people who cannot not work and therefore are constantly moving. And no matter how I sometimes felt about her ideas, I cannot help but respect her for such hard work.
As a result, I managed to resolve the school problem very quickly and fully dedicate myself to thoughts regarding the choice of university. Margaret even made a show out of this, where full-fledged experts were invited to some popular show, analyzing all the options and placing bets on where I would go.
Fortunately, I didn't have to personally perform there, or I would have burned with shame. Margaret even managed to use this behavior of mine, and that's exactly when she began to spin the whole charm of "mystery" around me. Except such actions looked especially funny, because I quite quickly came to a conclusion about where I wanted to enroll.
Why did I choose Cornell University specifically? First, I only considered the Ivy League. Yes, just a name, but there is so much power in it. Just the very fact that you studied in such a place is already capable of opening many doors in life. And what connections can be made there? Second, I chose a campus that was located right near my home, so I didn't need to travel much. And thirdly—it was Cornell University specifically that was known for its most advanced and innovative programs in the field of medical research. After all, my healing method is very new, and it was precisely the fact that I can heal with the help of superpowers that allowed me to break into the major leagues and interest the old professors. And I must admit, the help of some of the smartest people on earth helped me quite a bit.
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