The fire stopped rolling and poured out of my body. I went from an overly strong brute to a living matchstick. There was no chance to marvel at the sensation, the warmth radiating from the layers of fire hovering an inch from my skin. The heels of my boots lightened until my toes left the pavement. Whether because of the fire or some additional superpower, I levitated off the ground.
“For Morales,” I whispered.
Dozer picked up a dumpster and chucked it. It weighed almost nothing as I snatched it out of the air. Spinning from the momentum, I let it go, lobbing it at the deadly idiot. He smacked it out of the air as he ran toward me, fist drawn back, ready to pulverize.
Flying might be cool. It could very well be the most amazing thing to ever happen, but it didn’t come with an instruction manual. I leaned to the side and then attempted to will myself out of the way. Neither moved me out of the way of Dozer’s fist.
I caught his enormous fist. I dug the balls of my feet into an invisible ground. The suit pushed back, slowing hisfist, keeping me from propelling down the alley as I struggled to stay upright. My hand barely wrapped around his pointer finger, dwarfed in comparison.
“No heroes.” The idiot couldn’t comprehend that there was a good guy with abilities. His mistake.
“Yes, heroes.” Snap. His pointer finger broke at the knuckle. He howled, but before he could shake me free, I repeated the maneuver with his pinky.
He swatted at my head with his free hand. I ducked and then launched myself upward. Whatever sentience Prometheus’ suit contained, it worked to keep me safe. If it controlled the flying, then I wanted access to the fire.
Punching both fists forward, a fireball slammed into Dozer’s chest. The tight t-shirt burned away, leaving scorch marks on his skin. Turning over my hands, fiery orbs pooled in my hand. Finally.
Chucking the smaller orbs, they exploded on impact, causing Dozer to hold up his mangled hand to protect his face. They were a nuisance, but they weren’t going to stop the man. He blindly reached out, jumping into the air. His hand closed around my ankle, dragging me out of the air.
“Dead hero.”
He swung, slamming me face-first into the brick buildings. What started as a distant pain grew into a throbbing ache. I might have strength and endurance, but this was going to add up. I tucked myself into a ball and forced the fire out of my body. The explosion rocked the alley, sendingbags of trash into the air. Dozer’s hand retreated as he cradled the blistering flesh.
“Hand ouch.”
“More ouch,” I spat.
The fire thickened, pouring from my wrists until my hands were barely visible. Thrusting them forward, a stream of fire hammered against Dozer’s chest. Washing over his body, he nearly vanished in a sea of heat. I didn’t want to kill the brute. It’d be a mercy to end the pain. He needed to beg for death before I relented.
The wall collapsed as he stumbled to the side. I swiped my hands out wide, the fire around my body turning off like a light switch. I dropped the few feet, heels cracking the pavement.
“Dozer hurt,” he whimpered. “Ouch. Ouch.”
Good. He was nearly naked, bits of fabric scorched into his skin. There were few pains worse than being burned. Having the skin excised was one of them. Even after this was over, there would be a new layer of hell waiting for him.
“I should kill you,” I hissed.
I stormed over to the man, climbing on his body. He attempted to bat me away, but he barely lifted his arm. The groan each time I touched his skin gave me far more satisfaction than it should have.
The first punch to his jaw bordered on orgasmic. I slammed my fist into his face a second time. A tooth flewfrom his mouth, blood dripping down his lip. The third strike was for Morales. The fourth for his family. The fifth was for those who would lower him into his grave.
Dozer’s face was a mismatch of dark blue and purple bruises. With a few more strikes, I’d jog his brain hard enough he’d go unconscious. Permanent brain damage might be satisfying, but if he slipped into a coma, it’d be an end to his suffering. It wasn’t the best motivation to leave him alive, but it drew a line in the sand.
“I’m a hero,” I said, needing to remind myself. Heroes didn’t kill. Even if there was a good reason, I had to back away to avoid slipping down the gray slope. There was an allure, a desire to rid the streets of scum. For a moment, I understood the difficulty heroes faced and the decision they needed to make with every confrontation.
“Xander, are you down there?”
Lei stood at the mouth of the alley. Beyond her, a duo of leather-clad vigilantes jumped the overturned cars. Reinforcements had arrived, and for now, that meant my job was done. Even if I willed the suit away, I couldn’t explain how an ordinary man bested this behemoth. For now, I’d have to abandon my partner.
The fire roared to life, bursting from my body like a tiny bomb erupted. Reaching into the sky, I soared upward, leaving the alley behind. Flying through the sky like a rocket, access to these newfound abilities had me wondering if it was time to seek Smoke.
“I’m coming for you.”
Flying into Vanguard City, I always peered out the window of the airplane. The lights below were always an amazing sight. Without the individual people, it appeared as a modern marvel. The city had a peaceful quality from a distance. It had been so long since I had that distance from the activities on the street I forgot the beauty.
For the last eight hours, I did what heroes do. I responded to every disturbance. A mugging thwarted. A bank robbery prevented. A dozen explosives disarmed. With each victory, I got more comfortable with these new abilities. The suit served as my silent bodyguard, stopping villains from doing me any actual harm. Meanwhile, I wielded fire like a human flamethrower.
Part of me wanted to descend into the city, leaving a trail of fire lighting up the sky. Hovering outside Aiden’s window, he’d finally be able to ask his questions. Once he got the story, I’d pull off the mask, revealing that the only powered hero in Vanguard City was the same man who wrapped him in his arms as he snored through his alarm.
