“You’re the hero we got.” Hellcat put a hand on my shoulder. “Until you believe that, I’ll have enough faith for us both.”
She did the unthinkable.
With her free hand, she pulled at the mask covering her eyes. She painted her eyes with black makeup, but withoutthe molded piece of fabric, I had a clear picture of the woman behind Hellcat. With a simple action, she transformed from a vigilante into a soccer mom.
“Hellen Catani,” she said while she offered a hand.
I gave it a shake, never breaking eye contact. Maintaining a secret identity had been the first conversation we had. She insisted that we never break our roles. But with a single gesture, our relationship changed.
“Why?”
“Figure partners shouldn’t have secrets.”
Partners? Had they promoted me from mentee to a full-fledged superhero? Just like her fist in battle, she knew how to land a verbal strike.
“Hellcat. Hellen Catani?” I laughed. “I just figured it out.”
“My husband’s pet name,” she admitted. “When he gets his powers back, he’ll be the one who shows you a real training session.”
A vigilante and a superhero, I couldn’t imagine what their home life might be like. Did they fight to the death to decide who picked the kids up from practice?
She put the mask on and leaned over the ledge to survey the city. “The Machinist caught wind there was something going down in the plaza.”
“Is he hiding nearby?”
She shook her head. “The vigilantes have been told to stand down.”
“Why would?—”
“Optics. The city needs to see their only superhero fighting on their behalf. Eyes will be watching.”
“This is for show?”
She shook her head. “You don’t get it. We could easily kill every villain we stop. We could ensure they never escaped again. The city would be safer. But then the people would fear us. We’d be the thing they feared.”
The far side of the plaza lit up in a burst of light. Looking over her shoulder, Hellcat gave me a thumbs up. “Be the light the city needs.”
“No pressure.” I shook my arms, forcing the fire to cascade down my limbs.
“Don’t screw up or I’ll kick your ass.”
“Great pep talk, partner.”
I ran past Hellcat, jumping from the bell tower. Yes, I jumped from the tenth story of a historic church. Life had taken a weird turn. It only got weirder as the fire wrapped about my body. The concrete below stopped rushing upward. Instead, I spun about, watching a tail of fire follow my flight path.
It was now or never. The fate of heroes rested on my shoulders. I needed to clear my name and prove that I was more than an angry man abusing his abilities. I put Xander aside. Right now, the city needed Blaze.
“God, I hate that name.”
“I warned them. If they didn’t release him, I’d destroy the city.”
Every villain had a backstory. Some were better than others. The police had captured Neon’s boyfriend for drug smuggling. Now his supervillain girlfriend was going to level as much of the city as possible until she got her way. Temper tantrums seemed to be a pandemic in the villain community.
“I can’t let you do that.” I had practiced some hero dialogue. Griffin would be proud to know I even read a comic book or two. If I was going to play the part, I might as well do a little research.
“Who’s going to stop me?”
The plaza in front of the church served as the meeting spot for business luncheons. It was a blend of concrete pavement, small park areas, and outdoor seating. On a sunny day, it was the perfect place to take a break from the hustle and bustle of work and fool yourself into thinking you were visiting nature. At night, there was the gazebo, where musicians played and soft street lights luring lovers for a stroll.
