Thankfully, it wasn’t busy, but I needed to keep Neon busy long enough for the handful of citizens to get away. Already her skin glowed as if she might explode in anotherburst of light. I held my own against idiot strongmen, but a living bomb? How the hell was I supposed to handle that?
“How did you meet him?”
The people were nearly far enough away we could have a superhero slugfest, and they’d be okay. I flipped off the switch, the flames vanishing from my body. I landed with a thud, holding my hand up, praying she wouldn’t annihilate me in an instant.
“Jordan. His name is Jordan. I met him in the foster home.” If I had a heart, she’d already be tugging on its strings. We all had a crappy upbringing. It didn’t give her an excuse to threaten the lives of innocent people. “He’d protect me from the bullies on the way to school. If he hadn’t killed them…”
A killer from childhood? Any sympathy I might have mustered vanished. I held up my hands, gesturing the universal symbol for calm down. Inching forward, I tried to get close enough to tackle her to the ground. If I could stop her without a superpowered battle, the world would see that Blaze was more than flashy abilities.
“If he—if the judge had listened. If the cops believed it was self-defense.” It quickly went from a cry against injustice to blaming everybodybutthem for their actions. Her skin vibrated a bright pink before bolts of blue light crackled between her fingertips. As she strolled down memory lane, she lost sight of her path. The young victimizedgirl vanished, replaced by a sinister broad seeking blood.
“I’ll destroy everything if they don’t set him free.”
No older than twenty-five, she screamed. The nearby streetlights exploded. Every flash of brilliant white light siphoned through the air, striking her body. Nothing about this struck me as a good thing. Her feet lifted off the ground as bolts of blue lightning hammered the pavement.
“Oh shit.”
Her skin ruptured, unable to contain the energy she absorbed. I couldn’t summon the flames fast enough. My arms hadn’t reached my face as the wall of blue slammed into me. It launched me through the air before I could turn on the fire and let it keep me afloat above the plaza.
I inspected my arms and found the suit had been torn away, obliterated along parts of my body. The suit worked to fill in the gaps, stretching slowly. It was the first time I realized it wasn’t invulnerable. It could take a beating, but either the energy she wielded or the light itself forced the black ooze back into my body.
“Okay, not invincible. Noted.”
I was about to fly in with a classic uppercut to the jaw of the bad guy, but she had other plans. A beam of brilliant blue light slammed against my chest. It took a moment, but staring down, I could see the black recede, exposing more flesh. Did she know how to peel the suit from my body, or was this dumb luck?
“Give him to me,” she bellowed.
I shoved a hand in the light's way, blocking it for a moment, and with my other hand, moving it in a circular motion, I drew out the fire. Seconds later, I had created a shield made of flames, and thankfully it provided a reprieve from the psycho.
Neon hammered away at the shield until light poked through. The girl’s abilities were impressive, but coupled with her anger, she was a ticking time bomb. The city needed to see Blaze win, to see the only powered hero defending its streets. If she could match my energy output, it was time to get close enough that her abilities wouldn’t matter.
Hurling a series of fireballs, her hands flashed a brilliant blue, knocking them to the side. Digging the balls of my feet into the cement, I rushed toward Neon. Leaning forward, I pushed my shoulder forward. Crashing into the villain, she launched backward, tumbling along the ground.
It was time to end this fight and deliver her to the police station for jailing. I followed her as she came to a stop. She was getting to her knees when I wrapped my arms around her in a bear hug. Kicking and flailing, she tried to wiggle free, but thanks to the suit, there was no way she’d escape.
“Let me go,” she screamed.
The city was about to be down a vill?—
The decorative lamps illuminating the pavilion flared,and for a moment, I expected them to explode in a flurry of sparks and glass. Beams of brilliant light shot from their bulbs, striking Neon, causing her skin to shine a near blinding white. If I had known her powers, I might have avoided the embarrassing follow-up.
Clenching my eyes did little to block out the supernova. Neon burst out of my grasp, batting my arms away as if they were a minor inconvenience. I was about to ask how light transformed into strength, but then I remembered I was wearing a sentient suit that helped make wardrobe decisions.
“I warned you.”
She did. She absolutely did. The punch to the sternum pressed my ribcage in, causing my bones to rattle. For a petite woman, she hit harder than Dozer. It proved that a little package could pack a wallop. As I soared through the air, I had plenty of time to consider how I would do things differently. It wasn’t until the descent I remembered that this confrontation was as much about winning the hearts of Vanguard as it was putting away the bad guy. Shit. The vigilantes were counting on me.
I burst into fire just in time to ease the impact. It wasn’t graceful, but it prevented a face plant on the pavement. I rolled until I smashed into a small newsstand. The gentleman holding a stack of magazines didn’t retreat as he blinked, processing the superpowered man that destroyed his livelihood.
“I’ll make sure we get a team here to help rebuild.” He nodded after most of that came out as a groan. I clamored to my feet, eyeing the rack of newspapers. I let out a growl when I found Blaze claimed more space above the fold than reasonable.
“You’re him.”
“Unfortunately,” I replied.
“Is what they say true?”
He gestured to a magazine. “The Rise of a Heroic Villain?” I nearly spat. “Am I a good guy?” I would have loved to assure the man, but Neon was walking—no, make that hovering—in my direction. I’m glad to see I got her attention.
