New Markets - 02 (20 page)

Firebane pumped her arm in the air and said, "Yes!"

Everyone looked at her and grinned.- she blushed.

I asked, "Did everyone make it out safe?"

Hansen nodded, "We've got some smoke inhalation injuries, but for the most part everyone made it out safely.  It would have been a real pain getting up to the people that far up, we're glad you came to help."

"I'm glad to help."  Stephanie and Rael nodded and agreed with me.

Chief of Police Tom Laydon looked at me and asked, "Are you all right?  You've got fumes or something coming off you."

"I'm fine.  I think the fire kicked off my adrenaline or something.  I'm just hyped up."

Firebane held her hand over my arm, and the energy fumes began flowing toward her hand, disappearing into it.  "Whoa!  I can absorb other types of energy than fire!"

Rael said, "That sounds like good news."

"Yeah, it's rockin'!"

Agent Carson said, "All right, as I understand it, Psystar, Black Tiger and Spartan were involved in the rescue of the people, and Spartan and our newest addition put out the fire?"

The Fire Chief nodded, as did we.

He looked at Firebane, "And your hero name is...?"

She said, "Firebane!"

I said, "I like it."

She grinned up at me.

Carson said, "I've already got the details from the rescued people and the firefighters, through the Chief here.  So I believe we're all done - although if you want to obtain a reward for your actions, you'll need to swing by H.E.R.O. headquarters, Firebane."

He glanced at the news crews, "You might as well go spend your time with the reporters, they're getting rabid."  He gestured toward the reporters.  Then he walked off.

Stephanie touched my arm and asked, "How's your hunger doing?"

"Fine so far.  Strange, I'd expect to be getting really hungry by now."

"Okay, just checking."

We walked toward the news crews.  I said, "We might each want to take one station, it would give them each something unique.  Kind of like at a sporting event.  Firebane, you ready to be quizzed?  It sounds like today is your first day...."

"What?  I have to talk to them?  In front of a camera?"  She looked ready to bolt.

"Well, normally ... yeah.  If you would rather not speak, you're welcome to stick with one of us."

"Oh, heck yeah.  I don't want to sound stupid on T.V....  Aw, I'm all dirty, too."

"Not a problem.  Don't worry about the looks, you look fine.  The soot just makes it look like you actually did some work."

She stuck with me, possibly because I was large enough to hide behind.  It had to be a humorous sight, actually.  She only came up to center chest on me, so in the camera she probably looked more like a child than an adult, barring her body shape, I supposed.

I'd set us on a path for one of the pretty lady reporters.  Not that I minded the gentlemen, but I just liked the women more.  Also, most were shorter, and it would make me appear even larger on camera.

Channel 11 turned out to be our target.  Valerie Willes was the reporter on scene.  I recognized her as one of the core on-scene reporters for the station.  She was a pretty blonde with long straight hair.  She wore a professional looking, yet form-fitting suit.  That was probably chosen by some specialist, I'd bet.  She smiled broadly when she saw my head lock on her on the way over.  I doubt anyone could see my eyes with my glasses on.

I noticed that Stephanie stopped before reaching the reporters off to my left.  She stayed a good twenty feet away, and motioned the reporter over to her. 
Ah, she's trying to keep the crowd away from her.

I walked right up to Valerie and held out my hand to her.  She had a humorous response.  She looked at my mammoth, fifteen inch finger spread hand held out, looked up at my face, looked at my hand again, and then looked at her camera man.  Then she looked back and my hand and tentatively shook a few fingers.  She stayed holding my fingers and started trying to squeeze them, then looked up at my face again.

I smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Spartan, and this is Firebane."

Valerie responded with, "A pleasure, Spartan.  I'm Valerie Willes with Channel 11 news.  We're live at the scene of the fire in downtown Metrocity."

Etiquette pretty much forced Valerie to also shake Firebane's hand.  I hadn't thought of that, and Firebane must have been used to giving people a firm handshake.  Valerie reacted as though Firebane were a professional wrestler who tried to crush her hand.

Firebane jerked back; she looked at Valerie, then up at me. 

I smiled and said, "You need to shake hands without squeezing your hand.  You'll hurt most people if you do that."

"Oh.  Uh, I'm really sorry about that, Valerie.  I didn't know...."

Valerie smiled slightly, "I'll recover.  Your strength is impressive, Firebane."  She massaged her right hand as she spoke.  The camera man grinned as he filmed it.

She continued, "I ... Spartan, do you have armored gloves?"

"No ma'am.  Those are my fingers you held, barring the cloth."

"You ... you have unbelievably hard fingers.  Is that normal, or due to this glow around you?"

"It's normal.  The glow is just a side effect of adrenaline."

"Your eyes glowing ... the same effect?"

"I believe so.  Are they glowing right now?"

"Oh, yes.  It looks like you have flashlights behind your sunglasses."

I looked around for a mirrored surface, none were close.  "Very cool, I almost never get to see the effect."

"On to the fire situation, were there any deaths?"

"That's a morbid leading question, Valerie.  But no, none that I'm aware of."

"We know you jumped down several times while carrying unconscious people.  Why didn't Psystar fly those people down?"

"She was busy moving people from the burning building's rooftop to the next building's.  The people I carried down where caught in a room on the eighth floor.  I found them unconscious."

"How did you move through the inferno?"

"I walked.  It didn't bother me."

"Fire doesn't injure you?"

"Apparently not."

"Firebane, from your name I gather that you have some sort of fire-related abilities?"

"Uh, I suck it in."

I added, "When we were up there, the fire literally flowed through the air to her, and disappeared into her hands."

Valerie said, "Ah, so that would explain the name then."

Firebane nodded.

"Do you have any other abilities you mind sharing with us?"

"I blast it back out again."

"So you're kind of like a battery for fire?"

"I guess so."

"Why did the two of you fly into the sky?"

I jumped in, Firebane looked nervous.  "Firebane needed to expel some of the massive energy she had absorbed.  I leapt the two of us out of danger range of any buildings."

"Which would explain the long fire trail in the sky, then?"

"Exactly."

"What's the next step in the process for this situation?"

"At this point it's in the hands of the Fire Chief and his men.  I'd imagine they will check for the cause of the fire, and what kind of shape the building is in.  We don't normally stay involved at that point though, unless they ask us to help with something."

"Well, thank you for your time Spartan and Firebane.  This is Valerie Willes, Channel 11 news, signing off."  She waited until the red light went off, and the camera man lowered the camera before she turned back to me.

She asked, "Can I feel your abs?"

I grinned, "Sure."

She walked up to me and ran her hands across my midsection.  "Wow, I've never felt muscles like these before."  She lightly punched her fist against my midsection.  “That’s just not normal, there’s no give at all.”

I realized then that my abs felt fine for the first time in the last 24 hours.  I smiled.

"Thanks."

"Thanks again for doing the interview.  I kind of like how you didn't clean up before being interviewed.  It gives a nice air of hard work being done."

I nodded.

She walked back to her camera man, leaving Firebane and I to our own devices again.

I looked down at Firebane, “So are you planning on signing up with H.E.R.O.?”

She looked up and said, “I don’t know.  I mean, I have a job and all.”

“You realize you forgot to get a mask with your costume.”

“Well, it’s just workout spandex.  I picked it up when I found out I could suck in fire on Sunday, and figured I could try helping out at fires.”

I smiled, “I think that’s where most of us start.  From your handshake with Valerie you should know you’re far more capable than just handling fires, right?”

“Well, what type of situations do you get into?”

“Hmm, re-railing a train crash, car crash, fighting mutants at the hospital and warehouse … those were mostly melee fights, a short fight with supers and a collapsed bar.  I had to remove rubble and save people that were trapped there.  This morning we assaulted some kidnappers and rescued a girl from them.  They had some pretty odd weapons.  Bolas that acted like tasers, dart guns, smoke bombs.  Then this fire here.”

“I doubt I’d be very useful at most of those.  I don’t want to get shot and I doubt I’m strong enough to lift a lot of rubble.”

“I guess that would limit your activity.  I’d still suggest joining H.E.R.O., get a H.E.R.O. phone and have them mark you only for fires and other energy situations then.”

“That’s a good idea.  What does a H.E.R.O. phone cost?”

“The normal ones aren’t bad; they take it out of your reward money from the first mission.  Probably a grand or so, I think.  Mine cost more because I needed a ‘brick’ edition due to my strength.”

“Why would your strength matter?”

“I break things too easily.  A little pressure from me is like a thousand pounds of pressure on something small.”

“Yeesh, sorry to hear that.  Okay, I’ll check into signing up for H.E.R.O. then.”

Stephanie walked over to us.  “Want me to bring you there now?  It’s pretty quick, a few forms and you’re done.”

I said, “Oh, Firebane, this is Psystar.”

Firebane said, “We met when I first got here.  I think she saw me talking with the firemen and pointing up.”

Stephanie grinned, “Yup.  You didn’t have your name decided yet then.  Like I said, I’ll fly you there….”

Firebane’s eyes got big.  “Oh, no, no, I, uh, drove here.  I can’t leave my car.”

Stephanie smiled, “If you go to your car now they’ll get the license plate and your name.  I can keep you calm, and make it fun.  Willing to try?”