The Fire Grows Bored (closed)

James was bored. He hated to admit it, but he was. Nothing interesting had happened this week. He hadn't been brutalized, beaten, attacked, harassed, or even bothered. The people walked about their normal lives. The traffic moved at it's normal pace. The banks held their money, and James paced the streets. This usually wouldn't bother James, but the whole week had felt too sterile, too fallow. James decided he was going to find something to do. If trouble wouldn't come to him, he would make some. Stopping in a nearby alley, James changed into his costume of a black spandex suit and small eye mask, becoming Flashfire.

Flashfire stepped out of the alley and looked for a public place that would get a lot of attention. The Staples center would do nicely. Flashfire approached the parking lot of the building and grabbed an expensive looking Mercedes. Walking to the road in front of the building's entrance, Flashfire aimed for an area free of people and chunked the car high, landing it right where no one was. Instantly, everyone changed from going about their business to screaming and running in every direction.

Flashfire stood tall and waited for a hero to come save the day.

Whilst chaos ran rampant through the parking lot, one woman headed calmly towards her car. This oriental woman had her raven hair cropped short to the point where some would comment that she wore her hair like a man. Her turtleneck rustled a bit in the wind as she fumbled with her key to open her car, to which she deposited her bags and dusted off her blue jeans before tossing in her keys and slamming the door behind her. A sigh and some light stretching quickly followed and Jade turned in the general direction of the meta human that was tossing around flaming cars. Her brows slightly furrowed as she made her way across the chaotic lot while making sure that she wasn't flattened by panicked civilians and in this moment she understood. Fear and panic. Two emotions that ran strongly in the hearts of the people at that moment in time. This was why they so strongly supported the new bill that would force meta humans to register. Was it a violation of civil liberty? Could be. But was it something that a scared populace would quickly pass to protect their self and their loved one? Of course it was.

The trek across the parking lot seemed like a life age, however this walk gave time for Jade's anger to subside to calmness as she realized that she may have to fight for her lives and the lives of everyone around her if it comes to it. At last the black asphalt of the road greeted her and she stepped forward, analyzing the scene before her while in her civilian clothing. There was the flaming wreckage of what seemed to have been someone's expensive car and though she felt bad for the owner, Jade was somewhat glad as there did not seem to be a civilian casualty. She then turned her brown eyes upon the perpetrator. Blonde hair. Caucasian. Looks to be around six feet. Her eyes darted back to the flaming wreckage quickly. From the looks of things he has the power of fire and the strength to lift and throw a car. A brow raised as she continued to survey the scene. Something's odd. What motive does he have for this destruction? From the way he's standing he's not trying to kill anyone, nor is it to sate the lust of destruction. Had she gotten in the middle of a feud between two nemeses? No, he was not making a big enough scene to attract the attention of anyone outside the vicinity.

"I commend your artistic expression," Jade mentions with a nonchalant smile as she approaches the Caucasian man with both of her hands behind her back, she was ready to spring up a shield at any moment. "The flaming car alone is a wonderful metaphor for the effects of modern day vehicles on the well being of the environment but no- you didn't just stop there. To throw it in the street?" She clapped, "An exquisite protest against the society that requires such destructive machines to thrive." The woman took a breath and began to pace around the meta human, her seemingly empty hands still clasped behind her back, her aged sneakers rarely making a sound against the asphalt as she walked. Her eyes never left him though, as she continued to speak, to question, and prod. "I must know from one art enthusiast to the other, what brought on this flash of creativity? What ignited this fire of passion in your heart that required you to lash out against society in such like manner?"

Flashfire watched as one lone woman stayed calm amidst the panic. The Asian woman strode with confidence and Flashfire enjoyed that. The tense moment when both know that this would end in a conflict of some sort, but neither knowing the outcome. Not to mention, the short, beautifully colored hair and turtle neck did little to hide that this woman was amazing.
"Sweets," Flashfire smiled a large flashing smile at her, "I really thought it showed a great way to display the passion that is hiding in everyone, ready to burst out and sear everything around us so long as the heat is contained with the vessel of our hearts." Flashfire took a couple steps closer, "Or maybe I was just feeling lonely and wanted to find a lovely maiden to fire up my day." Holding out his hand, Flashfire asked, "Wouldn't you love to be the lovely maiden for the hottest man on Earth?"

Such a jovial response, such a lack of responsibility from one who has a gift so great that he can destroy a building and all the lives within it. What caused them to act so? Jade had questioned herself when she was settling down for bed or when she was having a slow day at work. What caused the powerful to want more? Why could they not use their powers to benefit society and better their own lives in the process? Such questions had been asked since beginning less times though, and no answer had been produced. There were those who would claim that it was human nature, but Jade knew an excuse when she saw one. The question now, however, was how to deal with a sociopath armed with a flamethrower without endangering innocent lives? She supposed she could erect a crystalline barrier around the two of them so that they could battle- but violence of any kind was a last resort, especially now that she was in her civilian identity- however a sudden pause came upon her. To hell with masks and costumes, She mentally spat, I'm through playing this farce of a game called vigilantism. Lives were in danger, and she would have to act carefully to ensure their safety. That was her duty.

"Enthralling," The woman commented after hearing out the meta human, her reddened lips still curved into a slight smile. "The overflow of emotion within the artist has been responsible for several artistic brilliance in the records of human history. I would love to have some pointers," her smile turned to a flirtatious smirk and her head slightly tilted, "that is if you're willing." She glanced to her right as the sounds of sirens rang through the air, drowning out the natural hubbub of L.A. with their high pitched shrieks that promised justice. But not for our kind, Jade mulled sadly, yet her face, covered in a light coat of make up, showed none of it. To her the sounds of sirens had long sung with false hope. Justice that could not be delivered. And all because she was all too aware of the many deaths the local law enforcement and innocent civilians saw due to their attempts to subdue a malicious meta human. Things had to change, she felt it in her bones. A simple blink brought her back to the situation at hand. "But not here," Jade continued smoothly, "there are too many people, too many eyes that envy your passion. Do you perhaps have someplace private, somewhere we can be alone. Just the two of us?"

Flashfire froze momentarily, just a second of a surprised look on his face. That line was usually followed by a strong slap to the face. After that brief shock though, his usual grin slid back into place. "Well, that depends on what you had in mind," Flashfire said, "If you want to start with the usual pleasantries, we can discuss our favorite works over dinner at this little restaurant that serves food in the dark, followed by a visit to the local museum." He took a step closer to the beauty, apparently oblivious to the waiting crowds of media gathering and the nearing sounds of sirens. "If you wanted to skip the pleasantries though, we could just cut straight to the part where you come to my place," Flashfire proposed, his voice full of insinuation, "I'll mix up some drinks, cook a nice dinner, and then I can give you all the pointers you've ever dreamed of."

Flashfire concentrated for a moment. His eyes squeezed tight, he burst into flames. Covered in a brilliant orange flame, Flashfire held out his fiery hand, inviting the woman to fly away with him. "Don't worry, it won't burn," he said slyly, "Unless you want it to that is." If she took his hand they would be off in the blink of an eye. If not, well, he would cross that bridge when he came to it. Right now, though, he couldn't remove his eyes from rare flower in front of him.

Curses and damnation, the media! In her attempt to drive off the meta human, she had forgotten that journalists, the bravest and stupidest of all civilians, were going to stick around just to get some footage. Part of her wanted to spear their equipment to scare them off, but that would make her no better than the man she was confronting- besides, who was she to interfere in the work of a reporter? With their First Amendment and whatnot. For now though, her job was getting this nutjob away from the people, and perhaps keep him from doing something destructive again- or at least for a long long time if that failed. She intended to talk him down, or to use her feminine charms even if they were a bit... rough around the edges. If all else failed however, violence was not out of the question, especially when there was no one around to get caught in the crossfire. Well, here goes, Jade. Hope you don't regret it, one part of her mind called to her. Just hope you LIVE to regret it, called back what must have been the snarky part of her brain.

Even as the man burst into flames, she did not falter visibly. Of course she was surprised by this secondary ability, but she would never let that show, not now when every facial expression was the difference between life or death. He offered his flaming hand towards her, promising that the flames would not burn. Jade looked into his eyes, her smile never diminishing, one bit, if anything, it became much more sly as she extended her hand to accept while a small crystalline shard formed in the other to ensure that if she was attacked midair, she would leave something for the meta human to remember her by.

"Well how about we skip the dinner and head straight to the pointers? I'm a big girl now, I'm sure I can handle it."

Flashfire had to be dreaming. This couldn't be true. This had been quite the most boring week ever, so he threw a car. Now, he had a woman practically begging for his private attention. Flashfire had to start throwing cars more often. His smile only grew wider, his mood only grew more elated.

The moment Jade touched his hand, there was a flare of cameras flashing off as many pictures as they could. Flashfire pulled her in closer to hold on with both hands, and they were off. Flying up and up, they climbed right into the sky. Flashfire released a loud whoop as he pulled through a loop and leveled out to soar over the city. They breezed over rooftops, across the cityscape. After a bit, his movements changed into a circling movement that would take them around the city.

"You know, I missed your name. It has to be an absolutely, splendid one if it's to match how astounding you are," Flashfire said, holding the woman securely, "Oh, stupid me. I forgot to introduce myself properly. I already said I was the hottest man alive, quite literally as you can see. I forgot to say, though, that my name is actually Flashfire." He smiled a large smile at her, "Just out of curiousity, would you have paid me any attention if it hadn't been a mercedes?"

As they took into the air Jade began to formulate a plan. Alright, he seemed to be thrilled with my going along with him. However it's most likely that I'm going to be dropped from several hundred feet in the air, which is funny because I should've thought of that before I agreed to go flying with a psychopath. Oh, Jade, you're just the smartest meta human out there, do you know that? She let out a little laugh, was it from nervousness or from excitement? It was hard to say. Jade dared looked down while they were in the skies and- oh dear God, Buddha, and Zeus combined! Her hazel eyes clamped shut and she grabbed on to the meta human with a vice as they made a loop. Okay, Jade stay calm. You're not going to fall from this height and become a smear on the ground below you. Oh hello thoughts, thank you for the vote of confi- No. Girl. You got this. Focus. Right, self, I can handle this. I made it through two psychos, I can make it through one more. We are now in the air and away from any civilized life, and god help us if we fly right into a plane. Anyways, from the looks of things, he seems to be infatuated with me... or the idea of sexual intercourse- either way, I've got his ear. If at all possible, I must dissuade him from acting crazy... even if I must put up a facade. Wait, did he just speak?

"What? I can't hear you over the wind!" She shouted, trying to make herself heard over the violent wind that taunted her with their less than gentle whip against her face. A finger pointed down to the roof of a tall building below them. "Can you set us down there!" More shouting. "I need to talk to you!" Granted that up here he would have the advantage should negotiations fall. He could fly, first of all, meaning that he could maneuver much quicker than Jade, plus he did not seem like the type to care for the well being of people, so he could set fire to the entire building, trapping Jade up top. Against those odds, Jade thought against fighting. Words were going to solve this problem, god willing.

Flashfire laughed a little as the woman squeezed him tightly. As they flew, he could just feel the anxiousness flowing off of her. If he didn't know better, he would think the woman was scared of heights. With that thought, he let out a laugh. It was a real laugh and his flames increased in intensity until he stopped a few moments later.

After Flashfire spoke, the woman replied, but he couldn't hear her over the strong winds caused by his speed of flying. This had been kind of a bad time to talk to her, he just wasn't sure he trusted her enough to actually take her to his place. She pointed toward a tall building, and Flashfire got the hint that she would like to be set down there with him. He slowly descended in a circular motion, going lower and lower, and making the circle smaller and smaller with each rotation.

Flashfire gently landed still holding the woman, with just the right amount of strength so she wasn't in any danger of falling, but she could escape his grasp at any time. Although, with the way she was talking, he would be surprised if she did. Flashfire said his words to the woman again, fixing their order this time, "I said that I had forgotten to introduce myself properly. I had told you I am the hottest man on Earth, quite literally as you can see, but I forgot to tell you my actual name is Flashfire." He chuckled a bit at his own joke a moment, and continued, "I also asked for your name. It must be absolutely amazing if it is to match your astounding beauty, and I wanted to know if you enjoyed the flight. It's absolutely gorgeous to look at the city from the skies. It's what I do to get away from the hubbub of life."

With a slight jerk Jade moved away from Flashfire as fast as she could, her arms flew to her sides and she walked around the rooftop, taking in deep breaths. For one she was out of breath, what with the wind being knocked out of her every so often; only after a long pause did the woman turn to address the meta human that named himself Flashfire. How typical She mused, A meta human that lives by a code name. I wonder what his true identity is. Is he Flashfire, or the man behind that mask? Is his mask his identity? Or is it a disguise? Such is the product of the meta human community that refuses to show their face. With a smirk she walked towards Flashfire, studying him with her hazel eyes as she approached. This must be why meta humans are so easy to hate. How can the populace understand us when we hide behind masks?

"I don't particularly like flying outside of a pressurized tube," Jade admitted, answering the first of Flashfire's question, "and I don't like to escape from the 'hubbub of life' that's where I belong and so long as there are malicious meta humans out there- but before I become preachy." She was close enough for the man before her to spell the light Peach perfume that she had sprayed on earlier that day and with her right hand, she caressed his domino mask. "I want to know your real name, and I want to see your face. I don't want to see Flashfire, I want to see the man," She placed her left palm on his chest, "behind the mask. The man who was ostracized from society because he could not help but be born with the gifts his parents gave him. Will you do that? For me?"

In truth Jade had no idea what she was doing, but she hoped that if he removed his mask, she would see that he was a person, just like she was and not a monster of a meta human that lived behind the mask so that they could kill and maim. But truthfully, she wanted to see humanity, even the faintest spark, in his eyes. She wanted to be convinced that despite his actions, there was still good in him. In his face, she sought hope for meta humans. In him, she wanted saw the thousands of young meta humans out in the world, scared and lost, searching for the answers to a sea of questions that could not possibly be answered. By looking into his face, Jade wanted to be ensured that there was the hope of reforming powered individuals. But would she? The media ran rampant with heroes abusing their abilities to exist outside the laws. It was claimed that the meta human community (if one could call it that) acted as though they were not bound by the rules of "mortals" and that they were superior to the people that they "protected". And that was simply the tip of the iceberg. As such, Jade hoped with every fiber of her being that there was a spark of redemption somewhere in this man that went by the name: Flashfire.

When Jade stepped away, Flashfire subdued the flames, willing them back inside himself. He watched as the woman caught her breath, rebalanced herself. She had such a serious look on her face as she approached him that Flashfire listened to every word with care. As she explained her feelings on flight and the way she apparently looked at relaxing, Flashfire took more and more in about her. He watched the woman's movements, her facial expressions, when she came back to him, even the smell of her peach perfume. When the woman touched Flashfire's mask, he thought to pull away, but his body couldn't bring himself to do it. When asked to take off his mask and give his so-called real name though, he turned away.

"I've never been asked for that one. Most people I save are so grateful for the assistance they don't want to be rude. When I'm on the other end of the law, like earlier, everyone is too busy running and shooting," Flashfire mused aloud. He paced back to the woman with him, "That was also the first time the fire in my veins has been called a gift. You ask me to tell you my real name and show you my uncovered face, when you just met me? Isn't that something reserved for the third date? And here we are on only our first."

Flashfire would never be able to tell someone why he did it, why he trusted her so, but he couldn't help himself. Maybe it was her charm, maybe it was her beauty, or maybe he just needed someone. Flashfire reached up and pulled off his mask. Placing the mask in the woman's hand, James cocked his head up and to the side for her examination. "My birth name is James Harris. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. I still haven't gotten either of your names," James said with a smile.

Her eyes lingered on his face, studying every pore of his skin, then she stepped back, with mask in hand and all, and paced to the edge of the building. She seemed not to care for the wind rushing against her, threatening to send her plummeting to her doom below, instead she merely looked at the mask. A simple mask, made of materials that any man can afford. This is what separates 'us' from 'them' isn't it? She mused silently before turning back to James and remembering her true purpose. She didn't come up here to mope about the future, she came up here to protect people from a violent meta human who wasn't as crazy as he seemed in the first place. Her eyes trailed to the mask, and then back to James, then back to the mask again, and her sneakers moved forward, bringing her back to arms reach of her companion, and she held out the mask with a smile on her lips, this wasn't the sly smile that she had had earlier however, this was a friendly smile, like one would have speaking with an old friend.

"I'm sorry, James, I've been a bit rude haven't I?" Jade clasped her hands together in front of her to show that she was not hiding any hidden weapon- which was of course a lie because in the center of her palm was a small crystal orb that she could shatter into dozens of razor sharp shards at a moment's notice. The meta human before her seemed like a good enough person, however she couldn't be too sure, not after being attacked by someone she had thought was innocent. "To answer your first question, my name is Jade Tran, and before I cast it aside, I was also known as Shard. And I am going to be honest with you, no, I would not have noticed you without your flaming car- however, that is not always a bad thing." With a sigh Jade walked passed James and to the other ledge. "You see the world is changing, and people are more afraid of us now than ever before, and flashy moves like the one you pulled only drag us farther into the crap pile." Another sigh and she turned back to James, restless. "Not to mention that the U.N. is about to pass a law that will label us as criminals unless we sign up with this... Dominus Agency that I've never even heard of." Jade paused, she was rambling again wasn't she? "Look, the point is that you have to take responsibility for your powers. The next person who you come upon might not try to talk you out of doing something stupid like I did, understand?"

James couldn't help but feel an odd twinge at the sound of his born name. It had been awhile since anyone had cared enough to ask for it. He couldn't tell though whether he liked it more than it discomforted him. So instead of continuing to worry about it, James focused on everything else.

When the woman held out his mask, James closed her hand on it. "You'll need proof that you didn't just dream this," he said. After listening to Jade's words, he smiled at her, "You still haven't talked me out of doing something stupid. I'm alone with a beautiful, intelligent woman. Your confidence flows from somewhere, do you're obviously powerful. Also, I've already gotten into your head." James' voice showed his confidence, "I like your name by the way."

Gotten into her head? Rather suspicious, it would be wise for her to keep her guard up. And yes, ti was rather true, by revealing her true intentions to the meta human, it gave him a chance to strand her on this building while he flies off to cause havoc. He would be long gone by the time she could get down this building conventionally or unconventionally, and the destruction would be on her head, however... she could keep him busy. It would be playing right into his hands, but it was worth it to keep the peace for just a while longer, and who knows, this detour could be enough time for her to convince James to stop rampaging in the streets like a maniac. Her fingers closed around the mask and she held it up to examination once more.

"Thank you," Jade said in response to James' compliment, "and if you're already in my mind, then I suppose we shall have to do what you've wanted to do all along. How about a date? Dinner? I know this little place that we can go to, won't be recognized since it's quite a bit away from the main city. But first you have to get me back to my car, and none of that flying around the city trick, just get me down and we'll walk, like normal people, that way we'll draw less attention to ourselves than we already have. Sound good to you?"

This idea shocked her just as much as it might've shocked James. Jade always lived her life with the belief that she did not need someone in her life to be happy, that was one of the reasons why she wasn't in one of the many groups that existed and why she did not work with a partner. It wasn't that she believed she would be putting them in danger as was the case with many a heroes who donned the mask. She just didn't want someone to draw her attention from the people that she had sworn to protect. Relationships demanded personal time, time which was very precious to Jade, professional crime fighting called for subservience and Jade was not one to let someone tell her what to do unless they had proven their worth. All in all, she was independent and she loved it.

James smiled even bigger and the feeling of triumph was in him. At this point, he had found out Jade's name, had gotten to spend alone time with her, and now had even won a date. Life really did do wonders when you followed instinct. All they had to do now was get down and... Wait, where did he leave his clothes?

"This is kind of embarrassing. I forgot where I left my street clothes, and I don't think you want me to step out of uniform quite yet if you're wanting to avoid attention," James said to Jade," This is a big enough city I probably won't find them either. We'll have to stop by my place after all." He knew that would sound like he was just trying to get her home, but it wasn't like that. James could've come up with something much better than that if it was.

James walked over and wrapped his arms around Jade so he could hold her carefully, "So did you want to go straight down with me like this, or do we go straight to my place so I can change into something a bit more normal?" He flared back up and would take-off to whichever she preferred.