Super Serious Hero Business (Vegail)

Vegail walked away from the pretzel stand rather content. Who knew food that was so obviously bad for you could taste so good? He made  a mental note to come here again, and soon (unlike when most people make a mental note, this was a literal “mental note”; that is, Lucius hardwired the detail into his brain. Short of a lobotomy, he wasn’t forgetting this anytime soon). The salt dried out his lips a little, so he began to drink from the beverage. God Bless Phoenix.

He wandered about for a few minutes more, glad for the reprieve from the office work that had started to become rather tedious. Not that he didn’t enjoy making money, but the fact he had to constantly play someone else, not cool. As such, he had promised himself today off from work, and he would be himself, enjoying himself.

After a few more blocks, sirens filled the air, their shrill screeching grating at Vegail’s ears. Deciding he had nothing better to do on his day off, he followed them until they reached their destination; a burning building. A child was to be seen trapped inside, and a man in a silly costume was in the crowd gathered; these “superheroes” and their attire amused Michael.  He jogged  forward and showed his ID, albeit for a minor, to the police, and they moved aside; being a billionaire had its perks.

He moved over to where the “hero” was, and said “I haven’t done anything like this in...ever. I believe I would be more than competent for this job; would you mind if I joined you?”. As he finished asking this, he took another bite from his pretzel.

Vegail was ready to use the "puppy dog eyes"-and shove the man out of the way telekinetically-until he said "Ok, you can come". That was relieving; a squabble before they did the job together would have been embarrassing, not to mention horrible for Public Relations. The Board would have been at his throat. Before they rain in, Vegail took the last bite of his pretzel, finishing the delightful piece of bread with a half of a second.

They dashed in together, Vegail following slightly behind the other male. "Stay behind me, I may shield you from the flames", the costumed man said. This was so sweet. However, it was not unfounded concern; this could prove really bothersome if he were burned.

To reduce the risk of this, he activated his nanites, and they swarmed over his skin, creating a somewhat visible sheen (+2 DUR). They continued up, the air becoming harder to breathe. Vegail wished he had thought to bring his radiation and toxin prevention suit; it could have kept the smoke out of his lungs.

"We are getting close to her. She is on the fifth floor, and the heat is only going to get more intense the further up we travel. Are you sure you can handle it?" the other male inquired.

"I will be fine; I did not come unprepared." And he had not. As they went higher up and the amount of flames increased, Vegail used his powers to shift aside any timber in his way, and as they rushed past certain areas of flame he made a vacuum around the area, depriving the fire of its necessary oxygen and killing it out.

"Though your concern is endearing. What should I call you, Mr. Hero?".

Vegail frowned as the other man seemed to contract tuberculosis suddenly. It was a disease he was well acquainted with, and he knew that the symptoms didn't set in that suddenly, and so logic dictates it had something to do with the smoke inhalation. "I see you are a meta human of some description, that shall be useful". Vegail nodded, though it was not the time to argue that, while in the technical sense of the word he was "beyond human", he was not what most would call an actual meta human. Lab experiments usually aren't.

The man opened his mouth to answer Vegail's question. "I am Champion. And what should I call you?". Velon almost laughed aloud; he called himself Champion? Or was that his literal name? In either case, he felt bad for the man; in one case, he had bad parents, and in the other he was obviously mentally addled. If they did not just go about their separate lives after this, Vegail would find out soon enough. "You may call me Michael."

"Michael, be very careful with what you do with your powers - the fire will have made this palce unstable, if we move something which is insecure we could bring the entire structure tumbling down; with the Little Girl and Us in it". The other male-"Champion" warned Vegail. Not a necessary warning, but at least it proved the other had some intellect about him. Or watched too many documentaries on The Discovery Channel. Either could work here.

Champion was walking hurriedly ahead of Vegail when the floor gave way underneath him and he began to fall. Vegail reached out with his hand and telekinetically grabbed Champion, hoisting him back up and onto more stable footing.

Vegail was very near exhaustion by the point that they were at, and yet they still had to keep going up. If only he had been thinking clearer outside; morals or laws be damned, it would have far, far easier to have lifted the girl through the window then safely collapsed the building. This was the last time Vegail ever did the heroic thing.

"Thank you, Michael. I owe you", Champion had said after being rescued from near death. Vegail nodded, both as a way of acknowledging that he had been spoken to and what had been said. If-no, when-they got out of here, Michael planned to collect on that offer. One day.

"I need you to do something for me. You need to open this door and create a shield around it. Do you think you can do that?" Vegail raised his eyebrows and was about to give a very biting, sarcastic retort when he realized this man didn't know his full capabilities, and was honestly asking. Being new around here earned him some slack, for now. So Vegail only gave a curt "Yes," in reply.

"And do not lower the shield until the explosion has been starved. Ok?" Vegail rolled his eyes but did as he had been asked. When the door was opened he immediately threw out a telekinetic shield that would consume the otherwise ravaging flames, killing them off withing seconds. When they died, Vegail started forward, following behind Champion.

As soon as the fires died, he rushed forward with his shield ready. Surprisingly the fire in this room was nowhere near as bad as it had been in the rest of the building. Infact ti seemed to be specifically avoiding this room. At the window sat a little girl, who's hair was made of flames and an unconcious woman, presumably her mother. Then it hit him. This hadn't been an electrical fire. The reason that the fire brigaid couldn't put it out with water was because this little girl was making the fire. She was a meta-human. However the situation was made worse when Champion actually acknowledged that there was an unconcious lady lying on the floor, within the circle that the fire dared not creep into. "I-I didn't mean it I was jus' playin and then the bad red light came and..." the little girl was crying, scared, and her fear was only adding to the fire's vicious volume.

Stepping forward, Champion ignored the pain of the fire swirling around his feet and legs. He needed to help this little girl. Slowly he knelt down, and gave her and hug and whispered in her hear with a calm, reassuring voice - it was as if Hathor herself was whispering with him. "It's ok, Child, it wasn't your fault. I am going to get you and your mother out of her. We both are." he smiled at her and motioned behind him to the well dressed, and now slightly smokey, Michael. "Do you mind if I pick you up?" Champion asked her gently, and tried to hold back the near-irresistable urge to cough. Slowly the fires around her head began to die down and she nodded. Putting his shield on it's back rest again, Champion picked her up with both hands and then cradled her close to his body with one. Looking at the mother who lay on the floor he also reached down and threw her over his shoulder. Brute strength had it's advantages.

The building let out an extremely pained groan, and some of the roof was beginning to come down around them. A chair from the floor above smashed straight through the floor beside Michael, and did not stop until it hit the concrete floor of the Lobby. "Michael, we're going to have to jump." he didn't add anymore details, he didn't feel as if he needed too. Repositioning the Child and the mother so they were both held at his front, he put his back to the window. "On three... one... two... three!" with three, he fearlessly leapt backwards, his shielding back tearing through the window and himself soaring to the floor.

Now to most such a leap would have proven fatal, or even severally dmaaging but Champion barely bent a knee whenever both his feet hit against the road outside, causing the crowd to gasp. Straight away the paramedics took the mother and the fiery child from him, and into an ambulance to be treated for any smoke inhalation and burns they may have suffered. Michael, who gently levitated to the floor, was greeting with a cheer from the crowd, as was Champion. However their cheering was cut short by an explosion from the top of the building.

"Ok, move back people, move back!" although with the pyrokinetic child being taken from the building, most of the fire was already beginning to die. This heroic bond of circumstance had saved their lives; and everyone could see it. Champion spent most of this time getting pictures taken with people who did not mind that his face was blackened with soot. Just as he and Michael were about to party ways, Champion noticed an old lady who seemed to be struggling to find a safe spot to cross the road.

It's hero time.

THREAD DONE

Surprisingly, this is double XP worthy.

Well done.

Locked!