Hero High: Figure In The Flames

by Chara, Mina

  My fingers were like ice. I reached for the antenna to stop myself from slipping off the edge and wrapped my body around it.

  The biting rain chilled me to the bone and I had never been so terrified in my life. I hated heights, I couldn’t stand to look down from a two story window, or go up a ladder, let alone stand on top of a skyscraper. It was too cold, cold enough to kill. I knew if I didn't get shelter I was done for. I had to figure something out. I looked down, my teeth chattering, and spied a ladder leading down. It was thin and insubstantial but I figured it was my only way. I reached out from where I sat and took hold with one hand, but the ladder snapped in half and I fell all over again while the broken metal bar puffed through the clouds. There was a penthouse balcony below, but it was going to hurt like hell. I braced myself for the fall, all the while grateful I wasn’t falling to the ground. I slammed against the floor of the balcony, and checked every inch of my body was intact; head, legs and thighs, all fine. I ached from the fall, but I was okay, only there was nothing other than clouds below me. I screamed as I clambered to my feet: the floor was made of glass, like I was standing on nothing in the middle of a storm. In front of me was a sea of thunder and lightning, behind me was a balcony door. My teeth started to chatter as I pulled at the handle, only to find it was locked, a keypad in place. My hands shook. It wasn’t something I could open with bobby pins, not that I had any, so I looked for something large and heavy I could use to break the glass. Wrapping my arms around myself, I wandered along the railing trying not to focus on the see-through floor. The clouds were in turmoil. As they swirled I caught sight of the Parisian style town houses in the center of Icon City; I knew I hadn’t gone far.

  I pulled over a large potted plant that swayed in the high wind, but hadn’t fallen over, I knew it was probably too heavy for to lift, but I tried anyway. All I could do was lift if for a few seconds, there was no way I could throw it at the glass balcony door. I wrapped my arms around my self again, wracking my brain for a solution, but for the life of me, I couldn’t think of one. My eyes searched the sky for someone, anyone…

  “Need some help?”

  I spun round as fast as I could at the sound of a voice I didn’t recognize. A man, dressed in full superhero gear, stood beside me on the balcony. His domino mask covered his eyes with an icy blue glow. His suit was a cat burglar's dream, black and close fitting, with rare decorations of a color that reminded me of a summer pink… He seemed familiar. Like I’d seen him on TV before. He didn’t look as high-tech as some other heroes I’d seen, no super skeleton, only simple gadgets hanging from his belt. It was the man from the fire, the one with the yellow hair… The one who’d been watching.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “There’s no time for that,” he observed, “you’re going to freeze to death.”

  “So? Why do you care?” I said, teeth chattering.

  “Your lips are going blue,” he replied taking two steps forwards while I took two steps back. “There’s no need to run. Do you know who I am?”

  There was a note of surprise in his voice. I peered closer. I knew that mask, it was Dr. Dangerous! Or rather, some weirdo wannabe. I knew the captain inside and out, so of course I knew who his nemesis was. I’d kept up with theories among fans as to why there was such a feud between the captain and the Dr., but this was not Dr. Dangerous. Dr. Dangerous was dead, and even if he was somehow alive, he’d be in his forties. The guy in front of me wasn’t old enough; he was a boy pretending to be something he wasn’t. “You’re not Dr. Dangerous,” I said.

  His lips twitched up at one side. “No? I have the outfit,” he pointed out.

  “No! Dr. Dangerous’ suit had red lines, and there were red eyes on his mask!” I of course knew this because I’d once had pictures of the Dr. above my desk next to my picture of the captain.

  “The red faded, and blue’s easier to see in,” he replied. I backed up, pressing myself against the wall. “Stop backing away, you have no-where to go.” Walking slowly he took a few steps closer, paying no attention to the rain that rippled down his suit. I did the same and took few steps back. I couldn’t keep moving back, but I could keep moving round. He smiled as though he’d caught me. With a side step, I put more distance between us, still shaking from the cold. “Really?” he said with a sigh.

  “What?” I said, “What are you gonna do about it? Faker.”

  “I’m not a fake,” he told me.

  “You’re not The Dr,” I reaffirmed.

  “No?” he asked.

  “Then, what did Dr. Dangerous do during the 1984 attack?”

  “Are you quizzing me?”

  “Are you backing out?” I laughed.

  “No.”

  “Then what did he do!?” I asked again.

  “He set a bomb on an elevated highway-”

  “Ha! You said, he!” I screamed in triumph.

  In the blink of an eye he was in front of me his arms trapping me against the wall. He wasn’t fast, he wasn’t stealthy, he was instantaneous, it was as though he could simply move from one place to another whenever he wanted.

  “A talent of mine.” For the first time, I noted the weird echo in his voice like it had been edited with reverb. Something in his suit disrupted his voice, making it vibrate and purr.

  “How did you get up here?” I asked, through chattering teeth. He pointed to something high tech on his low hanging belt.

  “Then why are you up here?” I questioned.

  “To make sure you don’t die,” he breathed.

  “Why?”

  “I was told to. I could just let you die I suppose,” he said with a shrug. He leaned back, looking me up and down as though he’d only seen me just now.

  “If you’re here to make sure I don’t die, why don’t you take me down the same way?”

  “My line can’t carry two people. And I only have one.”

  “What about that teleport thing you did?” I huffed. I wrapped my arms around my self again. For a moment he didn’t answer, his eyes slipped down and then back up, as though he’d jolted awake.

  “It’s not teleporting,” he replied.

  “What is it then?”

  “I’m not telling you.”

  “Then why don’t you get help?” I grunted. He radiated heat. I was just close enough to sense it, but too far away for it to do me any good. Every inch of my body was drenched in icy water; so was he, only he didn’t seem to care.

  “I did, I’m only here to make sure you don’t die.” He leaned in, trying to glimpse my hidden face.

  “You’re too close!” I insisted and pushed against him, but he didn’t move. He looked surprised for a second, and then scowled.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said with a sigh.

  “I don’t know who you are!” I pushed harder and harder against him, but he just pushed back with his chest. My arms weren’t a match for any muscle he had.

  “Stop being so stubborn, and let me help,” he growled.

  “How?” I said still pushing.

  “Wonder why the rain isn’t bothering me?”

  “No! Maybe?”

  “My suit keeps me warm.”

  “So?”

  “So stay still! I’m trying to help.” he said again.

  I pushed, bringing my hands to my center line to give them more leverage. He looked down at me and sighed, pushing his chest against my hands, his hands were still at either side of me like he was doing a push up. My arms began to fold against my chest, pressing against the dark smooth fabric of his suit. Finally he pushed so far my arms were forced to my sides, holding onto his shoulders. I struggled in place but had no more leverage, so he used his body like a paper weight, leaning against me to keep me pressed to the wall. “You’re too heavy!”

  “Stop moving.”

  “Never!” I wriggled against him while he simply stared down at me, motionless. I growled under my breath, and he leaned down again. For a moment I was stunned, moving quickly to
push against his shoulders as he looked me in the eye. His eyes flickered all over my face then his nose traced along the edge of my ear. “What are you doing?” I felt my cheeks go red in spite of the cold, and my voice came out more like a whimper or a gasp. My ears were sensitive, too sensitive for comfort. I grabbed the front of his suit, trying to shake him so he wouldn’t notice the effect he was having. His mouth opened around my ear, and he pulled it in, nipping the flesh between his lips. I gasped, and stopped moving as the red hot flush ran through my whole body. He said nothing, pulled back and drew me into his arms.

  “Stop moving, and let me help.”

  I chewed the inside of my cheek, trying not to think about how close he was. Holding him was like stepping into a hot shower. You wanted to sigh at the bliss the heat sent through you in thrilling shivers. He chuckled and pulled away to look at me, moving a strand of hair from my forehead. I almost missed the heat.

  “And your name is?” he mused.

  “Now I’m even less sure I should tell you.”

  “Scared?” this was not a man to be trusted, and as long as I knew that, I was fairly certain I’d be safe. “Tell me," he insisted. "It’s only fair.”

  “Friday. My name’s Friday.” I grumbled.

  “Interesting name.” He pulled me closer again, my head resting below his chin. Something outside rumbled and buzzed. Not lightning or thunder, it was more like a car. I pushed away, and looked into the stormy sky, trying not to focus on the glass floor. I glanced over at the keypad again, trying to recall anything useful. Dad had keypad locks in the garage, he always used the same code, and after a while he wore down the numbers. I pushed away from the Dr.

  “Let me look at the keypad.” He moved, and stood behind me as I inspected the keys. The average sequence was three to five numbers, since this was someone’s balcony I bet they’d keep it short, three numbers. The most worn pads were, two, five, seven, and nine. People like combinations that sound good because they’re easier to remember. For example, five seven nine, doesn’t sound as snappy as nine seven five, so I tried that one first. It flashed red. I tried two seven nine, but it flashed red again.

  “What are you doing?”

  “These numbers are the most worn,” I told him.

  “So you’re just guessing?”

  “Basically,” I replied and he leaned closer, his breath tickling my ear.

  “What if it’s personal?” he suggested.

  “Like a date?”

  He nodded and I looked at the pad again. Two, five, seven, nine. Nine two five? Was the combination a joke? The Dr. pushed closer, looking over my shoulder.

  “Get an idea?” he asked.

  “Nine two five? Like nine, to five?” I shrugged, tried it and the lock pinged green. I pulled on the handle, and turned around. The Dr. was gone, and I was free.

  As soon as I was out on the street, I ran straight to The Super Structure using the nearby buildings to shelter from the rain. On the way, I saw the Captain’s personal bus was parked in the street, so I tried to step on board.

  “You’re not allowed in here,” said an assistant.

  “I’m a student,” I told him, “I need to talk to the Captain. I go-”

  “Friday! Is that you?” asked the captain as he came round the corner, out into the rain.

  “Are you okay? We didn’t know where you’d gone,” said the captain flinging a blanket around my shoulders.

  “I was on top of a skyscraper,” I told him.

  “In this storm? Do you need an ambulance?” he asked.

  “No, I think I’m fine.”

  He nodded, and steered me inside. it was warm but I couldn’t relax until the captain closed the door on both Veronica and the cameras. He rubbed my shoulders like a worried father about to give his son an important speech, and someone brought over a blanket to wrap me up in. This bus was different from the others, better furnished for a start. On one side was a poster of the captain, making it clear this was his bus. His personal bus. I collapsed onto the sofa and he did the same as we started to move back to Hero High.

  “You okay?” the captain asked and I nodded, sipping my soup as I wondered why it felt slightly awkward to sit next to him saying nothing, so I looked round the room, and then realized, I didn’t know his name. I knew his superhero name, but not his real one. “What’s your name? I mean your real name,” I asked, setting the mug down. He raised a single eyebrow at the question and for a moment I expected him to tell me it was secret, or just wasn’t for students to know.

  Instead, he said, “Adam. My name’s Adam.”

  I sat back in my seat as he watched the news like a dad that didn’t know what to do with himself on the weekend, and mouthed, ‘perfect’. Adam was a perfect name for him wasn’t it? I mean, come on. How much more special and amazing does a person get? He was super nice, super kind, super smart, super pretty, and super powered. I was a fool for superheroes, I always had been, or maybe it was just him. Something caught my eye on the screen, I almost snatched the remote from the captain. Almost. “Turn it up,” I asked. As the bar on the screen scaled forwards I caught the end of the anchor woman saying, ‘The Figure In The Flames.’ I muttered to myself as I leaned forwards. Adam’s lips pursed, and his knuckles grew white. Suddenly that was more interesting to me than The Figure walking out of a burning building. “What’s wrong, Sir?”

  “Nothing,” he said as he leaned back into the sofa, covering whatever tense feeling he’d had only moment ago. “Call me Adam. No. Wait, I guess I am your principal,” he said with a sigh. He wasn’t big on the formalities. “Better call me… Principal Armstrong.”

  “Adam Armstrong?”

  He nodded, and smiled faintly. I knew his name! My inner ten year old was screaming. “But Sir, Principal Armstrong, I’ve seen this man before.”

  “Where,” he asked, setting his mug off coffee on the table, “where have you seen him before? Or her,” he corrected.

  “Tell me what you know,” I suggested, “and I’ll tell you what I know.”

  He pursed his lips again, and I saw the twitch of muscle behind his cheek as he clenched his jaw. “Alright Ms. Fitz, you have a deal.”

  “You first.” I said.

  “There have been rumors, circulating with the other heroes,” he said, looking me in the eye. ”There might be some drug on the streets, something that affects superpowers.”

  “What?” I blurted.

  “Now. Your turn,” he replied.

  “Right, yeah. I saw him at the car fire a week ago. I don’t think a lot of other people saw him, but I did. It’s the same guy.”

  “Or girl,” he corrected again.

  “Right,” I agreed.

  “Friday, please, even though I’ve told you this, it’s not an invitation to go looking for trouble.”

  “What makes you think I will?” I asked him.

  “A lot of the kids at this school have a strong sense of justice, and that’s what we want, but, don’t let it make you stupid.”

  I nodded and settled back into the sofa, trying to forget about The Figure and enjoy the ride back to Hero High. I didn’t plan to ignore the Captain’s warnings, but still, something told me I’d get myself involved somehow.

  The moment the Captain dropped me off I pushed off the blanket he’d given me and rushed inside the building just as my phone buzzed and the screen danced with light.

  “Where were you!” yelled Jake. “Are you okay? Day? Talk to me!”

  “I’m fine, meet me in the computer room,” I said and slammed the phone shut to slide it across the lock for the elevator doors. It was here, finally! The frustration that shook my bones was gone, replaced with excitement. There was a mystery to solve! Finally I could be useful, I could do something.

  The computer room was empty and mostly dark. Jake arrived at much the same time as me.

  “‘Day, what the hell?” he said, staring at me. “You’re dripping with water.”

  “No time to explain,” I
said sitting down at the nearest computer. Jake pulled up a chair and I opened the browser.

  “What are we doing?” he asked.

  “Looking for answers.” I typed in the name ‘Dr. Dangerous’, and received a list of reports about a ‘new’ Dr. Dangerous, who’d been spotted at the sight of the car crash on the elevated highway. The pictures were blurry, but news outlets seemed sure. Everyone knew he was back now, or at least a different version of him. I searched for older reports, ones from twenty years ago. The man in the pictures looked at lot like the one I’d seen, same blonde hair, and cat suit, but the ‘new’ one, my one was not thirty plus years old. He couldn’t have been beyond his twenties. What was going on here? Jake scoffed from behind me.

  “What?” I said, “What is it? Jake?”

  “Nothing,” Jake replied, “he just looks like a real poser.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek. There were no reports on what his real name was, when he was born, or if his power stopped the aging process. This guy was not the real Dr. I hadn’t brought any of my superhero pictures with me to Hero High, so I clicked on one last photo and had it printed out for future reference.

  “You’re printing a picture? Why?”

  “I might need to remember what the original Dr. looks like for future reference,” I said and cleared out the search bar and this time looked for news reports made within the last hour. At the top of the page was the report of The Figure In The Flames. I read a few articles, but every reporter referred to him exactly the same way, a mysterious, superpowered loner. Jake groaned from behind me.

  “Day, are you done yet? School’s already over and I’m hungry.”

  “In a minute, I’m almost done.” I searched for the highest res pictures I could find, opened one desktop sized and zoomed in, but I couldn’t make out a face in the fire. I sighed, and searched the rest of the picture finding nothing more than a small sparkle of something in the alley next to the burning house. I screen-capped it, and printed that too.