—Nova
Bart and I walk into the mission room, and everyone's eyes land on me. I blush under the attention, but hold my ground.
I glance at Bart, and he's smiling up at me.
"You're costume looks amazing," Remy compliments me, her red armor already own.
I smile at her and go over my costume again. A white crop top with a halter style neckline, paired with white capris with short boots. It exposes my skin to allow more heat to be used. The cloth specially designed to withhold thousand degrees of heat.
"Thank you," I whisper, feeling excited to start my first mission.
"I was thinking we could call you Magma," Bart grins up at me. I glance at everyone else, unsure. I told them of what I could do, and they seem to accept that, but still. It's hard to open up completely and not fear retaliation. They look back at me, waiting for my answer.
"Magma sounds perfect." I grin back at Bart.
"Let's go," Wanda says, dressed in her dark clothes with her hood and cape. Mev is right beside her in a navy blue and white suit. Red and Blue's armor are identical, apart from the color. Bart wears his red and white suit.
We walk through the zeta tube, and end up in a ally way. Upon leaving, we find a four story building blazing with fire and people are screaming.
"I'll get everyone away from the building because I won't be so helpful with the actual fire." Mr. Martian speaks, before flying away to escort a few people into a safer area.
"First priority is getting people out, second is putting out the fire." Red says, turning to us.
"Dusk, you get the first floor and clear a path for anyone coming down. Blue and I will check the second and third floors. Impulse and Magma, you'll both get the top floor." Red orders, and we all nod.
Dusk, Impulse and I race for the front door, while Red and Blue take off into the air, heading for a window on the second floor. Dusk uses a dark tendril to hit the door off its hinges, and flames spill out, heating the air. The feeling is familiar, and doesn't hurt, but I worry for my human friends.
We rush in through the flames and get into a hallway that is filled with smoke and heat. The fire itself seems to be coming off the right in an apartment.
"Stairs!" shouts Dusk, and I push ahead of all of them, sensing the heat. We find the stairs but it's halfway collapsed. I hear a crash somewhere in the building.
"Go!" Dusk shouts, using her tendril to move a plank of wood to cross the stairs and Impulse and I take off upstairs. As soon as we clear it, Dusk takes off down the hall, looking for any souls in the fire.
We get there and see Blue fly through with a man in his arms and he goes out the window. I feel a sudden burst of heat above us, and a rafter gives way. I grab Bart's hand and pull him out of the path of the burning rafter just in time. He looks up at me, his green eyes wide with sweat beginning to form on his face.
"Stay close to me," I tell him, dropping his hand as I become aware of his warmth.
"That won't be a problem," He grins as we take off up the next set of stairs which are thankfully intact.
We get to this floor, and the fire is burning the entire hallway. I shield the heat from Impulse and stop for a moment.
"Can you run fast enough through the fire for it to not hurt you," I ask, looking at him.
"Can I run fast enough? Magma, please," He laughs and he zips away. I turn and watch the fire ripple as he passes through and I follow after him. The flames flick at my skin, but it's just heat that I enjoy. I get a glimpse at Red holding a women in her arms as she exits through a window.
I find Impulse at the top floor, the fire taking place down the right hallway. I look over him to see he's sweating terribly from the fire, but he's alright.
"Go check the rooms on the left, I've got the right." I tell him, about to walk away when I'm stopped by his hand in mine.
"Be careful," he says, his green eyes set intensely on me.
I smile at him, "Fire can't hurt me, Impulse."
"I know, just be careful." He says before letting go of my head and racing into a room.
I stand a moment, remembering the warmth that he gave to my hand and noting how it feels much stronger than this fire burning the building away.
Facing the fire, I step through it, heading for the first room. It tries to eat my skin, but it does nothing. I push open the door and step inside. Smoke and fire fills the room, and I call out to see if anyone is there. I get in and check the bed and bathroom before feeling satisfied that it's empty.
Exiting the room, I head to the next, and have to melt the door handle away for it's stuck. I get in and the fire is just filling the room with ash and smoke. Whimpers come from deep within the room, and I push through the flames.
"Where are you, I'm here to help!" I yell through the smoke. The whimpers grow louder, and I jump over fallen pieces of the roof to get to the bathroom. I find a little girl, huddled in the bathtub, coughing and crying.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" I tell her. She looks up at me with big brown eyes, afraid.
"It's okay, it's okay." I tell her, reaching out for her. She looks at my hands warily, but lets me scoop her up. She couldn't be more than six years old.
I turn around to try and go through the bedroom, but the flames has taken it over. Turning around again, I feel the bathroom walls, trying find the closest point to get outside.
A rafter beam falls and nearly hits us, but I jump away in time, keeping the little girl tucked in my arms. She lets out a scream but I hold her tighter.
"It's okay, I'll protect you." I tell her and she buries her head against my chest. I look up and place a hand against the back wall. I can't turn it to lava, it's not earth material, but I can melt it away. The problem is I can't heat up without hurting the little girl in the process.
"I need to put you down for a moment, okay? I need to melt the wall away but I can't do it if I'm holding you." I tell her, kneeling on the ground but still holding her in my lap.
"No!" She gasps, clutching my clothes in her small fists. "Don't leave me!"
"I won't, I promise. You need to be brave, okay? Can you do that for me?" I ask. She stares up at me, her brown eyes consuming me but she nods and sits on the floor. I get up, taking a step away from her to keep her safe, and let my body heat up.
I feel the heat, the energy come from within myself. This power is nothing like the flames consuming the building now. It's stronger, more controlled, mine.
I place both hands against the wall, letting my skin turn from yellow, or orange, to bright red. I feel the girl stare up at me, and the wall begins melting at my touch. Soon, I get a glimpse of the outside world, and widen the hole even more. Once it's big enough to get the little girl through, I stop, calming myself down back to my tan skin color.
"Mr. Martian!" I yell, catching his attention as he keeps some bystanders away from the flames. He looks up, and sees us. Quickly, he flies up and I grab the little girl. I help her through the hole in the wall and Mev grabs her, securing her in her arms.
"Are there any more people in there?" He asks, as the little girl clutches onto him tightly.
"I have one more room to check and Impulse has the other half of the building, I'll let you know." I shout, and he turns and flies the little girl to the ground. I watch for a moment as the girl's father rushes to them and takes the little girl in his arms, kissing her forehead in relief.
I've found that these humans love very tenderly and deeply. If only I could know that same love.
Maska's face appears in my mind, and I quickly banish him away.
I get through the flames and get into the last room. Checking it completely, I don't find anybody. Getting back into the hall, I look down the stairs and see Red standing there.
"Are there any more people up there?" She yells up at me.
"I check the right side and it's clear. Impulse has the left and I'm not sure how he's doing."
She nods and I see Blue coming to her side, "It's clear down here, go find—"
I shout Red's name as a rafter beam dislodges from the ceiling and starts falling down right on top of her. She barely has time to glance up as it descends upon her. Blue yells her name. Then, a black tendril whips out of the darkness, grabbing Red around the waist and pulling her out of the way. The beam hits the floor in a shatter of sparks and ashes.
I look and find Dusk off to the side, her hand outstretch. The black tendril gently places Red back on the ground, and all three of us stare at her.
"Floors one, two and three are cleared, what about four?" Dusk asks calmly, looking up at me.
I close my once agape mouth at Dusk calmness. "I'm checking on Impulse right now." I breathe. As I turn away, I catch Blue going to Red and touching her shoulder to make sure she's okay. Blue then looks at Dusk, an unsure look on his face as he considers the blonde hero.
I get down the hall, this one at least isn't on fire. I sense heat coming from a few of the rooms, and wonder where Impulse is.
"Impulse!" I shout, and then watch a door get kicked down as he steps into the hall. He holds a small boy in his arms and there's a gash across his right lower arm and he holds his right shoulder awkwardly.
"We need to get this kid out of here!" He tells me. I nod, going to the end of the hall where there's no flames but plenty of smoke. Impulse follows me and I heat my hands up and open up a hole in the wall. It faces the back ally of the apartment complex, and I worry that we won't get anyone to hear us, but Blue comes when I shout for help.
"Here," I take the child from Impulse and hand him to Blue.
"Is that everyone?" Blue asks. I look back at Impulse and he nods, his hand now pressed against his right shoulder.
"That's everyone," I tell him.
Blue nods. "Red and Dusk are out. I'll get Red and come back and get you two." He flies off and I turn to check on Impulse.
"Are you okay?" I ask, looking at his screwed up shoulder. He waves it off, but cringes in pain.
"A stupid rafter beam fell and hit me. No big deal though, I heal quickly." He gives me a goofy grin. "Are you okay?"
"I'm completely fine, don't worry about me. Worry about your arm." I say, gently, I take his hand away and look at the wound.
There's blood on his shoulder, and it's at an awkward angle. He might have broken a collar bone from the impact. He's almost bleeding on his lower right arm, but that's not the bigger problem at the moment. I look up at him, afraid for him.
"I think you broke your collarbone." I tell him, his green eyes piercing right through me.
"How do you know what a broken collarbone looks like?" He asks, curious.
My eyes widen for a half a second as I realize my blunder. I shake my head and look at him, "I just do, Impulse." The lie sounds stupid to my own ears. He frowns at this.
"Magma, how do you know—"
I feel the heat coming from the room a moment before it explodes from the walls and hits us. That's enough time for me to grab him and wrap my body around his. My back faces the explosion as it hits us, sending us flying through the wall and into the back ally of the apartment complex. It rests right along the edge of the forest. We hit the ground and I take the blunt of the impact. Air being forced from my lungs and I can't breathe.
"Nova!" Bart shouts as my arms fall away from his body as I lay on the ground, fighting for air. He grabs my torso and leans me against him, even though he winces in pain when he moves his right arm.
"Nova, breathe!" he shouts, panic as he leans my back against his chest. His arms wrap around my shoulders, as if he can get my lungs to move just by his sheer will. My skin begins to heat up to yellow as I lose control.
I finally pull in a lungful of air, and Bart seems to breathe with me. I gasp for a few more moments, trying to get my body the oxygen it needs. As I settle down, Bart presses my body close to his, and I can feel him tremble. My skin turns back to its tan color.
"Nova, are you okay? Breathe, just breathe." He whispers, his voice cracking. I lean my head against the curve in his left shoulder and throat, just making my lungs work.
"I'm.... okay.... Bart." I breathe out. "Just had... the wind... knocked out of me."
His arms tighten against my shoulders, and I feel him wince as he moves his right arm. I move my hand and brush it against his arm.
"Bart, are you okay?" I breathe, a little more in control now.
"Okay?" I feel his chest move as he speaks. "You saved my life, Nova. I'm alive because of you." His arms tighten around my shoulders again, and I touch his wrist reassuringly.
"I knew I could survive that blast of heat, Bart, but If you had taken that impact..." I don't want to think about it.
"Nova, I finally found you." The voice says in my native tongue and my heart stops in my chest. I look up and see a tan skin man with black hair and ruby red eyes standing in the shadow of the trees.
He smiles as he steps towards us, and my grip on Bart tightens.
"And I am never letting you go again."