22nd April 2011
23:03 GMT -5
The lead fire fighter looks at me with… Not fear exactly, but he's certainly… Nervous. I smile warmly, and there's a look of recognition in his eye as he spots my ring.
"Indigo Lantern. Didn't recognise you without the tassels."
"That's… Something I wear for photographs."
Though the urban camouflage which Thomas Koche from Red River suggested would have been nearly as bad, just from the opposite direction.
"Are your..? Team…"
I glance upward as Sarah -who abandoned the name 'Ladyfold' as soon as she could complete the paperwork- ushers residents out through an upper window, heading down a ladder which until a few minutes ago was her team mate Klanker. He's come on in leaps and bounds since we've been working together.
"Will be getting out of your way, saving that you think we can be useful."
I could deal with this myself. And it's… Hard, not to. People are afraid and in danger, but… Not only do the children need to prove themselves like this, other people need to know that there are superhumans other than me who are capable of acting to serve the greater good. Not just normal humans; people didn't stop getting super powers just because Vought-American American Consolidated became the most hated company on the planet. And… Scary though it is to be inside a burning building, I'm tracking everyone inside and there's no reason to believe that everyone won't get out.
Shadow phases through a wall, two small children clasped to her side. Altering the nerves she uses to trigger her ability was a little awkward, but all it needs now is that she presses her right thumb to her right palm, rather than… What it was before. I spot her open her hand and then push the children away from her in Charlotte and Bobby's direction before closing her hand again and darting back inside.
"You got an idea where there's still people inside?"
I create a three dimensional model with small dots marking their locations. Black Hole and Kid Camo -having at long last learned that they don't need to use their powers where there isn't an immediate need- are doing door to door and herding people towards the front door. They should be coming out-.
There's a small cheer from the crowd as the front doors open again and the residents begin pouring out. My two young colleagues are dressed similarly to myself; there's a clear visual link to their superhero costume but it isn't a costume. It's stab resistant, insulated and contains a gas mask.
"Looks like it's clear-." He turns away as the fire engine's ladder and hose are brought to bear. "Fifth floor, Steve! Fifth floor!"
Steve the Hose Operator nods and waves as the ladder extends.
"You need to warn Stool Shadow?"
"No, she's trained in how to deal with this sort of situation."
Actually, once we built up her confidence in her own abilities a little-. A lot, and after I repaired the effects of her mother's substance abuse upon her brain, she was a natural. I worried that I might need to make some sort of clothing out of her cloned skin or something, but it turns out that she can actually phase with a significant amount of additional mass.
"Always wondered about that name…"
"The… Original idea from the marketing department was that she would conceal herself and listen in to criminal conversations… In the sense of being a stool pigeon." He nods. "But it turns out that doing that wasn't really practical and people… Misunderstood the name-. You should have heard some of the ridiculous things people came up with." He nods again, then awkwardly looks away. "And with the previous Shadow being executed, after… What happened in Washington-" Another nod. "-there wasn't any reason not to change it to something which made more sense."
It wasn't that. When I became de facto team manager I was given access to the full files. The document -the single page- which contained the entire discussion on her nom de héroïque made it clear that their attitude was 'she's a shit hero who activates her power by shitting, let's not waste time with someone nobody cares about'.
I had a word about their attitude with the new head of Superhuman Development. I've been reassured that in future members of that department will put a little more effort into things. And I will be checking that.
The water blasts out of the hose, punching through the window and beginning the process of soaking the building's interior. Sarah takes the ladder down as soon as the last evacuee has reached the ground. The building is… Mostly evacuated, and Shadow is heading towards the last few inhabitants. Might be safer for them to stay where they are, actually. This isn't a huge fire, and the building is reasonably up to code.
Once Sarah reaches the ground, she raps her knuckles against Klanker's third rung in the pre-arranged 'tap tap, tap tap' pattern which he's learned means that he should change back. That was an essential lesson, as he can only turn into iron objects and he'd be both rather heavy and conducts heat dangerously well. He switches back to human form, staggering for a moment before righting himself with a smile.
"Is there anything else you need us for?"
The lead fire fighter takes a quick look around, then looks at my construct. Looks like the last few residents have made their way out.
"This here the bit that's on fire?" I nod. "Then… No, I think we've.. got it covered. Ah. Thank you."
I give him a small bow as I dismiss my construct. "I'll leave you to it, then. You know where to find us when you need an official statement."
He nods, then returns his attention to the building as I head over to Charlotte.
"I think that went well."
She looks up from the small boy she's reassuring. "Did everyone get out?"
"We're just waiting for Shadow."
Her attention immediately turns to the building, even as hot water vapour begins emerging from the middle floors. "Are you tracking her?"
I smile reassuringly. "Now now, Aunty. You have to let the ducklings swim on their own eventually."
A minor point of contention between the two of us. Having known that her job was to effectively be a live-in carer, she's… Having trouble adjusting to the fact that they can handle a lot of things for themselves these days. I on the other hand am… Occasionally too enthusiastic about the children's newfound skills. And their psychological ability to handle the stress involved. It.. sort of works when we're.. covering for each other's oversights, and the children themselves accept that we can disagree and still be good friends. But sometimes-.
Shadow steps out through a second storey wall, drifting to the ground before phasing back in. She's carrying a small bundle-. There weren't any babies-.
"Doggy!"
The small dog Shadow was carrying perks up at hearing its master, jumps off Shadow and dashes across the tarmac to jump at him and bark excitedly. Shadow pulls off her mask, smiling as she heads over to us at a more sedate pace.
"Shadow." Charlotte puts her hands on her hips. "It was very nice of you to rescue that dog, but you're not supposed to put yourself at risk when you do this."
"We weren't near the fire. He just got shut in and couldn't find his way out."
Charlotte can't quite maintain her stern expression in the face of Shadow's earnest desire to help. She exhales, bowing her head. "Alright then." Shadow beams. "Team!? We're leaving, now."
Black Hole and Kid Camo turn away from the people they were talking to. I smile. It's not all that long ago that people wouldn't have dared speak to a superhero, but patience, hard work and a moderate media presence have gradually won people-.
On the other side of the crowd I catch sight of a limousine containing our American Consolidated contact. She nods approvingly at me, then turns away and winds the passenger window up.
…
I turn around, smiling at the team.
"Yes, let's be off."