First Person POV
The taxi disappeared around the corner.
For a few moments, I simply stood there.
The city was still alive around me.
Sirens.
Police lights.
News helicopters.
People talking about the battle.
Talking about Carl.
Talking about Endeavor.
Talking about everything.
I looked down at my hand.
I could feel the heat moving through my veins with every beat of my heart.
I smiled.
"...Flame On."
Heat rolled through my body.
Flames ignited across my skin.
WHOOOOSH!
The Human Torch returned.
Fire swallowed my entire body as my UA uniform vanished beneath the transformation.
The familiar feeling returned immediately.
Weightlessness.
Freedom.
Power.
I bent my knees slightly.
Then launched.
BOOOOM!
The pavement cracked beneath my feet.
A pillar of fire shot into the night sky.
The city dropped away beneath me.
Wind screamed past my ears.
The cold air should have bothered me.
Instead, it felt amazing.
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
Wind brushed past my face.
Buildings shrank below.
The streets became glowing lines.
Cars became tiny dots.
Soon even the district where Carl died became difficult to spot.
Heat rolled from my skin in shimmering waves, bending the air around me as I continued to climb.
Higher.
And higher.
I rushed past clouds.
Past flocks of migrating birds.
The city lights spread across the darkness like a sea of stars.
The higher I climbed, the more unreal everything became.
Eventually I reached a point where breathing started feeling strange.
My head grew light.
The air felt thin.
Yet I couldn't bring myself to stop.
I looked upward.
The sky above had darkened considerably.
For a brief moment, it felt like I was standing between two worlds.
Earth below.
Space above.
I slowly looked down.
"...Whoa."
The words escaped before I could stop them.
The city looked tiny.
The entire world looked different from up here.
Quiet.
Small.
Fragile.
For a long moment I simply floated there.
Watching.
Thinking.
Taking it all in.
Then a grin spread across my face.
I felt invincible.
Above everyone.
Above everything.
Alone in the sky, staring down at the beautiful blue marble below.
One day...
Every nation.
Every hero.
Every villain.
They'll all look up.
I smiled.
Then I tilted forward.
And dropped.
BOOOOM!
The world became a blur.
Clouds exploded apart.
The city rushed toward me.
Faster.
Faster.
FASTER.
Wind howled.
Flames roared.
The ground rushed upward.
Buildings shot past.
People pointed.
Someone screamed.
I tried pulling up.
I really did.
Unfortunately, I was still learning.
CRAAAAASH!
I slammed directly into the center of a lake inside a public park.
A massive wall of water erupted into the air.
Waves crashed against the shoreline.
Nearby pedestrians stumbled backward.
Phones appeared instantly.
People started shouting.
"Some guy crashed!"
"Call somebody!"
"Is he okay?!"
The center of the lake began bubbling violently.
Steam rose everywhere.
The water hissed.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
I floated in the water canceling the Johnny Storm transformation.
Returning to my normal skin, I emerged from the lake.
Dripping wet.
Back in my normal UA uniform.
My hair plastered to my forehead.
"...I meant to do that."
Nobody believed me.
Judging by the laughter, several people were recording.
Great.
Absolutely great.
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MUSUTAFU NEWS ONLINE
Mysterious UA Student Seen Flying Across City Following Villain Incident
Witnesses reported seeing a flaming individual soaring across Musutafu shortly after tonight's large-scale villain attack.
Multiple videos have surfaced online showing what appears to be a UA High School student transforming into living fire and flying through the city skyline.
Authorities have yet to release an official statement.
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HERO FORUMS
Thread #1:
WHO IS THE FIRE GUY?
Replies: 12,843
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Thread #2:
ENDeavor's Secret Apprentice?!
Replies: 8,921
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Thread #3:
UA STUDENT CRASHES INTO PUBLIC LAKE
Replies: 15,274
Top Comment:
"He looked cool until the landing."
Likes: 7,132
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The most popular clip showed me standing at the edge of the lake after I emerged from the water.
The video quality was terrible.
The audio was worse.
Yet one sentence came through perfectly.
"Flame on."
WHOOOOSH!
The footage captured my entire body igniting before I launched into the sky.
Within hours, millions of views began piling up.
Reaction channels started posting theories.
Hero forums exploded.
Conspiracy threads appeared.
While half the internet tried to figure out who the mysterious fire user was...
I had far more important things to worry about.
Namely—
Finishing Ochaco's spider suit.