32
Burnin offered to help with the clean-up when their reports were finished and the police and firemen politely refused, stating that we had done enough.
“We're here to help! If you need something done, that's our job!” Burnin said, excitedly.
“Well...” The fire chief look at the firetrucks. “We probably could use a hand with the hoses and...”
I zoomed over to them, unhooked the six that were there, then squeezed them and rolled them up to hang on the side of the trucks. I walked back over to the group and stood beside Burnin. “Done. Is there anything else you need?”
“Holy FUCK!” Burnin shouted and the guys laughed, as did the cops and firemen.
“Damn.” The officer in charge said. “Do you want to go back up to the apartment and catalogue everything damaged by fire, smoke, and water, assuming they tried to fight it before we showed up?”
“Can you accept my sole judgment or will you double-check for insurance purposes?” I asked and the officer smiled.
“We always check, of course. You know claimants like to embellish a little.”
I smiled back as he held out a thicker clipboard. “Give me a few minutes.”
As he nodded, I took off and flew in through the broken window, adding it to the damages. It took longer to find everything damaged than it did to write it down. I filled three pages of itemized lists, from the door of the apartment and in a circular direction from there to end up back at the door.
I even used my x-ray vision to add things stored in the cupboards, like the dried foods that couldn't be kept and damaged cans that were in the heat. The sealed things inside the refrigerator were fine, even if the appliance itself was damaged on the outside. My job done, I jumped out the broken window and flew down to the waiting people.
“Here you go.” I said and handed him the clipboard as I explained about how I wrote it out from the apartment door inwards.
“Are you sure you want to be a hero? The chief could really use someone like you at the station.”
“Just because I can do the paperwork fast, that doesn't mean I like doing it!” I said with a laugh, making him laugh, too.
“Fair point.” He said and handed the list to another officer that walked towards the front of the building to go check my work. “I think that's all for now.”
“We're always glad to help!” Burnin said and the guys nodded.
“Well send the reviews on to Endeavor's Agency as soon as we write them up.” The officer said and shook Burnin's hand, then mine, and then the other guys. “Thanks again for today.”
“We're just doing our jobs!” Burnin said. “Come on, guys! We've got a patrol to get back to!”
“YEAH!” We said and shared high fives with each other.
We walked away with the spectators clapping and talking about us. The family had already been taken to the hospital for better treatment.
“How are you feeling, Supreme?” Omina asked.
“How do I describe what a dirty ashtray feels like? Oh! You can just go lick one and then swallow. I feel like that.” I said and they laughed.
“Your voice is still a bit deeper.” Burnin commented as we walked around a corner.
“Tender areas with more nerves takes longer to heal, like my throat. It should be okay in another twenty minutes; but, that's just a guess. My lungs are fine now.”
Burnin's hand rubbed over the 'S' symbol on my chest. “You're pretty brave.”
“Or stupid.” I said and the guys chuckled. “I've never done anything like that before.”
“We swear to not call you Fire Eater Lad or something, even if we're all thinking it.” Jar-Jar said with a laugh.
“I am not making a joke about what you're gonna call me after I eat out Burnin.” I said.
They fell silent for a few seconds while Burnin blushed to a deep red and her hair flared brightly, then the guys burst out laughing. I caught a piece of fire that tried to get away from Burnin and snuffed it before I slipped it into the little compartment in my belt with the other one she gave me. She saw me do that and gave me a questioning look.
“I saved the other one you gave me, too.” I whispered and pat the compartment.
Burin gave me a look that I didn't expect. Admiration.
I almost laughed about me doing that little thing, had made her admire me more than using my powers to save people did.
We continued on our patrol and I wasn't surprised that nothing else happened for the rest of our shift, besides stopping to talk to people, answer questions, and to show off a little. One group of kids at a playground had us stop and asked to be rescued.
“I don't see any of you in danger.” Burnin accused and put her hands on her hips.
“I'll do it!” One girl yelled and ran for a nearby tree. She scrambled up the trunk to near the top of the tree like she was a squirrel and crawled out onto a shaky branch. “Help! Help! I'm trapped and can't get down!”
That made all the kids cheer and made us heroes laugh.
“There's a few ways to get her down.” Omina said. “Anyone have an ax to chop the tree down?”
“NO!” The kids yelled.
“We could burn it down.” Kido suggested.
“NO!” The kids yelled again, some even giggling.
“I could kick it over.” Jar-Jar said and showed off one of his powerful legs.
“NO!” The kids yelled, most of them laughing now.
“You gotta do it like a hero!” One of the boys shouted.
“Well, I guess that means it's my turn.” I said and Burnin nodded, because she knew what was coming. I walked over to the tree and looked up. “Don't worry, Miss Damsel In Distress! Your hero will be right up to rescue you!”
The girl smiled for a second and then looked a little worried. “The tree won't hold you up this high.”
“It's all right. I'm not climbing the tree.” I said and lifted off slowly, then drifted up and up and heard the other kids make appreciative 'ooo' sounds.
The girl stared at me with her mouth hanging open.
I came to a stop right in front of her and held my arms out to her. “Miss Damsel, please allow me to return you safely to the ground.”
She let out a squeal of delight and tried to jump... and the branch broke. “AH!” She gasped and barely started to fall when I was suddenly right under her and she landed gently in my arms, thanks to my telekinesis. Her eyes were wide and she stared into my eyes.
“I would never let someone so cute fall.” I whispered to her and she blushed. “Hold on and I'll have you down in a moment.”
She put her arms around my neck and I moved out from the tree and floated there, to let everyone see that she was all right, then I floated down to land on the ground. The kids cheered at seeing a real rescue and not the fake one they thought they were going to see.
I went to put her down and she didn't let go. “Miss Damsel...”
“Can... can we go up a bit higher?” She asked, her face bright red.
“You have to ask my boss if it's okay.” I said and nodded to Burnin.
“Miss Burnin? Can my hero... um...” The girl looked like she didn't know what to ask.
“A little flight around the playground?” I asked and she nodded.
Burnin smiled at her. “Okay, you can borrow him for one flight; but, you gotta give him back when you're done.”
The girl nodded several times and clung to me tightly.
I nodded to Burnin and was sure she wanted to see it again, only I was going to show off a little. “By the way, my hero name is Supreme.” I said and kicked off from the ground and shot up into the air two hundred feet and came to a stop.
“WOOOOW!” The kids yelled from below us, as did Burnin and the guys.
The girl in my arms had been shocked at the sudden movement, then she stared out at the city. “Wow.”
“Just so you know, I haven't flown around the city like this yet.” I said to her, making her eyes widen. “It's okay. I've practised a lot and I'll protect you from the wind.”
The girl nodded and kept looking forward.
“Here we go.” I said and 'kicked off' again in mid-air and disappeared from their sight with a cracking sound. “That was the sound barrier.” I explained and then told her what that meant, then slowed down when we reached the edge of the city and turned to make a loop all around it. The girl listened as I talked about my hero training and we did a lap all the way around the entire city.
I came across a crime happening, someone with a gun robbing someone. “Don't tell anyone I did this.” I said and swooped in without being seen and used heat vision to melt the gun's barrel. We retreated to a rooftop to watch what happened next.
The robber became the victim as the previous victim beat the crap out of him, now that he wasn't being held at gunpoint. The girl giggled as we watched him get pounded and the previous victim dragged him out of the alley and towards the closest police officer.
“We better get back.” I said and she nodded. I took off and flew all the way back to the park and saw everyone searching the skies for us.
“There they are!” One of the kids shouted and pointed.
“I thought you said one flight around the park!” Burnin exclaimed and waved at the park around her.
“We did fly around the park.” I said, truthfully.
The girl giggled happily and nodded agreement. We actually did fly around the park... by going around the entire city.
Burnin sighed. “All right, you had your fun.”
I knelt and the girl stood without letting my neck go. “Miss Damsel?”
“My name's Dory.” The girl said.
“My name's Connor. It's nice to meet you, Dory.”
“I'm eight and I wanna be a hero.”
“Of course you can be a hero, Dory. By the time you're old enough and practice your quirk in a controlled area and with supervision, any of the hero academies would be proud to have you attend.”
The girl beamed a smile at me, then she blushed a little and kissed my cheek.
“OOOO!” The other kids said loudly.
“My first Rescue Kiss!” I gasped and she blushed deeply. “Thank you very much, Dory.”
“You're welcome.” Dory said and let my neck go. “Bye, Connor.”
“It won't be for long.” I said and nodded at Burnin. “The boss has us scheduled to pass by here again in three days.”
“R-really?” Dory asked and looked at Burnin with hope clearly on her face.
“I'm not sure how you knew that.” Burnin said and then smiled. “Yes, we're back on this route then.”
“YAY!” The kids yelled and Dory ran over to her and hugged her, then the kids took off to go play on the park swings.
Burnin walked over to me as I stood up. “Where did you go?”
“I didn't say how far out from the park I would fly.” I said with a smirk and she smacked my chest with the back of her hand. “I flew around the city.”
“In that short a time?” Omina asked, surprised.
“I went slow so that Dory could see everything.” I admitted, which surprised them.
“How fast can you fly?” Burnin asked, genuinely curious.
“I can break the sound barrier in less than three hundred feet.” I said and she caught her breath. “I don't have anywhere else big enough than the school's track field to practice, so I've never actually gone full out.” I chuckled. “Not that I could measure my speed, even if I did. Do they make anything for speedster heroes to measure their speed while actually running and not on a treadmill?”
“Not that I know of.” Burnin said and licked her lips. “Let's get the last part of the route done and get back to the agency to eat.”
“Now you're speaking our language!” Jar-Jar said and the guys exchanged high fives.
We had to kind of rush the last bit to get back to the building by the end of the shift. That was okay, since most people were busy going home themselves and all we did was make sure no one bothered them with us around. Just being there and visible stopped a lot of blatant crimes, which Burnin explained was why they did patrols like this in a group. More heroes together was more intimidating.
“Finally!” Omina said as we entered the agency.
“Sign in sheets!” Burnin reminded them and we walked towards the receptionist's desk.
I zoomed over at super-speed and signed my name under theirs and added the time with a note about meeting Endeavor before going on-shift. I zoomed back behind them and no one noticed.
We all signed out, marking the time, and would submit reports for the day in the morning. The cafeteria was next and I wasn't surprised that Todoroki wasn't there. The crowd of sidekicks was pretty loud, so I had to mostly tune them out. We grabbed our meals, both myself and Jar-Jar taking two each, and sat down at a table.
We shared a discussion over the day's events and talked about any ways we could have done better. I immediately said the next time we fought a fire, I would prefer to not burn out my lungs and also drown myself on the same day, which made them laugh.
“You took it like a real hero, Connor!” Jar-Jar said and pat my back. “You even eat like one!”
I had to laugh at that. “The guy serving didn't bat an eye when I asked for an extra meal at lunch.”
Burnin nodded. “With so many of us here, there's always extra food. Nothing is wasted or recycled, though. The cooks have a delivery driver take anything not served to the closest shelter on the list.”
“There's a list?” I asked and she nodded again.
“There's always homeless, abused, or people just down on their luck to take care of.” Burnin said and finished eating. “It's on next week's schedule to visit one and see if our efforts are making a difference.”
“I only saw this week's schedule on the receptionist's desk.” I told her.
“So that's how you knew.” Burnin said and stood to look at the others. “Okay, guys. You're off until tomorrow at the same time.”
“I love having mornings off during a full shift rotation.” Omna said and stood as well. “Hey, Kido. Want to hit the gym for a bit?”
“Sure.” Kido said. “I need to work out some more with my quirk.” He gave me a look through his bandages. “We can't all eat an apartment full of fire and live to tell the tale.”
The chatter around the cafeteria picked up at his words.
“It wasn't supposed to be a tale at all, Fart Director.” I joked, making the other guys laugh.
Burnin actually laughed and grabbed my arm. “Come on, new guy. I'll show you where your room is.”
“Yes, boss.” I said and stood to let her lead me out of the cafeteria.
The chatter quickly changed to her and what she would actually be showing me.
“They're talking about you.” I whispered to her as we entered the elevator.
“That's because I'm always burning hot.” Burnin said, reusing my compliment to her. “They also can't stop staring at my ass.”
“It's a great ass.” I said. “So is the rest of you.”
“Damn right.” Burnin said and squinted her eyes at me. “You better be including my mind in that, too.”
“I'm not stupid. Of course your mind is in there. It controls your hotness.” I said and she grinned at me.
The elevator doors opened and we saw a couple of guys carrying bags as they talked in the hall.
“I can't get in my room.” One of them said.
“Me, either. It keeps saying it's not my room.” The other said.
I hid my smirk and followed Burnin into her room and shut the door.