Max was walking down town, hands in his jacket pocket. Why did I come to this city? I had a nice job in Chigago and good friends. So many memories...
That was the problem. All those memories. Everywhere he looked he could see his wife, sitting by the cafe or walking through the park. It hurt too much.

Here he could take a new start. Get a new job where no one would know his past. Maybe I should look into that school for mutants? Too bad I don't know where it is.

He sniffed the air. What was that smell? Charcol? Or... "A fire!" He ran towards the smell, and saw an apartment building on fire. There were people inside, he could hear them inside. "Oh no!" The fire brigade hadn't arrived yet, but the building didn't look very strong.

"I've got to help!" He ran straight into the building, amidst the smog and fire, he held his head high. He felt the smog in his lung become fresh air.

"Hello! Is anyone there?" He felt around the house, but flinched as the fire was all around him. He knew he wasn't immune to fire, and had to be careful.

"Help!" He heard in a room on the first floor, a woman's voice, there were also some children inside. He Went up to the door, and kicked it down. He saw a small family of three, one mother and two small boys, crouched on the floor. The way to them was blocked by a large burning beam from the ceiling that had fallen down.

"No problem." He saw the people couldn't see quite right with the smoke, and he took a momentous breath of smoke that he converted to air, which he blew straight at the fire, the force extinguishing the flame.

"Come on mam, I'm here to help." The woman didn't see what happened, and she gladly took his hand and he helped her up. He carried the children in his arms, and helped them outside.

Once they were outside, the woman was crying in gratitude. "Thank you sir!" There was a cry of anguish from inside. There were still more people inside. "Oh no." Man this would be easier with help.

Leaving the barber shop Devon was oblivious to the fact that he didn't need his hood up anymore. "Whew no more green hair!" he shouted to the sky as he took his hands and rubbed his forehead. Out on the side walk it was a dry day but the people seemed to be distressed for a unknown reason. Panic erupted from the people as they headed Down Town, "I thought I was crazy. Whats with everyone?" Devon said while examining his surroundings. Looking up Devon noticed a cloud of smoke expanding to the clouds above the city. "Oh..." he said as he followed the crowd to that direction.

Standing in front of the building Devon couldn't help but think why people are so worried. Looking at the building more closely he noticed a man coming out with a women in his arms, "great more heroes for this town" he said while rolling his eyes. Examining the man more closely Devon saw he was part Indian which reminded him of a friend who was also Indian. Big in stature Devon giggled at the fact that he could handle himself properly in a fire and saving a life. "Well, looks like we got ourselves a big Fire Fighter on our hands" he said to the man. Out of nowhere he heard a scream from the building which he knew someone else was inside.

"Come on Devon be a hero for once" a voice inside his head said. Devon felt strange due to the fact that a killer like him could actually save a life. "Alright I'll give it a try" he thought back. "Hey, do you......need help?" he asked.

Honestly, she was working on kicking the habit.

Electricity that came from the city's power grid was never as good, never as... jumpy. It must've been the low voltage of the wires, but still. It was just never as good a buzz. But know what was a good buzz? Killing off that bastard who had convinced her he needed a loan just this once before he tried to make off with her entire measly bank account and credit cards when she had needed them most. She had a long list of lovers to kill, but she could only manage so much mayhem per day.

Grudge much? Well, he deserved the zap nap. He deserved the fire and he definitely deserved to burn. The other people? Well, accidents do happen. It was a good way to weed out those too weak to take care of themselves. And Lori was strong. Strong and full of city power via an electrical outlet in the deceased's apartment.

"Looks like an electrical fire." She nodded knowingly.

Like most firebugs, Lori was watching her handiwork blossom from the crowded street of gawkers. Truth be told she hadn't exactly meant to light the whole building on fire. No, that was just icing on the cake.

And there were even heroes that showed up. She supposed it was bound to happen, but really people just needed to let the weak ones go. It was their time.

Something pressurized must have exploded because a window suddenly shattered outward and at the crowd most of which gasped and ran for cover, but not Lori. It was like fireworks. Lori liked the pretty lights and she was ready to take this show to the next level. The steel frame of the building made a high pitched squeal and Lori smiled. Magnetic building materials. Soon, it would be time to bring the house down. She would just wait until her heroes decided to dodge in one last time.

Oh it was so deliciously tragic.

"Well, looks like we got ourselves a big Fire Fighter on our hands"

He looked at the green eyed kid who just showed up out of nowhere. "Um...Thank you?"

He glanced back around for any sign of the fire brigade. Come on we weren't this slow in Chicago, where are they? He looked in the building. He didn't know if he could go in again, the fire was getting worse...

"Hey, do you......need help?"

He looked at the kid. The kid couldn't be much older then 20. He shouldn't take his help. He had no training and things could get ugly. But there was something about him that well...and he needed help.

"Do you think you can handle it? It gets pretty bad in there." Looking oveer the building he tried to think. The first 2 floors were empty, he checked it over so that left only the top floor. "We would have to go to the top of the building. You still want to come on? It's not cowardly to back out, I'm a trained professional."

Shifting his eyes from the man to the building Devon couldn't help but wonder how the fire started "I wonder what....or who, started this fire" he thought. Usually Devon wouldn't care about saving lives but ever since losing his friend and moving to Florida Devon felt the need to be a better person....to some extent. "Do you think you can handle it? It gets pretty bad in there." he asked as Devon shifted his attention back to him. "Well I'm worse" Devon said bluntly.

"We would have to go to the top of the building. You still want to come on? It's not cowardly to back out, I'm a trained professional." he continued as Devon gave him a peculiar stare. "Your a professional huh? Well I professionally don't care" he leaned in and said. He leaned back up and dashed for the building which was surrounded by black fog. Hearing the screams on the third floor, Devon peered back and yelled at the man. "If you don't hurry up then I guess your gonna professionally fail!" Devon said as he entered the building.

He almost swore as the kid ran past him. "Hey watch it!" That kid is going to get himself killed! He went in after the kid, before quickly pushing him out of the way of a falling bit of ceiling.

"Kid, you have to be careful! If your reckless here you could end up killing yourself, or worse someone else." He walks forward a little bit and glances around.

"Ok. Follow me, and don't run unless I tell you to. The floors might not be strong." He led the way up the stairs, passing the 2nd floor, as he had checked it before.

When he reached the top floor, he heard the scream again. It was a distinct man's voice. "Ok, he's over there, in that room. Sounds hurt. Might be an idea to call the ambulance as well." The door was the last one down the hall. The fire was also leading from that room, and he covered his face from the flames.

Kid, if you can create water or something, now would be the time to show it.

And they were off. Rushing back inside and toward the top floor, by their own reckoning. that seemed like such a poor decision based on the damaged structural integrity of the building. For shame.

Lori did not have very good senses, but a destruction job really didn't require a whole lot of finesse. Lori hummed Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture as she wordlessly worked her magic. A strong magnetic field opened up near the middle of the building. High temperatures aren't the best for sustaining magnetic fields, so this would need to be an all or nothing kind of deal.

She threw all the power that she dared into that field and heard the satisfying crunching and squealing from the inside. Main support? stairs? Who knows what she was forcing to collapse in on itself, but the sound was blood curdling-ly delicious. Whatever she was forcing in on itself, it was big. That was about the extent of her extra sensory perception.

Was the building itself starting to sway or was that wishful thinking?

Inside the building was a living nightmare for Devon, chipped and melted paint curdled down the wall and embers drifted threw the entrance as Devon stood there. Fire was blazed everywhere and the crackle echoed in the rooms. Along with the smoke on the ceiling Devon saw nothing but a black thunderstorm looking up. Covering his nose from the gas and squinting his eyes he heard the Fire Fighter come up from behind him. "O.k., follow me, and don't run unless I tell you to. The floors might not be strong" he said as he edged Devon to the stairs.

Running up the stairs Devon felt like he was walking on hard lava, but he kept on going for the persons life up stairs. "This is just why I hate being the hero" he told himself as they made it up the stairs. With his new outfit consisting of jeans, designed skull shirt, and a gray hood, Devon was angry at himself for going in with his new outfit. Finally reaching the third floor Devon fanned his face area of smoke and focused his eyes deeper into the smoke. A door stood at the end of the hallway which fire poured out of, hearing the screams Devon had to react fast.

"O.k, he's over there, in that room. Sounds hurt. Might be an idea to call the ambulance as well." he said. Seeing as though they needed extra muscle Devon sighed heavily as he was about to expose himself for what he truly was. "I hope you can keep a secret" he said as he looked him in the eye. Along with the black smoke green mist flowed from Devon's body and three Trolls appeared. They needed to rescue the man and get out their fast which Devon intended to do. "These guys are a lot stronger then people, so if you don't want to burn lets go" he said while willing his Trolls to bust the door open. Entering the room looked for an exit Devon examined everything, "You find the guy and I'll make a exit" he said as his Trolls smashed threw the walls.

I hope you can keep a secret" he said as he looked him in the eye. Along with the black smoke green mist flowed from Devon's body and three Trolls appeared.
Max looked back at the kid. "What do you-oh." He stepped back a bit upon seeing the trolls. "Oh, so your a mutant. That's...quite impressive actually." He hadn't met another mutant since those 'doctors' who came to his house. At least this guy seems to want to help.
"These guys are a lot stronger then people, so if you don't want to burn lets go" he said while willing his Trolls to bust the door open. Entering the room looked for an exit Devon examined everything, "You find the guy and I'll make a exit" he said as his Trolls smashed threw the walls.

As the green clones started smashing, Max began fuming with rage. "Hey hold it, you could break the integrity of the building-"

Was the building itself starting to sway or was that wishful thinking?
He felt the building shake. "Ok, we don't have much time. The building's about to go down." In the room there is a man lying on the floor, surrounded by flames. "Please help, that crazy Bitch did this!"

Max looked at the fire around the man. "Hey kid."He waited till he got his attention. "I've got a secret too." He took a deep breath, and like a vaccum, almost all the air and smoke in the room went into his lungs, the fire around the man disappeared as well due to the sudden lack of air.

He picked up the man, and placed him in a fireman's lift, so as to protect him. "Ok, now we run." He goes back the way he came, unless Devon made an exit that looks like it could stand, then he goes through there.

The building, it wasn't going down. At least, it wasn't going down fast enough. Lori glanced around when she heard sirens. Oh, the actual fire brigade was coming to their aid. She giggled to herself. That rhymed. Abruptly, Lori looked at the building and demanded that it tell her what she need know.

After several futile moments of trying to 'see' what damage she had done, Lori sighed and was left one course of action if she really wanted to take this whole thing down. It had to be quick if she was going to make it before the firemen did.

She dashed inside. Her lungs protested first, eyes watering second. She just needed to see. The staircase lay in a mangled heap along with chunks of concrete that had probably been supporting it. Lori ducked around until she could peer up the hole that it left... that was a good two floors worth of damage at least and as mangled as the I beams were that had been attached, that wasn't nearly as damaging to the structure as she wanted.

The heat made her sluggish. It just wasn't good for her in several ways. She just couldn't think of what needed breaking. Which metal support would be the most efficient use of her last bits of power? A long and sad moan predicated a sudden buckling of a corner support. Well, it was as good as any. Visual inspection done, it was time to boogie.

Lori coughed and hacked the icky soot from her throat. Man, she was glad she gave up smoking when she did. The door was so close and suddenly the light was blocked by a vision in yellow. Lori stumbled right into the firefighter. It was actually really hard to understand him through all that gear and so she didn't even bother to try to answer his questions. Her attention was all for that buckling beam support.

It moaned and groaned. Lori was being carried out and away from the fire. No doubt she looked quite the victim after her brief foray into the blazing inferno. Firemen were suddenly yelling, but all Lori could hear was that final, delicious snapping sound and the chaos that ensued. The building was definitely leaning now, the whole structure was groaning and shuddering. Firefighters were trickling out of the exit like yellow water. No doubt, they hadn't gotten far inside with the stairs gone.

Lori lay her head tiredly against her rescuer's shoulder. She'd done a good day's work here. She needed a definite re-charge though.

Standing on the edge of a burning table Devon used all three of his Trolls to smash his way an exit. After a good 4 seconds they managed to bust threw the concrete wall and light shined threw as Devon peered threw the holes. "Now I just need to land o.k and not get noticed..." Devon thought while looking at his Trolls. Snapping his fingers Devon got an idea, willing one of the three Trolls to pick him up, it did so immediately. Being very strong and durable the Troll would be able to land and make a quick getaway for Devon.

Looking back at the Fire Fighter holding the man at his arms Devon had a malevolent grin on his face. "Sorry dude, but looks like your going to burn" he said while winking his eye at him. Jumping out of the hole in the wall, Devon and his Trolls landed heavily on the ground creating a miniature crater. Before the crowd could realize what hit the ground he willed his Trolls to take off on landing which they did. Hauling down the streets and jumping from building to building, Devon dangle from his Trolls back. Leaning over his shoulder and watching the building slide he wondered what happened to that guy. "Well, at least I 'had' good intentions" he said while laughing.

"Sorry dude, but looks like your going to burn"

He turned back to see what was happening. "What the-You dirty punk!" He yelled as Devon leaped out the building with his trolls. I really hope all mutants aren't so fickle.

He ran towards the staircase he had climbed up and then swore. The staircase had become a metal death trap on the bottom floor. Someone had destroyed it while he was up. If I get out of here alive that punk is going to pay.

He looked at the man he had slung over his shoulder and gulped. "This isn't going to be pretty." He then took a running start, before leaping down towards the floor before him. He fell with a hard thump, and he swore something broke. But he stood up. Ok I'm on the second floor. I can't do another jump down." Then the floor began to give way underneath him. "Shit."

He ran as fast as he could to the closest window, and saw to his surprise, the firebrigade had arrived. "Hey, over here!"

One of the firemen heard his cry and brought the ladder crane towards the window he stood at. Max helped the man down, but not a moment too soon, for the floor gave way under him just then, and he was clinging to the window sill.

He looked down and thought, Oh well, I guess I never did meet the X-men. Better off this way. At least I get to see my wife now. He felt his fingers slip and he began to fall.

The world seemed to slow down for him, until someone grabbed his hand. He looked up and saw the fireman had indeed grabbed his hand. He was pulling him up. "We are getting you out of here sir." The man said.

With the man pulling him up, Max struggled into the crane lift, and finally headed down. There were some people beginning to crowd around him and some looked like news reporters, and he said,

"This man is the hero, I am really lucky he got here to save my bacon. Talk to him." Before quickly leaving the area. Where did that guy go? And who started the fire?

The man he had carried suddenly started yelling, "She started it! That blonde bitch! She did all-" He was interrupted by being taken into an ambulance, and a machine they put over his mouth to help him sleep.

"He's in a bad way." One of the paramedics said, before closing the ambulance doors.

Blond huh? Maybe another mutant, or just a normal arsonists?

As he walked away, a flyer flew into his face. He glanced at it. The X-men. Working to unite man and mutants.

He shrugged. "Maybe I should look into this."

Unfortunately, Lori didn't get to see the cause of all the gasps and ooohs and awws because by the time she'd turned around there was just a cloud of dust and smoke. She heard the crash and saw the crater, but didn't get one glimpse of what caused it. Typical.

With a watery smile she get the nice fireman to put her down. She was fine really. Weak by her own doing, but that could change as soon as she found something to leech. Lori's eyes traced the heroic rescue of none other than a certain man who was supposed to not only be dead, but be burned up nice and crisply. Her charge level would change drastically because he wasn't leaving this street without a visit from the boogey-woman.

Lori made her way toward the ambulance. She made the mistake of crossing her victim's field of vision and was regaled with shouts of "She started it! That blonde bitch! She did all-" He was interrupted by the medic's around back while Lori made her way up front. She trailed her fingers idly along the metal shell of the running vehicle until she was even with the driver's window and able to reach her small hand onto the hood.

"Do you really have to be family to ride in back? I-I've lived with Jake longer than anyone else. I know his blood type and everything."

Lori listened and nodded and the driver made her promise ... something. Okay, so she really wasn't listening after he said that she could ride in back because she was busy trying to pull charge from the Ambulance's battery. It wouldn't stop the car since they kept it running and that meant the alternator was still functioning. Lori would need to be quick if she was going to get this going before they took off.

"You okay, Sweetheart?"

Lori looked back to the driver who had noticed her distraction and she nodded. "I'm just so worried."

"Well get in here. I bet you can help our techs with that information you have."

Lori wasn't at full charge, a car battery can only hold so much after all, but it would be enough. She climbed into the open passenger-side door and climbed toward the back. Jake was laying quietly, presumably from a sedative.

"I was so surprised to see you alive," Lori learned over the now struggling Jake and whispered in his ear. "too bad it couldn't last."

Jake wrestled a hand free from the EMT enough to slap Lori hard, but her hands were already around his skull.

"He's not normally like this. What's wrong with him?" As if she didn't understand what would happen when she tried to pull the bio-electrical current out of someone's skull. She never could seem to get it. Brain impulses were just not normal electricity. So she sent a lovely surge through his grey matter to make sure the job was done right this time.

EMT's were shouting and all over Jake's convulsing body. "Asphyxia, first, second, and third degree burns, possible internal burns from aspirating heated smoke, Ma'am we're going to have to ask you to leave."

"Is he going to be alright?" She rubbed at her moistened eyes. It wouldn't do to have electricity start arching there and give away her methods. The EMTs didn't answer, instead passing her along until she was deposited on the curb out the back of the ambulance. Looked like Jake was in for a bumpy ride. The sirens sounded and the ambulance took off almost before the techs had re-closed the back doors.

Lori buried her face in her hands with her shoulders hunched and laughed. Laughing sounded so much like sobbing that one of the news crews came to see if there was a story there. Their camera mysteriously flickered between static and recording depending on how close they came to Lori.