"... helicopter last control, crashing into the Eclipse Records building. Several people were seriously injured, but, thankfully, the building was mostly empty."

I let the news station run and I worked on my latest homework assignment. When the report was made, I glanced up to see the footage someone had caught of the crash. As I watched, I grew more and more certain that the cash was no accident. The craft was moving to strangely. Elliot, who was sitting across a pile of metal and wires from me, payed no attention. He'd gone back to focusing on his tech.

"Hahn... Hahn!" His shouting caught my attention. "We're partners on this project. You can't expect me to do everything."

"Well, sorry." I drew the word out sarcastically. "The fact that six people almost died caught my attention for a moment. But I'll bring it back to the much more important topic of computers."

"It's not a computer," he found it necessary to tell me for the fourth time. "It's an AI... and it's smarter than you."

"First off, whatever it's gonna be, it's not that now. Second, there's no need to be so rude."

"Please. You couldn't figure out how to fix an already built PC." I was very tempted to pull out my recently-improved sonic device and chuck it at his head, but I settled for glaring at him as he added, "I don't even know why you're in this class."

"Maybe it's because of smart-butt brats like you that tell me I can't. So how about you go jump from your I.Q. to your opinion of me and hope your ugly face breaks your fall."

He finally looked up with the oddest mixture of expressions, but I ignored him and set to work.

Fire. I was starting to get used to its light and heat. The sounds of explosions and sirens had become familiar, as had the cold of a rooftop at night. My name had become something you whisper in the hopes that no one hears you. People wear beginning to be truly afraid. Sure, no one had been seriously hurt, but as far as they could tell, it was all luck... or maybe I was just playing with them.

On the other hand, the new guy had just dove right in. The helicopter crash had been followed by several similar incidents, for which responsibility was claimed all at once. The giant city screens had all been hacked and and masked man clad all in dark grey and black had appeared, announcing himself as Storm and giving a promise of future havoc. I had no need to care though. Everything either of us did sent the panic reaching farther. That was all I needed. But, I had to admire his flair. Everyone had seen and heard him. He'd been active only two weeks, but there wasn't a soul in the city that didn't know his name.

As I watched my latest attack, I thought about my own situation. I no longer had to leave my name sprawled out, because people had learned to recognize me. All I had to do was wait until someone saw me and took a picture before I disappeared, though I preferred to wait until the detective turned up so I could slip between his fingers and continue to ruin his reputation. Seriously, he made it too easy. That night, however, I heard footsteps behind me before I even noticed sirens. He was early.

"Really? No announcement this ti-" I stopped. When I turned, I had come face to face with, not Corum, but another masked man. This one wore deep shades of green and red, and, despite the late winter chill, his arms were bare. He didn't say anything, just watched me.

"Ah... can I help you?" I asked, unsure of what else to do.

He responded by pulling a coil of robe from a hook at his belt and stepping forward. I retreated until my heels kicked the edge. Steps slow and easy, he continued forward, making a loop in his rope as he did. Nearly five feet away, his weight shifted and time seemed to slow. I watched his arm move as he tossed the coil. It flew toward me like a lasso, and I realized what he was doing. I jumped away quickly and time resumed its normal rate and the man hissed. He chased me and tried again. Again, I dodged. Aiming a kick at him, I hoped to bring him down, but he caught my foot and swung it up, knocking me onto my back. The man attempted to pin me, but I was too fast. I rolled out of reach and toward the back of the building. I had no reason to stay and fight. It turned out that this was a terrible mistake. Just as I prepared to jump, the air resounded with a bang. Something hit my shoulder, throwing my off balance, and agony spread from the spot like a crack in glass. I still went over the edge though, but instead of flying, I was falling... falling head first with no way to stop myself and my vision going black. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't see the pavement rushing towards me. Instead, I tried to focus on the pain. Maybe if I could get it to spread then I would black out from agony. It worked, but I hit something first. Not something overly hard, and not something that killed me, but instead simply stopped my fall. I didn't open my eyes. I didn't want to. I didn't think I could. My body went numb and a wave of darkness crashed over me.