[kabuto_rocks]

What was this? Childish as it was, Andor felt personally insulted that this girl had his power. It was supposed to be his! It was what made him special! If everyone was running round with the ability to shoot fire, then where did that leave him? Out of a job, that what would happen. Cast down from being a hero, a legend and reduced to an unloved nobody. He couldn't stand it! He felt like someone had just stolen his favourite toy.

His disappointment only increased when he saw the paving stone freeze. Ice! She could make ice as well! This just got worse and worse. Not only did she have his power, but she had a better version of it. Crossing his arms, he did his best not to sound sulky when he spoke.

"That's quite impressive," he admitted reluctantly, "You ought to be careful though. It takes years to be able to control a power like that. You can't just go round showing it off to anyone." What he really meant of course was 'don't steal my spotlight', but you couldn't just say things like that. You had to dress it up a bit. It was all for her own good, of course it was. He wasn't being selfish. He only had her best interests at heart

{2/5, 7}

[kabuto_rocks]

The brief satisfaction she felt at impressing him was soon soured by the return of Captain Patronize. Lifting her hand back up, she scrambled to her feet so she could once more look him in the eye.

"For your information I can control it! It's easy. I've been training for months so I'd be ready to do this. Like I said, I'm not a copycat or an amateur. I want to be a hero." She stood up straight as she spoke, empowered by her words, dramatic though they might be. It was true. She had spent ages building up fighting skills and making sure that she knew exactly how much of her power to use before she went too far and seriously hurt someone. And okay, it was probably a bit childish to refer to herself as a 'hero'. But she wasn't claiming to be amazing or highly skilled. She knew she still had a lot to learn, but she also knew that it wasn't fair to class herself as 'just another copycat'.

She watched him carefully, wondering what his reaction would be. His eyes had gone misty, his face hard to read. He seemed to be thinking very hard about something though. She felt like a performer, anxiously waiting to see whether or not the audience would applaud. She hated to admit that his opinion mattered to her, but it did. Like she'd said before, as ridiculous as she thought him she did have to admire him on some level. He was a superhero. He had made it

{5/5, 10}

[kabuto_rocks]

Yes, he had been right. She certainly had bravery. Determination too, from the looks of things. But Andor knew from personal experience that those things weren't enough. Heck, in this high-powered world not even a power like hers was enough to guarantee anything on its own. You needed everything-grit, determination, the ability to plan, to function when it was late at night and dark and you hadn't slept for three days.

Staring at this defiant girl glaring back at him, he couldn't help but wonder if she had it. Ordinarily he kept his dealings with other heroes to a minimum, but this was a special case. And there was no harm testing her was there? It wasn't like he was going to hurt her, and staying with her was far safer than leaving her alone.

"Alright then," he grinned, adjusting his goggles and standing up straight, "Go ahead." It was amusing, to see her looking so confused. Half the time she seemed uncertain and nervous, the rest of the time she seemed so angry he was half-expecting to be set alight at any moment. Naturally he preferred it when he felt in charge.

"What do you mean?" She frowned, those blue eyes blinking up at him.

"Go ahead. Give me your best shot." Smirking, he braced himself for what he was sure would be a fairly weak attack. It seemed this night had taken a turn for the interesting

{3/5, 8}

[kabuto_rocks]

At first she had no idea what he meant. Even when he clarified it didn't really help because it made no sense to her. Why was he asking her to attack him? Was it some sort of trick? Her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously as she examined his grin. No, he seemed genuine. Then...was this a test? She felt both thrilled and anxious at the idea. If he was testing her then that had to mean he saw some potential. On the other hand, she had counted on tackling small-time thugs and criminals tonight, not a fully-powered, experienced crime-fighter.

But she couldn't back down from the challenge now could she?

Sizing him up, she tried to judge the best spot. He was several inches taller than her and very well-built. Not to mention the fact he was expecting her attack. For a few minutes she just waited, feeling stupider and stupider. This was a bad idea.

In the end there was only really one thing she could do. Shooting a blast of fire into the air, she quickly ducked down and rolled between his legs. As she hit the other side she turned as fast as she could, sending out a blast of ice straight at his back

{1/5, 11}

[kabuto_rocks]

There was an excitement building up in Andor as he waited for her to attack. He could see her studying him, trying to work out the best method. That was promising. When you were at a severe disadvantage, it was just plain idiotic to rush in. Even though he doubted it would do her much good, it was nice to see her attempting to strategize.

The shot of fire surprised him, as she no doubt intended it would. His gaze drawn to it, he wasn't paying attention when she zipped past him. The shards of ice struck him in the back, instantly melting at his high body temperature and making him freeze up in sheer shock. The attack didn't hurt but that hardly mattered. She'd done it! She'd surprised him!

After her first attack she stopped almost instantly, nervously scurrying round and glancing up at him. Suddenly she looked young again, biting her lip and her voice filled with uncertainty.

"Are you okay?" Letting out a laugh, Andor snapped out of his shocked state.

"Okay? That was ingenious!" He grinned, then hastily corrected himself, "Impressive I mean, impressive. For your age and with your lack of experience. You seem to have some natural fighting ability."

{4/5, 9}

[kabuto_rocks]

When she saw him freeze up, she genuinely thought that she had hurt him in some way. Maybe she should have known better, but his face was so serious that she was sure she had to have done something wrong. Instantly she was overwhelmed by panicked thoughts, flashes of headlines 'Teenage girl beats up the Flame!'. They'd both be ruined! But then he started to laugh and it was like a weight had been lifted off her.

"Don't do that!" She snapped, "You scared me." Then, as his words sunk in, she slowly began to smile. Ingenious! He'd called her ingenious! It didn't even matter that he'd tried to take it back. She knew that had been his gut reaction, his true one. Beaming with joy, she grinned up at him for the first time.

"You think so?" Maybe she could be a hero after all! Another image flashed into her mind, this one far more pleasant. Once again she was on the front cover of a newspaper, but this time the headlines were filled with praise and speculation. Everyone would admire her, want to know who she was. She'd be famous, and in a good way instead of being famous for something pointless and without meaning. And, better yet, no one would actually know who she was so all that negative stuff that usually came with fame would be absent. Her eyes shone at the thought. Suddenly her childish dreams felt like a reality. It was quite possibly the best day of her life

{2/5, 12}

[kabuto_rocks]

Andor felt a surprising rush of pleasure as the girl's face lit up. She looked so completely thrilled by his statement, so happy that he couldn't help but be touched by it. It had been a while since he'd met a young hero. He had forgotten how devoted and determined they could be.

"Well, you certainly have promise. Not that I'm really an expert on this type of thing..." He trailed off, slightly nervous by how hopeful she looked. He was meant to be discouraging her, sending her back home where it was safe not telling her she was good at it! Then again, it was true. He hesitated, not really sure what to do. On the one hand, it was irresponsible to tell her to pursue her heroic antics. She could get seriously hurt, and while she showed some good technique she was nowhere near ready for serious criminals. On the other hand, if he told her to stop who's to say she would even listen? She seemed like a stubborn girl and if anything it might just make her more determined to do something reckless.

Fully aware he had dug himself into a hole, he shuffled his feet awkwardly. What should he do? For once he had no idea. If only there was some other superhero around who he could pawn her off on. But the street was empty. It was his decision and his alone. Unfortunately

{5/5, 10}

[kabuto_rocks]

Promise! Promise! She almost fainted at the word, was she not aware that doing so would basically erase any brownie points she had just received from him. Still, she felt like she could fly. Her dream was finally attainable, glittering away in front of her like a shiny baton waiting to be scooped up. She found herself wondering if she had maybe judged the Flame too harshly. So what if he was a bit arrogant? If you were as famous and as powerful as him, it was bound to go to your head a little. Right now she could have kissed the man she previously thought she hated. Instead she settled on a grateful grin.

Even through her joy, she couldn't help but notice that brief bit of hesitation. Clearly he was worried about encouraging her, although personally she couldn't see what the problem was. Hadn't she just proved she could take care of herself? Then again, he didn't look convinced. Suddenly her dream seemed to shimmer, as if it might fade out of reach. There was only one thing to do. She would have to persuade him that she could do this, that his worries were unfounded or else he might try to stop her in some way. But how could she do that?

A thought sprung up, one she wasn't too sure about. It seemed relatively promising, but on the other hand it could go terribly wrong...

Nope, no choice. Fixing him with a hopeful smile, she began.
"Sure you are," she beamed, all full of politeness now she was trying to persuade him, "You're the Flame! There's no one who's a bigger expert. Speaking of which, I had an idea. Since I'm obviously kinda inexperienced at this sort of thing, I was hoping that you, well, that you could..." She trailed off, not really sure how to ask for this type of favour. What if he just laughed in her face and flew off? No, he wouldn't do that. But he might patronize her again and she didn't want that. Best to just come out and say it.

"-could be my mentor."

{3/5, 13}

[kabuto_rocks]

Uh oh, there was that overzealous look again. Keen to nip this in the bud, he was about to do some damage control when she started speaking again. He had to admit, he was puffed up with pride at her words. He knew she was a fan! And why wouldn't she be? He was still glowing so much that he almost missed her last sentence. Almost.

"...mentor?" His mouth dropped open. Had he heard her right? No no no, this wasn't supposed to happen! It was supposed to be a quick rescue then home. Now all of a sudden he seemed to have picked himself up an apprentice. An unwanted apprentice. He didn't have time to be someone's mentor. Besides, he didn't want to be. Who wanted to waste time trying to teach a whiny teenager? It wasn't his sort of thing at all.

"Well, you s-see..." he began, stuttering slightly. This alarmed him. He couldn't remember ever stuttering before. It was simply not the heroic thing to do, "Look, I really don't have time for-I mean, you're a nice kid and everything but-basically, no." He swallowed, gazing at her nervously. Would she snap at him again? Start crying? To be honest he wasn't sure which was worse

{1/5, 11}

[kabuto_rocks]

She knew she had made a mistake the second she saw his panicked expression. That was bad enough, but when he began stumbling and tripping over his words she knew she had blown it. By the time he told her 'no' she was already disappointed. She should have known it was too good to be true. No, if she wanted to be a hero then she was going to have to do it alone. Trying to hide how crushed she was, she drooped her head and gazed down at the ground as she muttered.

"Oh. Okay then. I mean, that's what I expected anyway. It was just a suggestion you know?" Suddenly she couldn't bear to be around him a second longer. Backing away, she began to mumble incoherently, "Listen, I should probably get back home. You know, what with it being late. Thanks anyway I guess, for saving me and everything." Ducking her head, she quickly turned away and began to walk across the street. Even when she'd gone round the corner she daren't stop. She was moving so fast that she didn't even notice the man until she bumped into him. It wasn't the man who'd spoken to her before but a different one. A younger, meaner-looking one who'd been swigging from a bottle when she'd suddenly crashed into him. To her horror the collision knocked the bottle from his hand, and it fell almost slow-motion down to the pavement where it shattered into a thousand pieces. The young man blinked at her, then began to glare when he realized what she'd done.

"You little-" He swore, lunging towards her. She staggered back, eyes wide with terror. Oops

{4/5, 14}

[kabuto_rocks]

When he saw her expression, his whole demeanor changed. It was like he'd been deflated, crushed. All of a sudden he felt like scum. It didn't matter how many heroic things he'd done in the past, or how fancy his costume was. Seeing how upset he had made her just made him feel like a fraud. He watched her walk away, feeling worse with every step she took. He was sort of glad that she hadn't pushed the issue, but at the same time he felt awful about the whole thing. Would it really have been so bad to say yes to her?

Yes! The more selfish voice in his head proclaimed You don't want a mentor. It's better to tell her now than to string her along for a while.

This thought brought a little comfort...until he realized what he'd just allowed her to do. She'd wandered off! In the Slums! Alone! Who knows what kind of terrible danger she could be in? Anxious to get to her before anyone else did, he began racing after her. But he was too late. By the time he'd reached the corner she was already face to face with the man. The very angry man

{2/5, 12}

[kabuto_rocks]

Her first movements were pure instinct. Ducking down to dodge the blows, she quickly rolled to the side and jumped back to her feet. Fortunately luck was on her side. The man was young but he moved sluggishly, probably slowed by the alcohol he had so obviously been sipping. By the time he realized where she was, she had already lifted her hands.

"Ice to meet you!" She called out, too hyped up to bother thinking up a clever pun. It did it's job anyway. Out of her hands shot shards of ice, hitting the man and freezing his flesh. For a moment he was stunned, literally frozen to the spot. She couldn't help but laugh at his confusion, even though she wasn't entirely out of danger yet. No wanting to risk things too much, she gave him a hearty wave before turning round and starting to run again.

"Ouch!" It took her a minute to work out that the solid object she had hit was in fact the Flame. She hit him with such force that she fell down on the pavement, momentarily winded. She blinked up at him blankly, then swallowed nervously. Uh oh. He didn't look happy. No doubt she was about to get a lecture about running off. Again

{5/5, 15}

[kabuto_rocks]

The second he saw the girl he'd been about to do what he always did and jump in heroically to save her. After all, there was no doubting this time that she was in danger. But before he could make a move the man acted first. He felt a stab of horror as the man lunged towards her, quickly replaced with astonishment as she easily darted away. Once more he went to help her, but apparently she didn't need it. Within seconds she had stopped the man, quite literally freezing him in his tracks.

There was no doubting it, she was incredible to watch. Andor tended to avoid spending time with other heroes unless necessary (he hated being upstaged or having to share the spotlight after all) but he made it his job to watch clips of them in action. He liked to know what the competition was. He'd seen some pretty impressive feats in his time, but even he was impressed by her skill. Yes, she was a little clumsy in her movements and clearly her showmanship could use some work. But he had seen it then, the most important feature of all.

Instinct.

He barely felt it when she crashed into him, but it was enough to jolt him out of his stunned state. He looked down at where she was sprawled across the floor, blinking up at him with almost scared eyes. In that moment she looked so young, so vulnerable. Seconds before though she had been a fighter. He had made his decision even before he realized he was opening his mouth.

"That was impressive." he nodded, glancing up at the sky. It was so late now. He had essentially lost yet another night of sleep, but for once he didn't really care. Looking back down at her, he smiled slightly.

"Yes."

{3/5, 13}

[kabuto_rocks]

To say she was confused was an understatement. She had initially expected to have her head bitten off by the Flame, but when that didn't happen she was left with an uneasy feeling. There was something about the way he was looking at her, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Unsettled, she quickly hopped to her feet and waited for his reaction with baited breath.

When he said he was impressed, her mouth literally fell open in shock. What? Had she heard him right? She blushed a little, pleased but hesitant. There had to be some kind of catch right? What he said next completely baffled her.

"Yes? Yes what?" She wasn't sure she liked the look he was giving her, although it wasn't an unpleasant one. It was just too...thoughtful. From what she'd seen of him so far, he didn't think a lot. That could only mean something bad

{1/5, 16}

[kabuto_rocks]

He was just as startled as she was. His brain had finally caught up with his mouth and now it was panicking. What was he saying? He didn't want an apprentince remember? But it was too late to back down now. And besides, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to either. This girl had strength and she was willing to help people. Someone with those traits deserved to be taught how to use them properly. If he let her go off on her own, it would surely never end well. Andor never made a decision half-heartedly, and he wasn't about to start doing so now.

"Yes. I'll be your mentor," he smiled at her, before quickly turning stern again, "Let me make it clear though, this is just a temporary situation for now. If it seems like it isn't going to work out then I have every right to walk away. And you must promise to listen to everything I say. You're a good fighter but you're not good enough to be on your own yet." To his enormous surprise, he felt a rush of excitement. It was rather exhilarating, knowing he was going to have such a huge influence on her life. Of course, it would probably be very hard work and all that boring stuff. But if it got too bad then he could just quit. For now, it seemed like it might actually be...well, fun

{4/5, 14}