This story is intended as the fourth installment in the Incinerator series. They can be found in the Mighty Med and Elite Force archives, respectively. You don't need to have read those to understand what's going on here. Set after the destruction of the Mighty Med.

Hey, everyone! I'll try to make this as short as possible, as I'm sure that you're all excited to see what Kenny's up to this time around. For this story, I'll try to update every Friday evening so the story'll be done within two months or so. I did consider calling this "Flamethrower", but I'm keeping that title for another story. That's right - there's a fourth coming up! Though, it's more of a sequel to the Incinerator series as a whole. But first let's focus on this story, shall we?

Enjoy!

-Writer207

It was a normal, nice, beautiful December afternoon. At least, it would be if you could describe a day like this as 'nice'. Today was particularly cold, wet and unpleasant, whether you liked that kind of weather or not. All I know was that it wasn't too pleasant for me. I had already spent most of my day standing outside, on the corner of Old York Road and West Erie Avenue, waiting for this man.

I've been having a hard time finding him. Not only did most people hide their faces under umbrellas or hoodies, but the bad weather made it impossible to look too far. Cars were driving through the puddles and some passersby got wet, including me. But I stayed true to my work and stood there, waiting for this man to show up.

I can hear you think. If you've been standing there all day, in the pouring rain, that man must be dangerous. I can guarantee you, he is a very dangerous man. To any Normo, he can and will appear as your everyman-type of person. Except that he's quite rich and made a name for himself in the criminal world. He is so vicious, he has a nickname and occasionally has a part to play in the newest MM comic books: the Vanquisher.

Right when I was dreaming about moving away from Philadelphia to sunnier and more pleasant places like LA, my villain came into view. He wasn't wearing his villain outfit - you'd be crazy to do so during the day when everyone could watch and when you're not actually in the mood to be comic-book level evil. Still, I knew his face (thank you, borrowed Davenport-equipment!) and it helped me identify his one-inch face scar and find it on a man who would pass me by within seconds.

When he had passed me, I started following him. As a villain, he soon noticed he was being followed. The Normos around us suspected nothing, as usual - they're so oblivious sometimes. The Vanquisher looked over his shoulder a few times, and every time I made sure he knew I was staring. At one point, he turned to his right, into an alley of the avenue. Naturally, I followed him into it and smiled. For business like this, alleys were the perfect place. I could do my job 'in the open' without risking being seen too much. Nobody paid too much attention to what happened in the alleys anyway. That would come in handy, especially since I planned on using my flamethrowers if the Vanquisher became aggressive.

The villain turned around. He had put on his ugly face mask. And when I say 'ugly', I mean it was a monstrosity. It was one of the many reasons he was so scary sometimes. I, however, wasn't very much impressed.

"Who dares to follow me?" His voice didn't impress me either. I'm certain the point was to intimidate me, but I wasn't feeling it. He did a great job sounding intimidating, though. I just wasn't feeling it. I took my hands out of my 'pockets' - they were only holes in my coat - and revealed my favorite weapon to the villain. I'd tell you how he looked when he saw it, but his mask left no room for the analysis of facial expressions.

"Me, the Incinerator," I said. Kenny Gordon for the friends, I added in my mind. There was a time where that name struck fear in the minds and hearts of minor heroes. I had repeated meetings with my arch nemesis Snowstorm - we never got to figure out who won more battles, her or me. Yes, I was evil once. Don't judge. We're all human, we make mistakes. Okay, not everyone is human per se, but you get the point. Anyway, the point is that I'm a good person trying to shake his past mistakes. Bringing in the Vanquisher may help me with that redemption. "Any last requests before I attack?"

It turns out the Vanquisher didn't have any. He just started attacking me, without answering my question. Rude, but anticipated. He ran straight towards me, starting the fight.

I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna go into detail. That's only because I don't remember much from that fight. What I can tell you about it, is that it was a dirty fight with a lot of punches. He also tried to stab me but he didn't manage to hit me. I do remember I ended it by landing one of my flamethrowers on his head. The villain sank to his knees and fell on the ground - I'd won! I put my weapons away and smiled at the unmoving body at my feet. Now I only had to bring him to Mighty Max and then I could celebrate with a nice beer and a marathon. I'm still deciding what show or movie series to watch, but I'm leaning towards Game of Thrones. I still had to watch all episodes of season six.

Anyway, that's what I was planning to do. Yeah, you've noticed it: past tense. Because someone came along to rain on my parade. It started when I noticed someone else walked into the alley. I couldn't help but recognize her and I shook my head. I definitely didn't want her around. I'm not anti-women, but I am anti-her. She thought she was so special, but every hero and villain could say that if they wanted. She thought she was the best, the most intimidating - I've seen better and more intimidating. I can't stand the sight of her and her know-it-all attitude. She probably has anger management issues galore and it didn't help that she dated my brother, Kaz, for a while.

Ladies and gentlemen, Please welcome the winner of the 'Least-Wanted-Person-Around-Right-Now' Award: Spark!

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked me once she came to a halt. She folded her arms and glared at me. Something told me she wasn't happy to see me here - must be the tone of her voice.

"Being a hero," I responded, "What about you?"

"You can't do this," she said. I glanced at the Vanquisher.

"You should've said that before I bashed his head," I responded, "Besides, what are you making a problem about? I caught a villain!" I know some heroes have a problem with capturing a villain out of context, and apparently, Spark has it, too.

"You stalked him," she said. I shrugged.

"So? As if you guys don't do that." Titanio once confessed to me that he keeps track of villains. Now tell me, what is the logic behind keeping track of the most dangerous guys on the planet but doing nothing to prevent being evil? Doesn't make sense. Truly, I believe something like real-life private is a thing. It basically means you're not giving up your social life to become a villain and the person in the comics would be a caricaturistic version of yourself. Most names were pseudonyms, anyway. Not Megahertz's, though - it's so hard for him to have a real, human life. He's a cyborg, after all. Poor guy can't lead a normal life anymore because of his cyborg side.

I was trying to make a point here. I lost it. But it had something to do with privacy and Titanio's ridiculous ideas about spying on villains.

Anyway, Spark shook her head in response to what I'd said and glared at me. It'd make a wicked evil glare if she were a villain. But she's not, so I should be worried about my well-being. That glare didn't mean anything good. At best, I should run. But that would mean she'd win, and I do not like her winning. Not today, not ever!

"He wasn't doing anything evil," she said, "You don't have the right."

Excuse me? "Don't have the right?" I asked her, "Spark, that man is a murderer, a thief, probably a rapist if he had the chance... This man needs to be brought to justice." I pointed at the still unconscious man. He was still laying on the ground behind me. Good. Wouldn't want him to get away.

"I know," she said, "But it's not up to you to make that call."

"He tried to blow up the city!" I exclaimed in irritation and disbelief, "Isn't that enough?" When I read the latest Captain Atomic comic book a week or two ago, the Vanquisher was the big bad. His grand plan was to place a bomb in some abandoned facility (villains seem to like those places) to blow a hole in the city. I don't remember what his reasons were. Maybe the Vanquisher had finally lost his mind. Either way, he had an evil plan involving explosives. Spoiler alert: Captain Atomic thwarted his plan, but the Vanquisher got away.

Spark shook her head. "Captain Atomic and the Vanquisher fought and the villain got away. It was a fair retreat. You didn't have the right to bring him in now." She took a step towards me and glared. I was taller than her and yet, though I hate to admit it, her glare was quite intimidating. Strange how the world works. I barely react when the Vanquisher tries his best to be intimidating, yet all a small, blonde-haired superhero teen has to do to be intimidating is to glare.

"You know," I said, "I don't like to wait around for him to do something evil again. He shouldn't walk around freely. He should be locked away."

"He will, when someone thwarts his plan," Spark said, slightly raising her voice. Did I mention her attitude was really getting on my nerves? I'm certain the feeling's mutual. I shook his my head.

"That's a stupid rule!" I exclaimed, "Who made that one up? Titanio?" I wouldn't be surprised if the tin can had anything to do with that rule. Spark shook her head, too, definitely disagreeing with me.

"It's always been like that," she said, "If he flees after committing those crimes, you have to let them go."

"Really?" I said, "That's an actual rule? Well, I'm gonna change that one day. All villains will be able to be taken in on sight. How about that?"

Spark folded her arms again. "If it makes you feel better, they don't usually are able to escape."

I nodded. Yes, Spark, I am aware not many villains can escape their fates. I am aware the Vanquisher managed to get away from the Captain during their latest fight. I am aware you like to stick to the rulebook imposed on all heroes, yet I am taken aback you stick to it. But hey, I'm the new guy. So far, nobody forced me to swear allegiance to that rulebook, if such a book existed. Those rules don't apply to me.

"I know that," I told her, "But here's some news for you: to hell with that rule!" Spark groaned. Was I pushing my luck too far? Her being annoyed may not work to my advantage. Maybe I should take it down a notch. But no way I'm letting her win!

"You are impossible," she said. I nodded and half-smiled at her.

"Thank you." Better to take it as a compliment than to rant about how 'possible' I could be. That's an argument I wouldn't win. "But if you'll excuse me, I've got a villain to-" I trailed off when I turned away from Spark to the Vanquisher.

At least, I thought I was turning around to face my villain again. There was just one little problem with that: he was gone. He must've run away when Spark and I were arguing. You can understand that right there and right then, in that stupid alley in the unpleasant weather and in a not-so-good mood, I was pissed when I noticed the Vanquisher had vanished. The only way he could've gone to was away from us, to the other side of the alley, to take off his mask and disappear in the crowd out there. There was one thing I could think: if it weren't for Spark, he'd still be captured. I turned back to Spark.

"You!" I said, pointing my flamethrower at her accusingly, "You're the reason he got away!"

"Me?" Spark said, "If you'd just listened, you wouldn't have been here in the first place and you wouldn't have let him escape."

"I wouldn't have caught him!" I felt anger levels rise in me. My first catch in a long time, my first catch that mattered in a long time, and he ran away! That man could've boosted my credibility as a hero and my entrée as a big-time player in this complex world filled with heroes. And now he's just another guy I let go, another villain I let escape.

I hated it when they ran away after I catch them. It makes me look bad.

I glared at Spark. "Why'd you have to show up again?" I asked her, not even trying to hide my irritation and anger. If she hadn't shown up, the Vanquisher would be off the streets and behind bars in no time. It's in everyone's best interests, with the numbers being uneven. A large group of villains with only a limited number of heroes to face them. They could focus on other threats. But Spark just had to show up, didn't she? She's done me wrong a few times before, too, this isn't just a question of today. The most prominent example is her interference in my mission against Nox. I had Lady Midnight right where I wanted her, but then she had to come along and ruin it for me. She's the only reason why Nox got away! Needless to say, I still blame her for that. So, naturally, she still blames me for my incompetence while it wasn't my fault at all. You know that, right? She's the reason that mission failed, not me!

At that point, I've had it with Spark. I left her in that alley, turning around and walking out of it, vanishing in the crowd. It had stopped raining, thank goodness, but it still was wet and cold. I needed something non-wet, something warm. So I decided to go home and put on different clothes and to leave my flamethrowers there. Then, when I was wearing dry clothes again, I could go to Titanio and complain about that stupid rule.

Yeah. Sounds like a good plan.