Note: This was originally supposed to go along with the chapter that I posted a while ago . But it didn't happen so….here it is. Without further ado! Firecracker's first city wide appearance! Enjoy!

Smile for the Camera

The next day

Dave's POV

Katie was sitting next to me in Atomic. I have to admit, Marty, Todd, and Izzy were right. The longer that I pretended to be gay, the worse it was getting. I don't think I can take another sleepover watching Ugly Betty! There's only so much a man can take of that show.

I looked around the table; Marty was trying to convert Erika to a comic book reader. Todd was flipping through a random comic. Katie was sitting next to me chattering away to Erika from across the table. There was someone missing…

"Hey have you guys seen Izzy?" I asked. Todd looked up and around.

"Nah man, I called her…but she said she was sick."

"Oh… alright." Something was odd about it. I had a feeling that Izzy wasn't really sick. I kind of wished I had gone out with her on patrol yesterday. I mean what if she was hurt? But Todd had talked to her…so she had to be alright.

All of a sudden, a voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Hey man! Turn that up!"

We all whirled around and saw Chris D'Amico pointing at the TV. We all turned around slowly as the volume turned up. I took a big gulp of my coffee.

The person on the TV started talking. They were replaying an interview that looked like it had happened sometime last night. "Thank you Jane! Now I am here with a brand new superhero on the scene. Now why don't you tell the viewers at home your name?"

"Gladly!" Said a chipper voice off screen as I took another drink of my coffee and immediately choked on it when the camera turned to the person that had spoken. "My name is Firecracker."

There, right on the television screen in front of me, was Izzy. I couldn't believe it. That was what she had done yesterday.

"So, Firecracker," The news reporter, who I think was named Sarah, continued "Why don't you tell us what happened here."

"Sure!" Izzy smiled proudly. "Well, I was just walking around, patrolling, as ya do. When I heard these yells and bangs back here. So of course being me, I decided to check it out."

"And what exactly did you find?" Sarah quizzed her, shoving the mic further towards her face. Izzy's eyes widened a little and she backed up.

"Um…I saw 4 guys beating up on this one guy. So I stepped in." She said before she was cut off again.

"And what did you do?"

"I handled it." Izzy groaned in an annoyed way. I held back a smile as I took another drink. Even as Firecracker, she was still the same old Izzy.

The camera cut back to the interviewer and she continued. "You saved a man's life. How does that make you feel?"

The camera flashed back to Firecracker as she looked down. You could tell she was blushing. "It makes me feel great." She shifted her weight from once leg to another and winced. "It's why I started doing this." She looked up into the camera and flashed a winning smile.

"So who is your favorite superhero?" The interviewer asked her.

Izzy's face lit up, she was back in her element. Luckily everyone else was focused on the TV and didn't see me grinning at the TV. "I really love Batman. Oh and Wolverine…is he really a superhero though? NO! My all-time favorite is Spiderman!" She laughed. Everyone in the comic book store that I could see cracked a smile. I heard a laugh from behind me. I turned around and saw D'Amico practically leaning on one of the shelves watching the interview with a stupid grin on his face. I turned back around as the interview continued.

"So Firecracker, who was your inspiration? By the looks of your costume I'm guessing it was Red Mist, would I be right in saying that?"

The grin immediately dropped from Izzy's face. She set her jaw and closed her eyes like she always does when she is trying to control herself. She opened them slowly and spoke in a hard voice. "Listen. I was not inspired by that…idiot, Red Mist! I was around right when Kick-Ass started! I got my nose broken saving his dumb self. He would have gotten his head bashed in with a trash can. Sorry but I wasn't inspired by either of them. I was inspired by myself wanting to do something to make the world a better place. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go pick the gravel out of my knee." The camera cut down to her right knee. The leather of her pants was ripped, exposing her bare knee, you could see it was completely covered in little pieces of rocks…and blood.

The camera cut back up to her face as the interviewer stuttered out a goodbye. Izzy grabbed the mic from her one last time "Just a warning out there to the people that worked with these scumbags that were out here tonight. I'm watching you. I know what you're doing. And I will stop you." She smiled wickedly. "Have a nice life." She pushed the microphone back into Sarah's hand and limped off. Sarah turned back to the camera, "Back to you Jane." The camera cut back to the studio. "That was from last night. And you heard it here first folks, the first real life female superhero." The man behind the counter turned down the TV once again. Everyone at my table turned back around at faced each other in silence for a second. Then they all exploded into chatter.

Erika and Katie were jabbering on about how she seemed like a badass. Todd and Marty were talking about how hot the new superhero chick looked in leather. I was too busy in my own thoughts that I didn't notice the person walk up behind me until I felt the hand on my shoulder. I whirled around so fast that my glasses went crooked. Izzy was standing behind me, looking extremely tired, wearing yoga pants, a hoodie, and converse. She yawned. "Sup bitches? I miss anything?"

A/N: I am legitimately so sorry that it took so long for me to get this up. But oh my god I have been so busy. I'll be working on it more and I'll probably put up another chapter later today or tomorrow. This chapter..is not really what I expected but I like the way it turned out

Read & review, doll faces. xoxo