So, I now realized that I didn't italicize the conversation on the phone last chapter, but I did in this chapter. You'll see what I mean.

Chapter 2

CJ woke up, immediately remembering the night before. Ted had been drunk, and telling her things that she didn't want to hear, especially not while he was drunk. It wouldn't have been better if he was sober. He would have expected her to tell him things, too, and wouldn't have let her escape easily. He would have chased after her if she ran. The drunk Ted probably would have just stayed on the ground, laughing.

Thinking of last night, CJ got up, realizing that she was still in her fireproof clothing, and headed out to the living room. Her footsteps must have woken him up, because he groaned once she stepped into the living room. She went around the couch to get a good look at him.

He was groaning and holding his arms up to block the light from blinding him. CJ, after a moment of hesitation, thinking he should suffer, went over to the dark curtains and pulled them shut, all light disappearing from the room.

He lowered his arms and sat up. Still letting out small groans, he rubbed his face. He still wore the clothing from last night, even his shoes, and his hair ruffled and flattened in odd, uneven places. To be honest with herself, she thought he looked horrible. His fault that he had drank so much.

"What happened?" he asked ruggedly through his hands. "I remember texting you, then heading out." He paused. "Ugh, how much did I drink? The rest is gone."

CJ shrugged, even though he couldn't see her. She was relieved that he didn't remember their journey home. "No idea, but you were pretty slammed."

His hands dropped and he looked up at her, eyes widened, all in one motion. She still saw the pain of the hangover written all over his face. "You were there?"

He looked panicky, but CJ didn't see the big deal. So what if she had been there? "No, but I walked you home."

He kept his gaze on hers for one more moment before he looked away and headed towards the kitchen. It had been a short-lived conversation, but for some reason, CJ was grateful; she felt like he would have asked her about last night if he had decided to talk to her, and she didn't want that.

Wallace went back to his work after he got a cup of coffee, and CJ ended up going out. She dressed in her fireproof suit and flew around the city. It was exhilarating and it took her mind off of worrying about Ted. He was a wreck, and really needed a breakthrough. She didn't think she could help; she didn't think anyone could.

She had changed her outfit again. She still had the black jacket, but she had gotten an exact copy of it, but this one bright red. She wore the black bra with this, and the black pants, but these had a yellow zig-zag line down the side. She also kept the red belt, but added the black fingerless gloves and changed the boots to red, too.

She saw a few people notice her, knew that they saw her as a hero, and wanted to live up to their expectations. She pulled out her comm, that was specifically made for her, fireproof so that she could have it while she used her powers. "Firebug to WatchTower."

After a second or two of nothing, she got a response. "This is the WatchTower."

She grinned as she heard Flash's voice. "Hey, Flash. I was wondering if you could direct me to any minor accidents. Car crashes, fires…." Those were the only two she knew that she could be of assistance in.

There was silence on his end as he typed away at his computer. "Well, there's a robbery in progress on Main St. The police are on scene, and the gunman have taken hostages." He paused. "I don't think you can help there."

CJ frowned. "You're right. They'd get nervous and harm the hostages."

"Right."

"Do you think I could go anyways? See how the police handle it?"

"Sure. Don't get in their way, though. They don't like it, and may get a little angry at you."

She almost rolled her eyes, knowing that he was speaking of past experience and giving advice that he had rarely taken.

CJ angled right and down, towards Main St. The bank was easy to find; there were about eight cop cars and one large police van outside it, with crowds forming on either side of the barriers that kept them safe from harm. "I won't. Thanks, Flash."

"WatchTower out."

The line went dead, and CJ lowered to the ground, behind the yellow tape, so as to not distract the police, and released the fire.

"It's Firebug!" One of the younger civilians said, and the ones that already hadn't noticed her looked.

CJ smiled nervously and gave them a short wave.

No one got near her, and they continued to stare. At the barricades, there was a commotion on the side that the police occupied. Two officers had shown up, trying to see what was happening. When they spotted her, they frowned. One of them said, "It's the hero. Firebug."

"What's she doing here?" The younger one asked his partner, not taking his eyes off CJ.

"You're going to let her help, right?" One of the civilians asked the two officers. "Yeah! She's a hero!" another one said.

CJ looked at them, confused. Like she and Flash discussed, she couldn't help. She could frighten the gunmen and they could do something to the hostages.

The older officer's gaze met hers, and they stared at each other. CJ didn't want to be the one to end up hurting someone, and she hoped that he saw that in her eyes. He grabbed his partner and the two stepped back from the barricade.

CJ looked up to the bank, wondering what was happening in there. The windows had been tinted by spray paint or something, and they couldn't see inside. CJ wanted to help, but didn't know how.

After about ten minutes of waiting and a gunshot going off inside, a group of officers showed up at the barricades again. "Firebug?" One of them asked her, the one that must have been the boss. His tag read O'Conner.

CJ shakily took a step towards them. "Yes?"

He waved her towards the barricade, and the other officers made a pathway for her. She approached him in four quick steps.

They only let her a few feet into their space, just far enough away so that the civilians couldn't hear them. CJ felt a little uncomfortable with being almost surrounded by the officers, but she sucked it up. If they wanted her help, she was glad.

"How hot can you get?" He asked. The younger officer shifted away with a cough, his face reddening slightly.

"I haven't tested it, but pretty hot."

"Can you melt metal?"

CJ nodded. "I can, yes."

"Give us a hand?" He paused. "That's why you're here, isn't it?"

CJ nodded again.

"Good." O'Conner nodded. "Come this way, please." She nodded, and he led her towards a sort of tent set up behind the police van. Where the officers were supposed to watch the perimeter, the detectives and SWAT were back here, in charge.

"Detective Bushart," The officer called, and CJ froze, hearing the name. Bushart was the one that had come to see her in the hospital after she passed out after the bridge incident.

From the crowd of people surrounding a large table, two heads lifted to look towards the voice, and one of them was Bushart. He left the table and met the officer halfway. "O'Conner. What do you need?" When his gaze landed on CJ, he froze, too. He quickly composed himself, then glared at O'Conner. "What is she doing here?"

O'Conner ignored the angry tone. "I know that the back of the inner bank wall is made of metal. Firebug says she can melt metal."

"We've got explosives for that."

O'Conner rose and eyebrow at him. "That would make a very loud explosion, alerting the gunmen. Firebug is silent."

Bushart glared, and CJ could see that he didn't like it. "You have a point." He turned away. "I'll talk to my team." Then he returned to the table, grabbing everyone's attention. A few looked up to glance at CJ, and others glared. Flash was right. They didn't like that she had shown up.

CJ turned to O'Conner. He was smart, but it looked like Bushart knew that but didn't like that an older, lower ranking officer was indeed smarter. "Will you get in trouble for this?"

He shrugged. "Probably, but I'm not worried about it. I'm just trying to save those hostages, and I'll bring up any option that I think could help, even if it costs me my job."

CJ almost smiled at him. He just wanted to help, just like CJ. She was glad there were other people in the world that did. Of course, one would assume that all cops wanted to help, but CJ had heard that some only join the force for the pay and the power. O'Conner was different. He was older and more experienced, and seemed like he risked his job a lot, noticing the looks from both the officers and detectives.

Bushart returned, stepping into CJ's personal space, glaring at her. "Alright, you can help. But if you do one thing that we haven't told you to do, one thing, you will get cuffed and brought down to the station."

CJ smirked at him, only intimidated a little. "Didn't we just clarify that I can melt metal? What are those cuffs made of again?"

His glare deepened, his voice lowering. "Maybe a tranquilizer then."

She glared back for a second, knowing that he would find a way. She did enjoy that she could make a joke in this kind of situation, though. CJ relaxed, all seriousness returning. "I want to help those people just as much as you do."

He stepped back, but the anger was still visible. "SWAT will take point," he gestured to the team that had assembled behind him. The smaller one handed him a vest with DETECTIVE on it. He put it on as he talked. "You'll stay under their protection until we get to our destination." A uniform suddenly appeared next to her and handed her a bulletproof as well. She looked down at it, having never put anything like it on before. Thankfully, O'Conner, who was still by her side, smiled and took it from her to help her put it on.

She thanked him, but Bushart glared again. "When we get to the wall, you will…. burn it. I've seen that you can also absorb fire, so after you make a hole big enough for the team, but not big enough to collapse the building, you'll cool down the metal so that our team doesn't get injured on hot metal. Then you'll be escorted back here. Is there anything else we need to know?"

CJ's eyebrow twitched in a brief moment of concentration. "Not that I know of." She glanced at all the people surrounding and staring at her nervously; she wasn't going to bring up that she might freak out in closed places with these strangers and raise the temperature a little. They wouldn't bring her with them. "You might want to have a freeze ray on handy, though; I might get too hot for you to handle."

CJ hadn't meant for it to be a joke, but the few SWAT members chuckled at what she said while looking at Detective Bushart. His face emitted a red flush as he glared death looks at them. CJ smirked a little. Even if it hadn't been a joke to her, she liked that the SWAT were laughing with her. Having them laugh at Bushart was a plus.

She didn't have anything against the Detective. He seemed like he did his job well. But when she had jumped after a falling car off a bridge, fell unconscious and woke up in the hospital, Bushart had accused her of causing the accident on the bridge. She had wanted to save people, not throw them in a river to drown. He, along with the rest of the world, also didn't have Firebugs true identity to do a background check, so he didn't trust CJ.

Everyone around them had their vests and guns, minus CJ of course. "Do you have any questions?" Bushart asked, looking at CJ. She shook her head, shifting in the newly placed bulletproof vest. He glared, then looked around him, and in a harsher voice said, "Any of you."

The other police enforcement shifted, not knowing that the first question was directed at all of them, but he got no reply. He nodded, satisfied, and cocked his gun for extra effect. "Then let's go."

Along with SWAT and Bushart, another detective, this one female, and two male uniform cops, one of them O'Conner and the other the younger one that had first spotted her, and CJ went to the building adjacent to the bank, guns ready. The bank was a pretty big building, and so was the electronic store next to it. The building had already been evacuated, and so only their rushed footsteps, the rustling of their clothes, and a few whispered orders, and slight echoes were made down the deserted room.

Soon, CJ's job was over. The twelve of them found some wall, and they gave CJ the signal that this was the spot, lowering their guns but the two in the back watching their backs. She shooed them back, not wanting them to get hurt, but they only moved a foot. She rolled her eyes; they were going to get sweaty.

She placed her hands on the wall and in seconds it began to sizzle. She turned the heat up to get a faster and cleaner cut through the thick wood. Only one pipe ran through this section of the wall, and she didn't see any electrical wires at all. When she got to the metal, she had to turn the heat up even more, and finally heard the footsteps behind her moving away. Knowing that they were out of harm's way, she caught fire for more heat, to quicken the melt through the wall.

The pipe fell away easier than the wall. The wall's metal fell away as the metal turned to liquid, dripping from where her hands were down the floor. Streaks were made, like on a candle, but within a minute, a large hole had been made in the wall, enough for the average person to squeeze through.

The metal was still dripping, hot and untouchable for the normal human, and so CJ reversed the fire and sucked in all heat around her, leaving the room temperature at an even seventy five degrees, and all the metal in a solid, cool form. She couldn't really see what was through the wall, but her job was done.

Once she was back to normal, she turned around to the police. All of them had taken at least three steps back, some even further. None of them took a step toward her when she finished, and none of them looked like they were breathing, all for three seconds. Then SWAT moved towards her, avoiding touching her, and the two detectives waited for her to go with the uniforms before they, too, went through the hole in the wall.

CJ and the two officers went back out behind the police van, where she and the other cops waited for SWAT to do their job.

Two long, agonizing minutes later, the door to the bank opened, and a woman stumbled down the steps out onto the street. She was followed by another woman, two men, and many more. The hostages. SWAT and the detectives had secured the gunmen. Cheers went up in and outside of the police tape, and CJ found herself grinning. They were safe.

The moments were all happy afterwards. The hostages reunited with each other or loved ones. The few injured went to the waiting ambulances to get checked. The gunmen were escorted out of the building by SWAT and the detectives into nearby cop cars. The cops around her were congratulating each other at the victory.

CJ was about to leave when Detective Bushart appeared next to her. He nodded, his face a blank, unreadable expression. "GCPD would like to thank you for your help."

CJ smirked at his way of saying thank you. She would have asked if she had his trust, but somewhat felt like she did. She nodded back to him. "You're welcome. And good work, Detective."

They didn't really have much else to say, so CJ walked away, finding a safe area to take off without burning anyone, which happened to be just outside the bank doors. This made it so that everyone saw her take off, flying away, a streak of fire in the sky.

Later that day, the Genocian City Police Department would find a letter on their captain's desk, from an anonymous sender, saying that a check had been sent to the electronic store and the bank so that they could repair the wall, and that there was no need for the GCPD to have to pay to repair it. Only a few were upset about this. The rest raised their mugs up in a wide spread toast to whoever paid for the wall, and a job well done to the team that ended that bank robbery. Only a few had an idea that a certain league had been generous and been willing to pay for damages done by their member. Only a few.

If you didn't know: Bushart, O'Conner, Genocian City: all made up by yours truly. This story is mostly OCs, and the general idea of it is that this is kind of like a Firebug comic. She is a superheroine and a member of the Justice League. CJ's got her own city to protect, like a few other unnamed League members, and soon, will have her own villain!

Had a lot of fun writing the slight cockiness of CJ, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Please don't hate me with the GCPD. I know Gotham has GCPD, but it was an accident that my city is GC. I really want to change it now, but then it would be different than in the first book. Again, sorry to all the Batman lovers. Also for any past or future chapters that have Batman and don't have Batman as Batmany as he could be. Like I've stated earlier, I'm only great with my original characters, not that great with the real ones. Sorry!

To be continued….