The door to the shop clanged open, and Nova looked up to see Max, grinning his signature grin and sporting his usual messy hair. "Hey, Max!" she greeted him with a smile. "Are you here for some more adhesive?"

"No, just popping in to say hi." Max hoisted himself up onto one of the tall barstools at the counter. Gadgety Solutions had been a diner once, back before the Age of Anarchy, and when Nova and Leroy had taken over the abandoned building to run their store, they hadn't bothered taking the barstools out. Nova thought they gave the place a homey, eclectic feel, and besides, whenever Oscar and Ruby dropped by to visit Nova at work, they loved having a place to spread out an array of snacks while they talked.

"I was in the area," Max explained further, reaching for one of the small cylinders on the counter. "Jade and Sterling wanted to check out the pawn shop, and then we—then I went to Superburger. What's this?"

Nova took it from him and showed how the top of the canister popped open to reveal two shiny silver prongs. "Portable cooking device. You stick the prongs in whatever food you're trying to cook and then activate it using this button here." She showed him the small switch on the side. "You can also switch it to freeze mode, and it'll slowly freeze whatever it's stuck into, as long as it's in an airtight container."

"That's cool," said Max. "Are they new? I don't think I've ever seen them before."

"I just perfected them last week, and it was only two days ago that we started selling them," Nova explained.

"Ah. That makes sense." Max looked up, craning his neck as he glanced around the store, trying to see over a display of hydroelectric toothbrushes that came stocked with a powder that turned to toothpaste when water was applied. "Where's Leroy?"

"Out running deliveries." Sometimes Nova found it hard to believe how in-demand their products were these days. It had only been about two years ago that they'd started the business, merging Nova's talents for science and inventing with Leroy's aptitude for chemistry to create all kinds of helpful household items. When they'd first started out, Nova had been skeptical as to how many people would want to frequent a shop run by two ex-villains, but she had quickly discovered that her and Leroy's infamy was part of what had caused their business to be so successful. Everyone wanted to boast that they cleaned their kitchen sink with a soap concocted by Cyanide, or that their daughter's dollhouse was furnished with working hydraulic elevators crafted by Nightmare.

"Oh," said Max. "I wish you'd told me. I would've known to be extra careful walking here."

They both laughed. Leroy's bad driving had quickly become an inside joke among their circle of friends.

Nova opened her mouth to mention that Leroy had started teaching her to drive too, so that someday soon he wouldn't be the only one running deliveries, but at that moment something through the window caught her eye. She directed her attention toward Heroes' Heroes across the street, the inanely named sandwich shop that had opened up not too long ago. Orange light was flickering from inside, and a moment later, she saw a flame dart out from the serving counter.

"Sweet rot," she murmured. "Max, go up to my room and get my Nightmare outfit. It's hanging in my closet." Max immediately dashed toward the door that led to the upstairs apartment, while Nova ran toward aisle three. She snatched up a few fire-extinguishing grenades and shoved them into the pocket on her utility belt. A moment later, Max returned with her heat-resistant jacket, gloves, and metal face mask. Nova threw on the jacket, zipping it up all the way and pulling the hood over her head as far as it would go. She dashed across the street, slipping the gloves on as she ran.

The sub shop, like Gadgety Solutions and the rest of the structures on Mission Street, was a two-story commercial building in which the bottom story was used for the business and the top story had been furnished into an apartment. It belonged to a row of shops just like it, all of them either directly connected or barely feet away from each other. Nova had to act quickly—not just to save Heroes' Heroes, but also to make sure the fire didn't spread to any of the surrounding buildings.

Unless it already had.

The door to the shop was open, and people were spilling out, coughing from the smoke. "Is anyone still in there?" Nova asked them, already preparing one of her fire-extinguishing grenades.

"Yes!" a woman choked, stumbling and nearly collapsing to the ground but for the arm of a concerned passer-by who hastened to catch her. "The owner—and another man—they're in the fire."

"And some water elemental is trying to put it out, but I don't think it's doing much," added a man, before launching into a series of coughs.

"I'm a Healer," a young girl, maybe ten years old, broke away from her family down the street and came charging over to the people congregated around the burning shop. "Everyone move down a little, I'll help you out."

While the patrons moved down the sidewalk, Nova entered the flaming building. Heat immediately engulfed her, as smoke filled her nostrils. My next invention should definitely have something to do with allowing people to breathe in a fire, she thought, blinking rapidly as her eyes watered from the smoke.

The fire seemed to be coming from somewhere behind the counter, which made sense, as that was where the cooking appliances were located. Someone had probably left a piece of food in one of the ovens for too long, or perhaps been a little too careless with their placement of a stack of napkins. Standing in front of the counter was a woman in her fifties or sixties, coughing incessantly as she pulled a stream of water from the sink in the bathroom about ten feet to her left. The stream of water was so small that its effect was negligible.

"Get out of here!" Nova shouted at the woman, hurling two of her fire-extinguishing grenades into the inferno. Upon making contact with the heat, they burst open, spraying Leroy's specialized white foam everywhere.

The flames died down, and through the haze, Nova could see two figures standing behind the row of shelves separating the front counter area from the place where the food was prepared. Actually, one seemed to be slumped over, while the other held him up. Nova aimed her third and final grenade directly at them, knowing that while Leroy's chemical could cause minor itchiness and discomfort upon contact with skin, it was a whole lot better than being burned alive.

The water elemental was still coughing violently beside her. Nova grabbed the woman around the shoulders, shuffling her toward the door. "You have to get out of here," she told her. "I've got it under control."

A figure appeared in the doorway of the shop, and Nova was filled with exasperation when she saw that it was Max. Of course he'd followed her. She should have expected as much. Max wasn't the type to sit back and do nothing while others were in danger.

But that didn't mean she was going to let him put himself in danger.

"Max," she panted, starting to cough herself now. "Take this woman out to the sidewalk and then go back and grab some more fire-extinguishing grenades."

Max nodded, immediately stepping forward to support the woman.

Nova turned her attention back to the two figures in the kitchen, expecting to see the flames surrounding them completely gone by now—Leroy's foam was usually incredibly effective. To her surprise and horror, however, the flames around the two people seemed almost to have gotten bigger.

"What's this?" cackled a deep, raspy voice from somewhere amidst the flames. Nova frowned. The voice was loud and effusive, seemingly unhindered by lack of oxygen. "Another superhero swooping in to save the day? Such a shame you have such a lesser power."

Nova coughed again. The smoke was really starting to get to her; she knew soon she'd have to step back outside to get a breath of fresh air. The flames here were relatively self-contained, mild compared to the fire she'd been in years ago at the Cloven Cross Library, but the situation was still dangerous. And there were still people in there!

"Come this way," she shouted, her voice scratchy. "Walk toward my voice, if you can. Someone's bringing another extinguisher—if you get close enough I can make sure it hits you directly—" She broke off, lapsing into another fit of coughing.

"I don't think you understand," the voice jeered, sounding remarkably calm for someone trapped in a burning kitchen. "Getting this fire extinguished really isn't on my list of things to do today."

Suddenly, a wall of flame erupted between Nova and the door. Nova gasped, the action only drawing more of the thick, noxious smoke into her lungs. Where had the flames come from? The fire had been mostly contained behind the counter; it couldn't just jump over and create a solid line from floor to ceiling by the door.

Unless…

"You're a fire elemental," Nova realized. She'd barely gotten the words out before coughing again. "Why are you—" cough, cough— "doing this? Put it out!" Nova could barely see the outline of the doorframe through the wall of flames. She could make it through if she needed to—her heat-resistant jacket would protect her head and torso, and if she crouched low enough she could shield her legs for the most part—but she could still see the outline of the person draped over the arms of the figure she now knew to be the cause of this inferno. Whoever it was, it didn't seem like the fire elemental was in any hurry to get them to safety.

"Smart girl," the voice drawled. "But alas, not smart enough to have yet grasped the essence of what I'm doing here."

Nova launched herself forward, clenching her eyes shut and tucking the lower half of her face into the neck of her jacket as she charged into the epicenter of the blaze. She could hear the fire elemental laughing, and her heart jolted with panic as she felt the heat around her intensify. The heat-resistant layer on her jacket wouldn't last forever. She needed to finish this as quickly as possible.

"My mistake," she heard the fire elemental say, a sardonic edge to his voice. "Perhaps you're not as smart as I first thought you were. It's a pretty foolhardy thing to dive right into a raging fire!"

It's a pretty foolhardy thing to keep talking while an enemy with their eyes closed is coming after you, thought Nova, gritting her teeth against the almost unbearable heat. But he had a point. If she couldn't find him in time—and for that matter, find a bare patch of his skin to place her hand against—she would have put herself in this extremely dangerous situation for nothing.

Suddenly, loud popping noises began sounding from all over, accompanied by a familiar hiss, and finally, relief from the oppressive heat. Relief from all over, in small bursts at first, and then a gentle coolness spreading all over her body.

Our fire extinguishing grenades, she realized, doubling over in a new fit of coughs, this time both from the smoke and the slightly sweet chemical-y odor of Leroy's concoction. Great skies, how did Max manage to carry over so many? He would have had to bring practically the whole stock in order to subdue all those flames.

And the fire elemental's just going to reignite them all right away unless I use this opportunity to put him out of commission, she thought, forcing her eyes open despite the searing pain that immediately overtook them.

"Well, well, well!" Nova turned her head toward the sound of the voice. Through the thick haze, she could still see the outline of the fire elemental, who was still carrying the other body. "Look at all these superheroes, come to the rescue. It's too bad all of your powers are so insignificant compared to mine."

Nova, edging toward him slowly, became aware that she and the two blurry figures were no longer the only people in the store. Behind the charred and crumbling counter, in the area that used to be the dining room, she could see more forms—ten, twelve, maybe even fifteen.

A neon bolt of energy suddenly surged forward, missing the fire elemental by mere inches. It was followed by a barrage of what looked like glass pieces, and then by a half-melted plastic chair. The fire elemental held up his hand, and a ring of fire flared up in around him. Nova, thrown into another fit of coughing, drew back, trying to assess his body for bare skin. He was a tall man, with a build similar to the Captain's, wearing a long-sleeved orange jacket and orange pants. His bushy hair was a vivid red, and there was an air of familiarity about him, though Nova couldn't place where she'd seen him before.

"Calm down!" he bellowed, as items, both common and prodigy-originated, continued to be thrown at him. "I am not here to do you any harm."

"Sure you aren't," sneered one of the crowd members. "That's why you just lit a whole restaurant on fire."

Where are my weapons when I need them? Nova thought, cursing herself for not bringing at least her blow-dart pen. Of course, she'd been expecting to have to save innocent patrons, not fight an arsonist.

"I have done what I came here to do," the fire elemental declared, finally setting down the body he'd been holding the whole time. "I, would like to make it known that this was the first of many fires I'll be starting around this city. Until the world recognizes that the old way of classifying heroes was the right, you haven't seen the last of Flamethrower."

At that, he turned and ran, erecting a new solid wall of flames behind him. Nova took two steps after him before collapsing, black spots appearing in front of her eyes as she struggled to draw a breath.

She landed on the ground next to the body, which she could now see properly for the first time since her arrival. The head was blackened beyond recognition, resembling charcoal more than human flesh. The clothes had mostly been burned away, revealing skin that was either a deep red, charcoal black, or absent entirely. Although by the degree of the burns, Nova could surmise that there had never been any chance of saving the person, she still felt a sense of responsibility for his or her death. What if she'd just been a little bit faster? What if she'd had her weapons with her? What if she'd recognized sooner that the first was not just a random kitchen accident, but the intentional work of a man intent on wreaking destruction? She could have prevented the death of an innocent person…

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Nova winced and curled inward, the gunshots that had killed her family echoing in her head. The first deaths she could have prevented, if she, at six years old, had taken the responsibility upon herself instead of waiting around for the Renegades to show up and save the day. Her mom. Her dad. Her baby sister Evie. Maybe she couldn't have done anything to save her parents, but she definitely could have saved Evie…

"Nova!"

Nova looked up to see Max's concerned face hovering over her, encircled in a haze of smoke. "Nova, you've got to get out of here," he urged her. "We have to get you out to the fresh air."

"Fresh… air?" Her throat felt dry and pained. The fire. "Right." Nova allowed Max to help her to her feet, and together they stumbled out onto the sidewalk, which was packed with people. Several of the people rushed over to Nova, asking whether she was okay and if she needed anything.

"We're sorry if we made a mess in your shop," a young woman apologized, placing a hand on Nova's arm. "Your friend told us all to just run in and grab as many fire extinguisher grenades as we could carry, and I'm afraid I might have knocked a few other items down in the process."

In her shaken, disoriented state, Nova couldn't help letting out a disbelieving laugh. Heroes' Heroes had just burned up, someone was dead, and this woman was worried about a few misplaced items in Nova's shop?

"Let me see her!" a young voice piped up, and Nova recognized the girl who'd proclaimed herself to be a Healer earlier. "I need to make sure she's okay."

Nova shook her head, catching a glimpse of Tsunami dashing down the street as fast as her legs would carry her. "I need to talk to Tsunami."

"Tsunami?" The little girl wrinkled her nose. "She's busy putting out the fire."

"The fire was already—" Nova broke off, realizing that Kasumi Hasegawa wasn't the only person here who could pass the important message along to. Nova turned to Max, who was still standing beside her, his brow furrowed with worry. "Max," she said seriously, her voice stricken with dread. "You need to tell your dads: there is a very dangerous villain on the loose."