Smoke #1: Murky Start (Done)

[Smoke]

It was a mild day in early spring around coastal Oregon. I was lucky enough to have a sunny day, and that meant that it was one of the few breaks from the rain that seemed to dominate this region and time of year. If you've studied the Oregon coast, then you know that the temps are pretty tolerable all year long. At least there are no extremes like Death Valley in California, maybe a day trip to the south. I know that it certainly isn't anything like what you can find in the Antarctic either.... Funny. I never knew that I knew that before. Of course, most people would consider that common knowledge. I know that too.... The point is, Skyline City can be summed up in two seasons. Dry, windy, and warm and wet, windy, and cool. There are a few variations in the pattern, but that's what you should expect coming to visit this place.

"Carter. Ready to go?" A voice called over from the parking lot adjoining the apartment complex. Smoke, or "Carter", turned to look back at the man calling to him. Habit, and manners. A human gesture he'd learned. He didn't actually need to turn to see the man. It was a perk of being a wisp of smoke held into shape and appearance by his force of will. A Formshifter. Some might even call him a ghost. The truth was that Smoke, or Carter, or any other name that he chose to go by was still in the process of discovering what he was. He wasn't along though. He had at least one friend.

"I'm coming." Smoke turned away from the scene he'd been watching: The breeze blowing across the leaves on the young trees around the condo. Throwing his "coat" around his shoulders from where he was holding it. It was just more of him, and he could feel the light but steady breeze blowing softly across his main body as well as the countless small drifts of him scattered invisibly around the lot. He moved towards his friend as Ward unlocked his truck, and pulled the door open before gliding in. Ward had been helping him learn to interact better with just about everything. To that end, they took frequent trips out to the city, if only to let Carter "people watch" a little bit. Ward was good at explaining questions and convincing people that things were reasonable. Perhaps even when they weren't.

"Where we headed tonight, Ward?" Smoke got himself comfortable in the seat, making certain to buckle in before looking over to the driver.

Ward just looked at him quizzically for a minute, raising an eyebrow before settling himself into his own seat. "Really? Of all the people I try to help, the cloud of smoke is the only one that actually follows the rules? Do you even need that thing?" Ward jerked his head towards the belt, prompting Smoke to look down at it briefly.

"Probably not. It's what you do though. Aren't seat belts required by traffic regulations?... I thought I was looking more human."

A frustated noise seemed to escape Ward, before he blew his breath out and started the truck up. The engine revved as he made certain it wasn't going to stall on them, and then checked his mirrors to start backing up.

"Depends, my Friend. On whether you want to fit in, or whether you think its better to be a rebel." Ward seemed to get a look in his eyes. One that Smoke thought would be called musing? Perhaps brooding would be a better choice. He let Ward get on the road and get them underway for a bit. Seemed like there was something bothering the man today. A "raw nerve". Smoke wasn't sure if he had nerves, but it didn't stop him from using the expression, or sympathizing with the troubles of his friend, Mr Williams.

"You never did answer my question, Ward. We going somewhere particular tonight, or are you just driving?"

Ward took a moment answering, but seemed to put away his distraction for a little bit, at least. "I didn't, did I? It's a little sports bar downtown. Good food. Good drinks. Big screen TVs. The American dream, right?"

"You would know more about those things than I would. I don't eat, don't drink, and I've been alive for less than a year as near as I can tell." Smoke glanced over at Ward. He wasn't really upset that everything good about this place were things that he wouldn't grasp well or benefit from. It was another chance to see the world, after all. Something still urged him to point it out though, regardless of impact.

"That's true... But, just humor me. I think they'll have something for you there too."

"Really?" That did get Smoke a little curious. Ward wouldn't say anymore on it though, just grunting an affirmative when questioned as he drove them down the road. After a few more minutes, Smoke contented himself to waiting to see where they'd arrive. It wasn't a long wait. Something like an old fashioned diner trying to crawl into the modern day and age appeared before them. Airstream style joined with a stone foundation and neon lights that shone out from the edges. A sign showed tennis balls, rackets, and, glasses hanging from a rack, with the word "Rack-it" under the logo. It looked like there was a crowd just starting to show up.

[Smoke]

They headed inside, Ward headed over towards a corner booth with a good view of the room and a tv. Smoke was grateful for that. He still felt uncomfortable in crowds. The stimulus from everything moving through the traces of him around the room could be a little distracting, so heading for the corner was a good choice. Even so, as soon as the door opened up, everything in his being was assaulted with noise and sound and motion. The sharp clack of pool balls colliding and laughter from across the room clashed with more muted conversations around dinner tables and the sounds of sports programs and their commentators. Kitchen sounds blare in the background of it all, but more than that are the smells. As soon as he stepped into the sports bar, he could feel all of the smells. It was as though he was picking up and examining every one. The beer and chips, mixed with the smell of cooking burgers and crowds of people. Somewhere he could feel the air freshener and cleaner filtering into the room as well, but none of this would be as clear to the people here as it was to him. Most of what he was made up of was air, after all.

As they took a seat, he shut out his senses for a moment and focused, pushing everything around him aside. He could pay attention to it all, but just not all at once. People and his reactions took priority over the air freshener, after all. A waitress made her way over, and they placed their orders easily enough. Smoke opted to get whatever Ward ordered. The other man would be paying for it, after all, and Smoke couldn't really eat it. They'd lunch-bag it for Ward to have at a later time. "So. Rack-its, huh?" Smoke looked around at the people going about their business. A family or two sat nearby. A party of ten or so had shoved tables together across the way, with some playing darts, against the far wall. Some playing the pool tables, and a few simply chatting at their tables. Something told him that he'd seen gatherings like this before, but he couldn't remember a time. It reminded him of his old coworkers. He couldn't remember those either.

"Yep. Rack-its." Their food and drinks arrived and Ward bit hungrily into a double cheeseburger, letting the condiments and toppings drop onto a pile of baked potato wedges as he ate. "Best burgers around chips around, and not a bad selection of alcohol." The man said, raising his glass for a drink. "It's a great place to just relax and unwind, Carter. I figured it'd be a good place to let you take a look around too."

Smoke followed what he saw others doing and took his ease. He saw a man and a woman sitting up at the bar making eyes at one another. That triggered a feeling from what felt like half a dozen different memories in him. Except there were no memories. It didn't matter how hard he tried to remember. It simply didn't come. It left him almost depressed, but a fascination with where these feelings were coming from overtook him. It felt like he should remember something, but these memories he lacked didn't feel like they belonged to him. He found his eyes drifting up to the television set near them, where news and weather was beginning to play.

[Smoke]

While the things he witnessed rarely grew old for Smoke, he didn't ignore the fact that his friend was being quiet. Something was figuratively eating at Ward, but Smoke wasn't really certain how to help. He just stayed quiet, and didn't push the issue. If he was going to help, then his friend would have to be ready for that help.... This whole situation reminded him of some time in his past, but there was no memory to go with the impression. Sometimes that felt infuriating, and he wondered... if he could just breach that barrier and remember, could he do something to help?



There was a heavy sigh from across the table, and Smoke looked over. Ward was sitting back in the booth bench, eyes a little unfocused as if lost in thought. "Carter? What can you do when you're worried for someone, but you're afraid that sticking your nose in will only make things worse...?"



Smoke just looked on and listened. Times like these challenged him. Not only was his mind trying to take apart Ward's question, but he was getting numerous feedback from himself on the question. Ten different answers formed at the tip of the tongue he wore, but he let them all die. How was he to know the right answer from so many. He just waited. If there was one thing that he agreed with himself on, it was that Ward wouldn't stop there.



"I've got this kid in class. Been struggling to make ends meet, but he's determined to get through college. He's got a good head on his shoulders, Carter. Smart kid trying to push his way through being just another number. He could do it too.... And then he tells me thanks for the the help and time, he's transferring to Skyline City University next semester...."



"He goes from struggling to make ends meet to enrolled in one of the nicest universities around, and you're wondering where the windfall that let him do that came from." The pieces fell into place naturally for Smoke, like a well oiled machine.



Ward let a breath out, and frowned, before nodding his head. "I'm just worried for him. You know the climate here in Skyline City. Plenty of ways for a young man to get himself into trouble, even if he thinks he can look out for himself. I just don't know if he wants the help. I'm not going to be helping if he decides to dig in his heels, and he just might if I talk to him. I just have to think this through."



"I think you'll figure it out, Ward. It sounds like-" Some of the babble from across the room exploded into angry yelling, and both turned their attention in that direction, Ward turning to look, while Smoke simply turned his attention to that area of the without moving. A pair of figures looking like stylized street toughs, they had the had everything from the spiked knuckle gloves to the hefty leather jackets, were arguing with the host near the counter. It was difficult to filter out over all the other noise in Rack-its, but Smoke did his best. The host was cutting them off, from the sounds of it, and they were arguing the point. They did so right up until a large man got up from the counter, and crossed walked over, putting his hands on his hips as he sized the two up. They were being asked to leave politely, but this gentleman looked like he would ensure they left whether they wanted to or not. The pair walked out, spewing curses behind them, and the tension went out of the room as if someone had cut a ribbon. Peope went back to whatever they'd been doing, or remarked on the latest small altercation they'd witnessed at Rack-its



"Ward, he appreciates you a little since he let you know he was leaving. Just give it some time, and you'll see your chance. After all, I can't picture you sitting back and doing nothing."

"Well, I'd hope so. I answered enough questions for him in class."

The rest of the time at Rack-its went easy. Ward paid the bill, and left an extra few bucks to appologize for his friend's apparent lack of appetite or thirst all night. They grabbed the leftovers and headed out. A productive enough evening, as far as Smoke was concerned. He'd gotten to watch people partying, watch pool and darts, and seen some toughs kicked out of a bar. He logged those things away to think on later as they started heading up the road again. They didn't get far before traffic came to a stop though.

Ward stepped on his brakes a little quicker than Smoke was expecting as the car in front of them jerked to a halt. Sirens could be heard ahead, and people around the car were starting to get out of their cars to try and see ahead. Smoke took the chance to take a look forward, filtering some of himself out the car, and letting them push through the air up, midway up the buildings, from there he could see a hazy picture of what was going on ahead. There was a car wrecked into the front of one of the businesses, and it was blazing with fire, but the bigger problem was that fire had spread into the building, and was climbing the floors. There was a firefighting crew there hustling to set up, but they'd only just arrived on the scene by the look of things.

"It's a fire." Smoke's voice came out of his main body down by Ward, though he didn't turn his head to look towards the man. "A burning wreck in the front of... I don't know. Some sort of offices maybe?."

Ward rubbernecked around to look at Carter. "Are you looking at it now?" It was a useless question, in Smoke's opinion, but he answered it anyway.

"Yes. There's an ambulance pulling up, and they're starting to herd the victims over to it now." As he spoke, he started to filter more and more of himself up nearer to the operations going on around the building. He heard a walkie squawking nearby and listened in unobserved as wisps of smoke around the work field.

To his credit, Ward seemed to take it in stride that Carter was seeing all these things. He opened up the car door, and pulled the keys from his truck. "I'm going up to take a look myself. You coming?"

"Already there, Ward." Ward didn't appear to know what to say to that. Just shook his head before hurrying up to the scene. That was fine with Smoke. It let him concentrate fully on what he was doing. Leaning back the car seat till he was out of easy sight, he let the last of his presence in the car paff out of focus, and pulled himself fully into the vicinity of the firemen setting to work.

"-blocked passage on floor three. People trapped-" A walky's piercing tones sounded nearby, and Smoke tuned in on it.

Hearing what he needed to hear, Smoke started drifting towards the building. He didn't fear the fire. Warmth generally made him feel better. Stronger. He'd never tested himself in this kind of massive inferno though.

[Smoke]

Smoke focused his attention on the burning building, pushing himself to filter into the burning structure. Vision was obscured, but he could feel where the fires were burning before he reached the. Rather than fleeing, he felt himself drawn to the spots. Fire burned hot, and heated him as well by proximity. The more heat he absorbed, the faster and stronger he felt, and the more prepared he felt to take on this fire.

He stopped "looking" eventually, instead "feeling" the smoke. In a sense, it was almost like using his own limbs to reach out and around. There was so much smoke around though that not all of this really was his. He heard noises nearby. A pair of firemen were fighting with a pile of rubble, and Smoke could just glimpse a pair of figures on the other side, yelling for help between nearly coughing their lungs out from the cloud of smoke around them, and the fire fighters. Instinct kicked in. Many instincts, launching him into action. Swirling forward in a whirlwind, Smoke took on a human shape again, merely a dark silhouette. Another portion of him flowed through the debris as his human shape walked up to the blockage.

"Step Back!" His voice seemed to rumble from all around the hall as he spoke, and plunged his hands into, around, and through the fire. Smoke dissipated and then reformed into the mess as the firemen in full protective gear turned startled faces on the dark shape in the burning flames, completely unprotected. Smoke Concentrated on "feeling" the hallway, on both sides of the rubble. The smoke on the far side, snapped to the roof and the walls, shifted as he seized it and pulled it into as part of himself. His arms, buried impossibly in the piles of collapsed supports remained where they were. Nothing appeared to be going on, as the firemen started to shift uncomfortable with just waiting, but unsure just what this figure was going to do. They had to trust him. They weren't making enough progress on the collapse themselves.

Smoke gave the equivalent of mentally sucking in a breath, and all the smoke from up and down the corridors began to filter down, into the collapsed hall, drawing it down into the gaps and broken bits that had rained down from above. The Firemen called for him to hurry. The people trapped on the other side of the hall yelled. Still Smoke poured down into the cracks, until even his human form melted and drifted down into it. The firemen were just starting to wonder whether they'd halucinated the whole thing when the rubble suddenly shuddered, and then flew up, pressed tight against the ceiling. They looked startled, and then grabbed the pair of trapped victims and started running back the hall.

To Smoke, the strain on his mind pushed him further than he'd ever reached before, but with a constant fuel of heat all around him, he felt able to keep it up. The walls to the sides started to crumble, and he turned his awareness back down the hall where the people were still running. He let the rubble fall to the ground forgotten, and raced along the inside of the burning hallway, shoring up the buckling structure by pressing himself against it. He could feel pieces of the building pushing against him, piercing through his form, even as he struggled to push it back himself. He felt the ceiling caving before he saw it, right over one of the fleeing refugees. He was ready for that as well though. Shifting more of himself forward in the hall, a great hand made of black smoke and particulates reached out, and caught one of the supports as it was about to fall by the window. The fires roared behind him. Supports screeched out as steel and iron wrenched free. The sound sent shudders through Smoke, but didn't break his will or his form. He steadied himself, holding the front portion of the building where the ladder was while the rest of the building caved in and collapsed behind him. Once the firemen were down with the victims, he let everything go, and just relaxed, rising into the sky with the rest of the smoke.

Not moments later, the rest of the third floor fell in, collapsing on top of the rest of the burning rubble, leaving nothing more than a burned out carcass of the building. From above, Smoke had a good view of the goings ons. He could see Firemen still hosing down the still burning wreckage. A few were resting, and recuperating nearby. People still stood and gawked at the scene, and the road was completely at a standstill. Smoke was content for now, just to hover in the air well above that wreckage, and see what came of everything here. It amazed him how quickly the place had burned. And he was happy with what he'd done. He'd even managed to test whether big fires could harm him or not. The answer: Not fires like these.

[Smoke]

Water continued to hose down the building below him, now only a collapsed ruin of smoking, steaming wreckage. It'd be awhile before all the fires went out, but the heat rising off of it was diminishing, and as it was, so did the warm afterglow that Smoke had found himself enjoying. He turned his attention down to the street again, and saw that people were beginning to move on. Cars were starting to move. Ward had pulled his car off to the side of the road, and was standing on the sidewalk, looking about the area. Smoke thought it was a little amusing, but he doubted that his friend would share the humor. He bent his will downward, and dispersed enough to avoid attention as he dropped. Then he formed the core of himself into the familiar form of "Carter Caplan" in an alleyway nearby, and came strolling out of it, hands in pockets.

"There you are! I was beginning to get worried. What did you do? Where'd you go?" Smoke couldn't read expressions as well as he'd like to be able to, so he wasn't sure what he was seeing. Ward did seem to relax visibly though.

"I decided to play at being a fireman for the evening. I seem to have a knack for it."

"You went in there?!"

Smoke nodded his head for Ward's benefit, then walked up and pulled open the car door before slipping in. "Come on. If you start driving, we can make it back for the evening news, and see what they have to say about it."

- - - - -

"As more and more of the "super powered" individuals continue showing up, and meta powered crime sprees begin to seem almost commonplace, it's easy to become discouraged, and afraid for the future." Ward had gotten the pair back to his apartment, and flipped on the evening's news. They were discussing news from around the nation now, but they'd drop to local Skyline City before much longer. In the meantime, Smoke watched the images playing on the screen Terrifying images of monsters, of men throwing fireballs. Holdups at banks. Explosions, unnatural deluges of water, and simply people and things being hurled through the air. A great lion somewhere in New York City, to whatever attacks were thrown its way.

"But it's also important for us to pay homage to those virtuous people rising to the challenge to overcome these dangers for their fellow human beings."

The camera changed, and it showed a woman facing down the lion. She was wearing armor that made her appear as a goddess out of myth. It left very little to the imagination, leaving much of her body and skin uncovered. Smoke felt torn in about six different directions of opinion when he saw the armor, but it was easy to judge her impressive. Especially when the video feed, clearly taken off of someone's cell phone, showed her dodging about and doing fearless combat with the great beast. The footage switched to another scene. A man in a blue and purple suit flew out of a bank, with three masked figures in his grip. It looked just like an old comic book scene.

"Not everything is dark, and there is as dark as the world can seem sometimes, it's things like these that remind us of the light of hope burning for us all."

The broadcast returned to Skyline City local, and Smoke watched the "quick look at the weather". Mild fog in the morning they said. Another cloudy day, but only brief chance of showers.

"I wonder if this is anything like having demigod heroes running about all the time would be like...."

Smoke pulled himself away from listening to the weather girl to consider his friend's musing. That was an interesting thought in a way. He knew Ward enjoyed studying the old mythologies. So of course the man's mind had wandered there. "Probably." He answered simply.

"Skyline city got its own dose of Supernatural tonight, according to some accounts. A fire in downtown Skyline City closed off Adams Street for an hour while crews battled to bring the blaze under control. A number of oddities about the fire have investigators puzzled though, claiming that the fire burned much faster and hotter than it should have at the beginning. There's also accounts of a dark figure seen running through the halls of the burning structure. Some accounts place him on the first floor. Another account lists some... something assisting firemen in clearing the hall of rubble to get trapped victims clear." The camera switched to a fireman still in his gear, soot still covering him.

"This guy... I couldn't see what he looked like really, cause it was dark. He just walked up, and told us to get back.... I did, cause I'm not gonna say no to a guy who can walk through the fires around us unscathed. He just kinda, plunged his arms into the mess some how, and started to lift!"

The feed shifted to another fireman.

"It was a miracle. An absolute miracle. The Smoke even seemed to clear a path for us as we were running to get out."

"What do you think his involvement was in this fire?" The reporter held the microphone to his lips before offering it back to the fireman.

"I can't speak to that. I don't know who or what it was that saved us in there, but we couldn't have gotten those people out without his help. You can take that to the bank. If he's watching this: I just want to say, thanks for the assist."

The feed switched back to the news studio again, and another scene came up. "Now, here, you can clearly see. The Firemen are coming down the ladder with the people, when an overhead support starts to fall. And then, right there! What looks like a giant hand seems to reach out of the smoke and catch it, holding it in place long enough for people to get clear. No one's come forward with anymore information on the event, but its clear that there are alot of questions still needing answers in this investigation. As always, We'll keep you posted, with the latest developments, here on 9SKC News."

Smoke smiled, and flipped off the broadcast. He could see Ward just staring at him from across the room without turning his head. There was a strange heady feeling running rampant through him at the moment. Pride? He was proud of what he'd done... but then he felt something roping him back to the present....

"I never went to the first floor. And I never "ran" while inside the building. What was that they said about some figure running through the dark on the first floor?" Smoke frowned. "Why would someone start a fire there. Do we even know what burned?"

"I don't remember what it was, Carter.... Are you thinking of playing at being a fireman more often?" Ward got up, and cracked a window to let some of the breeze in and cool off the room. Smoke always had to hide the mild annoyance that cause in him. He gave the question a long considerable thought though.

"Maybe. I think I'll try investigator next though."


OoC: Thread End