Fire and the Flames

Fire and the Flames is the sixth episode of Tech 10: Star Spirit.

Episode
[Cut to the inside of an old warehouse. A somewhat short, lean Caucasian man in a business suit wearing small glasses is examining a shipment of crates and taking down notes. A tall, pale woman wearing reflective metal armor is using a crowbar made of the same metal to open one of the crates.]

[Businessman]: “The number of crates seems to be in order. What about the contents?”

[Armored Woman]: *Lifts a high-tech gun out of a crate* “It’ll take a bit to check all of them, but the ones I have checked are good to go.”

[Businessman]: “Good. Once you finish checking the shipment, we can bring these to HQ.”

[Armored Woman]: *Moves to the next crate* “You know, Taurus, you could stand to help out with this.”

[Taurus]: “Yes, but it’s not my assigned task, and I’d like to keep things running according to plan, as it were.”

[Armored Woman]: *Raises an eyebrow* “Really? And what exactly are you going to be doing the whole time?”

[Taurus]: “Keeping an eye out for intruders.”

[Armored Woman]: “What intruders? We’re in the middle of an abandoned industrial zone!”

[Taurus]: “Virgo, you never know what might-”

Taurus was suddenly cut off by a spark drifting through an open window and landing on his hand. As soon as the spark made contact, it suddenly exploded into flames that enveloped Taurus’s body. Thinking quickly, he summoned what appeared to be horns of some kind from various points on his arms and legs. The horns swiftly began to spin at high speeds, creating an air funnel the blew out the flames.

[Virgo]: “What the hell was that?!”

Instead of replying, Taurus ran over to the window the spark had flown in from, catching sight of a car barreling away down the street and turning a corner.

[Taurus]: “I don’t know.” *Brushes himself off* “But whatever it was, the one responsible is going to be paying for a new suit.”

[Cut to the main area of Plumber Base UT1. Alpha is speaking with Theo and Nova.]

[Theo]: “Spontaneous Combustion? Isn’t that just some old wives tale?”

[Alpha]: “While naturally-occurring instances of the phenomena are still subject to debate, the issue at hand appears to be a series of direct attacks.”

Alpha turned to the nearby monitor console and brought up a map with red dots in a series of random locations.

[Alpha]: “These are reported cases of the phenomena in the last week alone. Every victim of the attack was burned to ashes, but only left behind a relatively small amount of charring on their surroundings, despite often being surrounded by flammable objects.”

[Theo]: “How do you know these are attacks, and not just a string of coincidences?”

[Alpha]: “Because we managed to capture footage of one of the incidents.”

Alpha pressed a button on the console, bringing up a recording of a video feed. The footage began playing, with Alpha pausing it after a few seconds.

[Alpha]: “If you look near the bottom right of the screen, you can see a small spark approaching a man’s exposed hand.”

[Nova]: “Yeah, I see it.”

[Alpha]: “Carefully watch what happens next.”

Alpha began playing the footage again. The spark hit the man’s hand, instantly exploding into flames that covered the man’s body. People in the area screamed and began running away, prompting Alpha to turn off the footage.

[Alpha]: “I’m not going to show you what happened next, but I believe you can work it out for yourselves.”

[Nova]: “Yeesh. Not a good way to go.”

[Theo]: “Do you have any idea who the culprit is or how to find them?”

[Alpha]: “Fortunately, while there does not appear to be a pattern to these attacks, I have been able to determine the most likely culprit from the records of Xr. Nullamor’s hybridization service.”

[Theo]: “I thought you said there were too many fire users to sort through.”

[Alpha]: “Generally speaking, yes. However, the ability on display here is very specific, narrowing down the potential suspects to a very small pool. I looked into the medical and criminal records of each suspect, and found that only one had any real criminal issues.”

Alpha pushed a few buttons on the console, bringing up a mugshot of a sleazy-looking man with unkempt hair and a malicious grin on his face.

[Alpha]: “Malincious Crow. 32 years old, 6-foot 1-inch, and a diagnosed sociopath. Was serving a life sentence for attempted murder and arson, but somehow escaped a few months back and has been living under the radar.”

[Nova]: *Sarcastically* “Sounds like a charming guy.”

[Theo]: “Do you have any way to track him? We need to take this guy down.”

[Alpha]: “I am perfectly aware of that, Theodore. Fortunately, we do have a DNA Tracker in storage you could use.”

[Nova]: “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go take this guy down!”

[Alpha]: “Slow down a moment. This man is incredibly dangerous, and seeing as how the StarTrix does not have a transformation capable of manipulating fire, your methods of countering him are unreliable at best.”

[Theo]: “What are you talking about? Over The Rainbow should have no problem extinguishing this joker.”

[Alpha]: “Your Superiris transformation is fine in a one-on-one fight, but if he were to lure you into a public space and target civilians, you wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to protect them. The species he shares his ability with is able to create entire showers of these sparks, and the only reason I suspect Crow to be using one at a time is to avoid creating a scene. If you put him into a corner, he could become incredibly dangerous.”

[Nova]: “But-”

[Alpha]: “No ‘buts’. You two have no experience with a target as malicious as this, and I am not going to send two teenagers out to fight him alone. Perhaps in the past this conversation would have gone differently, but as it is, I’d like to keep my operatives alive, if you don’t mind.”

[Theo]: “Hang on a second, you said you wouldn’t send us to fight him ‘alone’. Did you have something in mind?”

[Alpha]: “As a matter of fact, I do, though I doubt you’re going to like it.”

The platform elevator in the center of the room activated, rising up to the main level from a lower floor. Standing on the elevator was a young man with a stereotypical greaser look wearing a smug grin on his face.

[Pyros]: “Yo, ‘sup?”

[Theo]: “You can’t be serious.”

[Alpha]: “Unfortunately, I am. This was hardly the first option I considered, believe me.”

[Nova]: “How are we supposed to trust this guy? He tried to flash-fry us last time we met!”

[Alpha]: “I don’t need you to trust him, I need you to work with him. The deal is that if he helps with this, his sentence is reduced. I believe that to be a reasonable compromise.”

[Pyros]: “Yeah, what’s your problem?”

[Theo]: “Gee, I don’t know, maybe it was you burning down houses and flipping out on us when we fought you!”

[Pyros]: “Hey, for the record, I was drunk at the time, so I don’t even remember half of what happened.”

[Theo]: “That doesn’t make it better!”

[Alpha]: “No, but it does mean that he should be more stable while you’re working together.”

[Theo]: “Should be?!”

[Pyros]: “Hey, give me some credit here, kid.”

[Theo]: “Why the hell should I do that?!”

[Pyros]: “...Eh, you got me there.”

[Nova]: “What if he tries making a break for it or something?”

[Alpha]: “One, he’s fitted with a tracker, and two, now that Theodore has control over his Superiris form, keeping him under control should be easy enough.”

[Nova]: “Seems reasonable.”

[Theo]: “I’d disagree on that point, but if this is how things have to be, then I guess I’ll deal with it.”

[Alpha]: “Good. I’ll be monitoring you the whole time, so don’t think I won’t know if something happens.”

[Pyros]: “You talkin’ to me or the grumpy kid?”

[Alpha]: “Both.”

[Theo]: “At any rate, we should get moving. Where’s this DNA Tracker you mentioned?”

[Cut to Nova driving the Battle Moped down the streets of an industrial district. Pyros is sitting on the back seat, and Theo is following next to them as Move Along. A map-like holographic device is mounted on the moped’s steering shaft, directing them towards their target.]

[Nova]: *Yelling to Move Along over the wind* “We’re getting pretty close to this Crow guy! You think you’ll have enough juice left in the StarTrix when we get there?!”

[Move Along]: *Yelling back* “I should have about three minutes left by then! If we play our cards right, that should be more than enough time!”

[Pyros]: “Man, the time on that thing kinda sucks from the sound of it!”

[Move Along]: “Yeah, I know!”

They continued racing towards the point located on the DNA Tracker. After about a minute, they turned a corner and spotted Malincious Crow exiting a car near the end of the road. He noticed the approaching group and quickly scrambled back inside his car, trying to start it as fast as possible.

[Nova]: “Oh no you don’t!”

Nova summoned an exoskeleton around her arms and grabbed Pyros, tossing him towards Move Along.

[Nova]: “Hold this!”

[Pyros]: “What the hell?!”

Move Along Flash Stepped to the side and caught him, placing him on his back. Nova quickly stood up and jumped off the front of the moped, which was still traveling at about seventy-five miles an hour. Before hitting the ground, she summoned her leg boosters, slamming them into the road and crunching through the asphalt. As the moped approached, she swiftly grabbed onto its handle bars and used its momentum to toss it over her shoulders, sending it into a frisbee-like spin that flew forward and smashed into the front of Malincious Crow’s car, destroying the engine block.

[Nova]: “That’s how we do it in my town!”

Move Along pulled up to where she had stopped in the road, setting down Pyros and detransforming.

[Pyros]: “And you called me unstable?!”

[Nova]: “Oh, hush. The Battle Moped was built for ramming attacks.”

[Theo]: “Tossing it at your opponent does not constitute a ramming attack, last time I checked.”

[Pyros]: “See, even grump-face over here agrees with me!”

[Theo]: *Snappily* “I am not grumpy!”

[Nova]: “You are kind of a grump, man.”

Before Theo could reply, the driver’s door of Crow’s car was suddenly kicked off, allowing him to exit the smashed vehicle. He wore the kind of face that sends the clear message of ‘run while you still have your legs’.

[Malincious Crow]: “Alright kiddies, if that’s how you want to play things...” *Summons a group of sparks in his palms* “Let’s play.”

[Pyros]: “Uh, I think you pissed him off.”

[Theo]: “Gee, you think?!”

Malincious Crow approached at a steady pace, prepping a fistful of sparks as he walked.

[Nova]: “You gonna transform or what?”

[Theo]: “Yeah, yeah, just give me a second!”

Theo pulled up the StarTrix and transformed into Rolling Stone, beginning to walk towards Crow.

[Malincious Crow]: “You think turning into some stone abomination is going to keep you alive, kiddo?”

[Theo/Rolling Stone]: “I think the better question is whether or not those sparks of yours would have any effect on something like me.”

Crow tossed a spark at Rolling Stone, hitting his skin and setting him alight. The flames quickly died out, leaving him unscathed.

[Rolling Stone]: “Problems?”

[Malincious Crow]: *Shrugs* “Not really. Just checking.”

Crowsuddenly lunged forward, launching a shower of sparks in Rolling Stone’s direction. Though Rolling Stone remained unaffected, most of the sparks shot past him, heading straight towards Nova and Pyros. Nova summoned her shield construct, blocking most of the sparks, but was unable to stop them from hitting the ground, where the exploded into flames and created a huge ring of fire around her and Pyros.

[Nova]: “Hey, this is what we brought you along for! Do something!”

[Pyros]: *Defensively* “Hold on a sec, kid! I’m on it!”

Pyros raised his arms and swept them outwards, extinguishing the fire around them. Rolling Stone glanced at the situation and smirked at Crow.

[Rolling Stone]: “Man, you really aren’t as dangerous as you were made out to be.”

[Malincious Crow]: “And you aren’t quite as smart as you think you are.”

Crow lunged forward and threw a handful of sparks in Rolling Stone’s eyes, taking advantage of the distraction to punch the StarTrix symbol, reverting him to human. Before Theo could react, Crow threw another shower of sparks at him, setting him ablaze. Theo yelled in pain and quickly fumbled at the StarTrix, transforming into Over The Rainbow and splitting into the Droplets.

[Droplet Orange]: “Oh, so you like burning things, do you, tough guy? Two can play at that game!”

Droplet Orange shot a stream of scalding water at Crow, who quickly dodged to the side, only to instantly be tripped up by Droplet Green’s vines. Droplet Blue quickly shot dual streams of water at Crow’s hands, freezing them in blocks of ice. Crow grunted in pain and scrambled to his feet, moving to smash the ice.

[Droplet Red]: “I wouldn’t recommend that, Crow. You can’t exactly feel it right now, but your hands are thoroughly flash-frozen. Smashing that ice means smashing apart your hands, and trust me when I say that would be messy.”

[Droplet Orange]: “Aw, why’d you have to tell him? I think seeing his fingers flying through the air would’ve been incredibly cathartic.”

[Droplet Red]: *Turns to Droplet Orange* “You’re gross.” *Turns back to Crow* “Look, if you surrender now, we can just heal your hands when we get you in a cell. If you don’t, I don’t think your hands will ever work again. We’re giving you an easy out.”

[Malincious Crow]: *Starts chuckling under his breath, which slowly turns into full-blown maniacal laughter*

[Droplet Orange]: “Oh, you think we’re funny now, do you?!”

[Malincious Crow]: “Incredibly so.”

Crow suddenly smashed his frozen hands together, shattering the ice, and with it, his hands. The OTR Droplets, Nova, and Pyros looked on in horror as chunks of frozen flesh flew everywhere, blood beginning to spurt from the stumps on his wrists.

[Pyros]: “Yo, what the hell?!”

[Malincious Crow]: *Laughing* “I ain’t going back to the slammer, no matter what it takes!”

He threw his wrist stumps together, producing a flurry of sparks. Small flames spurted from each spark and cauterized the wounds, charring the ends of his skin and stopping the flow of blood. Controlled streams of sparks continued flowing from his wrists, creating fiery hands that shot out the occasional spark.

[Malincious Crow]: “I’m really on fire tonight!” *Chuckles maniacally* “Oh, but don’t be jealous. You will be too!”

Crow approached the stunned group, creating a massive trail of sparks in his wake.

[Droplet Red]: “We need to take this guy down now!”

[Droplet Orange]: “Right there with you on that one!”

The OTR Droplets fused back together into Over The Rainbow, who quickly shot dual stream of water at Crow’s hands, extinguishing them. Before Crow could react, he followed this up by turning into an amorphous ball of water and lunging at Crow’s head, completely cutting off his air supply.

[Over The Rainbow]: “I have neither the time or patience for you right now!”

[Nova]: “Uh, should we be doing something?”

[Over The Rainbow]: “Just stand back in case he does something drastic!”

[Pyros]: *Backing away* “That’s fine by me.”

Crow flailed wildly, trying to escape Over The Rainbow’s grasp, but was unable to grab his liquid form. As he was about to pass out, the StarTrix suddenly started beeping and flashing.

[StarTrix]: “Warning: Overheating detected. This device will now deactivate to prevent critical damage.”

[Over The Rainbow]: “Oh, you gotta be kidding me!”

Over The Rainbow suddenly reverted back to human, the sudden shift in weight throwing Crow to the ground. Theo swiftly scrambled away, running back to Nova and Pyros.

[Theo]: “We should probably start running.”

[Pyros]: “I am one hundred percent down with that plan!”

[Nova]: “What about the Battle Moped?”

[Theo]: “We can get back to that when it’s not on the other side of a crazy arsonist sociopath that wants to burn us to death, okay?”

Crow started to get up, catching Theo’s attention.

[Theo]: “Come on, let’s move!”

The three started running as quickly as possible, making their way through the long-abandoned streets of the industrial district. As they were running, Pyros noticed that a warehouse they were approaching had its windows shattered out.

[Pyros]: *Pointing* “Hey, we can hide in that warehouse!”

[Nova]: “And make ourselves sitting ducks?!”

[Pyros]: “And what’s your great idea, kid? Running forever?!”

[Theo]: “As much as I hate to admit it, he’s got a point. Let’s go.”

They ran to the warehouse, Nova giving the other two a boost through the shattered window before using her leg boosters to jump in herself. They quickly made their way as far off from the window as they could, taking shelter behind some empty crates. After staying silent and listening for a few tense moments, they each breathed a sigh of relief.

[Pyros]: “See, what’d I tell ya? No way he’ll find us in here.”

[Theo]: “Don’t push our luck.”

There was a brief pause.

[Pyros]: “Yo, does your transforming thing always time out at exactly the wrong moments, or was it just this once?”

[Theo]: “It ‘times out’ when it overheats. Considering our opponent, this unfortunately was not a surprise.”

[Nova]: “Speaking of that guy, what do you think his deal is, anyway? If he doesn’t want to go back to prison, why does he keep going out and burning people?”

[Pyros]: “Some sort of obsession, most likely. Either that or he just really hates people.”

[Theo]: “And exactly which one of those are you?”

[Pyros]: *Sighs* “The first one, actually. I’ve sort of accepted it as my calling in life.”

[Nova]: “Why? You could probably do something less destructive while burning things.”

[Pyros]: *Raises an eyebrow*

[Nova]: “Well, something less illegal, at any rate.”

[Pyros]: *Scoffs* “Doubt it. I’m only nineteen and already I’ve wasted my life.”

[Nova]: “Hold on a second, you’re nineteen?!”

[Pyros]: “I know, always looked more mid-twenties. Makes passing off the fake IDs a lot easier when I’m buying alcohol.”

[Theo]: “I assume there’s some sort of story as to why a nineteen-year-old is getting drunk and burning down houses?”

[Pyros]: “Not much of a story to me, really. Pops wasn’t around most of the time, and when he was, he was drunk. Ma was a chain smoker, never gave too much thought to me. Let me mess around with her lighter a lot when I was younger. Didn’t really have much else in the way of distractions, and it sorta spiraled out of control.”

Pyros paused for a moment.

[Pyros]: “Come to think of it, that was a bit more of a story than I thought it would be.”

[Nova]: “...That’s pretty rough.”

[Pyros]: “Can’t really disagree with you there. Getting kicked out when I was eighteen was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.”

[Theo]: “Have you tried seeing a therapist?”

[Pyros]: “...What the hell’s a therapist?”

Before Theo could reply, the door to the warehouse suddenly slid open. The three quickly went silent, hoping to avoid being noticed.

[Unknown Man]: “I know I spotted movement in here.”

[Unknown Woman]: “Your determination in forcing some random stranger to pay for a new suit is truly irritating, if somewhat admirable in its tenacity.”

[Unknown Man]: “This suit was Giovanna vintage! If you had the fashion sense to know what that meant, you’d be just as irritated as me!”

[Unknown Woman]: “Fortunately, I have the common sense to not care.”

[Nova]: *Whispering* “That sure doesn’t sound like Crow.”

[Theo]: *Whispering back* “I’m going to see who it is. Stay here until I give the clear.”

Nova nodded and Theo made his way out from behind the crates, finding the pair that had entered the warehouse to be a lean, well-dressed man with a torn business suit and a woman clad in reflective metal armor.

[Theo]: “Who are you?”

[Taurus]: *Notices Theo* “I think we should be the ones asking that question here. As not to be rude, however, I will introduce us. My name is Taurus, and my overtly snappy compatriot here is Virgo.”

[Theo]: *Groans* “Let me guess. Zodiac Organization?”

[Taurus]: “As a matter of fact, yes. Who exactly are you?”

[Theo]: “I’m...Huh, come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever given you people my name. Call me...Tech.”

[Virgo]: “’You people?’”

[Theo]: “I’ve...met the Zodiac Organization before. A couple times, actually.”

[Taurus]: “Ah. We’ve only arrived in-town yesterday, so we aren’t up to speed on what this branch’s activities have been.”

[Theo]: *Calling to Nova and Pyros* “It’s okay, guys! We’re in the clear!”

Nova and Pyros came out from behind the crates, walking up to Theo.

[Taurus]: “And who are these?”

[Nova]: “Name’s Nova. This here is Pyros.”

[Virgo]: “What are you three doing in a warehouse at night? Shouldn’t you be getting back home?”

[Theo]: “Our parents don’t exactly know we’re out. Besides, we’ve got a more pressing issue at hand.”

[Taurus]: *Raises an eyebrow* “Would that issue happen to be someone with spark-based combustion abilities?”

[Theo]: “You’ve seen him?”

[Taurus]: “Not exactly, but I believe he’s the one responsible for the damage to my suit.”

[Virgo]: “You’re the one who shredded the suit. All the guy did was set you on fire.”

[Taurus]: *Sarcastically* “Oh, yes, I certainly apologize, that obviously makes it so much better.”

[Theo]: “His name is Malincious Crow. He’s a wanted murderer and arsonist. Recently gained the ability to produce sparks that induce spontaneous combustion upon contact.”

[Virgo]: “Why are three youth searching for a wanted murderer?”

[Nova]: “We’re, uh...kinda on assignment, actually.”

[Virgo]: “On assignment from who?”

[Theo]: “Not important. What matters is that we apprehend Crow before he kills any more people.”

[Virgo]: “And how exactly do you plan to do that?”

The StarTrix suddenly beeped, the dial blinking a light blue.

[StarTrix]: “Cool-down complete. Device ready for use.”

[Theo]: *Pulls up StarTrix* “Using this.”

[Taurus]: “I have to say, that device looks rather familiar...do you happen to be related to Ben Tennyson?”

[Theo]: *Groans in frustration* “No, I’m not! Do I have to explain this to everyone?!”

[Pyros]: “Well, it’s not a stupid assumption to make.”

[Nova]: “Hey, guys? You remember the serial killer we still need to catch? You think we should probably be getting to that?”

[Theo]: “Right. It’s been...interesting, but we need to get moving.”

[Taurus]: “If you know how to find this ‘Malincious Crow’, I’m going to follow you. Nobody damages my suit and gets away with it!”

[Virgo]: “Again, you’re the one who ripped your suit.”

[Taurus]: “It’s about the principle of the thing, dammit!”

[Theo]: “Whatever. Just don’t get in our way.”

Theo walked out of the warehouse, gesturing Nova and Pyros to follow him. The two exchanged a puzzled look for a brief moment before going with him.

[Cut to Theo, Nova, and Pyros walking down the streets of the industrial district, with Taurus and Virgo tailing behind.]

[Nova]: “Man, what is with you tonight, Theo?”

[Theo]: “What do you mean?”

[Nova]: “Well, I mean...you’re just kinda-”

[Pyros]: “Bein’ an ass.”

[Nova]: “What he said.”

[Theo]: *Tensely* “Well, I’m admittedly in something of a bad mood. Being stuck working with someone that tried to kill you and tracking down a serial killer that I can only fight using what has to be the most unreliable Omnitrix in history has me kind of upset.”

[Nova]: “Just calm down, man. You ain’t gonna have a good time trying to fight this guy without a clear head.”

Before Theo could reply, a shower of spark suddenly shot towards the three from somewhere above them. Nova quickly reacted by summoning her shield construct, protecting them from the attack.

[Malincious Crow]: *Standing on a nearby rooftop* “Well hello there, children! Did you miss me?!”

A stream of liquid metal suddenly shot towards Crow, who dodged the attack at the last second. He looked towards the source of the metal to see Taurus and Virgo approaching him.

[Malincious Crow]: “And who are you two supposed to be?”

[Taurus]: “My name is Taurus. You are responsible for the destruction of my suit, and you’re either going to pay me for it...”

Taurus pulled up his sleeves and summoned sharp horns from his wrists that twisted to point forwards.

[Taurus]: “Or you’re going to pay for it.”

[Malincious Crow]: “Is that so?”

Crow threw out a shower of sparks at Taurus and Virgo, which Virgo blocked by turning part of her armor into a metal liquid and forming a shield in front of them. Crow leaped down from the roof and increased the flow of sparks from one of his wrists, shaping his spark hand into a blade of sparks.

[Malincious Crow]: “Let’s see just how well your metal holds up against something like this.”

He raised his blade to strike the shield, but was interrupted by Taurus darting out and stabbing him in the side with the horns protruding from his wrists. Crow let out a grunt of pain and stumbled backwards, reaching to cauterize the wounds.

[Taurus]: “I wouldn’t recommend fighting us at close range.”

[Virgo]: “This metal wouldn’t hold up against a lot of things, actually. Mercury tends to be rather soft, you know.”

[Malincious Crow]: *Seething* “Mercury, is it? That should make it a bit deadlier when I stab shards of that armor into your lungs!”

Crow was hit by a kick to the back, sending him reeling forwards. He snapped around to see Nova standing there, wearing her leg boosters.

[Nova]: “Face it man, you’re outnumbered. Just give up already.”

[Malincious Crow]: “You know, it doesn’t matter how many monkeys you bring to a fight.”

He suddenly lunged forward at Nova, spark blade outstretched.

[Malincious Crow]: “The lion will always win!”

Right before Crow’s blade made contact, Theo jumped forward and knocked Nova out of the way, taking the hit. The blade went straight through his torso, emerging from the other side before Crow pulled his arm back, letting Theo’s limp body fall to the ground.

[Nova]: “Theo!”

[Malincious Crow]: “Hmph. Not the intended target, but I suppose a kill’s a kill.”

Before anyone else could react, a stream of pink flames suddenly enveloped Theo. Nova turned to look at the source of the flames, which turned out to be Pyros, who quickly cut off the fire.

[Nova]: “What the hell did you do?!”

[Pyros]: “I don’t know! It was some kind of reflex, I swear!”

[Virgo]: “Uh, I think you should probably take another look at your friend.”

Nova and Pyros turned to look at Theo, finding that the hole in his torso was closing up. He slowly groaned and pulled himself to his feet, feeling at where the wound had been.

[Theo]: “What...just happened?”

[Taurus]: “It would appear as if your friend there received their abilities from Feuer DNA. The Feuer are famous for being able to produce a low-burning flame full of chemicals that enhance the healing process to incredible levels.”

[Pyros]: “What, so I can heal things by burning them?”

[Virgo]: “Essentially.”

[Pyros]: “Well, ain’t that information I coulda used a few months ago!”

[Malincious Crow]: “Well then, looks like you should be my next target.”

Crow stepped forward, but was stopped by Theo suddenly lunging forward and grabbing a hold of his neck.

[Theo]: “You are not going to kill anyone else.”

[Malincious Crow]: “Is that so? And just what makes you think you can stop me?”

Theo’s only response was to release Crow’s neck and pull up the StarTrix, transforming into a tall, winged humanoid alien with pink and white skin.

[Theo/Season]: “A few things, actually.”

Season stretched out his arms, his hands being enveloped by a soothing white glow. Crow’s wrist stumps suddenly convulsed, with new flesh and bone erupting from the charred wounds. After a few seconds, Crow’s hands had been entirely regrown.

[Malincious Crow]: *Warily* “...Why would you do that?”

[Season]: “So I wouldn’t feel quite as bad about doing this.”

Season hit the StarTrix symbol again, reverting to human. Theo quickly brought up the StarTrix and transformed into All☆Star. Before Crow could react, All☆Star suddenly reared back and used the little solar energy he could gather from the starlight to slam his glowing fist into Crow’s torso, punching a massive hole cleanly through it and launching him through the air into a nearby warehouse.

[All☆Star]: *Uses solar energy to singe the blood off his fist* “Think that’s sufficiently ‘stopping you’?”

The other four present stared at him in shock.

[All☆Star]: *Noticing the stares* “What?”

[Pyros]: “Holy crap dude, did you just kill that guy?!”

[All☆Star]: “He’ll stay alive unless we let him bleed out. Just go over there and heal him.”

[Pyros]: “I don’t even know how I healed you!”

[All☆Star]: “Okay then, I’ll go do it. You two just go get the moped.”

All☆Star detransformed and started walking over to the warehouse Crow had been launched into.

[Nova]: “Man, teenage hormones are not doing his mood any favors.”

[Taurus]: “I would just count yourself lucky he’s on your side. I’d hate to imagine what someone like that would be capable of if they turned criminal.”

[Pyros]: “Oh, I am certainly re-examining my lot in life right now, believe me.”

[Virgo]: “Either way, I think we should probably be leaving.”

[Taurus]: *Sighs* “I suppose getting paid back for the suit is rather unlikely at this point.”

[Virgo]: “Seeing as how our culprit was just launched through a wall, that’s a reasonable assumption.”

[Taurus]: *Turns to Nova* “Well, it’s been...interesting meeting you three. Perhaps we’ll meet again under less...tense circumstances.”

[Nova]: “Uh, same here, I guess.”

Taurus and Virgo turned and walked away. There were a few moments of silence.

[Pyros]: “...So, uh, the moped?”

[Nova]: “Oh, right!”

[Cut to the inside of Plumber Base UT1. Theo, Nova and Pyros are reporting back to Alpha.]

[Theo]: “-And that’s basically all that happened.”

[Alpha]: “I see.”

[Theo]: “Are you sure the base’s cells are strong enough to hold Crow?”

[Alpha]: “These cells were designed to hold people much more powerful than Crow. They should be fine.”

[Theo]: “If you say so.”

[Alpha]: *Turns to Pyros* “As for you, I believe the best course of action at this point would be to assign you a counselor and start training your non-destructive abilities. Reforming criminals into functioning members of society is always the most desirable outcome.”

[Pyros]: “Anything that gets me outta here quicker, I’m down with. I dunno how I feel about sharing a cell block with that Crow guy.”

[Alpha]: “Crow will be placed into an isolation cell. You should have nothing to worry about.”

[Pyros]: “I certainly hope not!”

[Alpha]: *Turns to Theo and Nova* “As for you two, you should get home as soon as possible. We don’t need your parents finding out about all this.”

[Theo]: *Nods* “Right. Come on Nova, let’s head out.”

The two walked to the platform elevator and rode it outside. Alpha stared after them for a few moments, seemingly thinking something over. She eventually sighed and walked over to the elevator after them.

[Alpha]: *To Pyros* “Stay here for a few moments, please.”

[Pyros]: “You say that like I have anywhere else to go.”

Up on the surface, Theo had brought up the StarTrix and was about to turn into Move Along. He and Nova turned at the sound of the platform elevator activating, seeing Alpha exiting the base.

[Alpha]: “Logical, could I speak with you for a moment?”

Theo looked to Nova, who just shrugged in response.

[Theo]: “Uh, I guess.”

[Alpha]: “Good. Eldridge, if you wouldn’t mind waiting outside for a moment.”

[Nova]: “Sure, whatever.”

Nova walked out of the abandoned factory the base sat under, leaving Theo alone with Alpha.

[Theo]: “What’s up?”

[Alpha]: “I need to speak with you about your incident with Crow.”

[Theo]: “Hey, like I said, I got a bit too caught up in the heat of the moment. Won’t happen again.”

[Alpha]: “That’s essentially what you claimed after your fight with the leader of the Zodiac Organization.”

[Theo]: “Well, this was different! He was going to kill us, and I knew I could just heal him afterward! It’s not like I’m going to murder anybody!”

[Alpha]: “You can’t guarantee that. I know you can’t.”

[Theo]: “What are you talking about? I’m just another teenager with anger issues, which, granted, very much need to be addressed, but still, that’s a long ways away from murder!”

[Alpha]: “You are most definitely not ‘just another teenager’.”

[Theo]: “Why?! What makes me more of a liability than anyone else?!”

[Alpha]: “Your father never told you, did he?”

[Theo]: “Told me what?! He never tells me anything, so yeah, I’m willing to bet you’re right on whatever you’re talking about, but still, what are you talking about?!”

There was a brief pause in the conversation.

[Alpha]: *Sighs* “...Have you ever heard of a Delta Human?”

Major Events

 * Pyros's sentence is reduced in exchange for help with catching Malincious Crow.
 * Taurus and Virgo make their debuts.
 * Season makes his debut.
 * Alpha reveals to Theo that he has Delta Human DNA.

Protagonists

 * Theodore Logical
 * Nova Eldridge
 * Alpha

Neutral

 * Pyros
 * Taurus
 * Virgo

Antagonists

 * Malincious Crow

Aliens Used

 * Move Along
 * Rolling Stone
 * Season (Debut; x1 Onscreen, x1 Off-Camera)
 * All☆Star