Trial by Fire Read online

  "How do you find crimes, then?"

  "Well, we do stumble across them on occasion. More often, someone will call us or we'll hear about it on social media or the news. Archive has some text notifications set up, based on news reports as well as some of the city's internal emergency alert systems, to make it easier for us to monitor those channels for signs of trouble. Sometimes though, it's impossible to miss, the sort of huge, ongoing disaster or hostile situation that's all over TV and internet alike."

  "So the police don't usually reach out, like they do with the Heroic Fraternity in New York?"

  "Not really. Archive has a tenuous relationship with someone on the police force, but it's nothing like the Heroic Fraternity's relationship with cops. We're concerned with helping people; cops are concerned with enforcing the law." Lacy grinned. "The Heroic Fraternity acts like helping people and enforcing the law are basically the same thing; we don't agree." She flipped shut her laptop. "I could go on all night about social justice, but I'll spare you."

  "I don't mind," Elena replied earnestly. "And I really appreciate you coming over."

  "Well, I'm never one to turn down a sewing project, and your company's not too bad either," Lacy said as she packed up.

  "Thanks, same for you," Elena said. She felt a twinge of regret at seeing Lacy get ready to go, even though she knew they'd spent a long time together today.

  At the door, Elena leaned in and gave Lacy a tight hug. Before either of them pulled back, Elena pressed a kiss to Lacy's cheek. Lacy turned her face towards Elena's, and gently placed her hand on the side of Elena's face. Desire and delight bubbled within Elena as their lips met: a brief-but-heartfelt kiss.

  "Would you like to get dinner together, out somewhere, sometime soon?" Elena asked as they both pulled away. She stumbled over her words slightly, cheeks flushing.

  "I'd love to." Lacy opened the door and waved as she headed out. "Have a good night, and text me soon!"

  "Good night!"

  *~*~*

  Elena woke up in the dark to the buzz of her phone vibrating on nightstand. She picked up the phone without thinking, expecting one of her parents calling with some sort of family emergency.

  "Hello?"

  "Get to the Civic Center as soon as you can." That voice was definitely not one of Elena's parents, and she sleepily tried to figure out who it could be. "There's been a power outage, and I think Consequence is involved." It was Archive, Elena realized. "I'll text you address of where we're meeting soon."

  "Okay," Elena replied, but as she let the phone down from her ear, she saw Archive had already hung up. It was 2:11 on Monday morning.

  Elena threw on the first clothes she could find, her morning workout outfit, and regretted already disposing of her attempt at a costume. She made a mental note to at least get a mask as soon as possible. As soon as she was dressed, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door. The adrenaline gave her enough of a boost that she felt on-edge rather than tired during her hurried, more-than-slightly-over-the-speed-limit drive downtown.

  As she neared the Civic Center, Elena's phone buzzed. She flipped it on to view the text from Archive, which was just a nearby address. When she pulled up, she saw two cars already parked nearby, one of which she recognized as Lacy's. There were a few other vehicles nearby, but the area was fairly deserted. Here, the power outage was strikingly obvious: streetlights by the gray government buildings were out, while the across the street, security lights and a neon sign in a nearby convenience store were still on.

  Elena exited her car cautiously. She felt out of place in her workout attire, especially as she approached Lacy's car and saw her, Oculus, and Archive all in their full costumes. They stood half-shadowed under the overhang of the brutalist office building, no other people within sight.

  "Hey!" Lacy walked up and gave Elena a quick hug, while the other two heroes remained standing against a wall. "Here." Lacy handed Elena a simple orange half-mask. "I'll make you a fancier mask to go along with your costume, but I have this old spare of Archive's for the meantime."

  "I'm glad you could make it, Fuego," Archive said.

  Fuego rang in Elena's ears as she pulled on the mask. It was both exhilarating and a little scary to hear her chosen name; it reminded her she wasn't here just as a citizen, but as a hero.

  "This power outage is unprecedented," Archive continued. "The sky's clear, and there's no reported issues from the power plants, nothing ordinary that would explain this."

  "It could be nothing," Lacy said, shrugging. She caught a look from Archive and sighed. "Then again, after that stupid ad published by Consequence, a mysterious power outage of government buildings is worth checking out. So, let's go take a look. Fuego and I can go do a quick lap around the area, see if we spot anything."

  "Good," said Archive. "Just be careful; there are some police in the area, along with the electric company's repair truck."

  "I know; we will be."

  "How did she find out about the outage so quickly?" Elena asked as she and Lacy set off in a jog towards the government buildings, both of them keeping their eyes out for police or troublemakers alike.

  "Archive makes knowing things her business," Lacy replied vaguely. Elena was curious, but didn't pry further.

  The city was illuminated even at this odd hour, with distant skyscrapers reflecting each other's' light. There was neither a cloud nor a star in the sky, and despite the Civic Center's blackout, the moon paled in comparison to the artificial lights of the rest of the city. As Elena and Lacy walked further into the Civic Center area, it was eerily dark in comparison. Still, they avoided getting too close to the roads, taking the more shadowed paths and looking for any signs of trouble.

  "So is this nighttime tour your first time walking around the Civic Center?" Lacy asked as they went by Los Angeles City Hall.

  "This is my first time here for anything other than work, actually," Elena said. "I have to come down to the courthouse sometimes for cases, so I've walked around a lot but I've never gone in any of the other government buildings."

  The area didn't feel quite so familiar to Elena at night. When they took a turn past the District Court building, Elena found herself glancing over her shoulder, as if to see if they were being followed. She wasn't quite sure who she was more wary about running into: Consequence, or the police. Even though she hadn't done anything, she didn't want to waste any time getting stopped and questioned.

  "Is there anything in particular we're looking for?" Elena asked.

  "Honestly, I'm not sure. Some obvious sign of trouble? This Consequence guy doesn't seem subtle, so if it's really him, I think we'll able to spot something."

  They walked another block, veering away from the sidewalk when they saw a patrolling police car. As they headed past the court buildings, windows black and empty, Elena spotted the dismal-looking, beige Hall of Records across the street. She and Lacy kept walking, noting nothing unusual about it, and neared the next corner.

  Suddenly, streetlights all around them flickered on again. Elena blinked, glancing down at the ground for a moment as her eyes readjusted and she processed what was happening. When she looked up again, Elena saw nearby buildings were all lit with their usual nighttime lights—but the Hall of Records had something more.

  "What—oh, fuck," Lacy swore as she caught sight of it, too.

  The top two rows of windows in the Hall of Records were illuminated by large, neon red letters:

  CONSEQUENCES

  ARE COMING

  Lacy bolted towards the building. Elena knew intellectually how fast over 100 miles per hour was, but it was another thing entirely to see a woman suddenly start to run at that speed. Elena sprinted after, but still lost sight of her quickly; Lacy disappeared around the edge of the building before Elena had even crossed the street.

  When Elena rounded the side of the building, she saw Lacy scowling at a door handle.

  "I did warn you that you couldn't keep up with me," Lacy said, amusement flic
kering on her face before frustration reigned again. "We need both a key and a code for this door. I have my lock picks, but it'll take a few minutes and it won't be long before someone else sees this and they go to the police. Downtown's never completely abandoned, and this sticks out like a sore thumb with the power outage. At least this is less visible than—"

  The door swung open, smacking Lacy as a black-clad man ran through. He glanced to Elena and started running, and she took off after him. Even with the element of surprise, Elena was able to gain on him, and in tens of seconds, was near enough to almost reach out and grab him.

  Moments later, Lacy passed Elena and delivered a swift blow to the back of his head. He fell to the ground with a moan, clutching his head. Elena paused, but glanced back at the building as Lacy pulled out some zip ties and efficiently tied his hands and ankles together. He swore as she briefly patted him down, then shook her head and straightened up.

  "We can go back in and check it out quickly," Lacy said, though she looked somewhat reluctant. "We'll come back and deal with him later." She nodded at the man on the ground. "He doesn't seem to have ID on him. This building probably has security guards, and we should find out what happened to them."

  They ran back over to the door, where a business card had been stuck between the door and the lock, keeping it ajar.

  "Almost got my fingers slammed into it, but now we don't have to fight with the security system," Lacy explained.

  Ghostly emergency lights provided dim illumination for the tiled corridor. Given the sharp turn and lack of rooms leading off of it, Elena figured it was a service or emergency exit. Hurrying through it, Elena wondered why Consequence had chosen this particular building. If he wanted to make a statement, City Hall seemed more appropriate.

  "Shouldn't we contact Archive?" Elena asked as they went past a door to the stairs and the service elevator. Her nerves prickled, but she couldn't see anything wrong yet, so she chalked it up to general nervousness at her first active superhero outing.

  "Yeah, I'm going to text her."

  Lacy pulled out her phone and sent a brief text as they turned a corner and entered a large, austere lobby. The browns and oranges of the benches by the windows offered little brightness in contrast with the gray walls and matte floor. An unpleasant but familiar smell tickled Elena's nose and she glanced up at the high ceiling. Sure enough, saw the beginnings of smoke, trickling in from a room to the left with its door left wide open. Elena tensed up, her mind racing.

  "Someone started a fire," Elena said to Lacy, pointing up at the ceiling. She didn't know why, or how, but it definitely complicated things.

  "Shit. We really need to find those guards then."

  Elena ran over toward the source of the smoke and pulled the door shut. Its handle was hot to the touch. As she glanced in, she saw a cloud of smoke billowing into the file cabinet-filled room, too thick to see beyond, and her gut twisted. There were no visible flames yet, so it must have been somewhat far back, but this still wasn't going to buy her a lot of time.

  "Over here!" Lacy called.

  Elena ran across to the opposite door, which Lacy had just opened. Inside, two men in security guard outfits sat on the floor of a utilitarian office, tied back-to-back. Their faces were bruised and there were gags shoved inside their mouths, which Lacy was leaning down to pull out.

  Immediately, both guards tried to talk at once. One swore loudly, but from what Elena could catch, the other guard was trying to warn them about something.

  "Slow down," Lacy said. "I'll get you untied in a sec, but we need to know if there's anyone else in the building."

  "Ricardo, one of the janitors, is upstairs," one of the men said. "I don't know if he's still here, or if he got out, but we heard an explosion a moment ago and…"

  "They used explosives to start the fire, probably." Elena kept her words steady even as she felt a cold tingling of fear, worrying it might already be too late. "I'll go look for Ricardo."

  "Are you sure?" Lacy asked, though she changed her mind almost immediately. "Okay, that's a silly question. I'll meet you outside soon?"

  "Yeah." Elena was glad that Lacy didn't actually argue. Despite Elena's inexperience, she didn't have to worry about the fire nearly as much as Lacy did, so it only made sense for her to look for Ricardo while Lacy helped the guards out of the building.

  Lacy nodded and Elena took off, heading back towards the stairs. She took them two at a time for the first few flights, propelling herself forward with the potent cocktail of excitement and fear.

  By the eleventh floor, Elena was breathing heavily and her calves were aching. She slowed down somewhat, but didn't pause, especially when the building's fire alarms started blaring. She didn't have much time. Once she reached the top floor, she swung open the door to see rows upon rows of beige metal shelves, stacked high with boxes of records. Up here, the floors were carpeted, the decades-old red-and-brown pattern visible in the large patches illuminated by the light streaming in through the plentiful, wide windows.

  Elena ran across the floor, catching the scent of aging metal and old paper drift as she searched for any sign of Ricardo or Consequence. She soon found the bank of wide windows that were lit with neon letters.

  Each letter was taller than she was, and appeared to be constructed out of LEDs. Each letter was linked together with wires that led to a long extension cord plugged into the opposite wall. As she surveyed them, she found herself clenching her fists, her mind racing. What was Consequence trying to accomplish, other than showing off, and causing property damage? This gave them no hints as to his next move; it just made it clear that he was serious.

  Frustrated, Elena pulled the plug with an angry tug. The lights stubbornly stayed on, and for a moment, she thought about tearing them apart to find their backup power source, but she forced herself to stay focused. She turned around, ready to head down to the next floor where the rest of the letters were, to see if the missing custodian was there.

  "Help!" someone cried from far back in the rows.

  Elena started hurrying back through the rows and spotted a large vacuum cleaner. She ran faster, and moments later spotted a middle-aged man in a worn custodian's uniform clutching his leg, leaning against one of the massive filing cabinets. He had dark hair and a blossoming black eye.

  "Ricardo? Are you okay?" Elena asked, rushing over and bending down. Immediately, she knew it was a silly question, but she let him speak rather than rushing to correct herself.

  "Sorry?" he said tentatively.

  "Are you okay, Ricardo?" she repeated in Spanish.

  "Somewhat," he replied, wincing.

  "Can you get up? We need to get out of here."

  "I'll try."

  Elena jumped to her feet and offered him a hand. He winced as he stood, clearly avoiding putting weight on his injured leg.

  "Here, lean on me and let me help you," Elena said. "Unfortunately, we have to move fast."

  "We should take those stairs," Ricardo said, pointing to a nearby exit sign.

  "Okay." They were closer than the ones she'd come up from, and with a fire in the building, she definitely didn't want to take the elevator.

  "Who are you?" Ricardo asked as they pushed through the door and started their way down.

  "I'm Fuego. It's my nickname," Elena said quickly. She felt a little self-conscious, remembering she was still wearing workout clothes and a cheap mask. She didn't feel much like a real superhero at the moment, though she was glad she could help Ricardo, and she definitely didn't look like one.

  "What happened in there?" she asked, not wanting to dwell on her neophyte superhero status.

  "I was vacuuming on this floor and we lost power, maybe an hour ago. I couldn't get the vacuum back downstairs with the elevators not working, but I figured I should wait for it to come back on. I sat down and just listened to my music for a little while. Then I saw people moving, even though I knew the other custodians had already gone home. I thought it might be one of th
e security guards, but when I took off my headphones and went over, I saw it was a group of men, four or five of them. One of them hit me a few times with a metal rod, first my leg and then my head and I blacked out for a little while. I woke up a few minutes ago, but my leg still hurt and I didn't know what was going on, or if they were still in the building."

  Once they got down to the second floor landing, Elena could feel the air was much warmer than it should have been and smoke was starting to cloud the air.

  "Does this go directly to outside the building?" Elena asked, fear stabbing her as she realized how much trouble Ricardo would be in if they had to navigate through a part of the building where the flames were actively raging.

  "Yes."

  "Okay," Elena replied, even as she thought, Thank goodness.

  As soon as Elena opened the door to the comparatively cooler Californian night, she heard police sirens. With a hurried apology to Ricardo, she left him sitting outside the back of the building. Her pulse pounded as she took off; she didn't want to risk being seen, and questioned. Elena ran the whole way back to her car, taking the long route and listening to the noises of every manner of emergency vehicle shrieking through the night air.

  *~*~*

  Elena regretted not finding a twenty-four-hour coffee shop on her way to their headquarters. It was now nearly five a.m., and all the nervous excitement that had kept her going had drained out, especially since the night had given them no new leads. Static and Guardian were both unable to make it, but Kinesis had met up with the others downtown, and Janus, while he hadn't made it to the Civic Center, was able to join them for the emergency meeting.

  The Hall of Records was damaged by the minor explosion and resulting fire and they'd found no further clues about Consequence's identity. They had helped get the security guards and custodian out, but at the cost of letting the only person they'd caught at the scene of the crime get away. The zip ties had been a good idea, but by the time Lacy had gone back, she'd found him gone, probably cut loose by another accomplice.

  "You did your best," Kinesis said to Elena kindly when she expressed her frustration. "More often than not, things go like this. Nothing plays out how it looks like in the movies."