Pyromaniacs (Watty Awards)

[]Chapter 10[]

Steve was the first one to even approach finding me, as far as I knew. I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled, catching his attention as well as several other people's. I shook my head at them, and beckoned to Steve.

He jogged over and sat down next to me. "So why are you out and about?" he asked, looking at my hair. I guessed it was the purple streaks that had his attention.

"Paying respects to my father," I replied, sniffing slightly. Just then memories of him flooded my mind, of us outside playing catch. 

I remember the smell of flowers in the air, that spring. My mother had just decided to grow a garden, and several variations spread around the fence. Roses, tulips, and any other flower you could imagine, in every color you could name. 

The spring was warmer than usual, so instead of taking a vacation south my parents stayed in Wisconsin and celebrated the heat by teaching me how to play catch. 

Steve caught my sad look. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked me. I considered it, but decided I could get weepy later. Right now we had some work to do.

"I would love to, but not at the moment. My dad has just left me one more mystery to solve," I replied solemnly.

"Can you explain?" he questioned. I nodded.

"His name wasn't on the plaque, with all of the names of the dead. I know he died, because he was working on the exact floor the plane struck. The thing is, they must've had his death marked, because they recovered his body in the rubble and we held a funeral," I explained, thinking.

"Well, it is a lot of names. Are you sure they didn't miss it accidentally?" Steve continued.

"No, I don't think so. They directly came to my mom and asked if she wanted his name on the plaque, and she made it very clear she did. It would be hard to forget, she called them nearly everyday about it,"

Steve nodded. "So we should head where?"

"The library first, and then we'll see where we need to go next," I rose to my feet, grabbing my empty cup and tossing it in the garbage. My jacket had slipped down my shoulders slightly, so I pulled it up in annoyance.

Oh yes! That's....six points for Steve. The two last night, the three for finding me, and an extra one for treading gently on explosive ground. 

Steve stood up next to me, and headed towards his motocycle. I had walked, but the library was far enough away for me to be thankful for the ride. Then I remembered my new powers. I decided I could show him them once we got back to the Helicarrier, where I could demo in the practice room.

~<>~Hours Later~<>~

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No records of my father or his death. It was like he didn't exist at all. There was obviously a lot more to this than I had expected, and I decided I didn't want to get into it right now. I had too much on my plate. I didn't need my father, or rather the lack of him, and his problems in my life at the moment.

Steve let me have my way with this, giving in at the fact he WAS after all, my dad. Besides, I was excited to show him my new powers. I grabbed him by the hand and dragged him back to the motorcycle, leaving the library behind. It seemed like every time I went somewhere, I came back with more than I had bargained for.

~<>~Back At The Helicarrier~<>~

I lead Steve to the training room, chanting- "Hurry up! Hurry up!" the whole way there. Now that it was time to show off my powers, I was getting really excited. Hurray, more childish behavior. 

Despite it growing old, I still took pleasure in the swish this one last time. "OK, what's so exciting?" Steve asked, staying in the place I asked him to, and crossing his arms over his chest as I proceeded to the middle.

"Name the first animal that comes to mind! Go!" I shouted from the middle, spinning around happily.

"Uh...dog?" he said, confused. I chuckled. 

"OK, now watch this!" I pictured my old german shepherd in my head, and there ya go. I now looked through the colorblind eyes of a dog, then shifted back right away. I didn't like not seeing colors.

"That was amazing!" Steve yelled from the other side of the room, then ran to me and lifted me into a hug. "And this is all from a little bit of alchohol?"

"Yup!" I replied to both, hugging him back- it's not like I could do much more dangling in the air. 

"Am I missing something?" Tony asked, walking in the room. 

"Tony! Name an animal!" I said, jumping down from Steve's arms.

"Dragon!" he shouted, laughing. I grinned, knowing this one would be fun, and pictured a golden plated creature of fire. 

I opened my eyes, now looking down at the two of them. My head twisted around, and sure enough a scaly metallic body greeted me. The best part? I had wings too. I shifted back into my human form again.

"Whoa! That was awesome!" Tony said, pulling me into a hug like Steve had. I nodded and slithered out of his arms.

"Alright, well now that that's over, I've got some news. Bruce said he had an idea on the whole immortal thing," I told them. I motioned for them to follow, and sprinted out of the room like a child on Halloween, excited for the candy.

~<>~At The Lab~<>~

Test Two. Bruce and I had prepared this one last night, with the help of Natasha and Clint. He had, in fact, found a plant with such nurotoxins that, when mixed with alchohol, could produce immortality. Natasha had verified that such a plant grew in Grand Canyon. 

Banner explained the trip to Steve and Tony, who would be getting their own plant, with some help from Clint and Natasha. Bruce and I would stick here, in Manhatten, to keep an eye on things. S.H.I.E.L.D. would only allow four agents going out at once anyway.

The four of them, now sure of their assignments, left the room. I sat down in a chair next to Bruce. "Is this the plant that did this to me in the first place?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No. While it there were some traces of it, a chemical reaction triggered you. This plant only supplies immortality," he responded. I nodded. 

"So, do you ever leave here?" I questioned, suddenly realizing I hadn't seen him often outside of the lab.

Banner laughed. "No, not often. Only to eat and rest," I chuckled.

"Does it ever get boring?" I continued, knowing that when I left I would, ironically, find myself with nothing to do.

"Not really. I'm always working on new projects," he replied. I nodded once again, and watched as he went back to work. Maybe with my new I.Q. I could learn a few things. 

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Haha. I'm throwing bonuses in now, so 1) This book can be nice and long so you don't run out of books to read, and 2) So I can make more books out of it! xD