The Mask Effect (EDITING)

Chapter 3- Now Let's Buy A Popsicle. Or Eggs.

Dedicated to @ramblam for Not Your Average Hero, one of my favorite superhero books on Wattpad!

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Noah's POV

When I arrived, I was put out by the fact that the news team got there before the crime force.

I landed on top of a nearby building, surveying the surroundings. Downtown Phaonix surrounded me, modern-day architecture mixed with buildings like the landmark going up in flames. The air was heavy with smoke, and Tather's Tower itself was a mess of rubble and flames.

Someone had no appreciation for historical architecture.

High-pitched shrieks almost made me cover my ears. I pushed off and deposited- or more accurately, dropped- the man responsible for the shrieking by the rest of the crowd, careful to avoid the closer cameras.

That was a good description of the next half an hour. Find a person, swoop in, swoop out, repeat. After a long time- long enough for the sun to tilt directly into my eyes, the building was finally empty. But it was still on fire.

I flew down to a neighboring rooftop, where two figures in suits- Blizzard and Crysto- waited for me. The former was significantly taller than the other, ice-blue fabric determined to cover every inch of skin available. The other was decked out in swirls of bright blue and green, a mask in the shape of a snowflake wrapping around his face. They'd been helping out- freezing a falling doorway here, saving someone there. They could do this in no time.

"Hey, man!" I said over the buzz. "How's life?"

"Cold," replied Blizzard, crossing arms clad in ice-blue. "Like it should be."

I leaned closer to him. "Man, you know that you don't have to do that with me."

He concentrated on sending a flurry of snow and ice toward the building, but I could hear the undertone to his voice. "And you know perfectly well that neither my name, nor my superhero name, are Man."

"Okay, man," I said good-naturedly. "And how's it going, Crysto?"

"Life is good," commented Crysto. "So am I, thanks for asking."

"You're welcome." I took a moment to pose as if I was doing something. "Do you want to meet for coffee later?"

"You know I can't. I've got the-" Crysto's voice dropped "-the restaurant to take care of."

"Are you two done socialising over a crime scene?" Blizzard. Always a grouch.

"Sure," I replied. "Where's Inferno?"

"Apparently fled the moment we got here," Blizzard huffed. "Hasn't returned since, especially not to put out their own mess." He stopped to take a deep breath. "Flames that can't be put out with regular water. Flames that are a complete waste of my time. What a-"

"And sightings, trailing, any evidence of where Inferno's going with this?"

"Others are on it already," he replied. "What, you want to go after them?"

"Nah," I said as we descended. "I'm done here."

"Same," Crysto replied as we landed on the roof of a nearby building. "Saved the tower, saved the citizens- got to save my job now!" He pulled off his full-face mask for a moment, and it surprised me, like always, that he could be Max Max the restaurant owner and Crysto, superhero. He fanned himself with the snowflake mask. "I wish I could grow ice on my face. Then it wouldn't be so darn hot in there."