Tout s'est déplacé loin à rapidement pour que le héros thermique légèrement étourdi comprenne pleinement. Elle s'est souvenue d'avoir gâché Kyle quand elle lui a dit de manger une bite après avoir vomi. Suivait en courant, puis en se voyant remettre une arme. Elle n'était pas habituée à manier les armes et n'était donc absolument pas utile en ce sens. Elle a regardé Kyle sauter sur le chemin du feu pour elle et a été légèrement choquée par le fait. Quand tout a finalement ralenti un homme leur a donné un coup de main ou est mort.
Il semblait que Kyle était le premier à faire le commentaire "pourquoi devrais-je" qu'elle était sûre que chaque méchant pensait. Elle a roulé les yeux et l'a frappé à l'arrière de la tête. "Abruti, pourquoi tu dois toujours rendre les choses difficiles pour tout le monde." Elle se tourna ensuite vers l'homme qui parlait. « Il serait heureux d'aider, comme moi. J'ai un peu de remboursement pour lequel je démange. Des salauds nous ont attaqués quand nous étions faibles et mourants, c'est un coup de lâche. Enlevez ça de moi et je vais commencer tout de suite!" Elle a été absolument enflammée. Si ce n'était pas pour le collier, sa température corporelle aurait atteint un niveau dangereux. Ses émotions pouvaient encore influencer la température de son corps. Elle se souciait peu de ce que Kyle ressentait pour aider, elle n'allait pas le perdre à nouveau.
Name: Annabelle Costello
Alias: Therma
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Allegiance: Hero
 Costume is heat resistant as to stop her from accidentally burning off her clothes.
Written Description: Shoulder length dark brown hair, deep green eyes, stands at about 5 feet 2 inches with a slim, yet slightly muscular frame despite her small appearance.
Power Set: Body Temperature Manipulation- Anna is capable of cooling her own body to about 26 degrees Fahrenheit (-3 Celsius) which in turn slows her heartbeat and blood flow to the point were she could be mistaken for dead. She can also heating her body to 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 Celsius) she can burn flesh and light things on fire at this temperature. This means that most extreme temperatures do not bother her, this also makes her mostly resistant to being burned or frozen. However her body will still go into shock if her temperature is changed to drastically very quickly. Even more so if her body temp is not within the normal human range. Meaning if her temp was below average and she was suddenly exposed to immense heat her body would go into shock.
Background Story: Born and in Kodiak Alaska to a pair of researchers Annabelle spent much of her life in the wilderness and traveling all over Alaska. She learned early on to fight for the things she believed in. Her parents taught her to defend herself when she was about 10 though they preferred to teach her Aikido a form of martial art that focused more on simply defending and disengaging than anything else Her parents knew the basics of it and passed that knowledge onto Anna.
Her parents were mugged when she was 12 and so Anna requested that she be able to learn to defend herself at a more professional level. Her parents agreed and they took up a more permanent position in Fairbanks and Anna found someone to teach her Aikido. When Annabelle was 16 she had achieved blackbelt in the fighting style.
Annabelle first discovered her powers when she was iceskating on a pond with some friends. She managed to find a weak spot in the ice and fell through. Upon being retrieved from the water she began to simply think about how it would feel to be warm again and she body became hotter. Though she had no clue how to stop the rise in temperature and ended up hotter than she intended, causing her soaked clothes to steam. It took a while for her to regulate her temperature again and spent the next year concentration on keeping her ability in check. It was during this time that she decided she would become a hero, fighting for the people who couldn’t protect themselves.
Years later, when the virus hit Annabelle had become an accomplished hero around the world, though she never fought alone. Somehow, after going into isolation, Annabelle managed to fight off the virus and became one of the few that survived. Then the aliens invaded. She was one of the heroes on the front lines fighting off the invaders, it was then that she was captured.
Other: Skilled in hand to hand though she prefers to use a staff to fight with to extend her reach
Nemesis: Kyle/The Red Demon
Annabelle had absolutely nothing going for her sitting in the cell, unable to use her powers, unable to escape, so she had plenty of time to look back on her life and live in her memories. She was often brought back to when she first met her oldest friend and nemesis.
It was a calm night, stars out with a full moon, and an ever so slightly gentle breeze flowed through the air. his family was in the small town of Conton, located in the middle of nowhere. They had spent all day driving, on their way to a big city nearby to try to sell their latest patent which was a type of blender that could mix multiple fruits and added an additive that made the liquid into a whole new flavor, when their var broke down. Something was wrong with the engine, smoke billowing out of the hood of the car, so they pulled over into Conton. The small town had only one mechanic, and he was currently off. No suprise, considering it was midnight. They had a very small amount of spending money so his father and mother were trying to fix the engine themselves. They would be able to make it workable, but they needed to find shelter at least for their two boys. Conrad, being 17, and Kyle, being 12, occupied themselves but started to feel the pang of hunger.
Kyle had recently discovered his latent powers, and was playing with his brother by throwing small red balls of energy at his brother who was quickly side stepping them with his super speed.
Seventeen year old Annabella had been away from her parents, fighting crime, for a little less than a year now. She traveled all over the U.S taking down minor villains and working with other heroes to do so. At the time Anna was staying in a cheap inn located in Conton, she had been there for a couple days. The night she met Kyle and his family she had been out for a late night stroll, unable to sleep. She wondered past the family almost oblivious to her surroundings. It was highly likely she would have kept walking if it weren't for the two boys who were using their powers off to the side as there parents attempted to fix their car. They caught her attention and so she stopped, observing them for a moment before speaking to the boy's parents. "You folks need some help? I'm not a mechanic but I can help you get a place to stay until the shop opens up if need be." Again she glanced at the boys, the older of the two who seemed to be around her age. Though it was the younger who's power interested her. She had seen super speed before, it was common, but she hadn't seen anything that the younger boy could do. Her first thought was that he would make an interesting hero.
She was shocked to hear that the boy's parents could fix the vehicle but they asked if she could take the boys to get some food. They even offered her some money, which she refused. Telling them that she made a decent bit in her line of work and offering to take the two to a nearby twenty-four hour dinner.
Kyle was entranced by the female stranger from the moment he laid his eyes on her for the first time. He had been in mid throw with a small energy ball when Annabella first introduced herself to his parents. Strange that a young girl such as herself had been walking alone at the cord of midnight, but still she emitted a certain confidence. Kyle threw the small ball with the intention to have it soar towards Conrad, but instead it flew higher and more to the right just narrowly missing another building and disappearing in the night sky. Conrad laughed, seeing why Kyle lost his concentration. When Annabella made her offer, Kyles parents allowed this but put Conrad in charge of keeping Kyle safe. The three went along to the diner, with Conrad talking to Annabella more than Kyle. Conrad eyed Kyle often, trying to nudge him to chime in more. Kyle was still young, and being 12 and going through his young tween phase he had no idea how to talk to girls.
Conrad made small displays of his powers, tapping his fingers fast, trying to encourage Kyle to do show his powers. Kyle awkwardly held up his hand and produced a small crystal shaped energy that hovered over his palm. He made it change shape, making it take the form of anything he saw on the table. When their food arrived, Conrad and Kyle did their usual routine when dining for the first time in a new city or town, seeing how hot and spicy they could make their food and who would crack first. Conrad planned on losing though, making it obvious to Annabella he meant no harm to Kyle, and he was able to keep sneaking more spicy seasoning onto Kyles burger using his super speed. Kyle would have noticed it if he had not been staring at the ground, looking there pretty much since Annabella showed up.
Towards the end of the night the brothers food were equally the spicy level of the heat of a volcano, and with Conrad sneaking more spice on to Kyles food, they ate their final bite. Kyles face turned extremely red, and he constructed a red bucket of energy to spit and cough into. Conrad laughed and patted Kyle on the back, winking at Annabella.
Anna watched the brothers interact, she herself didn't get anything to eat, but instead drank several cups of water. She still wasn't the best at regulating her own temperature and her body had a natural tilt toward being hotter than what it was supposed to. She too decided to show off her ability holding out her hand for the brothers to touch as she cooled her body down to below freezing and then warmed it back up again. She also retracted her hand and grabbed a napkin. Heating her body up just enough to singe the paper like object. She had to be careful not to light her clothes on fire. She was still fascinated by Kyle's power though she could tell the boy was nervous and let him open up at his own pace.
She returned the boys to their parents about an hour later and handed them a card with her number on it. Informing them that if the boys ever wanted to get into the hero business to let her know. She wanted to see Kyle's powers in action, especially once he became more confident with them. She then headed off, back to where she was staying.
Annabelle was brought back the the present. A place she didn’t like to stay long and so she plunged back into her memories. Another fond memory she had was when she was 20. A rather eventful day with Kyle.
They were in Toki City, a rambunctious city filled with adventure and experience. Kyle and Annabella were out eating ice cream outside a cold stone when a group criminals powered by advance equipment were currently on the run from the police in their van. Kyle smiled and looked at Annabella. "I know what your thinking, and yes we should. Next time though your buying the ice cream though since we have to waste this." Kyle stood up with Annabella and walked around to the back of the store, zipping up his jacket, putting up his hood, and raising the face mask he had in his pocket. They got in Kyles family car and drove off in the direction that the chase was headed.
With Annabelle being 20 and Kyle being 15 most people would find it weird that they had become such good friends over the years. The two met up frequently in random cities and fought crime together. It was the best times of her life. Sure she worked with plenty of heroes, but none of them had become as close with her as Kyle had. As the criminals tore past Annabelle only had to look at Kyle for him to know what she wanted to do. "I don't know what you are talking about, wasting ice-cream, have you forgotten that you are the one among us that gets a brain freeze." And with that she quickly ate the rest of the frozen treat without so much as a flinch and followed Kyle behind the store. She pulled her short hair into the best ponytail she could and put on the hoodie she had on her arm, pulling the makeshift mask out of her pocket and tying it around her face afterward. Though she was an established hero by now she didn't have a costume yet, it was still in the works, not to mention the name the public had given her, heat wave, didn't fit her power set to it's full extent. They jumped in the car, but not before removing the license plate from the car so that their heroing activities couldn't be traced back to Kyle and his family.
With Anna at the wheel the two managed to catch up to the backline of the police before she veered off to take a shortcut to get up front by the van the criminals were in. This is where the two would begin to work. She didn't want to damage the car so it was good to have someone who's ability involved projectiles so no car bashing would need to happen.
Kyle sarcastically rolled his eyes when Annabella removed their license plate and hopped in the drivers side before he could take the wheel. His dad and mom had an expired license which was about the only form of ID they carried on them, so he had been taught to drive somewhat at an early age. But Annabella never let him drive when they hung out, which made Kyle laugh. That was something he really liked about her, how much she cared and how nice she could be. Plus in all honesty he knew she knew he wasn't the best driver. As they drove he touched his mask, which Annabella inspired him to have. When he first started heroing out, he never hid his face since he always travelled. But lately he found himself copying her a bit, her style as a hero. He knew she wasn't a formal hero at the moment but he had no doubt she would go on to be a legend.
As they caught up to the chase and found a way to get next to the van Kyle rolled down the window on his side. He aimed his open palm out the window and fired a single red bolt of energy at the cans door, but to no avail. It seemed that the villains had some sort of shield protecting the van since when the red projectile hit the van a blue light shimmered where the bolt hit making it dissapeara. Kyle laughed, grinned a mishevious grin, and looked at Annabella. "Please don't tell my mom and dad about what I'm about to do."
Kyle looked to make sure there was no cars next to them or any sharp turns about to be made, then unbuckled his seat belt and climbed out of the car through the window and on top of his impala. He knelt on top of the car, waiting a few seconds and ignoring Annabella's warnings and worrying. He breathed in and out, then leaped on to the top of the van. He laid there on his stomach, giving Annabella a thumbs up. He had an idea that just might work.
Kyle shifted his weight a bit so he could choose which direction he would go, then used a small blast from the palms of his hands and soles of his feet to propel himself up ever so slightly in the air. The result was he was almost immediately sent backwards, but because he was able to control which direction he went he ended up on the left side of the van, next to the car Annabella was driving. He held on to the back of the van, slowly crawling on the side of the van using his strength and small little holds he could dig his fingers into. He reached the door to the van, slid it open, then pulled himself in and shut it.
Anna watched as Kyle climbed out of the car. "You're damn right I won't be telling your parents, but you better not get hurt doing what I think you are about to do. I don't want to be the one to explain to them that I let their son basically jump from a moving vehicle onto another moving vehicle!" She yelled at him as he did exactly what she would have preferred he not do. She couldn't believe he had just done that and her heart was racing from the experience.
After a moment she managed to calm her beating heart and sped up so she remained parallel to the van. The situation was out of her hands now. It was up to Kyle and she wasn't too please about it. If he got hurt she would never hear then end of it from them. They would probably never let her see their son again. She shook the thought out of her head and did her best to watch the rode and the action in the van.
Annabelle and the criminals stayed parallel to each other while driving at fast speeds. Suddenly the door burst open on the van, with Kyle dangling out holding the chest of a black coated man with one hand and another hand holding the mans right arm keeping him from properly aiming his gun at Kyle. More people could be seen inside the van rummaging around. Suddenly Kyle pulled himself inside the van again, the door shutting behind him. After a little bit of time, the van started to swerve slightly and then suddenly veered off to the right. It stopped in front of a building, and with many noises and crash sounds Kyle was sent flying out of the double back door of the van landing on his back. Three men walked out of the van, with the driver stepping out cocking a pistol.
When the vehicle stopped and Kyle was thrown out of it, Anna slammed on the breaks and was out of the car faster then one would think she would be able to move. She managed to take the driver by surprise and disarmed him rather quickly. The male was on the ground before he could realize what had happened, he had been to focused on Kyle to notice Annabelle rush him. She handed the gun to Kyle, she hated firearms. She then stood at the ready for the criminals to attack them. Though before before anything could happen the police caught up and surrounded them. They easily handled the situation from there and thanked Annabelle and Kyle for their help, though informed them that they should just allow the police to do their jobs and not get involved. Something neither of the two would listen to.
Once again the memory faded. A stupid grin on Anna’s face. However the smile faded when yet another memory popped into her head. This one years later, after Kyle’s parents had died. It was the first time the two had encounter one another as hero and villain. Though neither knew it at the time.
Kyle, age 18, was standing in the middle of the mueseum where the display event of the an extremely rare relic diamond was being showcased to the public. Kyle had ended up partnering with a small gang of criminals to help him steal the diamond during the one day it was not guarded with extreme prejudice. By now in his life, it had been two years since his parents were murdered, and a little over a year since he turned villain. He was wearing his soon to be traditional costume, except he was also wearing a dark brown jacket, a black hood and lower face mask, and he had gun sheaves on his belt and legs. He was in mid robbery at the moment, holding up a single handgun in his right hand while walking towards the pedestal. The mueseum visitors and staff were all kneeling on the ground while members of the partnered up gang were roaming the room making sure no one did anything stupid.
After Kyle's parents died, Annabelle had lost contact with her friend. She tried everything to find him but to no avail, it seemed he had ghosted. During this time she had become a pro hero, got herself a new costume, and started going by the name Therma, instead of the name previously given to her by the public. Her appearance had change drastically as well. Whereas she had begun to sport longer hair she had gone back to the short style she had when she was a teen. She had also opted for wearing contacts when in costume, rather than keeping her glasses on.
Anna had been tracking a hero who had a similar ability to her old friend's for weeks now. It seemed the villain was always on the move, however she had finally managed to catch up to him. She herself teamed up with a group of heroes who were headed to the museum to stop the robbery, and hostage situation. Upon arriving at the scene one of the heroes snuck in and took out the criminals that were on guard and from there the rest of them moved in. Quickly storming the jewel room where the rest of the criminals were located. A fight was to ensue and the slow evacuation of hostages took place at the same time. The group of 5 heroes, 4 excluding the one who was evacuating people, split up to take down the gang, and Annabelle ended up face to face with the man holding the jewel. "I suggest you put that down." She said, staff at the ready.
Kyle frowned. To say the least he was surprised by how fast his partners had been taken down but so far it was not a total bust. He had the diamond in his left hand, his right hand by his side with a clenched fist. All he needed to do was to either stall for time, or make an emergency exit. One hero was enough to handle but Red Demon knew five heroes would have been......not preferred. His eyes scanned the room. Looking at all exits in sight while still facing the heroine.
"And if I did, can I go free? Or maybe we can sit down together for a cup of coffee? Or maybe we can set aside our differences and work together to unite heroes and villains?"
Red Demon walked in a circle with the heroine, neither one able to make a move without the other reacting. He twitched his hand and suddenly a red light flashed, and when the flash went away a red sword made of pure energy, clear in design, in his right hand. He twirled his sword a few times.
"Have You ever danced with the devil?"
With that Red Demon lunged forward, dashing quickly into close quarters with the heroine, and just as quickly he mentally willed his sword to change shape. His sword shimmered, then changed shape into a glove that fit his hand. The diamond secure in his left hand which was also covered in a red glove. As he threw multiple jabs and guarded against the heroines attack he spoke.
"I am the Red Demon by the way.”
Therma snickered at his comments, the banter wasn't something she was used to when it came to crime fighting. She chose to ignore his question about what would happen if he put the jewel down. It was irrelevant, he wasn't going to. She watched him carefully, her body tense, ready to react to his moves. She would not attack first, it was not her fighting style. Instead she mimicked his circling motion.
"You know you have quite the wit, careful though, you might get burned."
She immediately raised her body temperature, her metal staff conducting the heat and the whole thing began to glow red from the heat. She had burned to many wooden staves in her youth so she opted for a metal one to extend the reach of her ability. She would have easily parried his attack had he not switch tactics half way through the strike, the first blow hit her, hard, but she managed to regain composure and easily blocked the rest of the attacks with her staff.
"Red demon huh, interesting name for someone who doesn't look all that intimidating," She was provoking him, she found that most people didn't fight as well if she could get them irritated at least. "but you can call me Therma, the name is much more fitting of my power set than yours." She moved to strike his legs with her staff, attempting to either cause him to lose his balance or knock him off his feet entirely. Either way would work in her favor.
By now most of the other criminals had been taken down and the other heroes were ready to jump in and help Therma should she need it, though she motioned for them to stay out of it until needed. She wanted this to be a fair fight.
Red Demon became unbalanced from the strike to the feet by Thermas staff, so after a receiving a few more quick strikes from her he grunted loudly and was suddenly encased in a red glow that emitted from his own body. Then, as quickly as he was encased by the red glow, the light shimmered a bit then reshaped itself into red constructed armor. His eyes had a red tint around the socket, his chest had a red flak jacket with spiked shoulder pads, with spiked boots and spiked gloves that stretched down the length of his arm. Red Demon crossed his arms and pushed forward, making Therma back off a bit.
"I am not called a demon because of my appearance, I am called a demon.."
Red Demon smiled, suddenly whipping out the two pistols out of his belt and shooting the two closest heroes that brought with her in chest, then dropping his guns so that he could draw the two handguns from off his legs quicker and shot twice at the other two heroes that Therma brought with her. The bullets hit the third hero in the stomach and shoulder, and the fourth in his knee cap and shin.
"Because I embrace my humanity. I embrace the fact that humans are evil naturally, and choose to act like the demon that we all harbor."
Red Demon aimed quickly at Therma, who reacted to his attack while he was speaking, and fire twice from both guns.
Thermal wasn't able to react quickly enough to the first set of shots, and neither were the heroes the shots were aimed at. The second round the heroes managed to move but not fast enough. Everything seemed to move in slow motion by the time the guns were aimed at her. She managed to avoid most of the shots fired in her direction though one managed to lodge itself in her arm, and other pinged off the staff in a random direction. She hissed in pain and cooled her body so her heartbeat slowed and her blood flowed slower. This as a way to both stop her from bleeding out and minimize the spread of any gunpowder or other foreign contaminants from the bullet. Her skin turned a light blue color and the still heated staff began to steam around where she was holding it from the sudden change in temperature.
"Sure humans are inherently evil, but that doesn't mean they aren't capable of doing good." She backed away from him as she spoke, knowing she wasn't going to be able to fight him now that she was injured. She was still ready to defend herself should he chose to attack her again. She moved to the most injured of her team and kneeled next to them. "Such a shame, such a wonderful power could be used for better things then petty thefts and criminal deeds." His power was so similar to her old friend's that her mind wondered to him. "I had a friend a while back, he went missing, but the kid, who he was when I knew him, never would have used his powers to hurt innocent people." She looked toward her injured team. "Just go, none of us are able to fight you, take your dumb jewel and get out of here, next time we cross paths things won't be the same." She really hoped the man just left, she wasn't interested in fighting to the death at the moment.
Red Demon raised an eyebrow. He truly did not expect her to surrender like that. Well....she did not really surrender but she essentially just gave up. He raised one gun up to Therma, and took aim.
"A mighty heroine, brought down. Tragic. I should just put you out of your misery.....but maybe thats not necessary I think. Just remember next time you go out to save the day, you failed before and you will fail again. You failed these heroes, you failed the people of these cities, and I bet you failed your friend. But it is interesting to hear another has a similair power set as me. Maybe I will look for him."
The Red demon sheathed his weapons, powered down, and strolled out the front door of the meuseum. More screams could be heard, and gunfire as the police outside tried and failed to stop him.
The memory ended and Anna’s mind wondered to the most recent memory she had of Kyle, the night she beat him, and the night she found out who he was. It was April 4th, a date forever etched into her memory.
A couple years past and the two had continued to fight, unfortunately Annabelle never succeeded in bringing down the man she would soon find out was her old friend. It was more than frustrating for the heroine. April 4th, sometime in the evening, a call went out over the police scanners informing them that an armed robbery was taking place at a nearby bank. The culprit was none other than The Red Demon. Thermal had been listening on the scanners all night, trying to find, something, anything to do to get her mind off the virus that was spreading around. Several of her super powered friends had already fallen to the virus. Thus far she had only managed to fight it off because of her ability to change her body temperature. Annabelle suited up as she continued to listen to the scanner. Reportedly the Red Demon appeared weaker than normal though he was still fighting off the police fairly well.
Therma arrived at the scene just as Red was trying to make his grand getaway, having taken down most of the police in the area. It was then she stepped in his way, staff already red from the heat. "We meet again Red. Another petty robbery I see." She had refrained from calling him by his full name, one because it was a mouthful and two, because she didn't care to use it all in the first place.
The Red Demon was infected with the virus that had been sweeping the nation, somehow surviving but incredibly weakened from the illness. He had no idea how he truly survived, considering the state he used to be in, the only thing he knew was that he just could not die yet, he refused to accept death as an outcome. At least not before he exacted his revenge. During the time he was sick he spent much of his fortune on medicine and black market doctors, leaving him almost penniless. He needed money, to fund his criminal empire he would use to combat his brothers, and he needed to somehow make as much of it back as possible. With others still recovering, he felt it was time for The Red Demon to make a comeback, so he set his sights on a rather well secured bank. It was something slightly over played but still effective as hell in making the cash flow as smoothly as possible again. His lackeys were able to take down the security team inside, and he had men funneling the money out of the bank while he fought off any police or heroes well enough to try to stop him.
When his men had taken as much money from the bank as they could, Red Demon ordered a complete evacuation of all of his people. As he prepared to leave in a flash of red lasers, Therma stepped up to the scene brandishing the bow staff he knew so well. The police backed off, thankful there was a hero here.
"This would be so much easier if you just laid down and died like a good little hero. I am in no mood for these games of ours at the moment so begone."
Red Demon generated two dual sided red energy blades, and a set of red power armor. He panted slightly for a moment then recollected himself. Underneath his energy mask and helmet he was slightly pale, and a bead of sweat ran down his face. He had never felt so weak before, but he refused to give up now. His constructs shimmered slightly then solidified again.
"How may times have we done this? The outcome never changes, you refuse to kill me and can never capture me or I injure you and you escape.”
Therma watched him carefully. She could tell he was ill. It was obvious even though he tried to hide it. "Oh hun, I'm a hero, you know I can't stop. Thanks for the cool battle scars though. I do enjoy them so." With that she charged at him. I think was the first time she made the first move. She was sure that this action would throw him off, at least a little bit. She aimed the end of her hot staff into his stomach. The impact would be enough to stagger him though with the armor he wore gen likely wouldn't sustain any seriou injuries.
Red Demon, thrown off guard by getting pressed first, tried to swing his swords as he received a hit from Thermas staff. The spot where the staff hit changed from red to white than shattered that part of the armor, causing his arms to swing over Thermas head missing her. He staggered backwards, pissed off. He lunged forward, changing from swords to simple blasts from the palm of his hands, and tried to blast her. His attacks accuracy was low though and while he did aim at her and would hit her if she did not block his attacks most of the time his attacks could be deflected off to the side where they would be stopped by a building.
Therma was pleased that her initial attack caught The Red Demon off guard. She had successfully made the first move. She jumped back and easily deflected his attacks. Almost too easily for her liking. She knew something was off now but she said nothing instead she continued her attack moving in once again to know him off his feet. It was honestly a move she had done so often she wouldn't be surprised if he dodged it, but seeing as she could tell he wasn't feeling well now was a good a time as any to use it. If she could knock him over she could press the end of her staff into the area that was no longer armored and it would be ensured victory. The downside was she had to get close in order to pull off the move, within arm's reach at least. She had to be careful so that she wasn't pulled down with him.
Red Demon grunted and pressed forward as Therma moved in to attack again. He thought it out as fast as he could, realizing he was at a disadvantage. He was weaker than normal, his attacks were less impacting, his movements were sluggish, and his senses were dulled. He barely had any energy stored, so he only had a few more attacks in him, realizing he could not charge energy in time if he ran out. Ats the last second he realized something, and shifted his body weight heavily so that he almost was thrown sideways by himself. Therma tried striking him in the broken part of his energy chest plate, to which he was able to dodge just barely. He threw a non powered punch, hitting her with an upper cut, to which she hit back even harder with her fighting style. This went on for a short amount of time, Red Demon using energy attacks less and less until all of his energy armor dissapeared in a shimmering light. The two were engaged in close combat, almost at the end of their battle. Their fight had taken them out of the area, with Therma chasing Red Demon as he tried to escae. They ended up at an old pier near the cities lighthouse which was only a few miles away from the bank. On the pier, Red Demon threw what he assumed to be his last punch. He was exaughsted, and sweat could clearly be seen from his face. His hair was matted down, his breathing was heavy, and his skin color was even paler. Therma struck him as well, both landing hits on each others face. Therma's attack hit harder, sending Red Demon spiraling backwards. What Red Demon did not expect was when she did she accidently knocked off his face mask, revealing his secret identity. He landed on his back, breathing hard with his eyes closed. He felt his face, feeling something was off, and realized she knocked his mask off.
"F**k”
Therma's breathing was heavy, she had never been in such an intense hand to hand fight with the villain before. She had also never succeeded in taking him down before. She knocked him on his back after they exchanged blows, unknowingly removing his mask in the process. She also hadn't noticed that in the heat of the battle her hood had fallen, though her face mask remained in place. She walked toward him but stopped short upon seeing his face. He was older, and he had definitely changed but she recognized the face.
"Kyle?" She questioned aloud without realizing it. She was in total shock. So much so that the sound of approaching sirens didn't register in her mind. Everything seemed to slow, except for the two of them. She had to be seeing things, there was no way this villain was her long lost friend. She had to be wrong, this man was not Kyle, he couldn't be, but yet all the evidence lined up. He looked like Kyle, had the same powers as him, though obviously more developed. She stood in place, and couldn't help but tear up a little at the thought, she hoped she was wrong. She didn't want the man she had been fighting for the past years to be the kid she fought crime with in her early hero years.
Red Demon squinted his eyes, suprised Therma knew his old name. Well suprised doesnt really cover it, he did not have a word for his level of shocked. Even when he was Kyle, not many people knew his name. He slowly shook himself off, trembling as he stood up.
"How do you know that name?”
Therma was at a lose for words. It took her a moment to process they he had spoken and another moment to comprehend what he had said. So it was Kyle. There was no denying it now. Though she had no clue how to react. "I...um...It's me...Annabelle." She stumbled over her words not even fully sure what she was saying, and pulled down her face mask. The tears that had been forming in her green eyes were about to spill over, though she held them back as much as she could. She wanted to hug him, and also run from him, but she was frozen in her place, she couldn't bring herself to take a step in one direction or the other. "What happened to you? You dropped off the face of the planet, I spent years trying to find you, hell I am, was, still trying." She shook her head, still not fully able to believe what she was seeing.
Kyle blinked twice, then almost doubled over in laughter. He hunched over, holding his stomach as he laughed, after a few seconds he flew into a coughing fit. When Kyle was able to stop coughing and calm himself, he looked at the hand that had been covering his mouth to see a few drops of blood covering his palm. He clenched his hand into a fist and frowned at Annabella.
"That..that was something huh? I needed that, I really did so thank you. Its been awhile but dont act so familiar with me Annie. A lot has changed. I did not dissapear, I died. I died the same day my parents died, by the hands of my brother. I did not realize it at the time that I died, so I went on trying to hero my problems away."
Kyle raised his arms and outstretched them to his side.
"I relalized that being a hero is a pointless endeavor. Crime never goes away, people are killed everyday, kids are left orphaned by cruel monsters, nothing ever changes!"
Kyle lowered his arms to his side, and closed his eyes. He sighed deeply.
"My brother has built an entire criminal empire, an unstoppable villain. I realized that to beat him, to kill him, to avenge my parents, I would need to step outside the law and abandon my morals. I have built my own criminal empire and left a mark on this world greater than any mark I could have made as a hero."
Kyle opened his eyes and stared deeply at Annabella. Some part of him, a part he would never open admit to having, did truly miss her. She meant so much to him at one point, and out of everyone he abandoned he realized he only ever really cared about how it would affect her.
"So....why did you look for me. You did a really shit job of it, I am on tv all the time. Well The Red Demon is but thats besides the point.”
Anna choked back the tears and wiped them from her eyes. Now was not the time for crying. She was rather annoyed that he had laughed at her and called her Annie he knew she hated being called that, but concerned when he started coughing. She was right, he was ill.
"Kyle, one thing hasn't changed, you are still a little shit. Why didn't you come to me, I could have helped you. You are right, crime never goes away, that is why there are heroes and police, to protect the innocent as best as possible. We aren't perfect, nobody is." She stepped toward him, finally able to move and continued. "I looked for you, I did, and I always had the sneaking suspicion that The Red Demon was you from our first encounter, I just didn't want to except it. I couldn't except that my only friend would abandon his morals and turn to the life of the kid of people we used to fight together." She wanted to tell him that his parents would be disappointed in him but knew that would only throw gasoline on the fire. She took a deep breath the world finally returning to normal speed. Anna heard the sirens now, closer than she wanted them to be. If she was being honest with herself, she wanted to help Kyle escape, she didn't want to see him locked up, but she didn't want to see him continue in the life of crime either.
"I looked for you because you were my only real friend. The only person I could actually count on to have my back through everything. I wanted to be there for you but you ghosted on me. You refused to let me in when you needed me the most and now you are a villain. I am disappointed in you. I would have helped you take down your brother. Hell to be perfectly honest I would have helped you kill the bastard." She looked away, toward to police and swat cars that were pulling up. "I really hope this virus doesn't kill you because I want to knock some sense into you later on." With that she pulled her mask back over her face and put her hood back on, her staff once again at the ready in case he tried to take off. She would not let him get away. Not this time, not ever again.
Kyle heard the sirens approaching and realized he was out of time. He needed to escape now, or risk being captured by the police. He bent over and picked up his mask off the ground dusting it off.
"You are so naive...Therma. I will never die so long as my brother draws breath. So changing the subject to the current situation,"
Kyle put his mask back on, returning to the identity of The Red Demon.
"For now, we will call this my loss but I refuse to submit."
He ran forward, slow, ready to throw a punch.
"Ordinarily you would win this fight but the virus has made you too weak, I am sorry my friend but you are not getting away this time." She easily diverted his punch and threw him to the ground, his arm held behind his back. She shoved her knee into his back to make it harder for him to fight her.
The Red Demon smiled as he was countered, turned around, and defeated. He was captured by the police, eyeing Annabella the time and showing how unashamed he was. Every villain gets captured at least once, so he just counted this as his luck running out. But he knew he would escape sooner rather than later. Little did he know, just around the corner, a bigger threat was lying in wait.
Nothing could have prepared them for the threat that came afterward the reason she was stuck in this hell hole with nothing better to do than look back on old memories while her will to fight is slowly sapped from her.