DC: 2011-08-05 - We Didn't Start the Fire

What had been a relatively peaceful evening in Metropolis has become a lot of sirens and chaos. Why? A large section of Centennial Park is currently on fire. People run screaming and for some reason fire trucks keep getting attacked by blasts of flame when they try to start putting the fire out. People tell the story that some insane man with a flaming head showed up and started burning things while yelling that he wanted Superman to show up. And there are still people trapped inside the burning park.

And in a burned out area of the park, one can find the villain that calls himself Effigy laughing and emitting jets of flame into a large sphere where there was once a statue. Keen eyes might be able to pick out the shapes of some people in the sphere. "Getting hot in there? Hopefully Superman will show up before you all burn to a crisp!" the villain looks up, scanning the sky for the man of steel.

While Effigy is scanning the sky from one direction, a localized gust of chilled gale force wind blows from the other direction at a lot of the fire. The source? A blonde flying girl in a blue midriff shirt and matching skirt, Kara Zor-El. Or as most people know her - Supergirl. "Sorry, Superman can't come to the phone - can I take a message?" she says once she finishes blowing out the flames like birthday candles.

In a statement of covertness, Nightwing follows Supergirl in his blue car. He screetches his breaks as some of the flame whips in front of the car. He parks on the side of the street and gets out, narrowing his eyes at the situation.

The flames go out, leaving smouldering remains and only the solid sphere of fire remaining. Effigy looks around for the source of this breath. When he sees Supergirl, he smirks. "Well, who might you be?" he asks, looking up at Supergirl. He doesn't notice Nightwing's arrival but he starts to rise into the air. "And can I get your number?" he goes on, that sphere of flames fading to reveal a small crowd of scared and lightly burnt people. And oddly enough there's a humanoid shape made entirely of fire standing in front of them....almost defensively.

Supergirl flies closer, tilting her head. "Sorry... I make it a habit not to date supervillains. Or nutjobs. So.... sort of doubly bad for you, huh? Do me a favor? Just give yourself up and make it easy on yourself?" she says, hovering there as Efficy rises into the air, her arms crossed. "I'm tougher than I look, and it'll be really embarassing for you."

A bright red fire truck pulls in front of Nightwing and is stuck in back of a line of traffic. "Nightwing! We're stuck!" a firemen lets out, honking his horn. "I hear ya. But Supergirl just put out some of the flames. Maybe you can make sure things around here are good cause I dont think the source of the flames is put out," he advises, opening the door for the firefighter. He thumbs at the park and helps the men with the hoses, hefting one onto his shoulder like a man of the people. After the firemen hook up their hoses, Nightwing slinks into the dark and eerie park.

The people behind the flame person seem to not know what to do. They should be running...but it looks like they'll need someone to tell them how to do that. The flame person seems to try but doesn't seem to get words working correctly.

Effigy laughs, leering at Supergirl. "Playing hard to get...looks like I'm going to have sto show off," he holds up both hands and flames burst into being. These flames take the shape of rather sinister looking birds that fly at Supergirl, multiplying along the way until there's a small flock of flaming birds after her.

A teenager drops his cellphone as his friends pull him away, but he braves the danger all for his purple iphone. Nightwing pulls him away from the incoming fire, "Look out, son. It's dangerous. Try not to get in the way of the firefighters," he advises helpfully. The teen takes off as Nightwing tells some other people to take off and move back.

Supergirl shakes her head and sighs. "Why don't they ever do things the easy way?" Then she holds out her arms to the side and starts spinning around. Very, very, very fast, creating a tornado of suction to draw in the flock of flame birds to snuff out the oxygen allowing them to form. Once the 'fire birds' are extinguished, she flies into Effigy hard, hitting into him with her shoulder hard, stopping in midair with a -slam!- after the young Kryptonian shoulder-checks the pyromaniac metahuman. It knocks him back towards the ground like being hit by a car. He might be hot, but she's Kryptonian after all. She's been to the sun.

Effigy curses as he's sent flying, hitting the ground and smashing through the charred remains of a bench. Seeing Nightwing leading his hostages away, Effigy glares and raises a hand. Slowly, a demonic-figure made of flames burns into being, stalking towards Nightwing and swinging a sword of fire at the vigilante.

The villain stands and glances to the other humanoid fire in confusion before turning his attention back to Supergirl. "Nice trick but try this one on for size, baby," he laughs, spinning flames until a massive dragon construct roars to life. If Supergirl tries the same trick again she'll find that it won't work. The Controllers made Effigy capable of functioning in space after all.

"Mister! Watch out!" a little girl screams out as Nightwing leads people away from the fire. Nightwing blinks with surprise and ducks under the mega-blade of fire, gritting his teeth. "Thanks kid!" he lets out as he flicks some bat-extinguisher pellets at the burning fire demon guy.

Supergirl does again try the same trick, spinning around quickly. But this time the construct doesn't just extinguish. "Well... that's not good." She tightens her 'dainty' hands into fists, tensing up a bit in the air. She gets distracted for a second when she notices Nightwing down there throwing something at a fire-being on the ground. "Nightwing?" she says to herself curiously. He must have come to Metropolis to talk to her. Guess this is a warmer reception than he was expecting.  Nightwing says, "this is pun rp, it's awesome"  Supergirl says, "Kryptonians have all sorts of powers including Super-Punnage."

The demon-construct hisses in pain as the pellets hit it, steam and foam taking large chunks out of the beast. It falls to a knee and swipes it's tail at Nightwing...only for the tail to be held back. That fire-person seems to have come to Nightwing's aid, holding onto the demon-construct's tail and gesturing for Nightwing to hit it again.

The dragon seems to smile when the wind doesn't put it out. Wings spread, raining cinders down onto the park as the beast lunges at Kara and goes to bite down on her with surprising speed and solidity.

Nightwing peers at the fire-person and the demon construct and the firey dragon, "Geezus," he mutters in consideration. The firefighters the superhero helped before yell out for the hero, "Nightwing! Heads up!" they say. Nightwing dodges to the side as the half-dozen men let loose their hoses toward the fire creatures, "Good job, pal! Hit em!"

Supergirl grabs at the fire-dragon's open maw as it tries to bite her, keeping it's mouth open with her hands. Again - Kara can handle the heat, but for something made of fire, it's surprisingly solid all right! She pushes herself away from the dragon's mouth, frowning, then flies at the fiery beast, throwing a huge punch right at its center, figuring it's not really alive - no sense on pulling her punches! She hits the dragon with a punch at full strength.

The fire-hose streams dissolve the demon into a screech and cloud of steam. That fire man? Well...he gets set tumbling. And while the flames go out...there's someone solid under there! A chalk white humanoid with flaming hair ...and no clothes. Kara might just recognize him as her new mimicking friend. "H-hey! Cut it out! I'm on your side!" Cody yells, shielding his face from the water. Effigy meanwhile turns and starts tossing fireballs at Nightwing and the firefighters.

The dragon gives a frustrated roar, sending jets of flame at Supergirl. When the punch connects, the beast's body cracks and starts falling as it goes flying towards the shoreline far, far away. It hits the water, a massive cloud of steam rising as the beast sinks. Supergirl yells at the dragon as she punches it and it goes flying and hits the water, "Hey if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." She pauses at the silence she gets. "What? That fits!" She pauses. "Whatever." She then quickly flies down a bit and says to Effigy, "You need to just chill out now." And she blows a gust of freeze breath at almost absolute zero temperatures at the flaming supervillain to deal with the intense heat he's emanating, encasaing him in a thick block of ice.

With a rush, Nightwing pays back a favor and tackles a fireman to save him from death via fireball. A tree tumbles and the firemen scatter as the firey fireballs shoot at them firingly. Nightwing ropes two other firemen to save them from certain doom, "Watch it!" he lets out. Meanwhile, a helicopter drops water on the huge fire, but this doesn't save Nightwing from fireball scorch. A fireman pats out Nightwing's shoulder, "Thanks, now get your team to safety," he advises. He eyes the villain and Supergirl.

Cody sighs in relief when the hose stops spraying him only to whimper as the helicopter drops water that puts out the rest of the park's flames. He ends up letting out a pained noise as the water hits him.

The water drop helps against Effigy too. It hits him and brings a yell of pain as steam rises. The follow up from Supergirl leaves him encased in ice. For now, the trouble seems to have been stopped...

Supergirl lands on the ground lightly, patting her hands. She doesn't seem any the worse for wear. She looks over at one of the firemen, "Could you let someone at STAR Labs know they'll need to pick up this guy and set up something to hold him? Let them know water or ice seems to work?" Then she looks over at Nightwing, pausing to push a lock of her blonde hair out of her face. "Hey um.... what are you doing in Metropolis? Do I need to go to San Francisco or something?" She smiles a bit.

Nightwing is up to Cody with angsty Batman aggression in moments, " don't know why you decided to become an idiot firey criminal, but it's time to face the music," he comments, hauling Cody up by the collar roughly. "Don't go anywhere, Supergirl. Job's not done just yet."

Supergirl rushes over to Nightwing where he's holding Cody. "Woah... woahwoah, Nightwing, let him go. He's my um... friend"

Making himself some flaming pants because he does not want to be seen naked even when not all pale and with hair replaced by fire, Cody is certainly not expecting Nightwing. He lets out a grunt as he's hauled up, scared at first. When he recovers, the mimck scowls. "Hey! Let me go...I was trying to stop that psychopath," Cody points to the frozen Effigy. "I didn't do anything wrong, I saved people!" Cody protests. He's being careful to try to not burn Nightwing. When Kara rushes over, Cody lowers his hands to cover himself even if the fire is keeping him decent. "Hi, Supergirl..." he trails off meekly.

The firefighters cheer Nightwing and Supergirl on, one radioing in the policce and S.T.A.R. labs techs to retrieve the frozen villain. A couple are still wary of the flaming Cody though. Nightwing quirks a brow at Supergirl, "This guy? He threw fireballs at people," he tells her. "That's my shoulder, pal."

Supergirl crosses her arms and sighs. "Yeah... he doesn't always have control over the powers he mimics from others." She looks at Cody then just shakes her head. "Nightwing, please let him go?" She looks up at the out-of-town hero. "Please?"

"That guy threw fireballs, I was trying to pull he monster thing away from you," Cody mutters, gesturing towards Effigy with his head. "I didn't even want the guy's powers but he punched me when he showed up," he adds with a sigh. He looks to Supergirl and then looks down. "Sorry...I guess taking a walk wasn't a good idea after all..."

Nightwing releases the Cody from his Batman angst grasp and frowns confusedly, "Guess it was confusing for everyone," he tells him and gives him a manly pat on the shoulder. He turns to his pal Supergirl, "Good job, Supergirl. The city lost a park, but I think the fire is out now."

Supergirl nods a little. "Just another day in Metropolis. ExpecT Superman, get Supergirl." She shrugs, then looks at Cody. "Cody... I'll make sure to talk to Batman and let him know you didnt try to copy his powers ok? Don't worry."

Cody stumbles when let go, lifting one hand to rub his neck a bit. He forces a smile for Nightwing though. "Sorry I wasn't more help," he tells the out of town here. "Is your shoulder okay?" he asks. Supergirl mentioning Batman has Cody looking scared again. "Oh god...he's gonna want to lock me up isn't he?!"

Nightwing flexes his arm around and nods, "I'll live," he tells Cody in a manly way. "Why would he lock you up? I mean, if you're innocent, like you say."

Supergirl rubs the bridge of her nose. "He's not going to lock you up. Nightwing... back me up on this please when Batman asks if he helped or caused trouble?"

"Because he's been acting like I'm going to go crazy and try to copy everyone's powers or something like that since I met him," Cody replies, worried. He takes several deep breaths to try to calm down. "Good..."

Nightwing hmms, "I'd be apprehensive too if I had powers to burn people to a crisp, Supergirl," he tells her.

Supergirl nods a little. "His power is to copy other people's powers, actually, when they come in contact with him." She puts her hand on her hips, "He hasnt burnt anyone to a crisp, has he? He's just a little... er... uncoordinated ... when he copies powers."

"I'll lose the fire powers in a couple hours," Cody chimes in. "I hope my hair comes backc when I do..." he trails off. After a second it registers that they've mentioned burning people and he jumps. "H-hey! I didn't burn anyone. I was protecting those people from the crazy guy," he says. "This fire stuff is easier to deal with than your powers, Supergirl," he adds in a whisper. "Like...I sorta just...know what I'm doing. Don't know how to explain it..." Nightwing nods, "I see, I didn't know that," he comments, observing the copy-power-guy again. "Right right. I know. Just be careful, pal. What's your name? Captain Copy?"

Supergirl scrunches her nose. "Rao above, Nightwing... that's just an awful idea for a name." She looks at Cody. "And ditto on what Nightwing said - you really need to be more careful."

Cody just looks lost when Nightwing asks for a name. He starts to say something but pauses. His eyes widen and he smiles since he's just got an idea. "Ditto! I'll go by Ditto if I'm going to do this superhero stuff," he replies. "I'm trying to be careful but I wasn't exactly expecting to turn around and get punched by some crazy fire guy ranting about Superman."

Nightwing looks at Supergirl amusedly, "Well there are worse codenames, Supergirl," he tells her knowingly. He glances back at Cody and hmms, "Well, good to meet you, Ditto. Can I get a lift, Supergirl?"

Supergirl pauses. "um... sure... to where?" She pauses. "One second...." She heads over to one of the firefighters. "Excuse me... could I get one of those fireman jackets please?"

Nightwing hmms, "To San Franciso? Isn't that where you're going?" he asks her as she gets a jacket.

Cody blinks a few times. "San Francisco?" he asks curiously. "What's out there?"

Supergirl looks over at Cody. "Um... the Titans. I'm sorta a member. Or might be soon. Or something." She motions at Cody as she walks over to a fire hydrant that the firemen were using. "Come here Cody?"

Nightwing thumbs toward San Francisco. Thataway. "She's a member of the Titans," he assumes them expertly.

"Oh, Titans," Cody smiles. "That's a superhero team, right?" he asks. He blinks in confusion at the request but quickly walks over to Supergirl. "What is it?"

Supergirl looks at Cody. "Going to put those flames out so you don't accidentally set something on fire for the next two hours." she reaches over and, using her hand alone, unscrews the side of the hydrant, causing a gush of water to go all over Cody. "I noticed that water seems to stop him so I'm guessing it should help with you too. "Put the jacket on and go home okay? And don't worry.... you won't get in trouble if you do that."

Nightwing nods slowly to Cody and watches Supergirl put out Cody's fire.

Cody's eyes go wide moments before the water hits him and he reaches quickly for the jacket. Thankfully he gets it in time, covering himself a the flaming pants vanish. He hops back away from the water though. "Okay...that really hurts actually," he says, hoping the jacket covers back and front at the same time. The flames on his heat light back up after a moment or two. Looks like they're not staying out. "water shouldn't hurt..."

Supergirl hangs her head and places the side of the hydrant back on, stopping the turrent of water. "Okay... that didnt work. Thought water would put the flames out on him like the dragon..." She pauses. "Annnnd can't keep him here like this."

Supergirl looks at Nightwing. "I'm going to need to wait a couple of hours for his powers to go away before I can take you to San Francisco okay?"

Cody Bishop sighs. "I could just come with you," he offers. "I can fly now...I think," he says, floating off the ground a few inches. "Yeah. I can fly."

Nightwing gives a nod to Supergirl, "Alright Supergirl," he tells her.

Supergirl sighs a bit to Nightwing. "He can fly." she says with a sigh. She's too young to have to deal with this stuff. "I'll catch up with you later and fly you to Titan Tower," then floats off the ground also. "Okay Cody... lets fly back to the apartment building. Stay on the roof until you're out of power. We don't want you burning down the place. Okay?"

Supergirl smiles a bit, but internally she's dreading the argument she's going to have with Batman when he finds out. Hell, he probably already knows.

Taking a deep breath, Cody nods. A flaming aura surrounds him and he re-creates the fiery pants. "Okay," he say with a smike. "Flying is awesome," he says as he rises higher into the air.

Supergirl flies up also. "Yeah. It's pretty hot." she says, a final pun before flying off with Cody to his apartment building's roof.