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It's really the ONLY way to fly.
A silver fireball soars above the skyline heading from Yonkers towards the Upper East Side. It's a very small fireball, almost too bright to look at in the night sky. It warrants a few pointings and causes to wonder, but most others don't even bother to look up. Unless there are explosions, there are more important things to worry about.
Lorraine Reilly, AKA FireHawk, is practically giddy with excitement. It's almost worth the Hell she went through, and she is learning how to control her power. She would barely tickle a Geiger counter now. She slows to a hover high above the building, looking down as her winged arms are angled downward to hold herself steady. Some things are truly enjoyable to practice…
The Upper East Side isn't part of New York that Starfire has spent a huge amount of time exploring since she came to Earth, but it does make a wonderful place to casually fly over at night. With all the buildings lit up, cars and late night crowds of people it makes a great place to float and people watch.
Hair blowing in the breeze Koriand'r sits on thin air, occasionally sipping mustard from a large bright yellow plastic bottle more commonly seen at hot dog stalls.
She spots Starfire and blinks. Another flying person. What are the odds? In this city, not as rare as you'd think.
She tilts her head, puzzled, but her curiosity is piqued and she approaches. Not too quickly, though. She seems to be…drinking something?
She get to about 20 feet away, then stops, not wanting to intrude, but unable to simply ignore the orange girl.
"Uhm…hello there," FireHawk says, raised one winged hand in greeting.
"Oh! Hello," Starfire calls out with a wave and a smile. "I hope it isn't rude of me to say this but… You are aware you are on fire, aren't you? Only that is not very typical for people in America. Do you perhaps need help?" Her head tilts curiously. "I don't mean to pry if that is something which is normal for you. But I would hate to /not/ mention it and discover later it was something harmful to you…"
FireHawk blinks, then laughs, a merry, warm laugh. "Oh, no…I am not *on* fire…I *am* the fire." She sweeps one winged arm forward in a bow. "I am FireHawk. and since now you know my name, I would like to know yours. It's only fair…"
"I don't think I have met sentient fire before," Starfire declares brightly. "Would you like to have some mustard friend FireHawk?" The plastic container is held out. "My name is Koriand'r although my friends often call me Kori. It means Starfire in English and people do sometimes call me that as well."
FireHawk chuckles. "Starfire. It fits you well…mustard?" She tilts her head. "I usually have that on a Coney or a cheeseburger, not by itself. You like the taste of it all by itself?" She shrugs. "Whatever you like. I could go for some food, but I left my purse in my other body." She smirks. "That's okay, though, I just ate, but I do appreciate the offer. What are you doing up here, Starfire?"
"I do," Starfire assures emphatically, having a little more once it becomes clear FireHawk has no interest. "There are many interesting foods in this city, but mustard is pleasingly tangy. I do not really /need/ to eat it. But it is a little boring consuming light alone."
The alien princess gestures at the city below. "I am people watching," she explains. "Being up here means that they are less likely to become aware of me and react… poorly to my appearance. May I ask why you swallowed your purse? Does that not make it difficult to access quickly?"
FireHawk drifts a little closer. "There is not much that can withstand the heat, so I decide not to incinerate a perfectly good purse from Milan. Or its contents." She chuckles, then says, "In truth, I am still learning the intricacies of my powers. I was not born with them, and were given them…" She pauses. "…against my will. The ones who kidnapped me intended another purpose for me, but things…did not go as planned for them."
"They were not aliens called Psions were they?" Starfire asks, glancing around with sudden alarm. "If so I hope they are all gone and no longer a threat…"
FireHawk sighs. "They were all, too sadly, human. They wished me to poison my father to remove him as an obstacle. They shattered my mind…but with some timely help, I was able to put the pieces back together again. It is not perfect…I still have nightmares…but I am myself again." She looks to Starfire. "I would not wish to describe what happened."
Starfire holds out the hand not brandishing a mustard bottle and it blazes with green energy. "I think perhaps I have a better idea than I would like," she admits with a sigh. "I was not always able to project energy like this and the process through which I obtained the ability was…. upsetting." The energy fades away and she forces a smile. "Thankfully I do not believe they will be able to harm anyone else again."
FireHawk nods. "We have something in common, then, I think. Being…forced to be something we were not, and now have the power to set things right. To do what should be done, to help others. I have already started, but I am being trained in the effective use of my powers. I can use them, but not well, and not effectively. I have to learn control, focus…and how to best apply it." She chuckles. "Not an easy task…but some discoveries are greater than others."
Starfire laughs. "I do not know if they made me into something I am not," she muses. "But they certainly unlocked a potential I did not know I had. At first it was quite hard, but since coming to New York I have been able to help people and… it helps me in turn. Every time I think back to that time I remind myself of the people who perhaps would not be alive." She slurps at her mustard. "It is a good thing I think, to be able to turn the negative experiences into positive ones."
FireHawk nods. "Sounds about right to me. And I agree. I'm not going to turn away from what I know I have to do." She winks to Starfire. "How fast can you fly? I tried going as fast as I can, and it turned out to be around 300 MPH."
"Within an atmosphere?" Starfire queries, looking skywards and then back to FireHawk. "Or my speed when flying in space?" She laughs. "Normally I fly around.. I believe it is called mach three? But I can go faster if I need to. Outside of an atmosphere I can travel… well.. it depends a lot. But very very fast. Especially over longer distances. Truth be told I have never had the chance to properly measure."
FireHawk BLINKS, her mouth dropping open. She thought she was pretty special at 300 MPH, but…Mach THREE?
"WOW…" she says, ina voice filled with awe. "And you can fly in outer space, too?" Okay, that beat her. She tried going as high as 10,000 feet but felt light-headed before too long. If she could fly in space as a being of energy, she doesn't know how to yet. "That's…awesome, really. And I am sure I use the word appropriately."
"It is actually very troublesome at times," Starfire confides. "Many buildings are not really designed to cope with high speed flight and I have probably broken many windows. I have also tried to bring back presents for friends and, unfortunately, damaged them mid-flight because they could not withstand the forces involved." She smiles. "You probably should avoid trying to fly in space, it can be very dangerous and truth be told the solar system as a whole is quite boring."
FireHawk nods. "Well…I;m sure you're right. Until I can learn how to fly faster, anyway—it would take me weeks to get to the moon, even if I could survive in outer space. And I certainly don't know how to navigate out there." She looks thoughtful. "Well, I certainly can't help you there. I've only been like this for a few weeks, maybe a month. I'm still learning the basics. I had to work just so i wouldn't poison anyone around me with radiation sickness." She looked down at the streets below. "I have to realize that I may be stronger or more powerful than most people, but it doesn't make me *better* than them."
"I have found that if I fly slowly upwards I can reach a suitable altitude to increase speed without collateral damage," Starfire admits with a chuckle. "I am not very well educated medically but I would guess that people do not normally cope well with many types of radiation? I think perhaps I am an unusual case as I consume light and other energy emissions the same way other people would eat food."
FireHawk nods. "I nearly poisoned the ones trying to help me that way." She looks around, wanting to make sure they are not drifting too high. That poor boy in the Cessna might still be having nightmares.
"And you just…consume energy instead of food?" She ponders that for a moment. "Does it have a taste, or is it just like…fuel you fill up on, and no taste is involved?"
Starfire is pretty stable in the air, only drifting and adjusting her angle of hover to keep facing FireHawk. There doesn't even seem to be much thought of effort involved.
"I can eat food as well," Kori points out, holding up the mustard. "But only every few years unless it is for recreation. Energy is… I don't think I have the words to describe it. Enjoyable in most cases, some types more than others."
"Hunh…" she says, because she can't think of anything else to say. This is a VERY weird existence she was pulled into. "Okay…all right."
She looks around. "How do you fight crime, anyway? I have been thinking about doing that, but I confess i don't know where to start. Even simple crimes, like muggings…I don't really know what to look for." She sighs heavily, because even as an atomic-powered being, she still needs to do that.
Starfire frowns, then scratches her head deep in thought. "I do not really know," she admits. "More often than not I have simply been in the right.. Or perhaps wrong… place when something bad happened. Then I just had to fight the people or things doing the bad thing, try not to cause any lasting harm and then leave them for the police to deal with."
The Nuclear Woman hmmms. "Well, if I'm going to be a force for good, I need to be a little more proactive. Anticipate. Know where to look." She looks back to Starfire, then says, "I think this is going to take a lot of thought. But at least it's a start." She looks hopeful for the first time. "Listen, Starfire, I think I should get going. There's a lot I have to sort out and I think I'm going to need some help with it." She smiles suddenly. "Starfire…if I find something I can do to help people, but I can't do it alone, if there a way I can…signal you or something? I would like to see you in action."
"I have a personal communications device but I don't know if you would be able to broadcast to it," Starfire ponders. "There is a telephone number I can be reached on, but it is more of a house phone number. If that makes sense? My friend Gwen is very nice however and I don't think she would object to people calling. Anyway it was very nice meeting you! And I hope you will remember the most important lesson when it comes to flight." She winks. "Enjoy it. If you love the sensation of flight the rest will come naturally in time."
Firehawk smiles. "All right. I'll just ask for Starfire." She leans closer and says, "I'm glad I met you. I was entertaining delusions of grandeur and you helped by showing me where I rank in terms of power. I need reminders like that." She drifts backward, waving with a wing. "Take care of yourself!"
And just like that, she is off, leaving a fiery trail in her wake that flickers out after a couple of seconds.