Action Comics Issue #1

"Oh sorry, feel free to get arrested then but forgive me if I don't share that goal"

"It isn't my goal, I am just saying that there is no reason to run away anymore. They know what you look like, they will find you and face the repercussions of you running away from the police. Do you want that? Best if we go quietly now, we will be there just a few hours or so and get back home..." Gear told Tara, but considering she is blind she probably doesn't understand the whole 'they know what you look like' shtick.

"K fine but it's not as if a giant sentient jello man is already escaping, but nooo shout at Tara."

Gear facepalms slightly. "Can you shut up! The cops might be listening to what you say..." Gear told her, she was giving away too much information aloud as of now.

The cops being right there began to try and press cuffs on the group , but before they could secure them on Justin and Gear and secure Tara, an explosion rang out from afar. A shockwave running through the ground and shocking the officers who quickly turned to see what it was. Ever since the meta human dawn the city had begun devolving into a chaotic hellhole, with so many new metas deciding to use their abilities for personal gain or just violent catharisis. The police force, not equipped to fight such dangerous foes, over taxed and undermanned were struggling to handle every emergency.

It was with this in mind that after a brief bit of shock, they ceased apprehending the four "We have to go handle that, Johnson you stay here and get these kids in the back of a cruiser." The lead cop ordered, and with that three of the four policeman ran off to go answer the emergency. Leaving one singular, nervous looking police officer behind to apprehend the three "D-don't make this harder than it needs to be okay?" He pleaded anxiously as he approached Tara, cuffs in hand.

Meanwhile on the roof, Hobie's near daze had been snapped by the explosion, his position on the roof allowing him to see a plume of dark smoke rising from a cluster of apartment buildings. There were people in there! Innocent people! Suddenly all the confusion and fear dissipated, replaced with a clear determination and purpose...he had to help them.

Justin stood there for a moment then shook his head with a sigh. "No you stay here, I know we aren't heroes or anything but we do have powers, and someone has to go deal with that." He of all people spoke and in an instant he, gear, and tara were engulfed in a bubble of yellow energy (with air holes of course) Within the bubble, Justin flew them all up into the air out of the alley to get a good look at what was going on.

Gear was surprised by the sudden bubble as Justin started transported them to the scene. "Think this is a good idea? I mean, I guess we can help, but I hope my true identity doesn't get compromised." Gear said as he shifted back into his machine form, sadly the wires to his grappling hand and tazer build into it were still broken so Gear will have to use punches and kicks if it comes to it.

The cop stood in shocked silence as the three floated off, his confusion preventing him from trying to stop them "O-...Okay!" He managed to reply "Oh yeesh I'm so getting demoted."

Goop meanwhile was leaping onto another rooftop en route to the fire, which was quickly spreading to the buildings surrounding the area. Seeing the others floating away he began to quicken his pace, using his sticky form to get over obstacles quicker "Hey! Hey Guys!" He yelled "What's the game plan?"

"Ok uh... do you melt in heat?" Justin asked goop as they flew toward the scene, trying to formulate a game plan.

"I don't know, and I don't like the implication!" He replied with a nervous chuckle as he leapt onto the back of a billboard and climbed to the top. Now having a clear view of the burning buildings "But it doesn't really matter, I'm gonna help anyway!" The words were shaky but filled with determination as he stared over the carnage before them. Quickly he scanned around for anything that could help, eyes locking on a water tower "Justin do you think you could break that open? And funnel the water into the buildings?"

"Think he can handle something so big?" Gear asks raising an eyebrow, they were all still very new to their powers.

Justin asked suddenly "probably would be faster if Tara broke a hole in it, then I caught the water in a big pot and poured it on the fire." He looked at Tara and said "Get to work ho, I ain't paying you to stand around" jokingly

"You guys, stop being stupid!" Tara said. "It's heat!"

"Ooooooooooooooooooooooohhh" Justin realized what she was getting at. He flew them closer and changed the bubble into a platform with no walls so she can do her thing.

"So what is her power exactly?" Gear questioned.

"You're all idiots!" Tara cried, and grinned. "Put me down, Justin, and get everyone out. There's a clump of them on the second floor but there's more sporadically throughout!"

"Oi, Mr.Roboto! While Justin does rescue and Tara eliminates the fire, how about youand me find who caused that explosion? Something in my gut tells me it was another meta!" Goop declared as he leapt down to the street, crashing down in a three point landing.

"I suppose so, also call me Gear!" Gear told Goop as he followed suit, time to find whoever was behind this mess.

Justin set her on a nearby roof, before making a bubble around himself and smashing through the window of said second floor to rescue people, it's just as well he'd rather be doing this than having a punch up with some random metahuman.

As Goop and Gear searched around the building they stumbled on a horrific scene, the three cops lying on the ground, barely recognizable as their bodies smoked and crackled with embers. Dead each one of them, charred coal black by flames "....I was right." Goop murmured in horror as he scanned around and spotted a strange sight, burning footsteps in the concrete "It's a trail! " He realized aloud.

"Jesus..." Gear says as he sees the dead cops, whoever did this was a cruel uncaring murderer through and through. "Let's follow it, quickly before there are more victims!" Gear says trying to appear brave.

Shit, shit,shit,shit they were dead right there in front of him. Taking a deep breath and shaking off the pure horror that had taken hold Goop nodded to Gear and with that took off after the trail. A trail that lead them through a ruined city block, littered with smoking bodies and burned out car wrecks {Jesus H Christ! Who the hell could have done all this! Can we even beat someone that fuckin' insane?!} Goop asked himself, feeling the urge to wretch despite lacking a stomach "It doesn't matter! We have to stop him!" He exclaimed aloud as turning a corner, they arrived at the next scene of the horrific carnage spree.

There standing in front of a building that was beginning to burn was a strange form that seemed barely humanoid, a creature covered in burning magma and flame, tails of smoke wafting up from it's body as it projected red hot flame from it's hands into the building.

"Okay, okay," Tara muttered to herself, staring at the slowly worsening fire. "You can do this. Otherwise loads of people might die. Okay. No pressure." She could feel the intense vibrations emitted off it, feel the ash. She'd been practising this... just not at this scale. She loosed a breath. She can do this. One step at a time. She started at the ground floor, as if that collapsed the rest would follow. The rest of the world disappeared as she focused all her concentration on it, on slowing the vibrations and reducing the heat.

Gear didn't say anything, he was focusing on the task at hand but guess he and Goop were feeling the same, utterly disgusted. Once they caught up with the culprit, seeing the fiery monster that used to be human just burning down more buildings. Gear did not hesitate, he charged forward at the guy to attempt to punch it. "Didn't your mother teach you not to play with fire!?" Gear says angry.

Justin is preforming the somewhat more mundane task of charging through the building, grabbing everyone he can up in his bubble none too gently due to the time sensitive nature of the situation, bursting out again; setting them down on the sidewalk; taking a deep breath or two, then diving back in to repeat as needed.