Fire Blast

I’ve always loved science, but not just for its own sake. I get a thrill out of applied science; showing the world how you plan to use the knowledge you’ve gained. The ooohs, the aaahs, the look-out-it’s-breaking-frees, the panicked screams, those are the things that make a man feel like he’s making a difference.
 
Of course, there are far too many jurisdictions where the paths to true enlightenment run up against mankind’s ignorance. Try and get any meaningful work done in a place like Paragon City, and it’s all blah blah workplace safety, bling blang informed consent, and yadda yadda secrets mankind was not meant to know. And that’s how a fellow like me ends up with a research position at the Aeon Foundation (“Since 2005, showing you how to show them all.”). I suppose these things work out for the best; after all, it was my work on the Phlogiston Generator that caused the accident which gave me my powers, powers which make field research much more feasible.

Cowering the corner of her garage, the girl smashed the flashlight against her palm as the brilliant glow of artificial light got dimmer. “Shit!” The flashlight was the only light left and all that was keeping from plunging the room into darkness.

Cara had been afraid of the dark since she was small- everyone had told her parents that she would grow out of it, that nightlights would become a thing of the past. But as Cara grew up, her fear evolved into a lifestyle. Multiple flashlights beside her bed, lamps in every room, the highest electricity bill on the block. But no one believed her accounts of something hiding in the shadows.

Years later, Cara came home to a dark house after a long night of studying and tried to flick the lights on. The click of the switch going up and down echoed throughout the house. Click click. Click click. Nothing.

Sean O'Conner was a low-level thug knocking around the Hell's Kitchen area of New York City. He would probably never amounted to anything, but fate stepped in and changed everything. Sean was on a heist with a couple of "friends" of his, attempting to steal some electronics from a warehouse in the hood. Everything was going fine until one of the punks thought it would be fun to burn down the warehouse to cover their tracks. Well, his "pal" started the fire too soon for Sean to get out and he was trapped in the inferno. Sean found a spot near the back to hide from the flames until he could think of something to do, when KABOOM. The fire had ignited some unusual looking drums near his hideout. These drums held a new experimental coolant designed to keep processors cool during operation. But open flame was definetly not a good mix with this volatile liquid. Sean woke up several hours later in the hospital with massive burns over 90% of his body.

Samantha Rose was born into evil. Her father was the 1980's villain, Professor Zero. Zero sent Samantha out to do petty crimes from the age of 12. Years later, he had her steal a prototype suit of armor originally designed for firefighters. Zero then modified the armor to shoot blasts of fire, turn invisible and teleport. Inferno Ant was born! Samantha continued working for her father until she met up with the super-strong brute Dazi. Dazi and Inferno Ant became a team and pulled a few heists before Dazi decided to introduce Inferno Ant to Cerridan's Scion. Scion pulled Ant into a heist and, having been impressed with her, he invited her to become a member of the Villainous group Animosity. Inferno Ant has been a member ever since and is one of the longest tenured villains on the team. Her father Professor Zero was recently apprehended by Raven Darkcloud and Inferno Ant has made it her mission to break him out of the Zig, with the help of her fellow Animosity members!