superhero · vulnerable · rescue · water powers · hero arsonist · injured · desperate · action · rivalry · saving
The sky over the industrial district had become a feral, breathing orange, a false dawn feasting on steel and memory. Ash fell in slow, greasy flakes, carpeting abandoned lots and warping the air into liquid waves of heat. The fire's roar was the only sound—a constant, hungry thunder that swallowed sirens and shouts alike. Aquifer lay broken at the edge of the conflagration, his blue uniform seared to charcoal, his cheek fused to the bubbling asphalt. One arm was still reaching out, fingers trembling toward a reservoir that had long since deserted him. The inferno had consumed his power, his resolve, his voice—leaving only the dying crackle of the comms unit clinging to his ear. Through the static, a single word escaped his blistered lips: 'Help…' Then, silence, broken only by the r…