2012-07-18 Step Through Hell

Little Bohemia is normally a place of tranquility and art. It's where the trendy folks take their children to show off, home of nice restaurants, and art galleries, and chic cafe's and that sort of thing. But this evening, the Hibbing Building has gone up in flames sending alarms in every which direction.
 
 
Illyana came to Metropolis for ice cream. Yes, that's right, ice cream. It's only a hop skip and a jump from her dorm room in New York City... since she's a teleporter. She ran across an article about the ice cream and on a whim she hopped over. She was enjoying the night air with some pistachio almond fudge when the screams and the alarms and the flames caught her attention. She breaks into a run, cone falling to the ground with a splat, pushing her way through the crowd to try to see what's going on.
 
 
The flames lick up toward the early evening sky as the building is now fully in flames. Suddenly, out from the south east, a reddish-bluish blur comes to a landing next to the Fire Marshall. "Captain, what's the status?"
 
 
Illyana manages to get to the front of the crowd in time to see Metropolis' favorite son arrive. She moves a bit closer so she can hear them, her attention still on the building.
 
 
As Superman and the Fire Chief converse, the Man of Steel seems to notice something. "Sir, there's someone in there. . ." And like a bullet, he disappears into the flames of the building. What he doesn't notice, however, is that there's a family caught behind an old lead painted wall. Their scream comes from the window, but the Man of Steel is already gone helping the other person. Gasp!
 
 
Illyana's hand rakes her hair back from her face as Superman's quick departure kicks up quite a gust. She's looking after him when she hears the screams. "Spit and Hades." Illyana mutters under her breath. She looks back after Superman, and then back over to the family. Another curse and then she opens a Stepping Disk beneath her and lets herself fall through it. That causes a small, confused stir in the crowd but Illyana, and the disk, are already gone. A heartbeat later Illyana flashes into the room with the family. She could get her bearings from seeing them below, but it's still a half-blind 'port.
 
 
Flames erupt everywhere around Illyana, but the family of three still looks to be safe for now as they're huddled in the corner. Smoke inhalation, however, is a steep concern. "Thank heavens you're here!" screams the wife. "Mommy. It's an angel!" exclaims the little girl.
 
 
Oh, how very, very far from the truth they are! Illyana ducks down, a hand coming up to cover her nose and mouth as she coughs from the smoke. She moves towards the family, keeping crouched down. "I'm gonna get you out of here!" She says, trying to be heard over the fire. She gestures at the wall and a Stepping Disk opens a few feet away. "Close your eyes and walk through. Don't open them until the firemen have you!" Because they sure as heck don't need a peek at Limbo.
 
 
The family does as instructed. At least at first. As they continue to walk, like Lot they keep their eyes close. But like Lot's wife, the little one opens her eyes and screams a blood curdling maniacal throaty little girl scream. Though she doesn't turn to salt, she does scare the heavens out of her parents, who also open their eyes.
 
 
Aw hell. Thirty seconds. Or less. That's all it would have taken. Just long enough to get all three of them through. Illyana comes through the disk last, just in time for the girl to start screaming and for her parents to open their eyes. "Blast!" She curses under her breath. Down below, in the semi-open area where Superman had been talking to the Fire Captain, a Stepping Disk has opened on-edge, a glowing circle of light. But the family paused, and so it's just hanging there while the Drama happens unseen on the other side. A beam falls in the room they were in, the crash sending smoke and flames and heat through the still-open portal, licking over Illyana and she bites back a sharp cry of pain. A gesture with one hand and that portal winks out. A jerk with her other hand and the portal the family has yet to go through suddenly moves, swallowing all of them. The downside to doing it this way is that the portal on Earth needs to move now too. Which it does. The eight foot-diameter circle shoots a good fifteen feet in one direction, leaving the family and a toasty Illyana in its wake.
 
 
As the portal opens up, the family comes out and through, arriving just as Superman does. His eyes go wide as he sets down the elderly woman who he saved. The family just sort of...appear.
 
 
Between the initial smoke inhalation and then getting caught in some of the backdraft as the ceiling started to collapse, Illyana is soot-stained and coughing. Which makes summoning a Stepping Disk out a little difficult at just this moment. The teen is in black jeans and T-shirt with thick-soled boots that lace up to her knees and embellished with silver skull-shaped buckles. The glowing circle of light flashed out was the four appeared and Illyana pushes herself to her feet unsteadily.
 
 
"I don't know who you are, or where you come from young lady..." Superman says as he approaches her with a smile. "But good work." He reaches his hand downward towards Illyana to offer her help to get upward, though it looks like she does fine all on her own.
 
 
When the Man of Steel offers you a hand, you take it. She works on sucking clean air in and coughs again. Her eyes are a bit red and teary from the smoke, because she's very much NOT tougher than a moving train. "As long as I don't get their psych bills after this." She says a bit hoarsely, which makes her usual sarcasm a bit harder to pick up on.
 
 
"On the contrary, they owe you their lives." Superman smiles down at her and reaches to brush a smudge of the dirt away from her face if she lets him. "What's your name, young lady? You're quite the hero."
 
 
Illyana is from the X-side of the tracks, saving their lives just means they hesitate before they want you dead! The blonde (well, it looks like she's a blond under the soot) opens her mouth to speak as he brushes away some of the dirt and then her gaze moves past him and she's reminded that, oh yeah! crowd! "Ah hell, I need to get outta here." Before one of the many cellphones that are probably there to take pictures of Superman get a decent shot of her.
 
 
And people are starting to congregate, so if the going is good it's probably best right now. Superman looks a bit shocked as the girl totally disregards his question. "You don't have to go, they won't harm you."
 
 
Illyana looks back up at Superman, a small smirk touching her lips but they don't reach her blue eyes. "Maybe not them, not with you here, but the world's bigger'n the here and now and I'm trying to live in it." She starts to move away from the crowd, even if that takes her in the direction of the fire. She just needs enough room to Stepping Disk back out of here.
 
 
Superman can sense that this young girl needs...must be left alone. She helped those people, so he decides to help her. With a deep inhale of his lungs he exhales powerfully and puts out the fire in the building in one fell swoop of ice breath. It also blocks Illyana from view from those who would like to photograph her, giving her an easy out.
 
 
Another circle of light appears on-edge, like a glowing doorway in front of Illyana as she moves away. She pauses just before it to look back over her shoulder at Superman. She flashes him a grin and then dives into the circle that winks out behind her.
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