My heart was racing, as I walked into to work; I'd flirted with everyone at the party, it would be so awkward seeing them again. Hopefully, they'd all been too drunk to remember anything. I walked as slowly as I could in the direction of the staff room, hoping the alarm would go off before I got there. If only there was some emergency, then we could focus on that, instead of discussing the party. Unfortunately, I was at the staff room door, without the alarm going off, so I went in and everyone else was already in.

  “Good morning,” I said, hoping no one would mention me flirting with them.

  “Good morning, that really was a fun party, it's nice to know that you think I'm thoughtful and handsome.” Sam winked at me.

  “Oh, uh, yeah. I become very giddy and affectionate when I'm drunk,” I replied and my cheeks felt like they were on fire.

  I went and sat between Alex and Sofia.

  “Although, I already knew that you found me attractive, since I read your mind on your first day here,” he said.

  “Oh, don't remind me.” I held my head in my hands.

  “I'm surprised that an old man like me could ever distract you,” Pablo said.

  “You're not old, you're only thirty-two,” I replied.

  “Actually, I'm thirty-six. I'm not used to getting much attention, everyone's always fawning over Sam, it's a pleasant surprise.” Pablo smiled.

  “See, you don't even look that old. I don't like admitting it, but all of you seriously distract me. You're all so good-looking and it's incredible to see yous in action.”

  “They all fawn over me because I'm much hotter and younger.” Sam chuckled, nudging Pablo.

  “I know you're joking, but it's true,” Pablo said.

  “Hey, don't say that, you're a very attractive man. If I was into men, I'd date you,” Alex replied.

  “Thank you.” He smiled.

  “Oh, Cara, I didn't forget about what you said at the party. I'd be happy to show off my strength any time for you.” Alex smirked.

  “Um, sure, that would be cool.”

  “It would actually be really fun, I could test myself, while impressing you.”

  “I'd be interested to find out the heaviest thing you could lift,” I replied.

  “Same!” She grinned.

  “I'm guessing you remember me flirting with you?” I looked at Sofia.

  “I do.” She nodded. “I thought it was sweet.”

  “I don't really have a filter when I'm drunk, let's just move on from it now,” I said.

  “Aww, it's nothing to be embarrassed about.” Alex hugged me. “But I'm happy to forget about it for now.”

  “I'll forget about it until the next party, which I can't wait for.” Sam smiled.

  “We could discuss strategies to stop EVIL,” Pablo suggested.

  “Good idea, it's embarrassing that they keep getting away,” Sofia said.

  “I've actually just had an idea,” I said and everyone looked at me. It always made me a bit nervous and uncomfortable when all the attention was on me. “Since, you haven't been able to stop them, why not get more heroes to help?”

  “That's a good idea.” Alex smiled.

  “Yeah, it's worth a shot.” Pablo nodded.

  Just as we were about to discuss it further, the alarm went off. We were told that there was a fire in an apartment building, so we rushed out, and Sam flew us there very quickly.

  Some people were running out of the building, and others were standing around watching. There were large flames exploding out of the top of the apartments.

  “We'll go in and get people out, when the firefighters get here, they'll deal with putting the fire out,” Pablo said.

  “I'll come in and help get people out. I should be okay with smoke inhalation because of my powers,” I said.

  I didn't need to worry about any long-term consequences, since I'd heal and be fine within a few days, even if my lungs did get injured.

  “Alright, but be careful and call if you need any help,” Pablo replied.

  “Also, don't worry about smoke inhalation, our suits will protect us, they automatically stop smoke and toxic gases from getting in. You won't even notice it, it's like one of Sam's invisible shields.” Sofia smiled.

  “That's great,” I replied.

  “I'll go with Cara, I think we'd be better in groups,” Alex said.

  “Sounds good, you two come with me.” Pablo looked at Sam, then Sofia.

  All of us went into the huge building and there was thick, grey smoke surrounding us. I could only imagine how horrible and strong the smell was. This was like the time a poppadom had gone down the back of the stove, then got burnt and filled the room with grey smoke, but this was far more serious.

  “We'll take the upper floors, you two take the lower ones,” Pablo said.

  Alex and I checked the apartments on the first floor; all the doors were open; we assumed everyone had gotten out, but we wanted to be sure, so we checked anyway. Thankfully, there was no one trapped on the first floor, so we went up to the next level.

  The area wasn't in good shape, there were small fires and parts of the ceiling had fallen. We went over to a door that was blocked by a chunk of ceiling.

  “I'll get this, then we'll check inside,” Alex said.

  “Thanks.”

  She lifted it with ease, then placed it out of our way. We went inside, and it was hard to see because of all the smoke. I searched the different rooms, then found a woman in her bath, filled with water.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “I feel like I can't breathe!” She gasped.

  “Don't worry, we'll get you out of here,” Alex replied.

  Alex and I helped the woman out of the bath, then Alex lifted her.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “You bring her out, I'll keep looking for more people,” I said.

  “Are you sure?” She frowned.

  “Yeah, Pablo will hear if I need help.”

  “I'll be back as soon as I can.” She rushed out with the woman.

  I checked another apartment that wasn't blocked, and looked in the small living room, but there was no one there. Then, I looked in a bedroom, but I didn't see anyone in there either.

  “Help!” A young voice shouted.

  “I'm here don't worry.”

  A child crawled out from under the bed; it was odd that he was in this place alone.

  “You're safe now, I'm going to get you out of here,” I said, then lifted the small boy. As, I was going out, I asked him where his parents were.

  “My mum's at work and my dad went out to buy me popcorn for our movie later.”

  “Well, we'll be out of here soon, so I'm sure you'll see your parents soon.”

  It didn't take long to get out of the building, since we were near the bottom. I set the child down outside, hoping his dad would be back soon because I didn't want to leave him alone. There was a tall, distressed man looking around.

  “Dad!” The boy exclaimed, then ran over and hugged the tall man.

  The father looked relieved and hugged and kissed his son. Since they were reunited, I went back into the building and found Alex on my way to the second floor.

  “I saved a kid.” I smiled.

  “Well done,” Alex replied.

  I felt like a proper hero now, I'd actually saved someone from a burning building. Alex tried to open another door, but she screamed and held her hand.

  “Fuck! That handle is roasting!” She growled.

  “Oh, let me heal you.” I always healed my friends when they needed it, even though it made me tired. I didn't want them to be in pain and it meant they were in peak condition for emergencies.

  “Thanks.” I took her hand and quickly healed it.

  I felt more tired than before, but was mostly fine. This time, Alex kicked down the door, and there was a roaring fire in front of us.

  “Uh, what do we do?” I asked.

  “I'll break through the wall, there doesn't seem to be fire in the whole apartment,” Alex replied, then pummelled the wall.

  She broke through it and there was no fire in that part, so she was able to search the area. I went in after her, and the heat from the fire made me sweat like mad. We looked in every nook and cranny, but no one was in the apartment; maybe they'd made it out already, or weren't in it to begin with.

  ****

  It felt like we'd been in this building for years — I was exhausted. I just wanted this hot nightmare to be over.

  “I've double-checked, we got everyone out of the building, we should get out now and let the firefighters take over.” Sam communicated telepathically.

  “I'm glad it's finally over,” I said.

  “I know, it feels like we've been in here forever,” Alex replied.

  “You can say that again.”

  We got to the first floor, then I heard a loud banging noise, it didn't sound good. Alex grunted, and I turned and looked at her, she was holding the ceiling up.

  “Run!” She yelled.

  I didn't want to leave Alex, but there was no way I could help her; I was the weakest hero ever. I ran outside, hoping that Sam would help her because he'd be the only one strong enough. If it came to the worst, we could recover her body, then revive her. Sam, Pablo and Sofia flew down from the top of the building.

  “You need to help! Strong Sapphire is holding up the ceiling on her own!” I exclaimed.

  “I'll go,” Sam replied, then rushed into the building.

  “She's really strong, I'm sure she'll be okay,” Sofia said.

  “I really hope so, I hated leaving her.” I sighed.

  “Don't worry, you did the right thing.” Pablo patted my back.

  “Thanks.”

  Sam came out with his arm around Alex, who was leaning on him; she looked exhausted, but otherwise, fine. They came over to us.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I'm just tired.”

  “I'm so glad you're okay.” I hugged her. “I hated leaving you.”

  “That was for the best, you were able to get help for me.”

  Since, I'd been helping people get out of the building, I hadn't healed anyone, but surely some people needed to be healed.

  “Is there anyone around who needs to be healed?” I asked.

  “I think there are a few people in serious condition. They're in that tent over there.” Pablo pointed to a large, white makeshift tent.

  I went inside and there were six people in there on beds. All of them had severe burns all over their bodies — they almost looked like charred corpses. I'd be exhausted after healing them, but they definitely needed it, and I didn't want any of them to die. I went round each of them, and healed them; they were all amazed and grateful. It felt good to save them, but my body felt wrecked and my eyes were heavy. Everyone had been healed, so I went back outside and walked over to me team.

  “I need a really long nap, I think I might fall asleep in a minute or two.” My eyelids were half closed already.

  “You sleep for as long as you need,” Pablo replied.

  “Yeah, we'll look after you,” Sam said.

  “Thanks.”

  ****

  I had no idea how much time had passed, but when I woke up, I was in my room. My body was roasting and sweaty, and there was a smoky smell — I definitely needed a shower. But, first, I needed a drink. I was incredibly thirsty. I got out of bed, then opened the door and jumped when I saw Pablo on my sofa.

  “Oh my, I wasn't expecting anyone to be here.” I held my chest, my heart was pounding.

  “Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't want you to be alone when you woke up.”

  “Oh, thanks. Did I miss anything when I was asleep?” I went and sat beside Pablo.

  “Nothing major. That fire took most of the day to deal with,” Pablo replied.

  “What time is it now?” I frowned. There was no way for me to keep track of the time when I had naps, since they could last from an hour to multiple hours.

  “It's nine.”

  “Oh, that's quite late. I'm going to get a shower, but you're welcome to stay a bit longer if you like… I was thinking about having some ice cream because of all the heat from the fire.”

  “I'd like that.” He smiled.

  “Great, I'll be as quick as I can.”

  “Don't worry, take your time.”

  “Thanks.”

  I got a glass of water from the kitchen and drank most of it, before going for my shower. I had a quick shower, then changed into my pyjamas. Being in my pyjamas was so much more comfortable, which was why I was nearly always in them at home. I went into the kitchen and got the ice cream, bowls and spoons out, then went and sat beside Pablo.

  “So, how come you stayed with me and not the others on our team?”

  “Don't worry, everyone else offered. I just did it because it was my turn to walk you home, and I didn't want to leave until you woke up,” Pablo replied.

  “Well, thanks, it's nice to wake up and have someone there to tell me what I missed.”

  “You're welcome.”

  “But, are all of you really okay with walking me home nearly every night?” I didn't want to be a burden to them, or inconvenience anyone. Especially when they had to make a rota for it five days a week.

  “Of course, we all love spending some more time with you. If I could, I would walk you home every night, but that would be selfish. Everyone else wants to walk you home just as much.”

  “I'm glad.” I smiled.

  It was nice to know that everyone seemed to like me as much as I liked them. The ice cream looked softer now, so I put some into the two bowls, then started eating it and it was nice and cooling.

  “You know, this is just what we needed after the day we had.” Pablo smiled.

  “Definitely.” I nodded.

  “You did a great job, helping people out of the building, then healing the ones who were seriously injured.”

  “Thank you, I felt a lot more like a real hero today because I went in and got people out of the building.” I actually helped people in danger, instead of only healing them.

  “You've always been a real hero, just because you don't fight, doesn't mean you aren't a real hero,” Pablo said.

  “Thanks. I know I should feel like a hero, especially when I have fans, but I just don't feel like one most of the time.”

  “That's alright, even if you don't realise it, you are a hero.”

  “I suppose I am.”

  I finished my ice cream, it had been tasty and cooled me down; it was just what I'd needed after being in a blazing building all day.

  “So, when did you come across your fans?” Pablo asked.

  “Well, I first met some after the interview, then I met a few when I was out and about. I'm just glad I'm not super famous, I'd hate to be surrounded by fans,” I said. It would be awful to have a crowd of screaming fans closing in on me with no escape.

  “Thankfully, I don't have to deal with loads of fans crowding round me, I'm pretty popular, but nowhere near as much as someone like Sam.”

  “I'm sure he has trouble doing regular things,” I replied.

  “He sometimes does, it's why he normally goes out in some kind of disguise.”

  “Oh, I saw one of them when we went to the concert. He put on a hat and glasses, he looked different enough that you wouldn't recognise him, unless you were looking closely.”

  “Yeah, I think as well as that, most people probably aren't expecting to see any heroes out and about,” Pablo said.

  “That's true, I never expected to meet any heroes, even when I went for the interview.” I laughed.

  Pablo finished eating his ice cream.

  “Yeah, I get it.”

  “It's actually crazy to think that I'm kind of famous.” Even in my wildest dreams, I didn't think I'd ever be famous, especially with Randall keeping me inside all the time.

  “I still find it hard to believe that I'm famous.” Pablo chuckled.

  “Oh, I thought you would've been used to it by now.”

  “I'm more used to it than I was, but it still feels surreal at times,” he said.

  “It'll probably be like that for me as well.”

  “I'd love to stay longer and chat more, but I need to be getting home.”

  It was a shame that Pablo had to go home, but it was ten, so it was getting late, and we had work tomorrow.

  “Thanks for staying and having ice cream, I'll see you tomorrow,” I said.

  “No, thank you, I loved the ice cream.” Pablo smiled. “Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow.”

  I walked Pablo to the door and we had one last goodbye, then he left, and I went to bed. It had been pleasant spending time with Pablo, and it was sweet of him to stay and wait for me to wake up.