Entering a narrow side alley, Liliana jumped on a dumpster then bounced off the adjacent walls until she reached the roof of the building on her right. Without stopping, she continued running toward the source of the continuous rumbling.
As she jumped onto another building, she tapped the bracelet that was on her left wrist. Her outfit dissolved into specs of light that quickly gathered around her contour. A moment later, the light faded to reveal a skin-tight jumpsuit the color of the starless night and a stunning mascaraed mask.
In just a couple of seconds, Liliana disappeared and in her place, Flare the hero arrived at the scene.
The building that has been the source of the disturbance was easy to identify. The materials used in its construction must have been subpar seeing as cracks have already spread through it. People were still fleeing from it and the surrounding buildings. Among the shouting, one thing word in particular stood out to Flare.
"Monster!"
'Bingo!'
Flare smiled to herself, having confirmed her hunch was correct. That was enough for her to make up her mind, but as she moved to invade the building-
BAAAM!!!
Another loud impact rumbled through the entire street. Larger cracks rose from the building's first floor to the roof, instantly dividing it into countless uneven pieces. No longer able to hold its form, the apartment complex crumbled in on itself.
Late. For the first time in her life, Flare felt glad that she hadn't arrived at the scene a bit earlier. If she had entered just now the building would have collapsed on her head. That said, a sense of disappointment was inevitable. She had just lost her chance to be the first one to solve this incident.
'Well, it's not like this is my main objective.' She thought. 'And I'm not suitable for rescue operations…'
Watching as the crowd distanced themselves from the falling debris, Flare noticed something in the corner of her eye. Someone was running through the narrow alleyway behind the crumbling apartment complex.
She almost shrugged it off as just another civilian running away from disaster, but then it occurred to her how weird it was. The fleeing crowds were gathered on the street facing the front of the building, and besides that one person, no one was fleeing through the back. That person also looked oddly familiar.
"That's-"
Her eyes shot wide open as she finally remembered where she had seen him before. Not wasting a second, she immediately chased after him. He seemed to slow down after crossing a few buildings, allowing her to catch up with him in no time by hopping between the roofs.
Flare had nothing to worry about seeing as her enhanced speed and stamina would allow her to catch up to any normal human. Still, a part of her was all too eager to reach that person, so much so that she jumped off a four-story building without thinking.
Landing right in front of him, she was momentarily frozen by the impact. It still wasn't enough to stop her so with every bit of power she stood up and pointed a finger at the young man.
"You!" She said, the anger in her voice stronger than she had anticipated. "I saw what you did!"
The young man looked astounded, but not for long. A glint of recognition flashed in his eyes and the next second, his expression suddenly warped into that of disgust.
"The hell?" He muttered, sounding a little confused.
Flare couldn't help but be taken aback by the youth's reaction.
"You were in that building!" She said. "The one that crumbled just now!"
"... and?"
"And!… and…" She slowly retracted her hand as her gaze went down. For a moment the words betrayed her, but then an idea popped in her mind and she glared at him again. "You are not a local, and you came running out of the back! Your behavior has been way too suspicious!"
On the inside, Flare smiled to herself thinking there was no way to argue her point. Something felt off, however. The youth still retained the same expression as before. No, his face twitched just now. He seemed to be even more annoyed.
"As I said…" Closing eyes, he let out a long sigh. "And?"
"Wha-"
"So what if I was acting suspicious?" He cut her off. "What gives you the right to question me?"
"I-"
"You don't strike me as a cop." He looked her up and down. "Wait a minute… you're the same girl from this morning…"
The recognition in his voice added to the power of the blow, causing Flare to stagger a step backward.
"I… I'm…"
"Were you stalking me all this time?"
"I was-"
"And what's up with the costume?" He gave her another look. "I know this is a free country but… damn..."
Flare glanced down at herself and her face instantly went ablaze. The sudden surge of shame activated her ability, causing a faint heat wave to wash over the surroundings.
"H-hey! What the hell-"
Startled by the heat, the youth staggered back as well. Seeing him back away from her, Flare considered summoning her flames to give him a bigger scare.
'No,' She quickly shook the idea out of her head. 'He is right…'
Someone acting suspicious doesn't make them guilty, and though he irked her to the extreme, there was nothing she could do about it.
Surveying her surroundings to confirm that no one was around, Flare sighed and tapped the bracelet on her left wrist. Light enveloped her form, and a second later she was back in her casual outfit, becoming Liliana once more.
Crossing her arms, she glared at the youth once more. Her face still felt hot, but with her powers under control, she didn't have to worry about the problems they might cause.
"S-sorry for… disturbing you." She never had trouble apologizing before, but for the first time the words had to be forced out of her mouth. "I… I just wanted to ask you… what happened…"
As the silence lingered between them, Liliana couldn't help but wonder why she was acting the way she did. She was a hero with superhuman abilities while he was just another civilian. Their status couldn't be compared, yet for some reason he still acts as if they were on the same grounds.
The youth continued to stare at her, the annoyance in his eyes having eased a bit. Just as she began to think they could arrive at an understanding, he sighed.
"You seriously need to work on your disguise."