Rusty metal groaned as Felix's iron boots landed atop a grimy old fire exit, on the roof of the building near his destination. Directly in front of him was the burning warehouse where he was supposed to go.
Bits of rust fell as he descended, waves of intense heat brushed against his face with every step he took. The red flames and smoke towering over him.
When he made it halfway through the creaking staircase, a luminous white streak blasted through the warehouse.
Felix watched the glowing beam pierce through the smoke and cinder and rift apart the rain clouds forming above.
He pressed into his earpiece once more; "Sir, there appears to be a beam of light tearing through the buildings." He remarked as the line of light reflected in his blue iris.
"You mean like a laser?" They asked.
"Yes siiiiir—!" The beam descended towards him like a sword swung downwards, slicing off a portion of the brickwork, as well as the staircase he was standing on.
The agent leapt out of the staircase before it could collapse, and quickly grabbed onto the leaky old pipes of the building beside him.
He watched as the staircase crashed down with a loud groan, and saw the beam dissipating into white particles, leaving behind a charred black line on the brickwork.
A sigh of relief escaped his lips, only for a loud creak to return his sense of urgency. The old pipes could not handle his sudden weight, and the rusty old screws snapped off, leaving him to tumble down.
"... Bollocks…" He said, resigning to his fate.
He fell straight down with the pipe falling on his chest.
"Blue Phantom, what's the situation?" The voice on his earpiece suddenly spoke.
His back arched against the sharp, jagged rubble, "Sir… may I… urgh… request assistance…"
The Chief's voice then interjected, saying, "I'm afraid we can't do that. There appears to be an agent already present inside who requested assistance. You are that assistance, and we cannot lose face."
"R-right…"
"Emergency teams and first responders take too long to get there. Put a stop to what's happening, and assist the operative inside before they get here."
"Understood, sir." He answered weakly.
Felix's back screamed as he rolled over, muttering to himself, "Come on, Felix get up… You're the latest link in the chain of human evolution, right? It's just a burning building. Nothing an enhanced human can't handle…" Every word dripped with snide animosity.
"Hurgh!" A strained voice escaped his lips, wincing as he sat upright, "Marie's right, my back's still not healed yet. Bollocks, I think it's worse than before."
"Mister, are you alright?" A voice asked from behind.
His eyes widened as he quickly turned to the side, "A civilian?" He blurted out as he saw the young man in a green jacket.
"That was a hard fall, I should call the ambulance." The young man asked as he pulled up a phone.
"You saw that?" Felix shook his head, "No, I'm fine. Can you tell me what happened here?"
"I don't… I don't know."
"Then can you help me get over there?"
"But… that's… it's on fire? Shouldn't we wait for the fire department?"
"There's no time… If I don't get in there, someone might die."
"You called me a civilian. Who… or what are you?" He asked nervously as he helped Felix get back up.
"That doesn't matter, all you have to do is get me close enough. After that, you should get out of here."
"I can't do that."
"Hmph?" Felix mumbled curiously.
"I'm scared… someone I know might be there."
"Then just get me close enough and wait…"
"Ah, alright" The young man nodded.
"To be getting help from a civilian… How embarrassing." Felix muttered to himself in a low voice as he was assisted to walk towards the building. His pride aching worse than his back. "Hopefully Marie's having a better time than I am…"
~