[center][h1][color=0054a6][b]B L U E    D E V I L[/b][/color][/h1][hr][/center]
	[sup][color=black]11:32 a.m. PST | July 22[/color][sup][color=black]nd[/color][/sup] [color=black]| Los Angeles, California[/color][/sup]


The boy was improving, Astaroth mused. There was still much lacking were the demon to compare Daniel to the hordes of Hellspawn he had once trained over millennia but for a human adolescent only two weeks removed from his former average existence, the progress was notable. 

Astaroth watched as the young man practiced the parrying maneuvers and strikes he had been instructed on, occasionally speaking up to offer critiques or correct Daniel's stance. The fighting style, one of the most basic and core taught to all new recruits of Hell's forces, made use of short palm thrusts to deflect oncoming attacks and open the foe up to an onslaught of brutal elbow and knee strikes. The humans, he knew, referred to this as 'shadow boxing;' sparring with an imaginary opponent as an exercise in combat discipline. It was how he had Daniel begin and end each training session in order for him to best envision the teenager in a fight and understand what would need to be fixed and focused on the next time. 

Furthermore, the former general of Hell was impressed by the effectiveness of Daniel's extracurricular activities. Over the course of the past nine days, Daniel had intervened in seven different crimes and skirmished with nearly a full dozen armed individuals in total. While it was not the challenge of enhanced individuals that Astaroth had assumed, he found that each encounter gave Daniel an opportunity to learn and improve. Already the hesitation from the first encounter over a week ago had gone; the fear when faced with human weaponry mostly minimized. The demon could clearly see Daniel's confidence grow as he walked away unharmed from each defeated opponent. 

Maybe there was a chance for his survival after all. 





[center][b]* * *[/b][/center]	[sup][color=black]12:39 p.m. PST | July 22[/color][sup][color=black]nd[/color][/sup] [color=black]| Los Angeles, California[/color][/sup]

Daniel tapped his fingers across the steering wheel to the beat of the radio, belting out the lyrics to one Summer hit after another. The feeling of power that always coursed through him while in his other form still lingered. Dan wasn't sure if it was just the adrenaline from the several hours of training, a simple sense of pride at his accomplishments, or something else entirely, but lately after each morning routine he noticed he felt so full of energy. So electric and in control; as if he could take on anything or anyone. And, despite what horrors he knew might await him down the road, he liked it. For the first time in a very long time, Daniel felt like he was thriving. He had a renewed drive and thirst for life that had previously abandoned him upon entering teenagehood. 

He wanted more.

But, Dan knew he had been pushing it too much these past two weeks. Between the constant training taking up his mornings and the recent vigilante behavior, he had barely been home. And even when he was, the majority of the time was spent shut away in his room. He couldn't even remember the last time he had a conversation with his parents, let alone sat down for a proper meal with them. And Mary would constantly pester him, practically trying to attach herself to her older brother, every time he walked through the door. As much as Daniel found his sister to be annoying, he did feel guilty with how little attention he was giving to his home life, and Mary specifically. 

Which is why he had decided to take the day off from vigilante behavior. Dan had promised Mary the night before that he would spend the afternoon with her. And with how excited the younger Cassidy had been at that news, Daniel had to admit that it felt nice to make his sister smile again. Just a few years ago he had been much closer to her, behaving more like the stereotypical big brother and spoiling her constantly with attention and adventurous afternoons outdoors. But then at some point during high school, Dan had changed, and even he wasn't sure why, or what exactly had spurred it on. He had grown more secluded, spent less time away from the solitude of his bedroom and the video games that welcomed him there. Typical teenage brooding, he supposed. Still, Mary had never stopped trying to relive those earlier days, and as much of a pain as she could be, Daniel knew she deserved a little spoiling again. 

So, with his morning routine finished, Dan figured he'd pick up a pizza from a nearby restaurant before going home. He knew that Mary wanted to play a couple games with him, and then Dan thought maybe he'd surprise her later by going out to see the new Incredibles movie. 

He smiled as the music continued to wash over him. Daniel looked forward to a day of relaxation. As much as the buzz from vigilantism seemed to fuel him these days, he would be lying if he were to say that it wasn't stressful. He had been shot and stabbed more times than he cared to count, and even though such attacks had zero chance of harming him while in demonic form, he always worried that a stray bullet would hit and kill another. Not exactly an improbability given the density of L.A.'s population, Dan knew, and that was not something he wanted on his conscience. 

Just then, his phone blew up with a series of dings and vibrations. A half-dozen alerts cut through the sound from the stereo as he reached over to turn off the latter and check the former. Glancing down briefly at the notifications Dan could see that they were all from the new police scanner app he had downloaded earlier this week. Although the app's streaming connection tended to be unreliable at best, and Daniel much preferred the physical device he had first purchased, it came in handy while he was out of the house. It also allowed him to customize which police codes and emergencies he wanted to receive text alerts for, taking away the pain of the monotonous and mundane he previously would need to scour through. 

10-82 in Brentwood, the first notification read. Daniel remembered from his recent studying of the police codes after getting the scanner that that was a fire in progress. He was about to ignore it and return his attention back to the road when the third and fourth text alerts caught his eyes. These two detailed the fire was at a residence and there was believed to be a family still inside. 

Dan, almost ritually now, glanced up at the rearview mirror as if searching for an answer or direction from Astaroth, but he only met his own conflicted gaze. Brentwood was only a few minutes away from his current location. The final notification from the app had read the fire department was five minutes out. Dan's eyes flicked down to catch the time; barely past one o'clock. He could be in and out quickly, Daniel reasoned. Maybe fifteen minutes in total when including the time it would take to park far enough away to not be noticed. 

Another ding called out a new, seventh alert. Two children trapped inside the building. 

Daniel's grip tightened on the wheel as he pressed further down on the accelerator and he felt his adrenaline begin to rise once more. 

Mary wouldn't mind waiting a few extra minutes, he concluded. She had been waiting a few years for this, another fifteen minutes couldn't hurt.

Twenty minutes tops.