A cough from Magnus momentarily snapped Gabe out of his affection-induced daze, at least enough for him to answer Jin’s question.
“Yeah… I’ve been alright. I did a bit of ass-kicking myself, too.” He didn’t mention the torture. Or the large number of scars that now covered his chest and arms. He just put on what had become his signature smirk over the past year and gazed intently into Jin’s eyes.
Then an alarm started to blare, and Gabe’s smirk disappeared. Turning around, he saw that Magnus had already left the room. He faced Jin again, now looking rather disappointed, apologetic. Their reunion had been interrupted. Their reunion, which they’d both been waiting for for nearly a year.
“I guess we’ll have to catch up later… It’s really good to see you again,” Gabe said, taking one last good look at Jin before running out of the kitchen. He already had his costume on- it was just a matter of donning his mask and he’d be fully clothed, his identity concealed from the public. He rounded the corner into the control room just as Black Canary began briefing the group of young heroes. He’d be in the second team, waiting until the Star Bridge was free of civilians to take Cinderblock downtown.
Gabe stood behind Magnus, and the wolfman had started growling softly. Seeking out the source of his unrest, he saw a shadowy-looking girl. Not shady, but literally shadowy. She appeared to be made out of the shadows. She was probably a part of the team. About to rest a calming hand on Magnus’ shoulder, Gabe was glad to see him calm down on his own accord.
When Black Canary finished speaking, excitement began to bubble in the fire-wielder’s stomach. Unable to help himself, he yelled out.
“WE’RE BACK, BABY!”
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There she was. Jinayah Ifriti. Standing at the doorway. Calling out to Gabe. After one whole year, Gabe was finally seeing his best friend again. In that moment where she made her presence known, he placed all his focus on her. If anyone was speaking or moving, he didn’t notice. He just took in as much of Jin as possible.
She’d definitely changed. Her figure was beginning to curve. While she was pretty before, now she was… beautiful. Though aware that this was all in his thoughts, Gabe felt himself blush. Where did that thought come from? Hoping no one noticed his gradually reddening cheeks, he began walking towards Jin, feeling an array of emotions course through him. Happiness, nervousness, joy and passion all coursed through him as he got closer to the girl he trusted the most… talked to the most… was devoted to the most. The sudden urge to place his lips onto hers came as fast as it went. Although Gabe was soft, he was no idiot. He couldn’t let a moment of ecstasy cause him to freak Jin (and his teammates) out. Opting for the next-best option, Gabe gave Jin what had to be the most affectionate hug ever seen on the face of the Earth. It took all his self-control not to crush her with enthusiasm.
“Hi,” was all he managed to say without his voice cracking from emotion. At one point during his time away, he was truly convinced that he would never see her again.
The first in a series of flashbacks is posted! I hope the three sentences of dialogue I gave Hawkman were alright- he's one of those DC characters that I'm unfamiliar with.
Three Weeks After the Atlantean Incident
Two weeks had passed since Magnus’ disappearance. Two weeks which Gabe had spent searching for his friend, looking for any leads he could possibly find on the wolfman’s whereabouts. He had become so absorbed in his search that he hadn’t socialised with anyone, only leaving his quarters for food and drink. He didn’t know if the others were getting worried about him, and quite frankly, he didn’t care. The only thing on his mind was his mission: find Magnus Boyle.
One would think that a protégé of Batman could find a breakthrough within two weeks; however, this was not the case. Wherever Gabe looked, Magnus was nowhere to be found. The fifteen year-old was beginning to get restless. Why couldn’t he make any progress? Why were there no clues? And why, just why, was he such a crap detective? Gabe knew not the answers to any of those questions. He walked over to his punching bag, intending to unleash his immense frustration upon it. As he let loose combo after combo, he went through every detail he knew about Magnus; his name, alias, age, powers, what little he knew about the wolfman’s past, his sponsor… Hawkman. Upon reminding himself of that detail, Gabe immediately stopped harming his sack of hitting purposes, and gave himself a good, hard slap on the cheek. Why the hell didn’t he think of that before?
With no time to waste, Gabe wrote a quick email to Jin, saying that he’ll be away for a yet undetermined amount of time because of a personal mission, and that he hopes that she’s doing well.
With that out of the way, he put on his costume before sneaking out of YJ HQ, using stealth techniques he rarely utilised. Taking flight over Star City, Gabe Harlan began tracking down the one person that would know of Magnus’ whereabouts: Carter Hall.
“Thanks, Hawkman. I’ll be sure to help him.”
“I should be the one thanking you. Magnus needs help in his mission. Good luck to you, Hellfire.”
With that, Gabe flew off. Hawkman hadn’t been too hard to find- just a little bit of searching and that was that. Once Gabe reached him, the older hero had been glad to share Magnus’ location with him, firmly believing that the wolfman needed help in his mission- a mission Gabe was completely unaware of until then. Magnus was going after the people that were once his captors, his torturers- the people that took him away from his family. Hawkman had said that Magnus would be somewhere in the Northern Alaskan wilderness, and that was where Hellfire was headed. The fire-wielding teenager was as determined as ever to find him.
After three days of switching between flying and public transport, Gabe was finally nearing his destination. On him he had only his costume and a wrist-communicator, capable of transmitting and receiving information through both sound and text, courtesy of Wayne Enterprises. As the country of Alaska came into sight, only one thought passed through his head.
“Oh boy… this is gonna be one cold mission.”
(GG/QT)
When Gabe received no reply from Kilian, he raised his eyebrows. It was unlike the Carggite to ignore, well, anyone, and Gabe was rather taken aback. However, he shrugged it off, and nodded towards the new guy... Beck, he assumed, from what Batman had told him through messages. Seeing that there wasn't much talking to be done, Gabe walked to the fridge and extracted a snack bar. "That should do for now," he thought, walking out of the kitchen and heading towards his personal quarters. Expecting to find peace and tranquility, he instead found a massive humanoid turtle stamping along the hallway.
The giant humanoid turtle as it seemed he was, continued his strides along the hallway, not paying any attention to his surroundings. As he and Gabe got closer to each other, a sudden aroma marched towards Tintoretto's nostrils.
Not wearing his mask, this scent was even more fervent than he could ever imagine. His senses might have had been spiked by this new odor. His eyes couldn't help but turn towards the bar in the man's hands. It was still in the wrapper yet he could smell it as if it were right before him. He gulped as his mouth seemed to water. That anger he carried down the hall seemed to have faded as his tongue savored the anonymous flavor of the snack.
Gabe had already passed by him by the time Tintoretto reacted to the smell, but he couldn't keep away. He stretched out his arm and took hold of Gabe's shoulder. Suddenly, he snatched the bar from the hero's hand and completely devoured the bar with the wrapper still entact.
Gabe had no time to react when Tintoretto stole his bar. Taken entirely by surprise, the sixteen year-old turned to face the alien with a look of utmost terror on his face.
"Hey, come on man, I only just came back home. That was gonna be my first meal in two days!" he paused to sigh, before continuing. "Oh, who am I kidding. I can last another hour or two. Name's Gabe, by the way. The guys up there," he pointed up at the ceiling, gesturing to Star City, "Know me as Hellfire. And who might you be, my scaly amphibian pal?"
After swallowing the entire snack bar, Tintoretto did not feel as satisfied as he wished he had. The bar tasted completely opposite to what he desired. On his time on Earth, he'd only eaten three different types of foods. Broccoli, Lettuce, and Tomatoes. The humans would call him a vegetarian, but it's just that Tintoretto was never offered nor given any other foods.
In his home planet, it was completely different. In his home planet, he lived by the hunt, sneaking upon his prey and snapping their necks when obliged. He would usually shank them through their necks though, found it much faster and easier.
Anyhow, the point is that Tintoretto eat meats in his home planet, but here on Earth, he's only had those few vegetables and fruits. Therefore, when he tried the bar, it did not top the taste of the vegetables nor fruits - which was due to the wrapper of course. As the kid went off on him for eating his food, Tintoretto started to feel uncomfortable. Gabe then started to rant about stuff Tintoretto didn't really find important, up to the point he called him a scaly amphibian.
Tintoretto turned towards Gabe and started for him. His eyes were wide just like before when he showed his anger to Cal and Wisteria. Without notice, he pushed Gabe into the wall behind him and towered over the youngling. "YOU THINK I'M A NINJA TURTLE TOO?!!!" he yelled at the poor kid, not realizing that was not at all Gabe's judgement.
When Gabe was pushed against the wall, he was confused. Ninja Turtle? How the hell did he get Ninja Turtle from scaly amphibian pal? Raising his arms up in friendly submission, Gabe hid his fear with expertise, the only giveaway being his contracting pupils.
"Hey man, if I thought you were a Ninja Turtle, I would've told you so, okay? I just pointed out that you were scaly and an amphibian..." he explained, his voice even. Heat was beginning to build up in his body. If the turtle was to make any movement with the intention to hurt, Gabe wouldn't hesitate to warn him with flames.
With a snarl, the amphibian backed away slowly as he stood straight up again. He cracked his neck to both directions and rotated his shoulder. "I'm no Turtle, nor Ninja. I'm a Slider, a warrior-like species from planet Swaenous. You and your pals think it's amusin' to call me a Ninja Turtle just because my people resemble those jokes on the screens. Pathetic!" Tintoretto growled.
He then turned his gaze towards the mess hall where everyone had been gathering. He overheard the conversation from his location, hearing about their plans to occupy the War Room for a little training. Tintoretto had the thought of joining them, but noticed Cal was in the small group. Though he wanted to kick the guys ass, he decided it'd be in his best interest not to. He feared he'd kill the boy if he fought against him, just because of that ridiculous joke.
"You, Fire-man! I want more food! Show me where I can get it" Tintoretto demanded from Gabe. Most of his days were spent either within his own chambers or in the War Room. Food was usually brought to him so he didn't really go anywhere else. What he truly desired though was to leave the damn undergound and see the city lights once again.
"No problem, no problem at all! But a please would've been nice... Whatever, follow me," replied Gabe, walking back into the kitchen, with the intent of showing the Slider where the meat was kept. It looked like he could use some. Opening the fridge, he withdrew some beef, generating a flame in his free hand, before asking Tintoretto a question. "How do you like your steak cooked? Rare? Medium-rare? Well-done?"
"I don't know what you're talkin' about, just give me the damn meat!" he yelled at Gabe as he waited for the food to be handed to him.
"Okay, okay, each to their own," Gabe said as he handed Tintoretto a slice of meat. He then cooked his own steak in a matter of seconds using his black flame, his mouth watering as the smell of medium-rare perfection filled his nostrils.
Tintoretto looked at the meat that was given to him and compared it to the one Gabe had. He started to envy the man's steak over his own. He had no idea what Gabe had been talking about, Medium-Rare, Rare and all that bullsh*t, but could tell his meat was none of those. "Why do you encase your meat in flames? Why does it smell better than mine?!" he said becoming flustered by his own ignorance.
Gabe couldn't help but smirk at Tintoretto's lack of culinary knowledge. "I do it so the meat cooks... It makes it taste and smell better, you see," he explained.
With that Tintoretto allowed Gabe to cook his steak and make it tastier. He watched the spitful flames make the food smell much better than the snack bar from earlier. Tintoretto's mouth watered to a level of amusement. His eyes weren't turning from his lunch, just locked the steak in sight. Once finished, he started to devour the steak, not having common courtesy to use a knife nor a fork. He just grabbed it with his hands despite the heat and poured as much as he could into his mouth as he thrashed at it with his teeth. Once finished he gave a menacing burp as his hands took hold of his stomach. With a grin, he slammed his fist on the nearby table and laughed. "Hahahaha!! You're not too bad Fire-man" he stated, possibly being positive for the first time since he joined the heroes.
It's fair to say that Gabe was surprised by the compliment, what with Tintoretto's aggressive demeanor up until then. He was further surprised when the alien snatched the steak and gobbled it all up in one mouthful, not even bothering to use cutlery. "Uh... thanks," he said, grabbing a plate, knife and fork from their drawers. "I didn't catch your name though, and I'd hate to have to offend you again with a nickname I'll probably come up with, so... Care to share your designation?" he continued, emphasising on the final word to make it sound extra fancy.
"I am Tintoretto, a Slider from planet Swaenous" he started, repeating what he had already shared to Gabe. "I am no Turtle nor Ninja, I am a warrior!" he continued, slamming his fist on the table yet again. It seemed that the amphibian repeated a lot of what he spoke about before, his mind didn't really recall much of his past conversations. Events were registered like a normal humans, but since English was not his native tongue, he would have a short-term memory of it, sometimes completely forgetting the language, other times, knowing it at its fullest. Suddenly, Tintoretto paused his small speech as Gabe left the table and his general bubble. Fortunately for him, Tintoretto did not anger by his actions.
"Nice to meet you, Tintore- well, punch Batman and call me Grayson," gasped Gabe, upon seeing Magnus enter the kitchen and say hello to Kilian. "Uh... excuse me," said he to Tintoretto, before ditching his half-eaten steak and running towards his bro.
As he ran to Magnus, memories of the past year rushed into his head, memories that would have caused him to grimace in pain and flinch in fear. But that wasn't the case. Not this time, anyway.
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, BRO?!" yelled Gabe in an almost child-like fashion, encasing the tall wolfman-turned-human in a massive bear-hug, almost toppling them, Kilian and the rest of the group in a domino-like fashion. But to be honest, Gabe didn't care. The things he and Magnus had been through together had bonded them tremendously, and not even the team tripping over themselves would stop him from hugging the man.
When Gabe received no reply from Kilian, he raised his eyebrows. It was unlike the Carggite to ignore, well, anyone, and Gabe was rather taken aback. However, he shrugged it off, and nodded towards the new guy... Beck, he assumed, from what Batman had told him through messages. Seeing that there wasn't much talking to be done, Gabe walked to the fridge and extracted a snack bar. "That should do for now," he thought, walking out of the kitchen and heading towards his personal quarters. Expecting to find peace and tranquility, he instead found a massive humanoid turtle stamping along the hallway.
The giant humanoid turtle as it seemed he was, continued his strides along the hallway, not paying any attention to his surroundings. As he and Gabe got closer to each other, a sudden aroma marched towards Tintoretto's nostrils.
Not wearing his mask, this scent was even more fervent than he could ever imagine. His senses might have had been spiked by this new odor. His eyes couldn't help but turn towards the bar in the man's hands. It was still in the wrapper yet he could smell it as if it were right before him. He gulped as his mouth seemed to water. That anger he carried down the hall seemed to have faded as his tongue savored the anonymous flavor of the snack.
Gabe had already passed by him by the time Tintoretto reacted to the smell, but he couldn't keep away. He stretched out his arm and took hold of Gabe's shoulder. Suddenly, he snatched the bar from the hero's hand and completely devoured the bar with the wrapper still entact.
Gabe had no time to react when Tintoretto stole his bar. Taken entirely by surprise, the sixteen year-old turned to face the alien with a look of utmost terror on his face.
"Hey, come on man, I only just came back home. That was gonna be my first meal in two days!" he paused to sigh, before continuing. "Oh, who am I kidding. I can last another hour or two. Name's Gabe, by the way. The guys up there," he pointed up at the ceiling, gesturing to Star City, "Know me as Hellfire. And who might you be, my scaly amphibian pal?"
After swallowing the entire snack bar, Tintoretto did not feel as satisfied as he wished he had. The bar tasted completely opposite to what he desired. On his time on Earth, he'd only eaten three different types of foods. Broccoli, Lettuce, and Tomatoes. The humans would call him a vegetarian, but it's just that Tintoretto was never offered nor given any other foods.
In his home planet, it was completely different. In his home planet, he lived by the hunt, sneaking upon his prey and snapping their necks when obliged. He would usually shank them through their necks though, found it much faster and easier.
Anyhow, the point is that Tintoretto eat meats in his home planet, but here on Earth, he's only had those few vegetables and fruits. Therefore, when he tried the bar, it did not top the taste of the vegetables nor fruits - which was due to the wrapper of course. As the kid went off on him for eating his food, Tintoretto started to feel uncomfortable. Gabe then started to rant about stuff Tintoretto didn't really find important, up to the point he called him a scaly amphibian.
Tintoretto turned towards Gabe and started for him. His eyes were wide just like before when he showed his anger to Cal and Wisteria. Without notice, he pushed Gabe into the wall behind him and towered over the youngling. "YOU THINK I'M A NINJA TURTLE TOO?!!!" he yelled at the poor kid, not realizing that was not at all Gabe's judgement.
When Gabe was pushed against the wall, he was confused. Ninja Turtle? How the hell did he get Ninja Turtle from scaly amphibian pal? Raising his arms up in friendly submission, Gabe hid his fear with expertise, the only giveaway being his contracting pupils.
"Hey man, if I thought you were a Ninja Turtle, I would've told you so, okay? I just pointed out that you were scaly and an amphibian..." he explained, his voice even. Heat was beginning to build up in his body. If the turtle was to make any movement with the intention to hurt, Gabe wouldn't hesitate to warn him with flames.
With a snarl, the amphibian backed away slowly as he stood straight up again. He cracked his neck to both directions and rotated his shoulder. "I'm no Turtle, nor Ninja. I'm a Slider, a warrior-like species from planet Swaenous. You and your pals think it's amusin' to call me a Ninja Turtle just because my people resemble those jokes on the screens. Pathetic!" Tintoretto growled.
He then turned his gaze towards the mess hall where everyone had been gathering. He overheard the conversation from his location, hearing about their plans to occupy the War Room for a little training. Tintoretto had the thought of joining them, but noticed Cal was in the small group. Though he wanted to kick the guys ass, he decided it'd be in his best interest not to. He feared he'd kill the boy if he fought against him, just because of that ridiculous joke.
"You, Fire-man! I want more food! Show me where I can get it" Tintoretto demanded from Gabe. Most of his days were spent either within his own chambers or in the War Room. Food was usually brought to him so he didn't really go anywhere else. What he truly desired though was to leave the damn undergound and see the city lights once again.
"No problem, no problem at all! But a please would've been nice... Whatever, follow me," replied Gabe, walking back into the kitchen, with the intent of showing the Slider where the meat was kept. It looked like he could use some. Opening the fridge, he withdrew some beef, generating a flame in his free hand, before asking Tintoretto a question. "How do you like your steak cooked? Rare? Medium-rare? Well-done?"
"I don't know what you're talkin' about, just give me the damn meat!" he yelled at Gabe as he waited for the food to be handed to him.
"Okay, okay, each to their own," Gabe said as he handed Tintoretto a slice of meat. He then cooked his own steak in a matter of seconds using his black flame, his mouth watering as the smell of medium-rare perfection filled his nostrils.
Tintoretto looked at the meat that was given to him and compared it to the one Gabe had. He started to envy the man's steak over his own. He had no idea what Gabe had been talking about, Medium-Rare, Rare and all that bullsh*t, but could tell his meat was none of those. "Why do you encase your meat in flames? Why does it smell better than mine?!" he said becoming flustered by his own ignorance.
Gabe couldn't help but smirk at Tintoretto's lack of culinary knowledge. "I do it so the meat cooks... It makes it taste and smell better, you see," he explained.
With that Tintoretto allowed Gabe to cook his steak and make it tastier. He watched the spitful flames make the food smell much better than the snack bar from earlier. Tintoretto's mouth watered to a level of amusement. His eyes weren't turning from his lunch, just locked the steak in sight. Once finished, he started to devour the steak, not having common courtesy to use a knife nor a fork. He just grabbed it with his hands despite the heat and poured as much as he could into his mouth as he thrashed at it with his teeth. Once finished he gave a menacing burp as his hands took hold of his stomach. With a grin, he slammed his fist on the nearby table and laughed. "Hahahaha!! You're not too bad Fire-man" he stated, possibly being positive for the first time since he joined the heroes.
It's fair to say that Gabe was surprised by the compliment, what with Tintoretto's aggressive demeanor up until then. He was further surprised when the alien snatched the steak and gobbled it all up in one mouthful, not even bothering to use cutlery. "Uh... thanks," he said, grabbing a plate, knife and fork from their drawers. "I didn't catch your name though, and I'd hate to have to offend you again with a nickname I'll probably come up with, so... Care to share your designation?" he continued, emphasising on the final word to make it sound extra fancy.
"I am Tintoretto, a Slider from planet Swaenous" he started, repeating what he had already shared to Gabe. "I am no Turtle nor Ninja, I am a warrior!" he continued, slamming his fist on the table yet again. It seemed that the amphibian repeated a lot of what he spoke about before, his mind didn't really recall much of his past conversations. Events were registered like a normal humans, but since English was not his native tongue, he would have a short-term memory of it, sometimes completely forgetting the language, other times, knowing it at its fullest. Suddenly, Tintoretto paused his small speech as Gabe left the table and his general bubble. Fortunately for him, Tintoretto did not anger by his actions.
"Nice to meet you, Tintore- well, punch Batman and call me Grayson," gasped Gabe, upon seeing Magnus enter the kitchen and say hello to Kilian. "Uh... excuse me," said he to Tintoretto, before ditching his half-eaten steak and running towards his bro.
As he ran to Magnus, memories of the past year rushed into his head, memories that would have caused him to grimace in pain and flinch in fear. But that wasn't the case. Not this time, anyway.
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, BRO?!" yelled Gabe in an almost child-like fashion, encasing the tall wolfman-turned-human in a massive bear-hug, almost toppling them, Kilian and the rest of the group in a domino-like fashion. But to be honest, Gabe didn't care. The things he and Magnus had been through together had bonded them tremendously, and not even the team tripping over themselves would stop him from hugging the man.
Just a heads up, guys. QT and I are working on a collab, which I'll post tomorrow. So if anyone posts, don't raid the fridge. Thanks in advance.
Age. I might have misunderstood then, whoops. Did you mean length on the team?
Would it be cool if Gabe joins you guys in la War Room? I'm writing up a post now...
Also, Rumiko, Gabe's the most junior member, not Shadow Dancer.
Also, Rumiko, Gabe's the most junior member, not Shadow Dancer.
Gabe Harlan hovered above the slums of Star City, searching for any signs of trouble. Though the sun blared overhead, the air was cold, causing the young hero to be even more alert than usual. He never did like the cold too much, and the fact that it was lunchtime and chilly made him somewhat on-edge. The young voice of a girl suddenly made itself known, screaming for help. She sounded desperate, full of fear... Just like Gabe more than two years before. Back then, he hadn't yet discovered his powers. He had lived on the streets. Back then, no one came to help him until it was too late, and he was passed out on the ground, the ashes of his assailants surrounding him.
Hellfire flew through the air at high speed, determined not to fail the girl like Gotham had failed him. "I'm coming, I'm coming..." he thought, the cool afternoon air brushing past his masked face. He remembered feeling so cold... so lonely... so helpless as the thugs attacked him, demanding money which he obviously didn't have. He remembered feeling like a monster when he discovered his powers... Using them to kill the thugs in an out-of-control fear-fueled barrage of flames. The memories caused tears to form in his eyes, tears which he immediately willed back into his sockets.
Just as he arrived at the girl's location, she let loose a scream louder than those before, her hopelessness and terror ever evident. Five criminals were crowded around her, two of them armed with a knife, the rest unarmed. They all looked lustful for the girl, who was no older than fifteen. A rage filled Gabe, and heat began radiating from his body as he hurtled down towards an unarmed crim. A loud snarl escaped his mouth moments before his armoured fist collided with the crim's face, sprawling the man across the ground. Adopting a fighting stance, Hellfire glared at the would-be rapists, using his own version of the famous Bat Glare.
The two knife-wielders charged at him, one in front and the other from the right. A grave mistake on their part. As the one in front tried to slash across Gabe's neck, the hero ducked under it and twisted, blocking the other's stab to the rib and pulling him off balance. He then turned back to the front in time to dodge an overhead stab, landing a rib-shattering body-rip, followed by an uppercut, causing the con to bite down on his tongue, knocking him out cold as blood streamed from his mouth. The remaining knife-wielder made a futile attempt to skewer Hellfire through the stomach, and his hand was simply slapped away before he was kicked King Leonidas style into a garbage can.
As the two residual criminals quickly made to pick up their fallen friends' knives, Gabe ran to the girl, who had been watching the fight in a combination of awe and fear. When he neared her, she began to cringe away from him, and he noticed a number of bruises on her face. The flame-wielder immediately felt sympathy for her and spoke, his voice gentle in contrast to his imposing muscular figure.
"It's going to be okay. I've got you. Hold my hand."
After she reluctantly grabbed hold of his left hand, Hellfire raised his free arm, summoning a scorching circular wall of black fire, blocking the path of the remaining thugs. In an attempt to protect her face from the heat, the girl buried her face in her rescuer's chest, surprised to find that it almost matched the fire's temperature.
Mustering his most threatening voice, Hellfire yelled to the criminals on the other side of the firewall. "You're both going to listen to me now. You're beaten! You are not going to hurt this girl, or anyone else! Now, here's what you're going to do: You're going to go to the SCPD and confess to all the crimes you've committed. You're going to tell them who was involved, and you will plead guilty against any charges laid against you. Got it?"
He could practically sense their nods.
"Now GO!"
The sound of frantic footsteps echoed through the alley, mixing with the roar of the firewall. Once he was sure they were gone, Gabe dissipated the flames, looking at the girl. She withdrew her head from his chest, looking up into his emerald green eyes. It was then that he took in her features and noticed how pretty she looked despite the bruises. Her eyes were of a bright blue colour, her hair a light shade of brown. Her skin was fair, and her face delicate, soft. She somehow reminded him of Jin... He wasn't sure why, but she did.
"Those men won't be hurting you anymore. You're safe," he managed to say, taken aback by her beauty.
"Thank you," she mumbled, quickly looking away as their gaze became too intense for her liking.
"It was the least I could do," said Gabe, looking away himself. "What's your name?"
"Matilda... You're Hellfire, aren't you? Part of Young Justice..."
"Yeah, that's me," he confirmed. "Speaking of Young Justice... Darn it, I'm meant to be at HQ now. Do you have a home?"
"Oh... Yeah."
When Matilda told him where to drop her off, he swept her off the ground and took flight, dropping her off near her home, before dashing towards the abandoned Queen Industries building, below which Young Justice HQ was located. It had been a year since he was last there, spending most of his time off helping another member of the team, his "bro", Magnus, with his own business. The experience was, to say the least, horrifying, and the cruelty which Gabe had seen being practiced on others left a large scar in his mind.
Finally arriving at HQ, Gabe had the intention of seeking out Jin and catching up with her, but he then noticed a rumbling in his stomach... Food would have to come first. "Sorry Jin," he mentally apologised as he took off his mask, ruffling his short black hair. Walking into the kitchen, he noticed someone munching away at a sandwich. Was that...
"Kilian! How've you been? Man, you look different!" exclaimed Gabe, happy to see his teammate.
Hellfire flew through the air at high speed, determined not to fail the girl like Gotham had failed him. "I'm coming, I'm coming..." he thought, the cool afternoon air brushing past his masked face. He remembered feeling so cold... so lonely... so helpless as the thugs attacked him, demanding money which he obviously didn't have. He remembered feeling like a monster when he discovered his powers... Using them to kill the thugs in an out-of-control fear-fueled barrage of flames. The memories caused tears to form in his eyes, tears which he immediately willed back into his sockets.
Just as he arrived at the girl's location, she let loose a scream louder than those before, her hopelessness and terror ever evident. Five criminals were crowded around her, two of them armed with a knife, the rest unarmed. They all looked lustful for the girl, who was no older than fifteen. A rage filled Gabe, and heat began radiating from his body as he hurtled down towards an unarmed crim. A loud snarl escaped his mouth moments before his armoured fist collided with the crim's face, sprawling the man across the ground. Adopting a fighting stance, Hellfire glared at the would-be rapists, using his own version of the famous Bat Glare.
The two knife-wielders charged at him, one in front and the other from the right. A grave mistake on their part. As the one in front tried to slash across Gabe's neck, the hero ducked under it and twisted, blocking the other's stab to the rib and pulling him off balance. He then turned back to the front in time to dodge an overhead stab, landing a rib-shattering body-rip, followed by an uppercut, causing the con to bite down on his tongue, knocking him out cold as blood streamed from his mouth. The remaining knife-wielder made a futile attempt to skewer Hellfire through the stomach, and his hand was simply slapped away before he was kicked King Leonidas style into a garbage can.
As the two residual criminals quickly made to pick up their fallen friends' knives, Gabe ran to the girl, who had been watching the fight in a combination of awe and fear. When he neared her, she began to cringe away from him, and he noticed a number of bruises on her face. The flame-wielder immediately felt sympathy for her and spoke, his voice gentle in contrast to his imposing muscular figure.
"It's going to be okay. I've got you. Hold my hand."
After she reluctantly grabbed hold of his left hand, Hellfire raised his free arm, summoning a scorching circular wall of black fire, blocking the path of the remaining thugs. In an attempt to protect her face from the heat, the girl buried her face in her rescuer's chest, surprised to find that it almost matched the fire's temperature.
Mustering his most threatening voice, Hellfire yelled to the criminals on the other side of the firewall. "You're both going to listen to me now. You're beaten! You are not going to hurt this girl, or anyone else! Now, here's what you're going to do: You're going to go to the SCPD and confess to all the crimes you've committed. You're going to tell them who was involved, and you will plead guilty against any charges laid against you. Got it?"
He could practically sense their nods.
"Now GO!"
The sound of frantic footsteps echoed through the alley, mixing with the roar of the firewall. Once he was sure they were gone, Gabe dissipated the flames, looking at the girl. She withdrew her head from his chest, looking up into his emerald green eyes. It was then that he took in her features and noticed how pretty she looked despite the bruises. Her eyes were of a bright blue colour, her hair a light shade of brown. Her skin was fair, and her face delicate, soft. She somehow reminded him of Jin... He wasn't sure why, but she did.
"Those men won't be hurting you anymore. You're safe," he managed to say, taken aback by her beauty.
"Thank you," she mumbled, quickly looking away as their gaze became too intense for her liking.
"It was the least I could do," said Gabe, looking away himself. "What's your name?"
"Matilda... You're Hellfire, aren't you? Part of Young Justice..."
"Yeah, that's me," he confirmed. "Speaking of Young Justice... Darn it, I'm meant to be at HQ now. Do you have a home?"
"Oh... Yeah."
When Matilda told him where to drop her off, he swept her off the ground and took flight, dropping her off near her home, before dashing towards the abandoned Queen Industries building, below which Young Justice HQ was located. It had been a year since he was last there, spending most of his time off helping another member of the team, his "bro", Magnus, with his own business. The experience was, to say the least, horrifying, and the cruelty which Gabe had seen being practiced on others left a large scar in his mind.
Finally arriving at HQ, Gabe had the intention of seeking out Jin and catching up with her, but he then noticed a rumbling in his stomach... Food would have to come first. "Sorry Jin," he mentally apologised as he took off his mask, ruffling his short black hair. Walking into the kitchen, he noticed someone munching away at a sandwich. Was that...
"Kilian! How've you been? Man, you look different!" exclaimed Gabe, happy to see his teammate.
Name – Gabe Harlan
Alias - Hellfire
Age - 16
Sponsor - Batman
Personality – Brave, Serious, Faithful, Humorous (at times)
Powers – Solar Manipulation, can manipulate and generate solar energy- mainly uses its flame form (his flames are black), and flight. He has also been trained in martial arts.
Weaknesses – He must control his power, as mistakes may have large repercussions, on a global scale and beyond. He must also do this as if he exerts too much of his power at once, he will be weak, and may even die.
Appearance - Gabe has short black hair, swept to the right. His eyes are an emerald green colour. Since 2020, his build has become much more muscular, thanks to his active fighting against Granny alongside Fenrir.
BRIEF Bio – Born in Gotham, Gabe never knew his parents. He spent the majority of his life wandering the streets of Gotham, moving from shelter to shelter every day in search of food. At the age of 14, Gabe discovered his powers when cornered in an alley by a gang of thugs. Panicking, Gabe snapped when the first thug hit him. He unleashed a tendril of black fire at the gang, turning them into nothing but a pile of ash. Horrified at what he’d done, Gabe curled up into a ball, crying himself to sleep. Unbeknownst to Gabe, a certain superhero had seen what happened, and decided to take him in to his base of operations. Waking up in the Batcave, Gabe began his training under the tutelage of Batman, learning to use and control his power. One year later, Gabe received his own costume, and chose to call himself Hellfire.
He soon joined Young Justice, helping the team fight against foes such as Computron and Bronze Tiger posing as Deathstroke, a dramatic confrontation with the latter leaving Gabe with an almost crippling bullet wound. After a disastrous battle with an Atlantean warrior, his closest friend behind Jin, Magnus, left the team. Devastated, Gabe managed to convince Magnus to stay on the team, on the condition that he help Magnus with his own agenda. Along the way, they formed a closer bond, one which Gabe jokingly refers to as a "brolationship".
What's Changed - Gabe has now fully healed from his confrontation with the Bronze Tiger, and has learned to further control his powers with the help of experience... He and Fenrir had both embarked on a quest to take down Granny's forces, and upon coming back to Star City, had honed their abilities. However, Gabe's powers weren't the only things that improved, but also his wit. At times he deems appropriate, he may crack a joke or wisecrack, though these jokes may sometimes come off as egotistical.
Notes – Seeing Gabe's potential to being both a great hero and villain, Batman decided to take him in and cement his destiny to fight alongside the heroes of the world.
Alias - Hellfire
Age - 16
Sponsor - Batman
Personality – Brave, Serious, Faithful, Humorous (at times)
Powers – Solar Manipulation, can manipulate and generate solar energy- mainly uses its flame form (his flames are black), and flight. He has also been trained in martial arts.
Weaknesses – He must control his power, as mistakes may have large repercussions, on a global scale and beyond. He must also do this as if he exerts too much of his power at once, he will be weak, and may even die.
Appearance - Gabe has short black hair, swept to the right. His eyes are an emerald green colour. Since 2020, his build has become much more muscular, thanks to his active fighting against Granny alongside Fenrir.
BRIEF Bio – Born in Gotham, Gabe never knew his parents. He spent the majority of his life wandering the streets of Gotham, moving from shelter to shelter every day in search of food. At the age of 14, Gabe discovered his powers when cornered in an alley by a gang of thugs. Panicking, Gabe snapped when the first thug hit him. He unleashed a tendril of black fire at the gang, turning them into nothing but a pile of ash. Horrified at what he’d done, Gabe curled up into a ball, crying himself to sleep. Unbeknownst to Gabe, a certain superhero had seen what happened, and decided to take him in to his base of operations. Waking up in the Batcave, Gabe began his training under the tutelage of Batman, learning to use and control his power. One year later, Gabe received his own costume, and chose to call himself Hellfire.
He soon joined Young Justice, helping the team fight against foes such as Computron and Bronze Tiger posing as Deathstroke, a dramatic confrontation with the latter leaving Gabe with an almost crippling bullet wound. After a disastrous battle with an Atlantean warrior, his closest friend behind Jin, Magnus, left the team. Devastated, Gabe managed to convince Magnus to stay on the team, on the condition that he help Magnus with his own agenda. Along the way, they formed a closer bond, one which Gabe jokingly refers to as a "brolationship".
What's Changed - Gabe has now fully healed from his confrontation with the Bronze Tiger, and has learned to further control his powers with the help of experience... He and Fenrir had both embarked on a quest to take down Granny's forces, and upon coming back to Star City, had honed their abilities. However, Gabe's powers weren't the only things that improved, but also his wit. At times he deems appropriate, he may crack a joke or wisecrack, though these jokes may sometimes come off as egotistical.
Notes – Seeing Gabe's potential to being both a great hero and villain, Batman decided to take him in and cement his destiny to fight alongside the heroes of the world.
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