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You looked up sharply at her, a huge grin on your face.
<span class="mu-r">“Hit me with your best shot! I want to see if I’m fireproof!”</span>
Gloria gave you a skeptical look, while the lab-techs murmured amongst themselves and took notes on your seemingly odd behaviors whilst being on fire. After a few seconds, she turned her head slightly to regard the non-powered individuals in the room.
<span class="mu-b">“Give us the room.”</span>
They hesitated for a moment, before filing out of the room and glancing over their shoulders to stare at the two of you. Once you were alone, Gloria raised an open palm to the air and exhaled deeply through her nose.
In an instant, her clothes transformed into that of the Hawaiian goddess, Pele. Instead of a tailored suit, she now wore a loose fitting crimson shift that stopped well above the knee. It was simple and unadorned, but noticeably unaffected by the heat that she was now radiating. Her hair, which had once been straight, now flowed and undulated as if she’d been submerged underwater.
Gloria’s eyes glowed brighter, and a roaring flame erupted from her open palm. Then, without warning, she whipped her hand out and flung a fist-sized fireball at you!
You flinched back reflexively, watched through narrowly shut eyes as her orange flames intermingled with your pale green ones. There was a flash of heat, and…that was it. You’d barely felt it.
<span class="mu-r">“Uh…was that really your best?”</span>
Gloria was already preparing another attack, seemingly unphased by the comment.
<span class="mu-b">“I started small, just to make sure. Now, we’re going to turn things up a notch.”</span>
Shit hit you with another fireball. This one was faster, a bit bigger, and noticeably more intense than the last. It hit you so hard that it probably would’ve knocked you over had it not been for your ability to cling to any surface.
<span class="mu-r">“That one kind of tickled!”</span>
She narrowed her eyes at you, the corner of her lip curving upward into a challenging smirk. The synthezoid held up her hand again, but this time, no fireball formed. Instead, the surface of her hand began to glow orange, then red, until finally, it radiated bright white heat.
You swallowed hard when she started walking towards you, her hand outstretched towards your chest. And when her absurdly hot hand made contact with your suit…you miraculously didn’t die!
Your chest felt a bit warm, but that was it! You could barely feel the heat at all!
Gloria looked impressed at your lack of a reaction, and took a step back to admire your flaming form in a new light.
<span class="mu-b">“Well, that was a little more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and you look like you barely felt it. The experiment worked better than I could’ve hoped. I can’t say for sure whether you’re completely fireproof or not, but there aren’t going to be very many people who’re capable of throwing anything much hotter than that. Congratulations.”</span>
(Cont.)
