CH41: UNWANTED ATTENTION

"Breaking News!! The fireman strikes again. A few moments ago, a gang related war had broken out between a small time gang called The Four Armed Gang and what is now The Cold Flame Gang. Residents from Raid Town recorded footage of what seems to be a fight between adult and teenage mutants. The two adult mutants have been identified as Pharaoh and Xin Chen however, the teenagers have not yet been identified. Footage of the fight had been recorded and live streamed by many citizens who said that the Cold Flame Gang members saved them from the two mutants. The Mutant Protection Force later arrived at the scene only to find a knocked out mutant and another one who's lower body was severed from the upper."

Once again, the fireman was making headlines on almost every major news station in-and-out of Raid Town. Max and his friends were at Phoenix's mansion watching what the public reaction was and celebrating with the other mutants, well all but one person

" Hey Max, are you seeing this. The public is loving this. Aren't you glad?" Moka asked.

" Glad?" Max replied. " I killed a person today. I'm only fourteen years old. I'm too young to be to be killing people."

" Bro, get over it. Xin and Pharaoh were hurting a lot of people." CJ said.

" Yeah Max. Aren't you glad we've finally ended them. I sure am glad that Pharaoh's behind bars after he killed my dad." Rin said.

" It's easy for you to say. You guys weren't the ones who killed her. It's one thing knocking some one out but it's another thing taking someones' life. It does a number on you. I'm going home guys, see you tomorrow."

" Yeah, I gotta go to. Harvey must be worried sick."

"Me too"Max, Sue and CJ left the mansion and returned to their homes. CJ ran back to his place while Sue took a taxi. Max decided to take a walk back and think more about what he had just done. " Miss Xin, why did you have to be a part of this?" Max was deeply saddened by his actions and the last words Xin said to him.

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Max wasn't the only one who decided to take a walk to clear his head. Damion was frustrated deeply because he yet again failed to find out who the fireman was. His apartment was a mild distance away from the fighting ground and the fact that mutants were battling each other made him stay back. " I should've been there. I would have followed them and seen who they are or where there hideout is. But I couldn't. I can't get in another mutant fight...again." He said as he touched the scar on his right eye. As Damion was walking with his head down, he bumped into someone who also wasn't paying attention to where he was going.

" Hey watch where your walk....." Damion froze when he saw who he bumped into. A teenage boy with red and eyes and fiery red hair. Damion could feel his heart beat faster as his excitement levels begun to rise.

" I'm sorry sir. Did I hurt you?" Max asked.

" Certainly not, young lad. You've made my day. What's your name?"

" Max Lin. I'm sorry, I've got to go but it was nice bumping into you...I guess."

Damion reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out a piece of fiery red hair. He held it up in the air while Max walked away and compared it with his. " Could this be? Is the fireman just a teenage boy as Bruce said? I have to test my theory out."

Damion started following Max at a safe distance, making sure that the boy didn't notice him. Max was too deep in thought to notice anything anyway. Damion would constantly compare the hair and look at the countless videos he had of the fireman. " Let's see if he'll notice this." Damion increased his phones volume to the max and played a video of the fireman's fire blow. When Max heard the familiar sound, he quickly turned around to see who was playing the video. To his surprise, it was the strange man he had bumped into earlier so Max increased his pace.

" Bingo." Damion started running and Max, who could hear his foot steps, started running too. Whenever Max would increase his pace, Damion would respond by increasing his two times more, and Max started feeling afraid and angry. Afraid, because he thought this could be someone from a different gang who knew his identity and angry because some creep was after him.

" That's it, I've had enough."

[Fire walk activated.]

Energy 41/100

Max disappeared in an instant, leaving a cloud of dust behind. He didn't stop running until he reached his apartment block and when he did, he made sure not to enter his apartment yet. He first hid behind a corner and made sure the strange man wasn't following him. A few minutes passed and the strange man was no where to be seen so Max headed inside his apartment and locked himself in.

" Bruce, I've got news. I think I've found the who the fireman is. I'll let you know once I'm one hundred percent sure."

*Do it as fast as you can. I wanna pay him a visit.*

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Max, finally relieved that he escaped from the stranger, laid down on his bed and opened his system panel.

[Rewards available: 500EXP points, two fire points]

" I have enough points to level up my energy and HP but...is it worth it?" Max wondered if the points he earned were worth it. Deep down, he knew what he did needed to be done but now that he went through with it, he felt really horrible. " Well, I might as well put them to use. I have a bad feeling something's gonna go down this week."

[ Fire points allocated to health and energy. Do you want to upgrade? Y/N]

"Yes."

[Upgrade in progress. Brace yourself.]

" Huh, damn you system." Max's body went through the same painful process he went through the last time he upgraded himself. His bones broke, his skin tore and his hair felt out this time. The process was much more painful this time but Max did his level best to be quiet. After ten minutes of extreme torture, Max's body went back to normal, only this time, there was a huge difference.

[ Congratulations: New Level: Fire Knight. Awaken the flame.]