Sarah Murphy was alone in front of three floating screens, with a tablet in her left hand and a forgotten cup of coffee on the table for at least twenty minutes.

The drink was no longer releasing steam, but Sarah did not seem like a person who needed caffeine to stay awake.

Her eyes moved fast behind her glasses while she reviewed the training report of Oliver Clarke over and over.

On the main screen was the recording of the training area. Oliver extended his hand, released a low line of fire, and kept it close to the ground following a yellow mark.

The first time it rose too much. The second time it went out before finishing. The third time it stabilized, but the strange thing was that the correction did not happen after Oliver moved, but almost at the same time.

Sarah stopped the video right at the moment when Vanessa was speaking behind him. The fire rose a fraction, then lowered without Oliver completely changing his posture.

It was a small variation, something that a common supervisor would have marked as rookie instability, but Nora was not a high-ranking superhuman inside the agency and Sarah had not reached directing a support floor by ignoring uncomfortable details.

“That is not normal” Sarah murmured, moving a little closer to the screen.

It was not dangerous. At least not yet. Oliver had not lost control, had not burned expensive equipment, had not turned the training area into a drone barbecue.

In fact, the problem was exactly the opposite. For someone who supposedly started using his powers a few weeks ago, his body was learning too fast.

Sarah slid her fingers across the tablet and opened the second report. The thermal analysis showed small peaks every time there was emotional pressure.

Vanessa arriving at the training. Nora correcting him up close. The two of them talking with that polite tone women used when they were actually measuring territory. Oliver’s fire reacted to all of that, but it did not explode. It adjusted.

That was the valuable part.

A superhuman with fire could be useful. A superhuman with fire and a good public image could generate money. But a superhuman with fire capable of correcting himself under pressure, adapting fast, and acting without destroying civilians could become something much more important for New Kroy.

Sarah rested the tablet on the table and brought a hand to her chin. Oliver was still not a field hero. Not even close.

He had instinct, he had charisma, and he had that strange ability to look good in front of cameras even when it seemed like he did not completely know what he was doing.

But New Kroy could not afford to waste someone like that by only putting him in public presence.

It also could not throw him into a serious mission without measuring him.

Sarah opened the internal channel and marked a field observation request. Not a showcase mission. Not a walk with smiles. Something real, but controlled. Rescue, containment, and civilians around, with Vanessa to move among the people and Nora to prevent everything from getting out of control.

If Oliver was only popularity, the mission would prove it.

If he was something more, it would also prove it.

Sarah smiled widely, that dangerous smile of someone who had just found a profitable opportunity inside a technical problem.

“Very well, flame boy” she said looking at the frozen recording of Oliver. “Let us see how much you are worth when you are not in a clean room.”

***

The agency cafeteria was better than my old job in almost every possible aspect.

It had clean tables, employees who did not smell like accumulated sweat inside animal costumes, and food that did not seem to have been cooked by a person with hatred toward humanity. That alone made it a place worthy of respect.

In front of me I had a tray with rice, meat, bread, vegetables, and an energy drink that tasted too artificial but promised to recover calories in superhumans. I did not know if it worked, but it had sugar and that was already enough to not hate it.

Vanessa was sitting in front of me, eating calmly as if nothing strange had happened during training.

That woman could watch you almost burn a practice circuit, argue with Nora without raising her voice, and then sit down to eat like a normal person. It was admirable and a little annoying.

“Are you going to look at the food or eat it?” she asked.

“I am appreciating my situation” I said grabbing the fork. “Not long ago I ate the cheapest possible in my apartment. Now I am in a superhero agency eating free or almost free food. That deserves a spiritual pause.”

“They are going to charge it to the support budget.”

I lowered the fork slowly.

“I withdraw the spiritual pause.”

Vanessa smiled slightly and kept eating. I started eating faster out of habit.

Nora arrived a few minutes later with a water bottle and sat to one side without asking permission. Vanessa looked at her, but did not say anything.

The tension was still there, although now it was less dangerous than in the training area. Maybe because there was food on the table and no one wanted to ruin a decent lunch.

“Sarah is coming this way” Nora said.

“Is that good or bad?” I asked.

“It depends on how much you like working.”

I did not get to answer because Sarah appeared almost immediately, walking with too much energy for a person who had probably been reviewing reports for hours.

She had her ponytail moving with every step, her glasses a little low, and three tablets hugged against her chest as if they were sacred documents.

“Perfect, you are all together” Sarah said, arriving at our table without respecting personal space much, as always. “Oliver, finish chewing before answering because I do not want a minor emergency to end with your death by rice.”

I swallowed quickly. “That was very specific.”

“I work with superhumans. Being specific saves lives.” Sarah placed a tablet on the table and turned it so we could see it. “We have a situation near the commercial district. It is not a public presence mission, it is not a sponsored event, and it is not an opportunity for you to make pretty faces at the camera.”

“My pretty faces generate brand value” I said seriously.

“Exactly, and today I want to know if you also generate results.”

That sounded more important.

Vanessa left the fork on the tray. Nora leaned a little to look at the information. On the screen there was a map with an area marked in orange, several evacuation routes, and a moderate risk alert.

It did not seem like a high-level threat, but it was also not a false alarm.

Sarah pointed at the central point. “We have reports of an altered superhuman causing damage in a commercial area. It is still not classified as a villain because there is no clear intention of attack. It could be loss of control, intoxication, or some type of external reaction. There are civilians, employees trapped in nearby shops, and too many people recording.”

“Too many people recording always makes everything worse” Vanessa said.

“Correct” Sarah changed the screen. “Vanessa, you are going for rescue and infiltration. Get trapped civilians out, confirm safe routes, and prevent anyone from approaching the hot zone. Nora, you control the zone and contain the superhuman if he tries to expand the damage. Oliver, you are going as support.”

“Support” I repeated.

It did not sound bad.

A few days ago being support meant staying at the back, trying not to get in the way, and hoping no one asked me too much. Now the word sounded different. If they were sending me as support with Vanessa and Nora, it meant they wanted to see me work in something real.

Sarah looked at me directly. “You use fire only if you can do it without putting civilians at risk. No spectacle, no huge flames, no trying to win a cover with half the city watching. I want control lines, signals, low heat, and a cool head.”

“I can do it” I said.

Vanessa looked at me for a second, as if she wanted to check whether I was showing off or speaking seriously.

I asked myself the same question.

The difference was that this time I did not feel lost. Nervous, yes, because any person with a brain would be nervous before getting into an emergency with civilians. But lost, no.

I had already been in a real situation, I had already shot fire without killing anyone, and I already knew that being a hero was not only looking good when a camera was pointed at you.

It was also surviving without ruining everything.

Nora rested the bottle on the table. “If you keep the line low like in training, you can serve to guide the evacuation without getting too close.”

“And if something goes wrong, you fall back” Vanessa said. “Do not improvise something stupid.”

“I love the team’s confidence” I said.

“It is not lack of confidence” Vanessa stood up from the chair. “It is that I have already seen you improvise.”

“And it worked.”

“You survived. It is not the same.”

Sarah gave two quick claps, too close to my face. “Adorable conversation, but you move now. Response vehicle in three minutes.”

I stood up from the table with the tray still half finished and that hurt more than I expected. I looked at the leftover food with a feeling of sincere loss.

“Can I take the bread?”

Sarah looked at me.

Vanessa also looked.

Nora smiled.

I grabbed the bread and ate it at an impressive speed.

We walked toward the quick exit of the support floor. Vanessa was on my left, Nora on my right, and Sarah in front talking on the communicator. The feeling was strange. It was not a huge mission, it was not a fight against a great villainess, it was not a millionaire contract, but for me it felt like a door opening.

If I did it well, I would stop being just the flame boy who was good for videos.

I would be someone useful.

Right before crossing the garage door, an orange notification appeared in front of my eyes.

[Fireman System]

[Nearby artificial energy detected]