Welcome guys! CJ Stahl is back, and now, she has a hero name: Firebug! I'm not going to explain the first book, so if you have no idea as to what's going on here, go read the first book: The Newbie. I, and many others, think CJ and her adventure as a member of the Justice League is amazing. I know not many people like OC's, but would think a lot of people would be interested in this if they read all the way through.

I had so much fun with CJ, I just couldn't NOT write more about her. Honestly, I had finished book one and was already writing book two before I even published chapter 11 of book one. Like I did in The Newbie, I will be posting chapters every few days, as I am already well into the story and don't want to publish it all at once. Not all chapters are worth the wait, and Chapter 1 is definitely better than the next, so be grateful that I gave you 4,000 words in 1 instead of 1,500 like I originally had. It was originally just going to be her boring day on the Watchtower, but I changed it to be more her and Ted. I wanted all the followers of book one and any newcomers to really want to continue reading CJ's story, and I hope you guys find her story to be remarkable.

My twin asked me to add this in, so I'm asking anyone that is reading this if they would like to make a cover image for this story, and maybe even the first book, if you want. I'd rather have it look more like a cartoon than real, if possible, and don't really care what it's of, as long it has CJ or fire or something. If anyone's willing, message me. I know that there are so many artists out there that love to do this. I'd love to have an original cover photo, and would be much appreciated! I'll keep the heart until I receive your piece. If you want, I'll add in a suggested character of yours as payment, or something. I don't have money, though. I'll repay you somehow, because an original cover would be amazing! You can send the picture to cherryxmountain gmail. Thank you!

And, a heads up, the few chapters of the second book is going to be about CJ trying to figure out her feelings towards Ted, then some action, then them again. I know I'm really forcing the relationship, and there isn't really much of them bonding, but we'll dwell on that later in the book. These are more like hints. She has never loved before, and so doesn't understand her emotions. I'm not good at romance, and so it took me forever to write this, with the help of my twin, OnyxRing, who will co-write a few chapters. I hope it's good!

Chapter 1

Firebug
Real Name: Cynthia Jane Stahl
League ID: K-T-012
Place of Origin: Alternate Earth H-23-0001.
Powers: Create and manipulate fire/heat, absorption of fire/heat, can project the fire from her body, can fly while on fire, and impervious to all forms of fire.
Mission Logs: N/A
Personal Notes: N/A

CJ had been staring at her profile for hours. Her profile. She was a member of the Justice League. It was still hard to believe, even after she had read it about a hundred times.

She had read through all the other members' profiles. She found out real names, though she didn't really acknowledge them, respecting their privacy. Only about half the members didn't care if the others knew of their civilian identities, and CJ was one of them. She trusted that they wouldn't tell the world who she really was. They all needed privacy and a place to relax. She discovered powers and abilities, and tried to memorize faces, to superhero names and their general names.

As she sat at the computer, a hero walked by, and CJ looked up. She saw a man in trench coat, his face hidden by a large brimmed hat. CJ almost growled out in anger. She didn't know who it was, partly because his face was hidden, and partly because she hadn't memorized everyone.

She was at a computer in the lounge area, and hardly anyone used the place. It was rare for someone to walk by, and every time someone did, she tried to guess who it was, without the help of the computer. She saw Booster Gold earlier, distinguishable because of the gold mask over his eyes, walking with Blue Beetle, who was also distinguishable by his shiny blue armor. Booster Gold was from the future, and Blue Beetle was a genius inventor. CJ remembered that much from reading the profiles.

She looked back down to her own profile. She didn't have any mission logs, mostly because she didn't know what they were, and partly because she hadn't been on an official mission. There was a fire she put out last week, but she got there when half the building was already burnt to crisps, having saw it on the news.

The people of Genocian City already knew CJ as Firebug, because she had saved that woman and boy from drowning when there was that car accident on the bridge. That was the first time she had flew, and it was only for a moment, but that was when people watching the news had seen that she could control fire. So at the fire, when she had put it out, the reporters swarmed her.

Having nothing better to do, she surfed the internet. She ended up looking at Genocian Gazette. She found the normal druggies caught, deadly divorces, adoptions gone wrong, murders unsolved. Then there were a few articles on Firebug.

CJ thought that they'd most likely be about the bridge incident, the attack at New York with the portals, or her firefighter moment. They were, in a sense, about these events, but one in particular was written now in the news, but was from a link that lead back to a blogging sight, whatever a blog was, written by someone calling themselves CherryMountain.

Firebug: Hero, or Hazard?

The new hero Firebug came out of nowhere. Literally.

One second, the Stahnton Bridge was full of only panicked people and damaged cars, and the next, Firebug was there to save the day.

She immediately ran towards a car that was teetering on the edge, about to fall to the river. The hero tried desperately to get the people inside to safety. Still, the car fell, before the hero could get anyone out.

This hero, like the members of the Justice League, let's say, didn't just stand by and watch the car fall through the air. She jumped from the safety of the bridge towards the sinking car, and just before impact, caught fire. One can only assume that is where she got the name. She saved the survivors, Jenna Carver and her son Jacob, from drowning in river.

Later in the week, she was seen flying around New York City, lighting up the sky like a firebug. It was unclear then if she was a member of the Justice League, saying in an interview, "No, I'm not. I'm simply here to help." A unanimous source tells us that it is official; she is a member of the League, and is here to stay.

We didn't get a good look at her face on the bridge, or as she flew around The Big City, but we did see it when she was in front of the camera in that interview. Facial recognition cannot identify her, but shockingly, matches her to an incident when the so-called hero blew up a car. The Justice League arrived quickly, but not in time. Phil Carlson, age twenty-nine, died instantly from third degree burns.

Interviews of residents of Genocian City, after hearing this news, asked,"I thought She was a hero?," and "Why would she do that?" Well, the answer is, no one knows.

Who if Firebug, and is she a true hero? Where did she come from, and how long has the League known about this?

CJ grew sad at this. This blogger person knew nothing about her, and the blog barely gave any insight onto how CJ could be a hazard. Yeah, she had killed Mr. Carlson on accident, and it was just that: an accident. Did this person hate CJ for some unknown reason, and want to make her feel bad by posting this passage? If that was so, they did a good job. CJ was already upset; she didn't need more people to bring up her worst memory.

She was curious as to how her face was recognized as her own. Batman had given her a new identity, but her name was on her license, which was her civilian alias, and on her profile in the Justice League. Had Batman made some program that messed up with the facial recognition software's so that they couldn't identify League Members? If so, Batman was really smart and really nice. CJ didn't need people coming to apartment and asking her about her first moments in this world.

CJ put the blog behind, knowing that she would be happier if she forgot about it. She began to grow bored again, and was about to go through the members' profiles again when she got a call on her comm. She only wore it when she was on the Watchtower. Now that she was a League member, she had expected to be asked to come on missions, but the world seemed quiet. She had been sitting in the lounge, waiting for Red Tornado to call her. She was about to be taught monitor duty.

"Red Tornado to Firebug." She grinned at the use of her hero name, and responded immediately. "Go ahead, Tornado."

"I am ready for you at the monitors."

"On my way."

She stood with a sigh of relief, and closed down the computer she had been using. She headed out towards the monitors. Finally, she would be contributing to the League somehow. She had asked days ago how she could help, and finally Superman responded, asking if she'd be willing to do monitor duty.

Finally, she was doing just that.

Monitor duty was fun for about an hour.

There was a program in the computer that made screens display anything that should be brought up to the League's attention, so literally, monitor duty consisted of sitting in the large swivel chair and watch the screens. A beep would sound if the computer found anything.

In the first five minutes, CJ's gaze flickered from screen to screen, searching. Ten minutes in, she was still searching, but had leaned back in the chair. Twenty minutes in, she stared at one, and watched it switch from city, to city, to city. Thirty minutes in, she was trying to guess which city was on the screen for the few seconds. This was tricky, because there were many that were new to her, not the same as in the world she grew up in. Forty minutes in, she was still guessing the cities, getting most of them wrong because of the weird angles. Fifty minutes, she was sighing loudly and staring out at Earth. An hour, she was spinning in the chair idly, ears straining to hear the beep.

The people of Earth didn't seem to need any help today.

She sat in that chair for three hours before Flash came to relieve her.

"First day on the monitors?" He asked, suddenly appearing next to her, having had sped into the room at the speed of light.

CJ jumped from the chair, finally happy to leave. She widened her eyes in boredom. "Yes. And thank you."

He shrugged with a lopsided grin. "You get used to it. We all have."

"I'm glad I got to help, seriously," CJ said as she walked away. She was glad to leave. "Next time warn me. I'll bring snacks."

"Always what I've done," Flash yelled to her as she walked through the doors, and she could imagine him still grinning. She was sure most League members left in a hurry like this, and that Flash wouldn't get offended. He hadn't sounded offended. He had almost sounded sympathetic.

CJ immediately headed to the cafeteria, where she encountered the rush hour, as she called it. This is where most of the League members gathered if they were all in one place. They weren't necessarily here to talk and be friendly, but because there was free food. It was why CJ always went. And it was good food. There were no cheap, rip off products, fake generic brands, or microwaveable packages (unless someone absolutely wanted a microwaveable package, then one was provided).

She ate a lot, to make up for her miserable time at the Watchtower that day. She had spent half of it staring at the profiles on a computer, and the other half at world views on a computer. She just wanted to fill her belly, then go home and sleep. She could have rented out a room at the Watchtower, but she really wanted her own comfy bed to sleep on. And Ted's amazing homemade hot cocoa.

Turns out, Ted wasn't at the apartment they shared, which made CJ's day even worse. It was 9:23 pm, and CJ didn't know where he was. He would have been up, working in his study. CJ had a cell phone, but rarely ever used it. She pulled it from her pocket, and frowned at the one unread message she had, waiting for her to read. She hadn't even felt it vibrate.

Taking the day off. Need a break from my research. Haven't gotten anywhere in weeks. Be home soon. -TD

TD. Theodore Daniel. It was a thing he did, and CJ found it amusing and charming, though she would never admit it out loud to him. The message had been sent at 5:48 pm. She and him had different definitions of soon.

The message was definitely from him, because of the TD at the end, and because he hadn't gotten anywhere in his research. Over their many talks in his study, Ted had complained to her multiple times that nothing was working. She had tried to help, and he got very upset, declaring that he had needed a distraction. CJ didn't know how to help with that. She knew that the distraction he was looking for wasn't a night out bowling, or going shopping. She didn't really know how to help, because he wouldn't say what, and it bugged CJ.

She hated seeing him almost through all the papers off his desk, or holding his forehead like he had a major headache, or pacing around the living room. Seeing him like that had activated hidden emotions inside her. Guilt, regret, depression, envy. She wasn't jealous of him, but she was jealous that other people would have been better at helping him in the situation.

It was part of the reason why she had been at the Watchtower all day. She hadn't wanted to see him like that anymore, and didn't want to stand around, helpless, while he struggled. She was glad that he was finally getting out of the house.

That is, until she got another text message from him at 9:56. She had been just about to go to bed, hoping that Wallace would return home safely, when her cell phone buzzed from her bed side table.

She opened the message, but frowned in confusion.

In think I gfiguTRed it ougt. Wshdere ARR yoku/

It took CJ at least five long minutes to try and decipher the message. I think I figured it out. Where are you? She hit the call button. Had he got stung by a bee and his thumbs got swollen? Figured what out? Was he texting the right person? They hadn't had a real conversation since the day before then, around noon.

Ted picked up almost immediately. "Hey!" He shouted, and his voice, with the very loud rock music in the background, made CJ cringe and pull the phone away from her ear for a moment.

"Ted? What's going on?"

"What?" He yelled, but he must have been taking to someone on his line. "CJ! Can you come pick me up?"

"Pick you up? What do you mean?"

"You know! With your car?"

CJ slumped in disappointment. Was he trying to make a joke? "What are you talking about? I don't own a car."

"Really?" he asked, his voice quieting only for a moment. Then he burst out laughing. "Wow. Right, right. I can't believe I forgot that you can fly." He chuckled some more.

"Where are you?" She asked, standing from her bed, slipping into her fireproof clothing. She wasn't worried that he had just mentioned that she could fly, anyone around him that might have heard would probably just think he's crazy, which is good, because her identity was safe.

"Uhhhh," he drew out, then shouted again. "Oh! Right! Benny's! I'm with the guys!"

CJ didn't know who the guys were, but she knew what Benny's was. She had went there her first few nights at Ted's, to get some dinners for her and Wallace, and to grab a beer or two, upset when she couldn't find a job right away. It was only down the street. "You're at a bar? Wait, are you drunk?" She can't believe she hadn't heard it before. The yelling, the odd chuckling, him thinking she owned a car. Now that she knew, she actually heard the slur in his voice. So his solution to his struggle at his work was to get drunk. How was that supposed to help him?

"What? Trunks? Why are we talking about swimming?"

She shook her head. "Don't go anywhere. I'm coming to get you." Before he could say anything else, she hung up on him and opened her window. She had obtained fingerless gloves, also fire proof, and also had added a few chains to one pair of fireproof pants, to kind of blend in more as a civilian if she ever went out not intending to be Firebug. This was one of those situations. With the chains, and her hair up in a sloppy bun with dark eyeliner, and if she rolled her jacket sleeves up to reveal the gloves, she looked like a street punk or a goth. She dropped her phone on her bed, because it couldn't withstand her fire, and then stepped out onto the fire escape. She didn't care if her neighbors saw her fall towards the street and caught fire. She was too worried about Ted to care.

She arrived at Benny's within a minute, and once she came around the alley to head into the front entrance, she was surprised to see Ted out front with two very large biker-looking dudes.

"Thanks, guys," Ted was saying, patting the two men on their arms real quick in a dismissal. CJ thought maybe they were going to attack him for touching them, but they both grinned. The one on the left slapped him back, almost making him fall over. The biker caught and up righted him with a chuckle. "Anytime, Teddy. See you next time, alright?"

Ted grinned and blinked hazily. "Yeah." He was in his usual button up light blue dress shirt, black slacks, and polished black shoes, but drunk, he looked gruffy and just, oblivious. His shirt was rumpled and untucked, the first two buttons undone, revealing a small piece of his chest, the sleeves rolled up but done sloppily, and his hair ruffled on one side and flattened on the other, like he had teased all his hair and slept only on one side of his head. He also had bags under his eyes and was smiling like he was on drugs. CJ hoped not.

"Ted?" CJ asked as she approached, glancing at the bikers as she did. She didn't know if they were actually friends of Ted's or if they were just laying with him. All three looked up at her, and CJ didn't know if her outfit helped her in this situation. The two bikers tensed up, but Ted waved them away. "It's CJ." These had to be the "guys?"

The two seemed to understand, and walked away, saying goodbye to Ted again.

Ted lifted his hand with a "Hey," to wave at her, but the motion made him unbalanced, and he began to tip towards his raised arm. CJ ran and caught him just in time, but she stumbled under his limp weight. "Theodore," she gasped, surprised that he had let himself fall into her. He was heavy, for a not-too-buff guy.

He chuckled, not putting any effort to hold himself up. CJ almost fell herself, trying to keep him upright. She got a whiff of his breath and cringed; he had definitely not been drinking beer. Maybe whiskey or scotch.

She slipped his arm around his shoulder and tried to help him stand again. "Okay, let's walk."

He only barely acknowledged what she said, and CJ had to do most of the work. She was practically dragging him. Their apartment was only a few minutes' walk down the road, but at this rate, it would take ten to fifteen. And they had to go up six flights of stairs. The trip was going to be long.

"Are you wearing makeup?" Ted asked her once they began walking, his voice filed with disbelief and amusement. "Trying to look pretty for me?" He asked sarcastically, then laughed. "Ha. Pop."

She ignored him, determined to get him home before he passed out.

"You never wear makeup," he stated. It was true.

"Shut up." She didn't want to tell him that she only did it to blend in. She didn't want to tell him anything right now. He was no doubt drunk, and wouldn't remember any of this the next morning.

He chuckled again, and he turned his head towards her. She cringed away from his breath, and the closeness of his face to hers. He voice lowered, and his tone grew serious and sensual. He pretty much purred it. "I like it when you call me Theodore."

She almost tripped over her own feet in shock, but managed to keep both of them upright. She usually only called him that when she was angry with him, but a play angry. She did it to make him upset, so that he would stop getting her upset.

His voice when he had said that was completely unexpected. She grew hot all over, and wanted to drop him then and there and run. She didn't really know what it meant. Obviously, he liked it when she called him by his full name, but his words meant something else as well. CJ didn't want to think about it, but as she tried to ignore him smelling her hair and what he had said, the feeling still consumed her. She was so confused and troubled at that moment, she felt like exploding like a super nova just to destroy something, but definitely didn't want to hurt Ted.

"CccccccJjjjjjj," Ted whispered, drawing it out in a singsong tone.

She tried to ignore him, turning a corner and passing people who glanced at them oddly, but he kept doing it until she answered him. "What?"

"You smell good."

She groaned inwardly. She knew that he had been sniffing her hair, but she didn't want him to acknowledge it.

She breathed out a rugged sigh from her nose. She tried to make him take it back, or get off the topic. "I smell like smoke."

He smiled, and with the arm that wasn't around CJ, he tried to reach up- to do what, CJ didn't want to think about- but he was too drunk, and ended up hitting her in the side. "Not smoke. Fire. You are fire. You smell like fire. I like you. Therefore, I like your smell."

CJ cringed again. He meant it as if they were friends. He liked her as a friend. Even telling herself this, it still made her arms shake nervously and burn, the blood rushing to her skin. With the nervousness also came a small change in temperature, but nothing to make anyone near her uncomfortable.

CJ hated having to endure this. When she was around Ted, she felt completely comfortable and safe. She felt like they understood each other, and didn't step over marked boundaries. When he said certain things, that implied that he was saying she was a good friend, or that she was a good person, CJ felt the stir of emotions. She partly knew what they were, but they brought so much confusion, she didn't understand what it meant half the time.

With Ted saying this stuff, CJ felt the confusion once again. She cared about him, more than anyone else in the world, she realized, but she didn't know why. What were these feelings that she felt, and what were his that caused him to say these things?

She really wished he would shut up, so life could be so much easier.

But no, he had to keep telling her things. "I had a dream about you once. Actually, I have a lot about you, but this one was different."

CJ almost dropped him again, and tried to block him out. She begged inwardly for him to stop, but knew he wouldn't unless he had duct tape or something covering his mouth.

"You were there. On fire. Beautiful and deadly. You were standing over someone, protecting them. You looked like you would have killed anyone to save that person on the ground." He paused. "Do you smell bubbles?"

She didn't think she heard most of what he said, because his words were becoming more drawn out slurs, but she caught the last piece. She didn't think bubbles smelled. She looked up at him to see if he was serious and noticed that his eyelids were growing heavy. "No, no. Stay awake, Ted."

He perked up a little, and frowned. "You called me Ted."

"I did."

"I like Theodore better." He shrugged. "From you, anyways."

She groaned. Luckily, they were finally outside their apartment building. "Here we go," she told him. "There are some steps here. Can you walk up them?"

He looked down at the step by his foot, and slowly lifted his foot onto it. He chuckled again as he did, but when he tried to lift his other foot, he almost fell backward.

After some struggle, CJ ended up mostly behind him, pushing him up the stairs and making sure that he didn't tilt backward, but pulled him from falling forward, all at the same time. After a long two minutes, they made it to the top of the eleven steps, and inside to the first floor.

There was a love seat- CJ groaned at the name of it- on the first floor, and CJ led him over to it. "Let's take a small break, huh?"

She pulled him down to sit, and he elbowed her in the arm. "Sorry," he mumbled, reaching up and rubbing her arm where he hit her. She shifted uncomfortably. "It's fine."

They were only on the piece of furniture for about a minute before CJ noticed that Ted was about to pass out. She jumped up and held his face. "No, no, no. Ted, stay awake. We gotta get upstairs." With no visible sign that he had heard her, she let out a sigh of guilt before she slapped him across the face. Hard.

He woke up instantly, blinking rapidly. She still held his jaw. "Ted, you are walking up those stairs with me. Do you understand?"

He blinked again, then grinned. A twinkle in his eyes made CJ shrink back a little. She grabbed his arm and helped him up.

It was a long time before the two got back up to the apartment. Ted was about to pass out, so CJ just dropped him onto the couch. He fell asleep grinning, and immediately began to snore. It wasn't loud, which was why CJ hadn't ever heard it before. Plus, he stayed up way later than she did, and she never got the chance to see him fall asleep. Even when she woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, she still didn't hear it. She didn't deliberately pause outside his door to listen into his room.

She let out a long sigh of relief, having gotten him safely home. But she was still left with all of the emotions that he had stirred up in her. There was something different about Ted that brought these emotions out in her. He had to be special in order to do it, because no one else had. She stayed up most of that night, trying to figure out what they meant.

If you didn't know: It's now a tradition that I add this column to all my future stories. The end of each chapter tells the readers some things that were not specifically mentioned, but were hinted at that may be confusing.

Obviously, CJ has feeling for Ted, but just doesn't know it. She had never felt love before, and so it's hard for her to understand. She doesn't hate him or anything, and it may look like it, but she just wanted him to stop so she didn't have to acknowledge the feelings she has for him.

I'm not really sure why I put in that Hero or Hazard blog thing. I guess I was bored and wanted to add some fillers.

I've got the general idea of the plot, but not all the small details. CJ will be a hero to Genocian City, she'll have moments with Ted, and she will see her sister again.

Seriously, I would really, really, really, really like a few suggestions as to what you guys think should happen in the story. If you're an artist that likes to create pieces for other people for free, seriously consider making my cover. I'm an amateur, but maybe I'll even do it if I don't get any messages, who knows.

I'm shipping them as Cynthadore. May sound lame, but I couldn't come up with anything else that sounded right. Cynthia. Theodore. Cynthadore.

Sorry, I know half this chapter is me communicating to my readers (literally, almost 1,000 of it is this and in the beginning), and so if you don't read these, I could say that you may be missing some things, and I could also say that. I hope everyone who loves the story can find this! AKA the reviewers, the followers, and the favoriters who read the last book.

Who wants to see who? Tell me and I'll throw them in, and if we want more than a glimpse, let me know. The first book I had many suggest Raven, and CJ had a decent conversation with her. So if you want your favorite character to have a nice conversation like that, let me know and we'll fit it in somehow! There will definitely be some Flash, since he is my favorite! Who's yours?