Chapter One: All Good Things Go Up In Smoke Alarms sounded, blaring down the roads and waking up the residents of every apartment building on the east side of the city. As people rose from their deep sleeps, groggily looking out their windows, they suddenly became wide-­‐awake and alert. To the west, a building situated just off the river was billowing black smoke and flaring flames from windows. Detective Luc smacked his hand against the window furiously, upset that he would have to leave his apartment and the temptations currently housed within its walls. He looked at Stella, the escort he had hired to make Commissioner Truman jealous, and smacked her on the butt. “Sorry Stella, but it is time for you to go. Grab some cash out of my wallet and be gone by the time I get out of the shower.” Detective Luc turned and closed the bathroom door behind him. Stella brown hair flowed over her shoulders as she let it down from the ponytail Detective Luc had asked for. She pulled her panties on and slipped into her pink sundress, grabbing her heels and sitting on the bed. She took her normal rate, five thousand credits, from the man’s wallet and silently left the apartment. She left the building in a hurry, quickly blending in to the throngs of people walking towards the carnage of the West Tower. Stella disappeared, never to be seen again by Detective Luc. An hour later, the police had blocked off access to the West Tower. Detective Luc jumped down from his helicopter and ran over to the command center. “Smith, what the hell is going on. Why am I shortening my time off to come down here?” Smith froze at the booming sound of his commanding officer. His voice quivered as he spoke, “Well..ll sirr. Wee..eeee weren’t really sure wh-­‐at to do about this situation. Everythin-­‐-­‐-­‐g lines up with the work of Smoke.” Detective Luc slammed his fist down on the table. “There is no such person as Smoke, you imbecile!” Smith looked down, defeated by the response of the detective. “Now, someone with half a brain explain to me what happened!” Luc stood six and a half feet tall, an anomaly in the year 3142. He was built like a house, his muscles bulging out of his shirts and intimidating those around him. His flowing black hair and full beard were only permitted because no one wanted to cross him. Commissioner Truman stepped into the command center, demanding that Luc follow him outside. Luc turned and followed his boss. “Gas lines have been tampered with and a flare was seen just inside the building at the center of the explosion. No view of what or who threw the flare. This is the third building this month to be destroyed in this manner. Most importantly, Detective, we found the body of CEO and President of Holocronetic Industries Thomas Bjorn inside at his desk. He is dead.” The commissioner stepped back as he saw Luc grab the nearest bench and fling it towards the ruined building. Luc followed the bench with his eyes and saw it strike someone who had been crawling from the rubble. He and the commissioner sprinted to the body and called for the medics. The young girl, no more than 17 or 18, was unconscious and unresponsive. Her blonde hair was dyed red with the gushing blood form her fresh wound. Scrapes and bruises covered her legs and arms, showing through the cuts in her jeans and her black leather jacket. The girl was wrapped in a teleportation blanket and the medics input the hospitals coordinates on the dash.

Three days later, Detective Luc woke up from his nap in the uncomfortable armchair in the girl’s room. Despite 48 hours of nonstop searching, the police had been unable to locate a guardian or parent of the girl. In fact, they had been unable to find any kind of identification of who she was. Luc had decided he would wait and hear it from the girl herself. He pulled the girl’s blanket over her and went to find some coffee. Ten minutes later, he returned to the sound of the girl gasping for air. When her eyes landed on Detective Luc, she curled up into a ball on her bed, attempting to hide herself fruitlessly. “Hello little one, I am not going to hurt you. Give me just one moment please.” He stepped out and asked the nearest nurse to bring some breakfast for the two of them. He returned to find the girl slightly more relaxed. “Are you hungry? I am having the nurse bring some breakfast up for you. Do you know where you are?” The girl looked around, “I know I am in a hospital...though I have no idea which one. Why am I here?” “Well, you were crawling out of the wreckage of the West Tower and you took a blow to the head from some falling rubble.” Luc said this with no hesitation whatsoever. “Do you know what your name is?” “I am Marie. Marie Oswald. I am from Norwagenia across the Roaring River. I am from the Viken tribe, so you probably do not have any information on me. My family died last night in that tower.” “I am sorry for your loss, Ms. Marie. Would you mind answering just a few more questions?” “Ask away Detective. I have nowhere to go.” The nurse came in with the breakfast trays and Luc handed one to Marie. She sat up and began to eat her fruits and proteins. “What would you like to know?” “First, why were you and your family in the Tower? I thought the Viken people didn’t like our way of life.” “Well, as I am sure you know, the infamous Mr. Bjorn was in the tower as well. His bastard son was also there, since we had been dating for a few months. Stefan wanted me to meet his father and my parents found out and came to cause problems. Why I am the only one to survive is beyond me...I guess you could call me the lucky one.” “You poor girl. Do you remember smelling anything unusual or seeing anything unusual?” “No sir. I had gone to the bathroom when the explosions started and I bailed on everyone else, thinking they had gotten out when the first explosion happened. Clearly, I was wrong.” “Well, thank you for your time Ms. Marie. If I have any more questions, I know where to find you. Have a good day and again, I am truly sorry for your loss.” “Thank you Detective. I hope you resolve this soon.” She watched the man turn and enter the elevator before she slipped back into peaceful sleep. That night, Marie stood in the bathroom with the door shut. As she looked in the mirror, she watched as she changed the color of her hair from blonde to brown to black before settling on an auburn color. Next, she changed her eye color from blue to hazel and contorted her facial expression to a more chiseled and tight look. She quickly braided her hair and let it run down her spine as she changed her height, shrinking a few inches. She grabbed her clothes and hurried out of the hospital, leaving a note on the bed. Scrawled

across the paper in messy writing were the words, “Sorry Detective, you are too easy to mess with. You should know you cannot catch smoke with your hands. Game on.”