Saint Joseph School

My parents sent me here after I burned the roof off our house. Oh! Did I skip over that part? Haah! Well, okay...

I came here from New Haven, which is about an hour and a half away from here. It's kind of nice being far from home while still being close enough to visit on weekends, I think. My life was pretty normal there. I went to school, I was the assistant editor for the school newspaper, I played a few sports, that kind of thing. Erm. Then one day I kind of set my roof on fire. Whoops? I didn't know it was me that did it at the time, though. I just woke up and there was smoke everywhere and sirens were blazing outside. Nobody got hurt and it wasn't a bad fire at all, but the fire marshal was stumped. He couldn't figure out how it had started. Neither could we.

That's when things started getting *really* weird. Like one time, at dinner, everybody's drinks randomly started to boil, completely out of nowhere. And sometimes these *huge* gusts of wind would just blast out of some empty room and knock things all over the place. We kept all of our shoes by the door, and one day we found the rubber melted to the linoleum. We were thinking we'd gotten a poltergeist or something, because we couldn't figure out what was causing all this stuff to happen. My parents were actually thinking of moving to another house.

Then one day it all started to make a lot more sense. My dad writes for the New Haven Picayune, and usually he just reports on news but sometimes he'll do a theater review if the person who normally does it is out on vacation or something, so my dad brought the whole family to a performance at the university. It was this kind of weird experimental theater thing. I didn't really understand it, but I thought it was pretty good. So we get up and we start clapping, and all of a sudden my hands catch fire. Fwoof! Just like that. It went right out afterward. I kind of looked at my little brother, we're both kind of wondering if we really saw what we think we both just saw, so I start clapping again and up they go. It didn't really hurt, but it lasted a little longer and this time my mom saw it and started screaming and--well, yeah, let's just say my dad felt obligated to write a really, really good review.

They got me tested and it turns out I'm a mutant. Right now I can just set things on fire pretty much, but they think one day I'll be able to use it to create atmospheric changes, which is kind of mind-blowing. It's a lot of responsibility. My parents knew I'd have to learn to get this under control. They couldn't really decide on whether to keep me at home or to send me to a special school. Then they got their insurance statement and their premiums had like doubled or something, so that kind of helped them make their decision. It's no big deal, like I said. I'm still close enough to visit, and what I've seen of Paragon City so far is really, really great.

I don't know if I'm going to do this hero thing for good, but I'd like to give it a try for a little while at least. It seems like a great way to practice my powers and help people out, and there's no better place to do it than here.

((Reserved for future posts, but please feel free to post greetings below. ))

Hey I'm Ty! We can hang anytime, just shout over the comm and I'll hear....probably, anyhoo! GOOOOOO FLYERS!

Um....hey Bobby...

Hey Bobby. Welcome to St. Joes, luckily, the school's pretty fireproof. Even luckier is I'm pretty fireproof. Give a holler if you need anything.

Hiya, Bobby! Name's Ves. I'm not so fireproof as Sam, but don't let that worry you any. Welcome to St. Joe's!

Layla notices Bobby getting his books from his locker and grins as she fades from sight. She quietly sneaks up right behind him, trying her best not to laugh at how perfect this is.

As soon as she right behind him, she fades back into sight and shouts, "Hiya, Bobby!"

"Gyah!" Bobby yelps. His books fly everywhere. His body ignites for just a fraction of a second, singing the edges of his collar and sleeves.

"One of these days, Layla, to the moon!" He pumps a fist in her direction, obviously kidding. "I'm going to Algebra. Want to come with me?"

Hi roomie! You should be more careful, you don't want to burn your clothes off again.

"Oh, man that NEVER gets old!" Layla laughs as she playfully puts Bobby in a headlock and musses his hair before letting go to adjust her backpack. "Yeah, I'm headed to Chemistry. I think it's that way."

She looks at Aiden as he walks up. "Again? What's this? Crazy times at the boys' quad?"

((Issue 11 update:))

Bobby has almost completely fallen in love with his new life in Paragon City. His amusingly hyperbolic personality has helped him fit into the school community well, and he's made fast friends with several students. His best friend is the tomboyish Layla Stevens with whom, despite their incessant making fun of one another, he clearly has a close platonic connection. Bobby is regularly teased about his name and anything else that can get traction. He extends every effort to make it seem like he hates it, but he might also secretly love the attention. Ever the overachiever, he keeps his grades up and is actively involved in sports, clubs, and activities. Most of all, though, and to his surprise, he's started to fall in love with heroism.

Bobby came to school with the understanding that he was not to become a superhero. His parents informed him that he would graduate with his powers in control, get into a good college, and major in something that could be turned into a profitable career. Bobby now keeps his newfound activities from his parents, fabricating stories about what he does when he's not focusing on his academics and extracurriculars. Bobby quietly wonders if he'll be able to keep the secret from them until he's no longer obligated to them or if he'll have to find a way to break it to them sooner.

((Issue 15 update!))

Bobby has really settled in at Saint Joe's. It feels as much a home to him as any place ever has--especially since his relationship with his parents imploded over Christmas following the events of Parental Guidance Suggested. He's realized that his work as a hero means a great deal to him, and he goes out on patrol regularly. His aloof, outgoing nature seems to have made him fairly popular as he enters his senior year (to his amazement), and he maintains a position as one of the top-ranked students in his class.

Despite this, he still struggles to find a girlfriend.