Emberline

Origin

Kofi Adjei led a hand crew on wildfires for eleven seasons. On the worst day of his career the wind turned a controlled burn into a wall of flame, and a rookie on his crew froze on the fire line. Kofi went back for him, got him into a shelter, and then covered the shelter with his own body as the fire ran over them.

The rookie walked out without a burn. Kofi walked out too, which should not have been possible, with the fire somehow inside him instead of on him. His skin was warm for weeks, and in the dark his veins glowed like the last coals in a campfire.

Powers

Emberline absorbs heat and fire into his body and stores it. Walk him into a burning building and the flames bend toward him and go out; the building cools behind him as he goes. He can hold an enormous amount of heat and release it slowly as light and warmth, which has kept more than one stranded family alive through a freezing night.

The cost is that a full charge makes him too hot to touch, so he has to let it out before he can hug his kids. Cold weakens him badly, and he cannot create fire, only take it.

Costume and look

His suit is charcoal black, cut like the fire-resistant gear he wore for a decade, with ember-orange seams that glow as he fills with heat. The forearms have a cracked, lava-like texture where the heat runs hottest. No cape, no helmet, no emblem.

He is the calm one. On a crew you learn that panic burns people, so he speaks slowly and never runs unless someone needs him to.

His rule

Emberline's rule is the one every firefighter knows: everybody goes home. He is the member of the Universe who counts heads, who refuses to leave until the last person is out, and who talks the others out of taking risks that do not save anyone.

He is an original character of the Next Level Universe, created for this brand with our own art.

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