Special thank you to
@hellgodsrus for being an awesomesauce beta. Seriously, go read her stuff too.
Special Notice: This story is designed to be read on the default SV theme. The grey with blue trim one. If you're having issues reading it on another theme, please bear in mind it's not my fault
BURN!
Interlude: First Degree
-.-.-
He pushed forward, ignoring the ice on his skin, carrying the extra-large briefcase he kept his sniper rifle in. This was it… this was the end.
He heard a snip from a car radio that'd been left going. "Citizens of Brockton Bay, please stay inside the Endbringer Shelters. This is not a drill."
Not a drill.
Heh. As if uttering the phrase "This is not a drill!" ever helped anyone.
Victor shook his head, and kept moving forward.
Losing Othala hit hard. But… not as hard as he imagined it would have. It worried him a little, that sociopathic tendencies might have been one of the skills he'd stolen. If he could even steal such a thing.
So many lost.
And for what gain?
If he'd been there sooner. If he'd been able to set up just a bit quicker.
If he'd just had that
angle.
It could have been over so much sooner. What that girl… that
demon had said resonated through him.
That's what you get for playing with Pyre.
Maybe he shouldn't have accepted the overwatch position for Clarence's drug shipment. Stormtiger had been on the roster for that night. But he'd somehow roped Victor and Othala into trading slots with him.
It wasn't hard to find the impromptu field base the rest of the cape community was using. A construction site, as it turned out. Nothing more than a frame and floors.
It was bustling.
It was quiet.
Everyone was mourning those lost or licking their own wounds. Victor took a deep, chilling breath, and steeled his will, striding over to Miss Militia. One of the few capes who might have even had a chance of hurting Pyre, assuming her power's… ammunition, as it were, could even hit the demon.
"Miss Militia," he nodded, almost respectfully. You had to respect everyone else here, regardless of who they were or what they'd done.
They had banded together to fight what was quickly becoming an S-Class threat in retaliation.
"Victor?" the camo-laden Protectorate cape almost started in surprise. "What are you doing here? I didn't see you back at the fight."
Victor shrugged. "Even with my power, I'm nothing more than a perfect human. There was nothing I could do then."
Miss Militia narrowed her eyes slightly. "Then. And now?"
The Empire cape straightened just a tiny bit under the accusation, raising his voice. "Pyre is dead."
That had an effect on the whole site. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him, incredulous, hopeful, hurt. They were glad she was dead. They were unhappy that
Victor got the claim.
"Ex
cuse me?" Rune staggered to her feet, before tripping on her cloak and slamming face-first into the ground. "
Fuck!" she yelled, scrambling to her feet again before pointing her finger at Victor. "How the fuck did you kill her?! We- fucking hell-
everyone here went all-out on her! You don't even have a real pow-"
She was shut up by Kaiser lurching up behind her and smacking her in the back of the head. "Shut it, girl," he growled, getting a murmur of thanks from some in the crowd before he too confronted Victor. "She does have a point, though. You are… just human. More human than most of us."
Victor nodded. "I admit, I am only human," he looked out over the crowd, challenging them to say otherwise. "But so was she."
"You…"
"I killed Pyre in her civilian identity." Victor stated. "I hope this isn't a problem?" he said, raising an eyebrow and making it very clear that if it
was a problem, shit was going to go down.
People bristled for a moment. The occasional injured-but-still-alive moan came from the medic tent. But they all came to their senses. A general murmur of agreement rose; Pyre was dead, and they weren't. That was a good thing.
"Come on, I'll show you her corpse." Victor said, jerking his head back in the direction he came. Kaiser and Stormtiger were the first to follow. Stormtiger seemed fine… but Kaiser had made himself a cane and sported a heavy limp.
Miss Militia knelt down to check on Armsmaster one last time. His breathing was thick and laboured, more of a wheeze than anything else. He tried to say something, to tell her to make sure, but he just started coughing, sending droplets of blood over the front of his armour.
"Stay put. Panacea is on her way…" Miss Militia reassured him, watching Victor walk off with a string of capes after him, Lung included. "I'll be back."
-.-.-
Ethan waited outside the room, wringing his hands nervously. He'd heard the news; Pyre was at it at again. There were
very few people who hadn't gone to the shelters, and half the PRT made up the majority of them.
Battery had gone off to fight Pyre… even when he'd told her- asked her not to. He didn't know what he'd do if she didn't make it. Velocity was still texting him updates every now and then and he was glad to know she was alive.
Even if she had set herself on fire.
He'd tried to warn her. Her powerset was quite heavily melee-based. And one thing you did
not want to do was get close to Pyre.
That was why Tattletale was currently in the Operating Theater, hopefully getting her flatline fixed. Ethan didn't know why he was so sure she'd make it. Panacea couldn't do it… why would doctors have any better luck?
His attention was caught by his phone. New text from Velocity.
>You aren't gonna believe this. Victor sniped Pyre.
<what
>Confirming it now. How's Tattletale?
<no updates
>Good luck then.
He sighed. Victor. The one guy who's power wasn't even a… power? He stole skills. Nothing special like super-speed or kinetic manipulation, or… summoning guns. He wasn't even a bullshit Tinker and
he took out the pyro of the decade.
That… was a little underwhelming, if he had to be honest about it. Someone like Purity should have had a better chance.
<hey, how'd he snipe pyre? didn't he already try that once and get exploded?
>CID
<fuck
Ethan groaned, pulling on his face as he struggled to come to terms with it. Pyre's Civvie ID. The unwritten rules…
God, this was such a clusterfuck.
As though fate itself conspired against him, a doctor came out, removing her crimson-coated gloves with a wet smacking sound.
He looked up at her, hopeful.
She shook her head. "I'm sorry. She didn't make it."
-.-.-
Sheo nibbled on a cheese wedge, watching the girl curiously. "Well, mortal. Do ya have a name?"
The girl coughed for a moment. "Y-yes, I do, it's-"
"WAIT!" Sheo exclaimed loudly, throwing up his arms. "I want to guess!"
She glared at him.
"Is it… Dave?"
"What?!" The girl stared at him incredulously. "No, it's-"
"Francis!"
"N-" she was stopped by another bout of hacking and coughing and wheezing, trying to get her breath back. Her heart- oh god why did it-
"Hmm… seems like you've got a bit of a parasitic infection going on." Sheo mentioned, leaning close and peering at her forehead while she was nearly doubled over in pain, unable to breath, unable to speak, unable to
think over the roaring in her ears-
And suddenly it was gone.
She heaved in a great breath. Painlessly.
"Wh-" she paused, expecting her lungs and vocal chords to suddenly seize up… but they didn't. "What just happened?"
Sheo looked up in surprise from the tart he'd shoved in his maw. "Mph? Wffle, yfouff kiffa fief."
"Don't talk with your mouth full."
A moment of chewing and swallowing later, Sheo patted his lips with a napkin and leveled a gaze into her eyes. "You just died."
It… was like an immense cold swept through her bones. "Wh- what?" she repeated, blinking several times. "C-could you say that again?"
"You. Died." Sheo said, quite serious for a moment. And then his face split open into a shit-eating grin and he bellowed with laughter. "You should see your face, lass!" he cackled uproariously, slamming his fist into the table and making the silverware clatter.
The girl looked downcast for a moment, tears welling up in her eyes and threatening to spill.
"Seriously though, you're dead now. That means I can introduce you to Pelly!" Sheo grinned, before his voice took on a more inside-tone. "He outlawed death, you know."
"What the fuck?!" she screamed, waving her arms around and gesturing at things without reason. "Why am I here?!
How am I here?! What is even going on-"
"Shhhh, lass, enjoy the quiet." Sheo advised, closing his eyes and holding his arms out. "Oh, and this
may pinch a wee bit-"
-.-.-
The blackened, charred body moved, struggling to crawl for the door. She… she had to warn them.
Hebert.
Mother-fucking
Hebert.
The weakass bitch who'd never fought back. The
prey she'd happily walked all over until last week. Then something had changed and all she'd wanted to do was find out
what.
Sophia grunted in pain as she dragged herself half an inch closer to the door.
Figures, the weakling would've triggered in the locker. But
Pyre?!
How the
fuck had she kept that kind of power secret for… for three whole months. Three goddamn
months.
And then the bitch just goes on a meteor bender and-
Jesus fucking Christ-
how was a pathetic bitch like her allowed to have a power like that?!
Pyre…
Sophia stopped, panting for breath, wheezing and hissing. Her lungs didn't work like they used to. Not much of her worked anymore… She tried to move into shadow-state, but it only granted her a moment's reprieve before she fell into unconsciousness and jerked into reality again.
Fucking Hebert.
I'll… I'll show that bitch who's boss…
She barely managed to crawl into the hallway before her phone rang.
-.-.-
The lights flickered ominously. At least the earthquakes had stopped. Were they earthquakes in the first place though? There were rumors spreading through the shelter. There were a ton of capes in the city that could cause seismic events on their own. Menja, Fenja, Purity if she put some effort into it. Rune if she was feeling particularly destructive.
That bomb-Tinker the ABB was rumoured to have, the one who'd blown up her school.
The possibilities scared everyone.
Emma's mind was in overdrive- it had been for the last few hours. After Taylor had choked her out and accused her of… attempted murder…
That had taken a lot of quick thinking and fast talking to get out of in one piece.
She'd seen a light in Taylor's eyes. They weren't maroon were they? Was maroon even a natural eye colour? Emma would have put it down to contacts but she'd still been wearing her glasses.
Something was off. Something was very, very wrong.
Madison had reacted really badly when Emma had suggested another prank on Taylor. Her eyes had gone wide and she'd started shaking her head frantically. Mentioned something about consequences before rushing off.
Sophia… Sophia could handle herself. It wasn't like the hero Shadow Stalker couldn't handle Taylor.
…
But…
What if she couldn't handle whatever Taylor had
become?
A skinny, weak thing like her should
not have been capable of holding Emma up by the neck one-handed without any visible strain. Sophia had warned her about her burned wrist after the soda prank.
Come to think of it, where
was Sophia? Emma knew the Wards weren't expected to fight S-Class threats, or anything big like Lung or… Night, Purity, Oni Lee. They weren't allowed to fight the heavy hitters.
She looked around the crowd, trying to spot the dark-skinned heroine. Alas, she couldn't find her friend. The chances of her fighting were low. She hadn't seen her since lunchtime. So where the hell would she be?
Emma tried her phone for the upteenth time. Fucking thing either got no signal or Sophia wasn't answering. She huffed.
Nothing was going her way toda-
"
H-" the voice on the other end of the phone gasped and wheezed, devolving into a coughing fit.
"
Sophia!" Emma damn near hissed in relief. "You're okay!"
"
N-no, I-" she was interrupted again by her struggles to breathe, "
I'm not… Heb-"
"Taylor?" Emma frowned. "What about her?"
"
K- keep aw… away…" Sophia's shuddering breathing seemed to silence as she dropped her phone.
"Sophia?
Sophia!" Emma frantically tried to get a response.
Nothing.
Not even the hushed whisper of breathing.
She sat there, something stinging at her eyes while she held her breath, listening as carefully as she could over the general rabble of conversations for any hint Sophia was still there. She hadn't hung up. Sophia was still there.
Still…
Still there.
She wasn't gone. She was strong. Like Emma. Emma was strong. Like Sophia. Sophia was strong.
Oh god, oh god, please still be there-
"Emma," her father called, pushing his way past several people to find her, "Emma- what's wrong?"
She wasn't crying. She was strong. "N-nothing," she said, her voice hoarse. Sophia hadn't hung up. She was going to keep listening. Hoping.
"Then why are you crying?"
Damnit, Dad, has tact ever
been your thing? Emma scowled and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. Damn, now her makeup was going to smudge. "I'm not," she grumbled, not taking the phone away from her ear. If Sophia was going to speak up, she wasn't going to miss it.
Sophia would have done the same for her, right?
-.-.-
She woke up with the mother of all headaches- but oddly didn't feel at all inconvenienced by it.
"Ah, mortal, you're awake!" Sheo grinned that huge grin of his and helped her to her feet, clapping her on the back while he laughed uproariously. "Good thing, too. I'm beginning to find myself quite fond of your company."
"R-" she coughed, taking a heaving breath and
marvelling at how clear and unobstructed it was. "Really."
"Quite." Sheo noded, as though there was nothing wrong in the world. "Now, about your parasite problem-"
"What parasite?" she interrupted, confused. Last she was aware, she had… nothing parasitic at all.
"Well, y'see, lass," Sheo began, summoning a cane-like stick to his hand and waving the tip around for emphasis as he started pacing around the table, "You had a bit of a worm stuck in your brain. Caused a nasty lump of Herma knows what, and-"
"Gemma Corona," the girl muttered, screwing up her face. "Of-fucking-course. Powers."
"Ex
cuse me, lass," Sheo threw a glazed cherry at her, popping a tiny grin as it bounced off her forehead and chest to land in a sweet roll, "But as I was saying, I fixed it." The smug look on his face was almost infuriating.
"Th- thanks?" the girl looked confused for a moment, gingerly testing to see if anything had changed. There wasn't anything different… that she could feel, anyway.
"You're quite welcome, m'dear," Sheo grinned spreading his arms and bowing mockingly. "Thank you, thank you, please, no need to hold in your applause."
The girl clapped sarcastically, humouring the madman.
"Why am I here?" she asked, regaining her confidence now that she felt like herself again. "What are you doing here?"
"Like I said, lass," Sheo leaned on a chair as he grabbed a tart, taking small bites as he spoke, "Beasties have been playing around with magic that isn't theirs. This usually leads to a common problem known as Bad News."
"Beasties? And magic. Really."
"Aye, lass. You're dead." Sheo grinned. "Let me introduce you to my old friend, Pelagius the Third-" he paused, a look of concern crossing his features. "Something's not right," he muttered under his breath, ignoring the girl and taking quick strides down the path, his cane clacking with every step.
"Hey, where are you-"
"NO TIME, LASS!" Sheo yelled, gesturing for her to follow him without looking back. "WE'RE ABOUT TO MISS THE PARTY!"
-.-.-
Victor lead them back to where the fight had taken place. "I was up there," he said blandly, raising his arm and pointing to what looked like an abandoned four-story building a couple-hundred meters away.
The smell of Night's charbroiled corpse still haunted the air. Her unrecognisable face had frosted over, her one remaining hand reaching out, clawing for help that would never arrive.
Snow and ash billowed in the howling wind.
Fires still raged in the wreck of the Merchant warehouse.
"And she-" he paused, looking to where Pyre's corpse…
A chill collectively ran down their spines.
"She
was there."
