A Dark Beginning

[Running]

((I'm posting my story here as well. For those not familiar with it on SB, it was a superhero oneshot that rapidly got out of hand and ended up becoming a full fledged story following my semi-self insert superhero OC as well as superhero characters based on some members of SB. As of now I only have the epilogue left to write, but I intend to revise the story in the future, so feedback-probably in the form of pm cause spoilers-would be much appreciated. Be prepared for silliness, angst, movie/book/videogame quotes, and falling))

The wind howled that night.

No stars watched over the mountain range, and from a small plateau, one could see cloud after cloud pelted across the sky. Several hundred meters ahead the ground fell away, forming a ravine through which water and debris careened. Nestled into the cliff face along the opposing side loomed a small fortress. Whatever bridge or passage made the trip to the dwelling passable was hidden, and there were no visible handholds or paths on the rocky walls. The defenses were rather effective-for anyone who intended to attack from the ground.

Hidden from sight from the fortress in a crevice behind some boulders a hooded figure sat, clutching her knees to her chest as the icy air seemed to seep past her clothes. Her breath came out in visible puffs. Something wet dripped down her face. She didn’t touch the bandages to discern what it was.

She wasn’t made for this. On runs she might savor vaulting over fallen trees and dodging branches and rocks, of dashing along narrow trails and up rocky slopes, but those were meaningless fragments compared to reality. It was like trying to simulate free-fall on a roller coaster. Sure, your heart might pound, but you never were truly in danger. Truly looking fear in the eye….that was different. She had long accepted that adventure was something for others. Things were better that way. Her reflexes were slow, her reactions hesitant, and her fear great. As much as she lauded those who would take the bullet for a loved one, she knew she was more likely to freeze in terror or flee and save her own skin. Better to place herself in the lab, or in an engineering firm where she could use the skills she did have.

How-how could this have happened?

Looking past her hiding place to the fortress for the thousandth time, she saw that at last the ds were closed and the lights turned off from all the windows apart from a single window near the entrance. If she strained her eyes to look, she could just barely discern a sentry, probably keeping an eye on the ground for potential intruders.
A fire burned in her stomach as her eyes took in the fortress. Funny, how anger in stories was deemed a path to evil and darkness, a crutch destined to give way, leading one to plummet to their own destruction. But if it gave her focus, if it dispelled the doubts and confusion clouding her mind, then she was going to use it. She didn’t have much else from which to draw strength anyway.

Taking care to hide behind boulders and stay out of the line of vision of the sentry, she did the one thing she knew how to do. One step, then another, her fears vanishing in the simplicity of that motion, her legs churning, arms pumping, her breathing settling into that familiar rhythm. A gust of wind caught her back and suddenly her feet were carried from earth to air. Moments later she drew level with one of the upper windows. Drawing a metal slide out of her pocket as her feet continued to churn in the air, she slipped the metal into the crack between the windowpanes until, with a click, it opened.

No turning back now.

A gush of wind tore her hood back, and, without thinking, she yanked it back over her head. With that sudden motion she stopped running, and with it, whatever force that supported her stopped as well.

AAAGH!

For a brief, terrifying second she fell, limbs flailing, until the fingers of her right hand managed to clench onto the bottom ledge of the window. Heart hammering, she managed to grab the ledge with her other hand before her shaking right arm gave way from the pressure of holding up her entire body.

Oh God….what am I doing?

She closed her eyes for a moment, struggling to rid herself of the sick feeling in her chest. As much as the near fall had sent adrenaline careening through her body, it was also a sharp reminder of how perilous, how utterly ridiculous this desperate quest was. She was no hero. Even her control over her powers was tenuous at best. One slip, either physically or metaphorically, and she’d fall right into Death’s arms.

But I’ll sure as hell fight it.

Gathering what little strength she had in her upper body, she managed to drag herself up onto the ledge and through the window before any further mishaps could transpire. She surveyed her surroundings, but luckily the hallway she had slipped into seemed empty. Slowly her fists began to unclench.

She fingered the unfamiliar fabric concealing her face in shadow. Most of the time she avoided hoods very same reason that she had almost fallen into the chasm below-the wind tended to blow off her hood when she ran. Hats were more comfy anyways. Her head felt heavier with this sudden weight, her peripheral vision almost imperceptibly blocked by the hood. Despite this, she pulled the hood further over her head to ensure her face was in shadow.

Taking a deep breath, she glanced behind her at the clouds rushing across the sky, the surrounding peaks slicing into the heavens.

All she had to do was-

~~~

--BE SWIFT AS THE COURSING RIVER
BE A MAN
WITH ALL THE FORCE OF A GREAT TYPHOON
BE A MAN
WITH ALL THE STRENGTH OF A RAGING FIRE
MYSTERIOUS AS THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOOOOOOOOOON!

In the basement of the fortress, the speakers were drowned out by the accompanying voices of several young adults. Once the song finished, the group high-fived and promptly returned to their Super Smash Bros tournament. Or rather, four of them did due to the limited number of controllers, while the fifth, a girl with long brown hair, seemed to be fiddling with a cup of water, repeatedly throwing the liquid into the air. After several minutes her eyes lit up and she bounced up and down in her seat.

“Oooh, look, I can make it look like Pikachu! Umm…well, sort of,” she exclaimed, a sheepish expression on her face as she got a better look at the misshapen blob of water floating in the air, which vaguely resembled the Pokemon. As much as she had “studied” waterbending (in other words, watching marathons of a certain tv show), getting the hang of actually controlling water was rather challenging. On the plus side, she finally mastered being able to walk in the rain without needing an umbrella.

“That’s awesome Rainy-NOOOOOO!” another said, looking over his shoulder to see Rainy’s floating water sculpture, only to have his character be Falcon-punched off of the platform. For a moment his eyes glowed a brilliant red-orange, but they were luckily concealed behind his aviators. Blinding his fellow competitors in this tournament wouldn’t be fair…although it was quite fun the first time it happened.

“Funny how playing videogames makes me hungrier than actual missions,” one of the girls remarked.

Rainy’s eyes grew distant as she spun the water in a circle around her hand.

I wonder when we’ll get another mission...

The videogame party was a lot of fun, but part of her itched for another chance to save the day. She savored every moment of those adventures, the adventures she, until recently, could vicariously live through via drawings and stories. Now a future blossoming with possibilities lay shining before her. Here was a chance to use her martial art skills and powers to help people and make the world a better place. Oh, and to beat up bad guys. That was always fun. Lost in plans of epic glory, Rainy didn’t notice the water slipping out of her control until it landed with a plop in her lap.

“Oops,” she said, although luckily everyone was too focused on other matters to notice her mistake.

“Speaking of snacks, we’re out of chips. And salsa.”

“And chocolate, too…”

“And soda.”

“So who wants to get some more?”

...

"Noses!"

~~~

The hooded figure peered around the corner. No one around. She darted to the next. Stick to the shadows. Steps quiet. She tasted blood in her mouth, but her teeth remained clenched.

Typical that the fortress was practically a labyrinth. Puzzles and exploring were fun in games, not in something like this! Part of her still savored the challenge, but a voice in her mind sneered that with every lost second, her chances of success waned. It was only a matter of time before someone-

Scritch-scratch

She froze, muscles tensed as she glanced out of the corner of her eye in the direction of the sound. Maybe she was just imagining it. This fortress, with its creaking staircases and the wind howling in the windows, was making her uneasy. Even the faintest noise seemed to make her jump. Every moment seemed to gnaw at her already strained common sense. Just a few minutes ago she wasted a good two minutes just trying to find the best way to tie the drawstrings of her hood together just to ensure it wouldn’t fall off! She just needed to remain calm, to focus on the task ahead and-

Scritch-scratch

Nope, she wasn’t going to be calm. Trembling, she scanned the hallway, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. A futile effort, unfortunately. The flickering moonlight that streamed through the windows wasn’t enough to illuminate the halls, and it would be foolish to reveal her location by turning on a light.

Scritch-scratch

It’s getting closer.

Her teeth sunk into her lip as she hoped that whatever was passing couldn’t hear the sound of her breathing. Painfully aware of every noise the rustling of her jacket made, she slipped her hand toward the direction of her pocket, hoping it wouldn’t be necessary….

Then she heard the growling.

Paralysis shattered as the runner took off, limbs churning as she sped down the hall. She didn’t need to look behind her to know what was pursuing her, nor would she last long if she did.

The runner might have been fast, but there was no way she could outpace a dog.

Just as she could almost feel the canine’s hot breath on her heels, she swerved into an open room and slammed the door behind her. Senses on fire, she continued to sprint across the, thankful that the door seemed to lead to another passageway rather than a small room. Dogs couldn’t open doors, but who knows if the sound of the chase woke up any of the fortress’s other denizens?

A snarl made the hairs on the back of her neck rise.

WHAT THE HELL?

This time she did turn around to find the very same dog only meters behind her. Sadly, there wasn’t enough space or time for her to run away as the dog leaped toward her, fangs bared. Dropping to the ground, she curled up into a ball, trying to protect her hands, face, and chest as she kicked frantically out with her legs. What she wouldn’t give for her shoes to suddenly have spikes.

The next few moments were utter chaos as she felt teeth sink into her leg, only for it to let go as she managed to elbow it in the face. Still, the dog didn’t relent, and she began to flail out with her legs, trying to roll over as she did. The dog was rather small, maybe she could overpower it even as it bit and thrashed and punched her...Wait-punching? No, she must have been-a whimpering sound reached her ears as she managed to kick the dog off of her and she leapt to her feet. She sprinted down the corridor until it opened into a balcony overlooking a wide room that might at one time been a grand ballroom. Not wasting a moment, she vaulted over the railing and leaped off of the balcony to the hall below. At least the high railing should hold the dog back, although given the dog’s previous record….

The faint movement of her legs as she leapt slowed her fall slightly, but she nevertheless had to take some of impact in a clumsily executed roll.

Rising to her feet, she came nose to nose with a young man in aviators. Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted two other figures darting toward her, and a thud behind her told her that her first pursuer had found a way off the balcony. Acting on instinct, she was about to aim a punch toward aviator-guy when something pecked at her head. The moment of confusion as she looked up and to her left was all that was needed as a blast of water rammed into her from her right side.

Wiping water from her eyes, she staggered back and away from the source of the water, only to be punched from behind as a dark haired girl rose from the shadows behind her. With a thud she hit the floor, although she quickly managed to struggle to her feet, breathing heavily as she looked around her.

She was surrounded.

Plip. Plip.

Droplets of water slid off the drenched frame of the hooded figure and struck the marble floor. The fabric clung to her thin frame, her hood weighing down on her head. Blood oozed and dripped down one of her legs. It seemed as if adrenaline had surrendered to terror as she was suddenly aware of the numerous scs and bruises littering her frame. She felt kind of dizzy, actually, the figures of her opponents seeming to shift and sway. Was her vision blurry from the dimmed light, or from the way her shallow breaths couldn’t seem to grasp enough air?

Fight or flight, is it? Heh.

She had no chance fighting, that was for certain. But as for flight….

“You can’t reveal what you are.”

She winced, the words echoing in her mind. In the dim light from the worn electric lamps lining the walls, she could just barely discern the sneer of the redhead facing her.

“You must not have thought your whole plan through when you decided to sneak into our base," the guy in aviators scoffed, clenched fists on his hips as he glowered at the hooded figure.

Fair enough.

Yet she didn’t have the time, never mind the presence of mind to come up with a witty retort, or some clever ruse that might buy her some time. She didn’t have the time to note that the people surrounding her were all rather close to her age. She didn’t have time to reach toward her pockets, even if such an obvious move would likely be intercepted. Besides, could she even muster the strength to use them?

She didn’t-

She didn’t know what to-

"That-“

How is it in movies that time seems to slow, the tension mounting as every choreographed movement flows into the climax, the strikes and dodges perfectly orchestrated? Decisions made in a split second couldn’t be so calculated. One moment might hold the line between life and death, but it was by no means enough to react. Fantasy or nightmare, this was still reality enough. She had no chance.

Yet, in a moment, somehow, if the instincts are sharp enough….

“or you must not have known”

The redhead lifted one hand from his hips. A signal?

“ just whose base”

“You can’t-”

Something, she had to do some-

“If they knew-”

She only had a second

“If they find out-“

How could she fight-

“Then you’ll-”

There was only one thing she could think of –

“you were infiltra-“

VROOOSH!

“AAARGGGHH!”

“YOU IDIOT!”

As her body hit the floor, a torrent of water shot over her head, colliding into Sparrow and Blackie. Sparrow gasped as she was sent flying, her body hitting the wall, and incidentally, the light switch. Right before the room was plunged into darkness, a canine howl echoed around the hall as a furry shape overshot its ducking target and barreled into Blaze instead.

“HEY”

“I GOT ‘IM!”

“THAT’S ME, NOT HIM!”

“YOU BLINDED ME AGAIN!”

“NOT MY FAULT! YOU JUST HAD TO GET IN THE WAY, JACKAL!”

“GUYS THEY’RE-ARGGHHH!”

“Ooops, hehe sorry Sparr-AHHHHH”

“GUYS?”

“YOU JUST COULDN’T WAIT FOR THE SIGNAL, RAINY!”

“OUCH!”

“THIS IS YOUR FAULT!”

“GEDDOFF ME!”

“GUYS!”

“WHOOPEEEE EPIC FIGHT SCENE YEAAHHH!”

“Seriously, Rainy?”

“TAKE THIS! AND THAT!”

“GUYS!”

“YOU’RE GOING DOWN!”

“HUH, YOU REALLY THINK SO-OW MY LEG!”

“YOU-”

SCHREEEEEEEEEEEEE[/b][/size]

The yelling and scuffling ceased as everyone covered their ears.

“Thank you.” Blackie turned off the high pitched whistle app on her somehow-not-damaged-by-water-iPhone and flipping on the lights. Disoriented and still clutching their ears, the young adults slowly disentangled themselves from their dogpile and looked around the rather wrecked room.

“Wait-where did he go?”

“I think he’s long gone….”

“DAMMIT!” Blaze punched a wall. “AAHGGRHHGH!” Wincing as he held his hand close to his chest, he turned to the others.

“Well, what are we waiting for? We have to go after them! Jackal, you try to trace his scent and-HEY!”

Blaze threw his hands in the air as he saw that his friends were all averting his gaze or had their backs turned to him.

“WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA GUYS WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING-oh…right….Hehe sorry.” Putting his aviators back on, Blaze grinned sheepishly. “What will I ever do with myself?”

Sparrow shook her head, grabbing Blaze’s hand with one hand as she drew some bandages from a pouch always attached to her belt. “Just don’t break your hand again. Or at least let me teach you how to wrap it so the impact will be less likely to shatter it,” she said, wrapping the bandages around Blaze’s injured hand.

“Thanks Sparrow. Mind giving me something for these bites, too?”

“Do you think she fled HQ? We certainly…ummm…took our time,” Jackal muttered, uncertain of where to turn his head to address his fellow members properly. Although this was far from the first time, he couldn’t get over how unnerving it was to not see anything. He was vulnerable. Dang it, why couldn’t Blaze keep his powers under control?

“I wouldn’t count on it. Wait-she? The intruder is a girl?” Blackie asked.

“What’s so surprising about that? We are a superhero team with girls after all,” Sparrow stated, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I meant, how could you tell?” Blackie countered. “We didn’t even see his-I mean, her-face.”

“Oh, I could smell it,” Jackal replied, shrugging his shoulders.

The other members stared blankly at Jackal, until finally Blackie facepalmed.

“Oh, wait. Dog senses. Right…”

“Can we continue this conversation while we’re chasing after the bad guy?” Blaze snapped. “At this rate we might as well hand HQ over to her.”

“Oh yeah, sorry Blaze. Be sure not to blind the rest of us on the way there-”

“Hey-if you hadn’t nearly bitten my head off maybe I could have blinded the intruder ins-”

“YEAH! LET’S GO!” Rainy cheered, jumping in between Jackal and Blaze. “Come on, we need to kick some villain butt!” Sighing and giving one last death glare to Blaze, or at least, he thought it was in Blaze’s direction, Jackal shifted back into a dog. He traced the ground, trying to find the intruder’s scent among all the debris and scattered water. After a minute, he barked, and ran off, following the trail.

And thus the rather soaked and scd heroes dashed off with their battered pride. Or, they did for about ten seconds until Jackal ran straight into a pillar.

~~~

CLANG!

A thin metal object slipped out of her trembling hands; she froze, yet there was no one in range to hear the clatter. Soon that would not be the case.

Sweat dripped down her face as her fumbling fingers picked up the tool. This shouldn’t be taking so long! Was it the tightness of the screws slowing her down, or her own sloppiness? It was true that physically she had never been the most dexterous person, but carefulness and dedication went a long way. She held her own in labwork, pipetting and plating and titrating with limited spills and contamination. Besides, over the past couple of years she had accumulated experience wielding power tools, L slides, pocket knives, and other tools from various projects and other adventures conducted by herself and her colleagues. This, at least, should be the one part of the mission where she was truly competent.

Still, she was always sloppy when she rushed.

They’re going to catch up at any moment now.

Gritting her teeth, she shoved and twisted, trying to put all her weight into turning the screw. It budged by a millimeter. Or maybe she was imagining it.

Dang it! You think I could have at least been furnished with more effective tools!

Her arms trembled as she applied more pressure, only for metal to slip off of the screw and whack her in the face. She bit her lip, just barely holding back a gasp of pain.

It won’t budge! I’ve had spikes that were easier to remove than these! Even those that were worn down!

No time. No time.

She placed one hand against her head, her other falling to her side, where it brushed against her pocket.

In truth, she had been supplied with effective tools.

They were merely of a type she found distasteful.

With new vigor she continued to apply more torque, until, at last, one screw slipped out. Her sigh of relief, however, was brief as she took in the number of screws remaining.

No time. No time.

Her head sank, her free hand drawing into a fist.

She had no other choice.

A shaking hand slipped into a pocket….

Vis consili expers mole ruit sua.

~~~

“Gahhh, you have got to be kidding me!”

“What?”

“Seriously?”

“What is it? Where are we?” Jackal asked, shifting back into human form. Once again he had collided with what seemed to be a metal wall, but this time the scent trail abruptly ended at the wall rather than veering to one side or the other. A door or a large bin, maybe? He reached out, trying to determine what it was, but the nature of the object was revealed before he could determine it himself.

“She escaped in the elevator?”

“Ugghh. She could be anywhere.”

Jackal frowned, shaking his head. So much for an easy chase. “Well, her scent trail ends here. It must be,” Jackal replied. “Wait, someone press the button so we can check.”

A long wait, then finally the doors opened, and Blackie slipped in to hold the door open. Shifting back into dog form, Jackal wandered into and out of the elevator, nose close to the ground. Although he could not see it, a line of anxious faces watched his every move and were fixed upon him as he shifted back into human form.

“Yeah, she definitely took the elevator.”

“Shame she had to be clever,” Sparrow remarked, sighing. This intruder was a lot more trouble than she appeared to be at first glance. It was strange, really. When they first arrived and surrounded the stranger, she exuded uncertainty and fear, yet she had succeeded in evading their grasp so far.

Rainy appeared to be the only one who cracked a smile. “Well, it could be worse. We just have to check each floor outside of the elevator until we find-“

“That’s going to take too long!” interjected Blaze.

“Do you have a better idea?” Rainy countered, placing her hands on her hips.

Jackal shook his head from where he leaned against the wall next to the elevator. “Well Blaze, we just had to get an elaborate underground base with a ton of floors where enemies could hide!”

“Shut up!”

“Hello, do you want to take the elevator up or not? My finger is tiring from holding the door open, you know,” Blackie grumbled.

As the argument continued, Jackal found himself tuning out despite himself. It probably didn’t help that he couldn’t really see the people speaking. You really learned to appreciate the ability to read body language and make eye contact when they were removed. He itched to get something done, but he honestly wasn’t certain of the best route to take. It certainly didn’t help that he was blind. He sighed. Even with his sense of smell he was running into walls left and right. Now that the scent trail had ended, he was practically useless. A liability, even.

He absentmindedly closed his eyes, then opened them, an idea crossing his mind. Focusing, he shifted only his head into that of a dog. Lacking one sense made the others stronger right? Maybe he could hear something useful, something that might help them pinpoint the location of the intruder-oh, wait.

“I told you we should have installed security cameras ages ago!”

“Sure, and were you going to be the one to install them? Oh, and where should we have gotten all the money for them, huh, miss-I-want-to-install a-massive-ninja-training-center-complete-with-a-pool?”

“Come on, cut it out, we need to focus on the now-”

“Yeah, Sparrow’s right, what’s your problem, wasting our time with arguing against me!”

“Hey-that’s not what I meant, guys. Guys? AARRGGHHHH!”

Yeah, like he was going to hear anything above that.

Jackal shifted his head back to human form to yell at the others to shut up, but froze as his ears just barely were able to discern another sound. He shook his head, uncertain of whether it was simply ringing in her ears, yet the sound didn’t disperse. No, it was real…It kind of sounded familiar. Wait…The hairs on the back of his neck rose. His mouth opened again...

“RUN!”

He distinctly remembered feet pounding against the wooden floor, pain exploding along his side as he collided into a corner, then an arm pulling him up, dragging him away-

BOOM!

Jackal fell to the ground again as the floor shook, a wave of heat rising behind him. The roar subsided, then ceased. Wincing, he rose to his feet, acutely aware of the numerous bruises along his frame. He certainly had been fate’s punching bag today. Head reeling and heart pounding, Jackal tried to catch the sound of his friends’ voices, to ensure that they were-

“BLACKIEE!!!!!!!!!”

Jackal froze, scattered thoughts colliding in hia mind. He heard the ticking in the elevator. Blackie had been holding open the elevator. If-if-.

“Blackie!”

“I’m-I’m alright!”

“Blackie!”

“OHMYGOD”

“THANK STARCLAN YOU'RE ALIVE!”

“Heh, takes a little more than a bomb to beat a master of the shadows!” Blackie replied, giving a weak grin as she brushed some dust off of her shoulder. “Thanks for the warning Jackal.”

“N-no problem.”

The group turned to look at the wreckage of the elevator. Here and there a few embers still smouldered along the twisted metal, and char marks radiated out along the walls and floor.

“Well, it looks like we’ll be climbing a lot of stairs tonight.”

“You know, I’d be a little more concerned about how our mysterious intruder appears to be armed.”

“At least it could have been a lot worse,” Blaze remarked, peering into the elevator. “It couldn’t have been big of a fireball, really, and no shrapnel.”

“Guys…what if there are more of them?” Sparrow looked up from where she was tracing the scorch marks.

“More bombs? Heh, that would be well…that would stink.”

Sparrow shook her head. “No.” She crossed her arms, biting her lip. “I mean…what if the intruder we’re chasing isn’t the only one? Or if she’s a decoy for something else? If an intruder is that well equipped and managed to find us and sneak in here in the first place, how could we have detected her so easily…”

She frowned, trailing off as she watched the realization ripple across her fellow members’ faces. Their home had been invaded, and now they had no idea what they were up against. It might just be the case that some miscreant managed to slip in by sheer dumb luck, and maybe even now had already fled far away. If not, however, if this attack was simply a thread of a carefully woven plan…Well, it would certainly be dire. After all, what were they other than a handful on young adults with some minor superpowers hiding out in some old manor in the mountains?

“AWwww YeaaaHHH! THINK A LITTLE BOMB CAN SCARE US, HUH? HUH? BRING IT ON HOODIE!”

Rainy turned to take in the perplexed faces of her friends, barely holding back laughter. “What?”

Sure, she was scared. Who wouldn’t be? But someone had to remember the bright side of things.

“Come on, guys! Okay, so we don’t know who we’re up against, or what they want, or how heavily armed they are. But anyone can throw a bomb. Not everyone can be a hero. Not everyone can be superawesome like us. We have the home field advantage, and today, we will-”

Blaze jumped in front of Rainy–waving his arms. “Okaaayyy, nice motivational speech and all, but we’re rather low on time, so let’s get down to business-“

“TO DEFEAT THE HUNS!”

As his friends responded in unison, Blaze slapped his hand to his face, but couldn’t hold back the laughter that spilled out of his mouth, his shoulders shaking. His friends soon joined her, their mingled chortles echoing through the hall. Behind his glasses the blazing light faded, his eyes returning to their normal dark state. His friends, those crazy people who he lived with, played videogames with and argued about what to put on pizza and trained with and watched Disney and Dreamworks marathons with, they would always be there. With his friends at his side, he knew he could get through anything.

Ok, that was really cheesy. His eyes immediately returned to their blazing state. But who cared! He was going to blind the hell out of that intruder and any idiots who dared to mess with him or his friends!

“So, what do we do now? Go after her?” Sparrow said, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, but we shouldn’t stay as a group. We need to cover more ground. And we make too much noise together anyway-” Blackie began, only to be cut off by Jackal.

“Is there something you’re forgetting? When we’re being assailed by unknown forces of unknown strength, splitting up is about the stupidest-”

“Hey! Still…I guess you’re right…At least if we split into…well, I guess the only option is two groups-we’re more likely to find the intruder!”

Blaze frowned. “That might not be enough, though….Sparrow?”

“One step ahead of you,” Sparrow replied, whistling. A rustling sound came closer, then several sparrows flew through the window, circled around Sparrow’s head for a moment, and flew down the hall.

At the same time, Rainy walked over to a wall, pressed a combination of buttons, after which a panel in the wall moved aside to reveal a computer terminal. She rapidly punched in the password and pulled up several programs, putting in some more access codes.

After a few moments, she logged out and turned to her fellow members.

“All doors and exits are locked and alarmed. There’s no way he-I mean she, is getting out. Well, I guess unless she escaped already.”

The heroes lingered for a few more moments, dividing into groups, and then dispersed, ready to combat whatever sinister forces lurked within their walls.

~~~

In shadows of the rafters above the group of superheroes, her lips formed a smirk.

~~~

And in the next moment she held back the urge to vomit.

Her knuckles were white, splinters digging into her gloved hands as they clenched onto a beam. At least the beams were solid. Something to grasp onto. Everything around her seemed like it was swaying. Her vision blurred and she wrapped her arms tightly around the beam, shuddering. The explosion seemed to endlessly pound in her ears.

Bombs scared her.

Think of something else. Anything else. Science! Right. Alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, cycloalkanes, alcohols and benzene rings-phenyl groups-and ketones and aldehydes and amides and esters and- she closed her eyes, visualizing the structures in her head, trying to wipe all else out in the process of recall.

-and nitroxyl groups…nitroglycerin. 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane.

She pressed her forehead against the wood, breath shallow.

Nitroglycerin, even, was a product of science. Science advanced war. After all, what was dynamite, but a tool for human progress perverted toward destruction?

She pulled back the glove on her rights hand, tracing the burn marks that extended from her forearm to her palm.

Is that what I have become?

Heh. Some cliché.

A tear fell down her face and, before she could stop herself she punched a rafter. The impact reverberated her arm and she jerked her hand back, drawing her now aching hand toward her chest. The sudden motion aggravated the bite marks and punctures along her frame–she bit her lip just in time to hold back a cry, not that it would have been heard over the rattling of the wind against the windows. She had high pain tolerance, yes, but the physical maladies assailing her weren’t to be taken lightly, and as the adrenaline wore off, they grew far more difficult to ignore. The bruises. The caked blood on her leg. Her muscles throbbed from a combination of pooled lactic acid and new and old wounds. Although dried enough that they no longer posed a risk of dripping and revealing her location, her clothes clung to her frame, making her shiver. Fire seemed to spread throughout her head, and the dark thoughts and nausea didn’t help.

She thought she knew a lot about moral ambiguities-it certainly was a common topic of discussion in her education. But that was just it, wasn’t it? They were hypotheticals then, mere theory. This was real.

I-I nearly killed someone.

She held her face in her hand.

I didn’t mean to! The bomb was supposed to go off while the elevator was in motion, long before it reached them!

No-I was saving my own skin. No more.

She looked down at the wreckage, the fires dead, their ashen remnants spiraling around the site of destruction.

And is that a bad thing? They would have done the same to me, right? Sure, they seemed, I don’t know-the images of the guardians of the manor joking and laughing and supporting each other flashed across her eyes and she felt a deep ache in her chest. Her teeth clenched.

What am I supposed to believe anymore?

Feeling as if she was liable to fall off any instance, the runner lowered herself from the rafters, holding onto the beams with both hands as she dangled, and let go. Landing softly despite the height from which she fell, she headed over to the section of the wall where she had seen the computer and drew out the screen from the wall.

”Why the long face? Isn’t this all you dreamed of? Special powers? An epic quest, a mission only you can fulfill?”

“It-it just…something I…I don’t know. I guess…It kind of seems silly, but…it doesn’t feel heroic?”

A short, cold laugh. The runner started. She didn’t think she was even capable of laughing. It kind of seemed out of place for the rather severe and humorless woman. Then again, she didn’t know her very well. She turned around, eyebrows raising, only to wince as the sharp movement agitated one of her wounds.

“Careful. Your wounds are still tender. But heroic? Heh, you’re as sharp as I thought.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hmph. Simply that black and white, good and evil, is all an illusion, as you well know. Even in trying to protect what matters most, we may invoke irreparable harm on others. There are no knights in shining armor. There are only parties seeking power.”

“So what does that make you?”

“Well, more honest than most of them, for starters!”

She laughed again, and the runner felt a chill creep down her spine, although…who was she to disagree?

“It’s all a matter of perspective. Which path will protect what you so desperately desire, runner?”

The runner’s mouth opened, but she was cut off by the other woman, whose voice now held a grave tone.

“But know this: if they discover who you are, if they capture you, you will be in just as grave a peril as the one you just barely escaped.”

The runner's eyes grew distant, her heart hammering in her head as she tried to shove those thoughts out of her mind. Her fingers rested upon one of the bandages on her arms, and jerked backward.

“And you’re sending me right into this peril?”

A pause. The woman turned her back.

“I wouldn’t if there was any other choice.”

She tossed something to the runner, who just barely managed to catch it.

“You must find it. You must bring it to me. They cannot have it.”

Her fingers trembled as they rested on the keypad. She steadied them.

Something about typing, about resting her fingers on the keyboard and executing commands, was soothing. Familiar. Drawing up the command window, she began her work, senses trained on the hall around her, prepared to flee in an instant.

I can’t be thinking of these things, not now. Things aren’t the same as they were. I crossed that bridge when…when They came. I’ll never be the same, yet I still cling to the past. To my fears. And to thoughts of the future, I guess.

Files and images flurried across the screen.

Dang! Why are they so disorganized? Even if the flimsiness of their system makes it ridiculously vulnerable, they could have at least made things a little easier to navigate.

A few more moments, then her eyes widened.

What? They don’t even have a surveillance camera system? Or at least not one that is hooked up to all of the terminals? Seriously?

Pfft. Must be why I couldn’t find any cameras to take out on my way here.

Biting her lip as her forehead furrowed, she typed more rapidly, searching file after file, program after program. She was only human after all; she wasn’t a computer with the time or the processing power to sift through all of this data. Or with the time to create a program to analyze it for her.

Come on, come on.

…

YES!

After typing a few more commands, she smirked and pressed a button to let the computer fold back into the wall.

I know where it is now. Get it and get out.

She looked once more at the rain pelting the window, and that manic grin returned to her face. Drawing her hood a little further over her face, she strode forward, sprinting for several strides, and jumped. Hands outreached as her legs churned in the air, she caught the beams and swung herself into the rafters.

Regardless of warnings, the future doesn’t scare me at all.

~~~

“I’m getting a really bad feeling about this…” Jackal moaned, fist clenching the railing as they climbed toward the upper levels of the base.

“Like, seriously, letting Blackie sneak away from us. I know she has her shadow powers and all and probably could spy a lot more effectively than us, but there are so many things that could go wrong.”

“Turn right here-“ Blaze said, guiding Jackal to a staircase adjoining the first. “Yeah, I know.”

“Hmmm…if I was a sketchy bad guy infiltrating our headquarters, where would I go?”

“Somewhere to ambush us and kill us all?”

“Haha…getting a tad morbid there. You do make a point, though. Maybe…weapons? Our computers? Or money!”

“Dude, we’re kinda broke at this point. Though I guess weapons could be valid….Hey, wait! What if–you know-they weren’t after an object, per se, but they were trying to spy on us or gain intel-”

“Well, that would be-wait…oh no…”

“Huh?”

“What if they’re after the-you know-”

“….shit.”

“Though-it’s unlikely that they even know about –you know, let’s not just jump to conclusions.”

“Yeah….If we don’t know what they’re after, that’s too many places to guard-we need to set a trap or something-”

“We really should have installed video cameras everywhere,” Blaze mumbled, staring at the ceiling.

“Although…a trap does sound nice.”

~~~

“Duh-duh-duhduhduh-duh-duh-duhduhduh-”

Two faces peered around a corner. Two faces drew back. Two figures leapt from behind the corner and rolled along the floor. They jumped to their feet and began sliding along another wall, steps careful, eyes wary of every shadow, ears straining for any sound of the intruder.

“Duhduhduh-duhduhduh-DUHDUH-duh-duh-duhduhduh-”

“Errrr…Rainy, it kind of ruins the purpose of sneaking around if you announce our presence with some sort of theme song.”

“Oops. Sorry Sparrow.”

“Ehh, no worries. It’s pretty strange, anyways sneaking around our own base,” Sparrow replied in a whisper, glancing around at their rather cozy surroundings. Outside of the windows a storm raged on, but it only seemed to emphasize the cheeriness of the wood-paneled hallway. The old lamps on the walls shed a gentle yellow light, and their feet sunk into the carpet. Sure, this was a base for superheroes, but it was more like a home than a battleground. “At least we practiced this during our Nerf gun wars.”

Rainy laughed softly. “Yeah…wonder how tricky it will be to find her. It’s not like she’s going to fall out of the sky-”

CRACK

“AARRRRGGHHH!!!”

“SPARROW!”

Rainy spun around, water flying out of her bucket and stopping an instant before it hit the floor. Spinning her arms around, Rainy guided the water in one fluid motion until it circled around her in a shimmering band as she struck a ninja-like pose.

And her eyes lighted upon the intruder and Sparrow wrestling on the floor, several fragments of wood beside them.

"Don't. Move.”

“….or you can just not listen, yeah, that’s fine too," she muttered as Sparrow and the intruder continued to fight. Although she maintained the stream of water spinning around her, she did not launch it toward the intruder. Her aim wasn’t that superb, and it was likely that she would hit Sparrow and distract her instead of hitting the intruder. Still she had to do something. Her friend was pretty clever and a quick learner, but the medic was still rather inexperienced when it came to fighting.

Then again, it didn’t appear as if the intruder was either, as Sparrow managed to pin the intruder, sitting on her legs and leaning on a piece of the broken beam to hold down the intruder’s torso and arms.

“So who are you anyway,” she wondered, reaching for the intruder’s hood.

Right before her fingers could grab the fabric, the runner jerked her head back, hitting Sparrow’s head. Turning her head around as Sparrow’s grasp loosened, she spat in her face. As Sparrow reeled back, the intruder used her arms to push her torso off the ground and slid out from under the hero’s grasp, eternally grateful for the pushups in her lifting training. Jumping to her feet, she sprinted away, skidding but not falling as Rainy pelted water at her and the floor beneath her.

“STOP RUNNING YOU COWARD!” Rainy shouted as the intruder dodged her attacks and then careened down the hall.

“Cowards die many times before their deaths.”

Sparrow and Rainy looked at each other, the former raising an eyebrow. “…Did she just quote Shakespeare at us?”

Not wasting another moment, Sparrow and Rainy sped after the intruder, hurtling down the corridor, swerving past corners and climbing up a small flight of stairs and into another corridor.

“D-does she have superspeed or-or something? Or are we just out of shape?” Rainy gasped not long after as their pace slowed, the distance between them and the intruder increasing by the second. Their panting grew louder, and Sparrow was pretty certain Rainy’s chest was burning just as much as hers. It was only a matter of moments before the intruder pulled away around a corner and they wouldn’t be able to determine where she had turned. Sparrow’s eyes narrowed.

“Let’s see if she’s faster than this.” Sparrow whistled, and a swarm of birds dove from above and hurtled in the direction of the runner. Sparrow’s run shifted into a stagger before she tripped over a bump in the rug and fell to the ground. Rainy, glancing back at the medic, skidded to a stop and helped her to her feet.

“You alright?” she managed to say now that she had time to catch her breath and take in her friend’s appearance. The medic did look a little worse for the wear. Which was to expected, now that she thought about it-a person had fallen on top of her not long before, after all.

“Yeah. Just took some energy out of me. You know, using my powers and running at that pace.”

“You did an awesome job, though. That intruder better hope she can beat the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow-I mean sparrow!” Rainy chuckled as she pulled a cellphone out of her pocket to text Blaze.

~~~

BLASTED BLOODY BIRDS!

The swarm dove and spiraled around her head, screeching and bombarding her. Even though her skin was almost entirely covered by cloth, their incessant pecking still hurt. She could barely see where she was going. Tactics such as ducking, trying to sneak through doors and shut out the flock following her, and wildly waving her hands had failed her. True, the birds were more of a nuisance than a deadly force, but they were hindering her ability to focus, and made her absurdly vulnerable to any other attack.

As she rounded a corner, she spotted something glimmering out of the corner of her eye. She turned, throwing open the door and sprinting until she skidded to a stop as she reached the edge of the water. Without a thought she jumped into the pool, holding her nose. As water covered her head, relief washed over her-the birds hadn’t followed her into the water. As she emerged from the water to take a breath, however, her grin was replaced by a grimace.

I’m an idiot.

With renewed fury the sparrows assailed her head again and the runner was forced to duck under the water for safety.

I’m going to get pecked to death or caught by those people if I stay here.

Anxiety bubbled in her stomach. Each time she emerged to gasp for air, the swarm attacked, barely allowing her to get the air she needed and making it difficult to simply stay afloat. And it didn’t help that she was terrible at holding her breath

~~~

“Huh?”

A sparrow flew toward Rainy and Sparrow as they leaned against a wall. It wasn’t worth sprinting after the intruder now that they had no idea which direction she had gone, and besides, they needed to catch their breath. And Blaze had an idea, which she had relayed to Rainy over the phone. The bird flew around Sparrow’s head, chirping, but before it could finish, another sparrow glided in and added its own chirping.

“What is it? What happened?” Rainy asked, pushing her hair away from her face.

Sparrow frowned. “Apparently they cornered the intruder at the pool, but she somehow vanished under the water.”

“What?”

“I don’t really get it either,” Sparrow thought, although a rather unpleasant feeling sunk into her stomach. What if the intruder had drowned?

Rainy texted Blaze, and did not check the phone to see her rather irate response as they headed in the direction of the pool, sparrow in tow.

After several minutes they finally made it to the pool. The room seemed to be the same as usual: the water’s surface was placid, and even the ropes course above was still. Pillars rose on the walls, with ancient stone engravings in between the carved columns. The pool itself was massive, and several diving boards extended over the pool on the right side. In one corner was a hot tub, and in another stood several cabinets and bins of pool supplies. The swarm of sparrows sent to pursue the intruder hovered near the far end of the pool. Upon sensing Sparrow’s presence, they flew toward her, encircling her head and chirping in a frenzy.

“Hey, hey, easy there,” Sparrow said, and the birds calmed, settling into a halo that circled above her head.

“There seems to be no sign of a body,” Rainy said softly, scanning the pool floor. Sparrow exhaled the breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Yes, the intruder could be out to murder them all for all she knew, but it would be wrong to just kill her unless they had no other choice. There were always two sides of a story.

So where could she have gone?

Her eyes fixed on the back of the room and she sighed.

“We had to get a waterfall installed, didn’t we?”

For on the opposite end of the pool was a waterfall, which tumbled over an archway that connected the pool they were standing in front of to a pool in the adjacent room.

“Well, of course we did? What’s a pool without a waterfall?”

“You do realize there are a ton of them outside,” Sparrow reminded Rainy as the latter started to rifle through a cabinet overflowing with noodles and beach balls and other pool supplies. It was amusing how the waterbender was essentially helpless when water wasn’t flowing down. Yes, they could swim across instead of taking some sort of raft, but that would have resulted in sopping wet clothes, which would weigh them down and possibly result in slipping on the waxed floors throughout some parts of the building.

“That are frozen half the year,” Rainy pointed out as she finally lugged out an inflatable raft, a pump, and a paddle.

“Fair point,” Sparrow said, raising an eyebrow as Rainy began to inflate the raft. “You sure that won’t fall in?”

“You question the ability of the water master?” Rainy joked, laughing. “Honestly, though, I’ve tried this plenty of times before.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

As Rainy lowered the raft into the pool and scrambled aboard, Sparrow gestured with her arm and the cloud of sparrows dispersed to scout the rest of the castle. A moment later Sparrow flew across the pool in sparrow form until she reached the waterfall. Rainy dramatically gestured with one arm and the waterfall parted, allowing her and Sparrow to pass through.

Upon passing the archway, Rainy let go of her control of the waterfall, the water returning to its normal flow. Grinning, she pumped her fist into the air.

“Hah! Told you Sparr-AAAHHHHHH” Rainy cried as her makeshift raft flipped her over, plunging her into the water. Her head popped out of the water a few seconds later and she swam the last few meters to the edge of the pool and pulled herself out.

Rainy sighed, wringing out her hair. “If only I was truly a waterbender.”

Meanwhile, Sparrow, back in human form, was surveying the other side of the pool for clues. The intruder wasn’t there, and the gleaming walls and floors were as immaculate as always, showing no sign of a mess or struggle, except…something glimmering on the floor caught her eye. Water. Eyes narrowing, Sparrow traced the path of the water on the floor, and facepalmed. Rainy, sopping wet, crept up behind Sparrow and followed her gaze. Pulling out her thankfully water-resistant cellphone-she had accidentally ruined her last couple of phones with her powers-she texted Blaze.

“Well, Blaze, just guess where she went.”

~~~

The metal was cool and smooth. A continuous stream of air rustled her hair. Several times already she had to halt and pull the hood back over her head. It was dark except for the light from her flashlight, which glinted as it reflected off the metal walls surrounding her. Gritting her teeth, she continued to crawl through the metal tunnel.

So far, so good.

Almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind the ground in front of her fell away. Brow furrowing, she shined her flashlight at the drop, pointing it down and then up. Although her flashlight didn’t penetrate far, she was able to detect a rectangular hole that seemed to extend for many meters above and below her. A shaft. Peering a little more closely, she spotted another grate at the other side in the direction that she intended to head.

Lovely.

Climbing through air shafts and steam tunnels was all and well. She knew how to move silently and avoid the burning pipes that sometimes cross the vents, and she was lithe enough to fit through most of the sharp turns and large grates. Shafts, on the other hand… Some of her friends had been into climbing air shafts, but the athlete didn’t care for the risk associated with such exploits. Now that she was running for her life, she only prayed that she learned enough from talking to and watching them to safely climb down.

At least the shaft is small enough she thought, putting the flashlight between her teeth as she lowered herself into the shaft, bracing her arms and feet against the walls so she wouldn’t fall. Little by little she lowered herself, until one of her feet finally met vent she wanted to climb into. Focusing, she lowered her foot on the bottom lip of the vent.

Now comes the tricky part.

A knife pressed against her throat.

“Missed me?”

Without thinking, the runner pulled a dagger out of her belt and plunged it toward the speaker’s heart, her eyes closed. The knife against her throat vanished, and she gasped, clinging more tightly to the side of the shaft. Her heart hammered, he mind unable to process what had just transpired. Did she-had she actually stabbed someone?

Odd. She didn’t hear a thump. She opened her eyes.

“You actually took the air vents. How predictable can you get?” Blackie said, smirking as she reappeared from the shadows next to the runner, balancing in a similar manner to the runner.

“WHAT?” The flashlight fell out of her mouth. The runner jumped, stumbled, and, arms waving wildly, dropped her dagger and fell down the shaft. And of course, the vent at the bottom of the shaft had already been taken off.

“Well, that was easy,” Blackie said as she vanished into the shadows.

~~~

I swear, if this was a story or something, falling would be the main theme. the runner thought, grimacing as she took in her surroundings. The room was empty, although, judging by the wood paneling and columns and the curved staircase, it could have been another, albeit small, grand hall once. At least she had a vague idea of this room’s location in the manor as a whole. Footsteps thundered against the wooden floor, and the runner turned to see a figure sprinting toward her. A figure who did not look particularly pleased to see her.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

“Did they ever pick the wrong guy for this one,” she sighed, bracing herself for yet another confrontation.

The arrival skidded to a stop.

“Did you just quote-”

SMACK!

Not wasting a moment, the runner socked Blaze in the face, knocking off his sunglasses, and sending the redhead staggering back. As she turned to flee, the runner just barely glanced at Blaze’s face.

“AAAARGH!”

Searing pain jolted through her right eye, as if someone had jabbed it with a blazing torch. Gasping, she brought her hand to her face, screwing her face up until the pain subsided. Closing her other eye for a moment, she brought her hand away from her right eye, only for her vision to remain enswathed in darkness.

Wonderful. But how the hell-I only looked at her face-that light-then-why didn’t it-the sunglasses-

Recovering, Blaze punched the intruder from behind and grabbed her shoulders.

“Do you even know who you’re messing with?” Blaze spat, shoving the intruder’s face into the wall.

“Hehehehe. Maybe I don’t. Care to enlighten me?”

“A group of heroes who are about to kick your ass-got it memorized?”

“So ‘hero’…where’s your supersuit?” she sneered. Blaze paused, looking down to see that he was still in his pajamas, and gasped as the intruder’s elbow met her nose. As the redhead leaned back, the runner slipped her foot behind Blaze’s, jerking it toward the wall to throw the hero even more off balance.

“Is that all you’ve got?” the runner scoffed as Blaze fell to the ground again.

“Ok, now you’ve asked for it!” the superhero snarled, eyes blazing.

“Out of my way!” the intruder retorted, shoving Blaze as she sped away, trying to remember the map of the floor that she had seen on the computer. Being chased by someone who knew the surroundings better than she did put her at a disadvantage. Ducking through a doorway, she entered a room whose walls were lined with motivational posters, posters of mountains and snowboarders, assorted drawings, and in one corner, a rack of-

Her jaw dropped.

Awww, yesss.

“GOT YOU NOW-AH!”

Blaze, who had leaped into the room, leaned back as he found a winged blade pointed at his throat. A hilt with an angelic and demonic wing was in the intruder’s hand, her arm outstretched as she averted her eyes. Recovering from his initial shock, Blaze laughed.

“You do realize that isn’t a real sword-OWWWWW!” he yelled as the broad side of the wooden model whacked him.

Blade still in hand, the runner ran to the opposite side of the room, where another door engraved with flames loomed. Bracing her hand with the blade on the doorframe, she reached her other hand forward. A sharp pain jolted through her as she grasped onto the door handle and opened it, taking in the few articles of clothing hanging there. The runner muttered something under her breath.

“What was that? Finally caught on that that’s a closet door?”

“Nah. Just wondering if your outfits are normally that ridiculous,” the intruder responded, raising her blade just in time to meet the downward swing of a long blade. The tip of the blade was shaped like a normal sword, but closer to the guard the blade took the appearance of two crossed keys in the center of a silver gear.

“Speak for yourself. You just had to go for the stereotypical dark clothing and it doesn’t even look good on you. You could have at least worn an Organization coat or something,” Blaze sneered, trying to use the weight of the blade to knock his opponent’s sword out of her grip. A shame that the intruder seemed to be slightly taller than him, which kind of made that difficult.

“And have trouble running in those heavy things?”

“Precisely.”

Blaze pulled the sword back and swung it at the runner again, but moved too slowly-the intruder was able to block it in time.

“Sure you can lift that monstrosity, Vanitas-wannabe?”

“At least he’s a more badass villain than you could ever hope to be!”

Both leaned forward, each pressing their weight into their sword in attempt to force the other to yield, then jumped back as neither was able to gain an advantage. Muscles tensed and wooden swords raised, the two circled each other.

“Villain?”

…black and white, good and evil, is all an illusion…There are only parties seeking power.

Something about the words was alluring, yet bothered her. Still, there was no time to ponder that as she parried a swing from Blaze and ducked out to the way of another blow.

“Whatever, Vanitas-wannabe!” she scoffed.

“Look, it’s Blaze. B-L-A-Z-E. Get it memorized, hoodie!”

Beneath her hood the intruder smirked. Raising the blade above her head, she held out her other arm, palm up, beckoning her opponent to attack.

Blaze shook his head and smiled. It was obvious from the way the intruder kept turning her head that she was trying to avoid being blinded.

“Where’s the fun in this?”

“GAH! DON’T REMIND ME OF THAT -I mean-oh, please! You’re not even a hundredth of the threat that that guy was!”

The runner feinted to the right and then swung her blade at Blaze’s chest, knocking the wind out of him. Unfortunately, the move left her completely exposed, and Blaze easily knocked the runner to the ground. She jumped to her feet as Blaze dashed over to block another attack. Swords clashed and in another moment, the runner hit the ground again.

“Burn, baby!”

As Blaze brought his blade swinging down again, the intruder rolled out of the way and rose to her feet several meters from Blaze.

“T-the only one here who’s going to get burned is you-got THAT memorized?” the intruder managed to gasp, glaring at Blaze’s shoulder even though her expression wasn’t all that visible beneath her hood.

“Oh, really?”

“Yup!” The runner pointed her blade at Blaze.

“We’ll see about that,” Blaze said, lazily reaching out her sword and tapping the runner’s chin. The runner jumped back just before Blaze could use the tip to knock off her hood.

Dangit! Why is that sword so long?

The runner charged, closing her eyes. Ducking and swinging her sword, she spun around, hoping to somehow hit Blaze-

“BURN!”

“Aggghh!”

The runner moaned as she was thrown back by another swing of Blaze’s blade and felt the ground meet her back. This just wasn’t working. She had absolutely no experience with a sword, she had only one working eye, and she could barely anticipate her opponent’s moves from her attempts to avoid losing sight in her other eye. The door to what would hopefully be freedom was so close, yet with the redhead attacking, it was as good as an eternity away.

"That really all you got? Man, you are worthless."

As Blaze advanced, blade prepared to strike, she scrambled back, only to be forced to a halt as her back hit the wall. Teeth clenched and eyes wide, she glanced around for something to help while desperately trying to avoid Blaze’s glare. In an attempt to rise to her feet her head hit the shelf above and she moaned, only for a stroke of inspiration hit her. Reaching above her, she snatched a second blade, this one brown with a curved blade with almost gear-shaped teeth at the bottom and a golden rectangular hilt.

Noooo, I actually like this one. Oh well.

“I think you’ve outgrown such a childish toy,” she sneered, holding out the wooden sword as she rose to her feet.

Blaze’s eyes widened in horror, then narrowed as he grinned.

“I bet you can’t even break that.”

“Watch me! Nggghh!” The intruder grunted as she struggled to break the high quality wood comprising the blade replica.

“Huh,” Blaze sniggered and stepped toward the runner, blade raised, but stopped as his opponent stuck the blade over her fireplace, dangling the wood over the flames and embers.

“Let me leave, and I’ll leave it unharmed.”

Blaze’s eyebrow rose. “You wouldn’t.”

“Y-yes I would.”

“Really?” Blaze took another step forward.

“Try me,” the intruder challenged, dangling the sword just a hair above the flames.

Blaze gulped, then charged, swinging his sword at the runner and knocking her to the ground. Although the winged blade remained firmly grasped in one hand the other sword that she had attempted to use as a bargaining chip fell, landing in the fire, where it started to smolder.

“You think I value a model over kicking your butt? Think again!”

The runner scrambled to her feet. Her eyes alit on the embers in the fireplace, but Blaze moved more quickly, using tongs by the fire to retrieve the smoldering sword and throwing it at the intruder. Unable to move out of the way in time, the runner held out her arms to protect her face and screamed as the scalding wood struck her. The blade clattered to the ground, where it started to char the floor beneath it.

“Let the flames burn you!”

Stumbling, the runner fell to the ground, frantically trying to put out the flames that seared along her jacket. Biting her lip couldn’t stop her from holding back another cry as she clutched her right arm, which had taken the brunt of the attack. Her grip on the winged blade tightened, the wood of the hilt digging into her hand as she tried to hold back tears.

Blaze sprinted toward her, long sword raised, ready to end it.

“Back off!”

The runner moved far too quickly. She rolled to her knees and swung her blade, catching Blaze in the chest and sending her flying to the ceiling. Glowing white eyes faded to black as Blaze’s back collided with the ceiling, pain erupting along his frame as his mind struggled to process the sudden change. With a gasp he fell, a moan escaping his mouth as he hit the ground.

Vision blurring, Blaze swore he could almost see a silver glow about the edge of the runner’s blade as she raised it, rushing toward him. Panic rising in his chest in the few seconds he had, he tried to move, or to lift his sword at the very least, but his limbs, battered from the sudden impact, failed to comply. He could feel herself start to slip in unconsciousness as the intruder’s challenge cut through the air.

“You’re gonna lose it all!”

~~~

“We must unite! So we can fiiiiiiight! Turn the battle around! Time’s running out! It’s time to shouuuuut! THESE HOODED GUYS ARE GOIN’ DOWN!”

“Rainy, shhhhhh!”

“Oops, sorry. Again.”

The two hurried along the corridor, leaving a trail of water droplets in their wake. In the process of attempting to dry off, Rainy had accidentally spilled all the water in her bucket, leaving the water-wielder feeling rather vulnerable. However, that wasn’t the only thing troubling Rainy.

“What’s wrong?” Sparrow asked, catching the pensive look on Rainy’s face.

“I don’t know…all of this is kind of familiar. Hidden bombs, someone falling out of the sky and landing on a medic, a chase scene with a dog-- ringing any bells?”

“I don’t know. Well, maybe. Still, we need to focus now… You’re out of water, we’re far from a window, our plumbing isn’t working again, our weapons are stored on the complete opposite side of the manor, and we don’t have time to climb all these stairs…What options do we have?” Sparrow said, frowning. Then her eyes lit up. Turning her head, she met the same excited expression on Rainy’s face as they spoke at the same time.

“The kitchen.”

~~~

CRASH

Before the blade reached Blaze, a chair slammed into the runner, knocking her to the ground.

“Wait-I actually hit her?” Jackal’s incredulous voice filled the room. “Score!” The still-blinded super pumped his fist into the air.

“W-what?” the runner stammered. Shaking her head, she shoved the piece of furniture off her. The hair on the back of her neck rose. Beneath her hood, her eyes widened.

“And-and-you-well-BYE!” the runner spluttered, now on her feet and shoving Jackal aside as she dashed out of the room. Jackal turned to sprint after her, but stopped as he heard Blaze moan as he struggled to retain consciousness.

~~~

I’m such a fool.

The runner fled along the hall.

Nausea racked her. Her head throbbed and her hands trembled. Despite the chilliness of the hallways, heat seemed to be searing through her chest. Sweat dripped down her face. The winged blade was clenched in one hand as she brought the other to her head.

Keep it together. Control it.

It was the same ballroom from when she had first been cornered by the denizens of the manor. Light from an old metal chandelier gleamed on the marble floor. No light shone through the windows, all of which were close to the ceiling. Of course. She just had to get up to there before any pursuers could arrive and see-

“HIYYYAAHHH!”

With a clang, the runner fell to the ground as the wind was knocked out of her-

-by a frying pan….

Rainy smiled, spinning around the frying pan in her hand.

“What do you know, these things really are effective!”

As the runner struggled to her feet, Rainy and Sparrow, who also held a frying pan, each took up a fighting pose.

“Foobar,” Running spat under her breath, ducking another swing of a frying pan only to be nearly knocked off her feet as the other collided with her shoulder. Thinking quickly, she feinted a blow with her blade at Rainy’s head, only to direct her aim at the last second toward Rainy’s weapon. The angelic wing attached to the end of her blade hooked around the handle of the frying pan and the runner yanked it out of Rainy’s hand. Before she could grab the frying pan, Sparrow hit her square in the back, knocking her down and sending the frying pan skidding across the ground. Rainy and the intruder scrambled toward the frying pan. Somehow in the process of the runner and Rainy wrestling for the frying pan, the pan was sent flying and hit a small knob on one of the pipes on the wall.

Streams of water poured out of faucets from the ceiling, soaking their hair and forming pools of water on the marble floor.

Rainy’s face lit up. Sparrow stepped back. The runner paused, suspicion slowly giving way to plain confusion as Rainy appeared to perform some sort of weird dance, standing on one foot and waving her arms.

Unfortunately she didn’t notice the sphere of water forming behind her until it rammed into her backside, sending her flying forward and skidding across the floor.

“Dance water dance!” Rainy cheered. Smaller streams of water moved in unison with the flicks of her arms and whacked the runner every time she managed to struggle to rise to her feet. The slipperiness of the floor didn’t help either. Rocking out on an air guitar, she gestured to the separate streams of water pouring from the faucets, which gathered into spinning columns that swelled by the second. The water pouring from the sprinklers waned until they were little more than a trickle-they really needed to sort out their plumbing problems-as the massive columns formed a circle, which slowly constricted around the runner. Eyes wide, the runner took a step back, adrenaline and panic coursing through her veins as she saw no way out. Running through the wall of water seemed rather dangerous, but with the water inching toward her by the second, she might not have a choice.

The walls stopped advancing. Slowly the height of the wall began to drop, water pooling around the wall. The wall began to shake.

Rainy gritted her teeth. This was larger than anything she had attempted in a while, and admittedly the last time she tried to control this much water it had been a total failure and left her wiped out for days. Sparrow glanced over toward Rainy, concerned as she noticed that the water wielder was starting to tremble. She opened her mouth, then closed it. She couldn’t break Rainy’s focus.

A small moan escaped Rainy’s mouth, and with a roar, the wall plummeted, a wave of water radiating out from the wall and rushing across the floor. Sparrow immediately turned into a sparrow and flew out of harm’s way, the wave slamming into Rainy. Hissing, Rainy leaned forward with all her might. The fall of the water slowed, then stopped, leaving a wall of water a little less than 6 feet tall.

Brow furrowing, Rainy began to spin both her hands in a circle, the wall of water following until it became speeding torrent racing around the intruder.

“I just can’t be free, can I?” the runner muttered. If she hadn’t been soaked by the water blasts pelted at her before, the collapse of the water wall would have done it. Taking in the remaining wall, she frowned. She couldn’t use her powers…unless she disguised it as something else. The runner attached the blade to a strap slung from her shoulder to her hip on her back.

Recalling the form of her teammates, she ran straight toward the wall, turning as she reached the edge so her path formed a J shape. Pushing off with one foot, she jumped backward over the wall, executing a rather nice high jump. Augmented by her powers, of course. It was a slightly higher height than what most of her trained teammates could manage, and the blade on her back should have messed up her balance.

Just as she cleared the wall of water, the chandelier crashed into the center of the circle of water, sending the remaining wall crashing to the ground and knocking the runner over. The room was plunged into shadow, the small lights around the edges of the room casting only small pools of light on the drenched marble. Landing clumsily on the ground, the runner scrambled to her feet and swerved around, jaw dropping. Her heart thudded in her ears.

“Seriously, the chandelier?” she gasped, looking at the wreckage before her. Had she hesitated a second longer….Her eyes flicked upward, where she could just barely discern Blackie, who hung from the chain that once held up the chandelier. Smirking, Blackie faded into the shadows.

Which is pretty effective, usually.

"Way to fall right into the trap," a different voice sneered above her.

Wait, what?

The ground trembled. Searing heat met her face as a wall of flame 20 feet high shot up, roaring and shooting sparks into the air. The runner spun around, only to find that the inferno encircled her in a ring about a few meters in radius. For an insane moment she considered simply running through the flames, but considering how scorching the temperature was a couple of feet away from the flames and that the flames raged even with the water tumbling from the sprinklers….The water on the floor around her was evaporating rather quickly, as was the water drenching her clothes.

The runner started to look up toward the speaker, then stopped. After all, she recognized the voice as Blaze’s, and the last thing she needed to do was get blinded.

“I don’t know whether to be impressed, or amused at how needlessly complicated this is. You, had me surrounded anyway, so what gives? Afraid you’ll just mess up and beat each other up instead of me again?” she spat, surprising herself a little with her boldness. Shame that she couldn’t see their reactions beyond the fire surrounding her.

“I’ll be asking the questions.”

Blaze shifted into a more comfortable position as he leaned against the railing of a balcony overlooking the trap. He rather enjoyed the birds-eye view. His hair was messy, his skin was marred with several scratches, and bruises were manifesting themselves, but he had conveniently changed out of her pajamas and into a t-shirt and jeans with a light green sweatshirt over it. A leather strap was slung over his shoulder.

“So, care to spill what brought you here?” Jackal called from outside the ring of flames. Blaze pouted, glaring down at Jackal for stealing his thunder, but Jackal didn’t seem to notice as he continued. “We’ve got all day-woah is that my vision is coming back-YES! Admittedly a little late, but I’m not complaining.” He smiled as he looked around to see that Rainy, Sparrow, and Blackie also had gathered around the fire. The five of them had finally won. The intruder was trapped. Well, hopefully. There was always a chance something would go wrong, and even if it didn’t, they could be in for a rather long waiting game. How likely was it that the intruder would just surrender and reveal her secrets?

Not particularly likely. The runner picked up a piece of metal from the broken chandelier and hurled it at Blaze. It didn’t even gain enough height to reach Blaze, whose eyebrow rose. He couldn’t help but laugh. The railing shook just as the runner flung two more pieces of metal at Blaze, each of which missed Blaze but slammed into the railing. Frowning, Blaze started to step back, just in case-

With a crack, the old wooden railing broke, and Blaze slipped, arms flailing as he fell off of the balcony. The other supers cried out, running to catch him, but unfortunately for them, Blaze fell right into the center of the circle of flames. He rolled along the ground, stopping right at the edge of the flames opposite the runner. His back was turned to the runner, but he did not move from where he fell.

The runner froze. She had barely thought when she shot at the redhead, and the fall was rather steep.

Blaze shifted-the runner averted his gaze just in time. Grunting in pain, the redhead struggled to his feet. On the ground next to him, the pair of aviators lay broken.

“You-you had to want a rematch?” Blaze gasped, clenching his teeth as he resisted the agony assailing his frame. At least a rib was broken, he was certain, if not more. Forcing himself to stand tall, he glowered at the runner.

“I’m. So. FLATTERED!”

As he yelled the last word, Blaze’s already smouldering eyes burned a searing white. Gritting her teeth, Running prepared to fight, raising her arm and blade again.

“Two?”

Blaze stared at the runner, an incredulous look upon his face. For along with the winged red and purple blade in the runner’s left hand, there was a nearly identical silver blade in her right hand. Flinching, the runner looked to her right, then back up. She crossed the two blades over her head-or was it one blade, for the silver blade vanished just as quickly as it appeared. A sneer upon her face, she took her original blade in both hands.

“I think you need to get your eyes checked. Or your head. Those couple of falls couldn’t have been too nice to you, huh?”

“YOU FREAK!”

Well, at least he isn’t armed-

Her ears caught a clinking sound, and her stomach plummeted.

Oh no.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Blaze’s arm reach for something hanging on her back, something silver and red. And from the way the firelight glinted upon the weapons, it was clear that they were not wooden models.

“BURN BABY!”

Just in time the runner ducked as a spinning chakram shot toward her chest. Blaze cursed as the chakram wheeled out of the circle of flames and didn’t return, making a mental note to somehow invest in more magical weapons, if possible. His hand tightened around his remaining chakram.

The runner took a step back, only to recoil and clutch her hand to her chest when it touched the inferno encircling her and Blaze. Her heart thundered in her ears, the vision in her one eye blurring. She blinked, struggling to see clearly. Her mind raged against that weak part of her heart that urged in her to beg, to plead, to do something to halt the impending doom.

In a more optimal scenario, she would have reacted by running around and dodging, but there was neither the time nor the space. Even then, such a tactic would only prolong her seconds left until defeat.

Her eyes flicked upward to the top of the flames that towered around her.

No! I can’t!

Detecting motion out of the corner of her eye, she spun as Blaze lunged for her, missing the blunt of the blow, or so she-

“AAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHHHHH!”

The runner screamed. Gasping, she fell to her knees, her right hand clutching her left side. A few crimson droplets struck the ground.

Still carrying the momentum from her successful attack, Blaze spun around, chakram raised.

Falling to her side, the runner kicked out at Blaze’s legs, rolling into a lunge position. The starting blocks. Not that she had ever been a sprinter, but then again, she had never been a fighter either. In the split second before Blaze would recover, images darted through her mind, fragments of memories of track meets, of her teammates, set for those few seconds of glory. In that split second, the flames blew away in her mind, the marble floor turning into the soft and slightly bumpy surface of a track, the air fresh and the crowd cheering around her as the starter raised his gun into the air. Set.

Hands in front of her, fingers on the ground. Hips up. Back straight. Head in line. The crowd hushes. The world freezes.

Explode.

The chakram swung around, but the runner had already pushed off, her sprint shifting into a leap as she soared to the top of the wall of flames. Legs flailed upon clearing the fire and she plummeted, rolling upon impact and tearing out of the room.

Behind her chaos erupted.

~~~

“WHAT THE HELL?”

“AFTER HER!”

“HEY! GUYS! DAMMIT! DON’T LEAVE ME IN HERE! I CAN ONLY BLIND PEOPLE-IT’S NOT LIKE I CAN CONTROL FIRE OR ANYTHING!”

~~~

In a movie, this would be the segment with the dramatic chase montage. She would dash down the halls, vaulting over railings and furniture and probably including a couple of pointless backflips for effect. Her opponents would be in hot pursuit, only for her to nimbly evade them through wit and speed as she cleverly slipped past obstacles they couldn’t avoid and set up traps in her wake. She’d leave them in the dust and speed off into the sunrise, free and victorious.

Reality was less glamorous.

With every step, stabbing pain shot along her side and her calf. Tears freely streamed down her face. Eyes stared blankly ahead. Her mouth was agape, spit dripping onto her cheek. She was nothing more than a wounded deer, hobbling as the trail of blood droplets betrayed her location. And slowly but surely, the hunters were closing in.

Adrenaline did nothing now. She was so close, her life was in peril, and yet…

And yet she was weak. Just as she had always been. The clock ran, her target ahead, yet she couldn’t-or wouldn’t-muster the strength. It was so easy, wasn’t it, to just slow down, a little, to not push her shrieking muscles, to-

Panicking, she slipped around a corner and ducked through a doorway leading to a staircase, managing to close the door behind her as quietly as possible. Focusing, she staggered more than ran up the staircase, hoping to at least gain some height before her pursuers entered and could see her. Just let the air flow, her feet free of the earth. Let the thrill of motion carry her.

Her eyes widened. She continued to run, drawing on that same source of strength as before, but her feet remained solidly on the stone steps.

Why can’t I-

Ice crept inside her stomach.

By the way, don’t exert yourself too much.

Huh?

It’s not like I couldn’t recover everything. Your strength…Well, it should rebound in time, but your mistake nevertheless had a cost.

Her heart hammered in her chest, knives slicing into her skull. She was nothing now. She was hardly more than a girl. A scientist and computer engineer, not an action hero. Her powers might have given her the illusion that she was something special, that she stood a chance, but-

“THERE SHE IS!”

If only she could do something dramatic, like dropping from railing to railing, or swinging on the railing and knocking over her opponents, or rappelling down the staircase. What a joke. Her right hand seared, the fabric on her palm burnt away and her muscles twitched as they sluggishly responded to her struggling will. Besides, she probably couldn’t perform such acrobatics even when she was healthy.

A gleam to her right caught her eye. Without thinking, she punched the glass of the window and hauled herself through the gap, ignoring how the lingering shards on the sill drew lines of blood on her shoulders and legs. Relief rushed through her as the roof met her feet-she doubted she would have been able to climb along the side of the fortress in her state. Maybe her stunt with the window would buy her some time-she doubted her pursuers would so rashly throw themselves through a glass-shard littered window.

Skidding along the rain-slicked roof, she fled, just managing to stop herself from falling off the edge several times. The rain had subsided, although the wind continued to howl around the mountains, whipping the fabric of her jacket. Bowing her head, she tied the straps on her hood more tightly, trying to stop her hood from blowing off as she stumbled across the shingles. If she just could get enough distance from them, she could hide. She continued her climb up the roof until she finally reached where the roof met the cliff face. Eyes narrowed as the wind blew dust and dirt, she caught sight of several footholds leading to a narrow path winding along the side of the cliff. Acutely aware of how her pursuers were drawing closer once more, she scrambled up the rocky path. One step, then another. Turning a corner, the mansion no longer in sight, she found that the steep path widened and levelled. She attempted to build up a burst of speed-

Only to stumble back as the ground crumbled in front of her. Grasping the rock edge to her left, she edged back, eyes wide as she took in the staggering drop she had almost slipped into. The ravine yawned before her, thousands of feet below, the bottom shrouded in shadow. Her stomach churned, her head spinning. She tried to turn her gaze away, yet the darkness held her eyes.

Four pairs of footsteps drew closer.

She didn’t move. Her breath escaped in ragged gasps, forming small wisps in the air. Bent over, she clenched her wounded side, desperate to stem the flow of blood. Now that she had stopped, exhaustion and agony consumed her, freezing her limbs. Her muscles shrieked at even the smallest movement.

There was no strength in her to fight, nor any place for her to run. The blood loss compounded her already existing dizziness. The blade against her back weighed her down, its sharp edge seeming to sear into her back.

“It’s-it’s over,” one of her pursuers spat, still trying to catch her breath.

The hand clutching her wound shook, then drew into a fist.

No.

There might be no cliché unrealistic surge of strength when she was almost defeated, no deus ex machine discovery of a heretofore unknown power, no allies suddenly swooping in to defend her. She was alone, broken…but there was nothing left for her. It wasn’t a race, where she could make the petty excuses of maybe the next meet, the next season, the next year. It all ended now. Here. Better to walk into the arena of death regal, tall, and proud, than be dragged in like a whimpering coward.

You can always win. Even against opponents far stronger, far more experienced, even.

She took a deep breath, the chill of the mountain air filling her lungs, and expelled it. Mustering every last ounce of strength she had, she turned to face her enemies.

Back straight. Head high. Shoulders down and neck long.

Beautiful. Powerful. Dangerous. Cold.

“Oh? Really?” she replied, tone frigid as she tilted her head.

Beneath the shadows of her hood, her eyes couldn’t betray her. Her enemies couldn’t see bags under her eyes, the spit and blood dripping down her chin, nor could they see the terror contorting her face or the bruises concealed beneath her clothes. Whatever droplets of crimson seeped out of her wounds melded with her dark attire. Her hips swayed slightly as she strutted backward, her steps slow and calculated.

“Well, yeah. You have nowhere to run.”

A soft chuckle emerged from deep in her chest. Light, but laced with something icy. Something dark.

“What’s so funny?” The voice of the other woman was a little more apprehensive this time.

The back of her heel touched the edge of the cliff, and she stopped.

“It’s just, for the first time, I feel…”

She smiled. Even though they couldn’t see it, they could catch the wild thrill in her voice as she threw her arms out to either side.

“…wicked.”

A slight tilt backward, weight shifting from toes to heels…and she fell. The wind swept past her, drowning out the gasps and exclamations as the supers ran toward the cliff edge. They only caught a glimpse of the runner, back straight and arms still outspread, before she vanished into the darkness of the abyss.

END PART I

[Running]

A dark sky, streaked with the silver tinge of dawn.

Flecks of blood on the rocks.

The wind moaned through the crags.

A splash in the river.

In the distance, a pair of amber eyes narrowed. A fist clenched as the wind tore at the fabric of a long coat.

~~~

PART II

~~~

It’s human nature, isn’t it? To yearn for greatness. Of course, many are far too feeble in will or mind to reach it. Yet…there are those, like you and me, who strive for that distant pinnacle, directing all of our energy on one facet, rather than letting it scatter wastefully. The light is more brilliant, more potent.

Hehehe

What?

Well, as for those other facets apart from our one focal point? They’re consumed.

Every power has a price, does it not?

~~~

“YEEEAAAAARGGHHH-whaa?”

A moment before Blaze was about to barrel through the wall of flames, chakram in hand, the flames fell, leaving a smoldering black circle. His eyes flicked toward the switch used to spring the trap, around which several sparrows fluttered. Gritting his teeth, he stumbled out of the circle and across the hall.

Specks of crimson dotted the floor. He followed. The chakram rested against his back, the tips of several of the blades emblazoned with the same shade. It was heavy. His feet dragged across the floor, his right hand bracing himself against the wall as he edged along while his left arm hung limply at his side. With each breath a blinding pain cut through his chest.

His vision blurred as he made it to the stairwell. He clung to the railing, dragging himself up the stairs, his vision blurring. His eyes burned. Wait, his eyes hurt? A line of pain jolted through his head and he shrieked, falling back and tumbling down a flight of steps until his body slammed into the nearest landing. His vision went black for an instant, dots spinning in front of his eyes. A light slashed through the darkness, and he narrowed her eyes, trying to bring his vision back into focus. The light flickered, then wavered.

Fire.

Eyes wide and jaw hanging, he reached out to touch it. Instead of pain, warmth met his fingertip and spread through his veins. A smile spread across his face as flames licked around hos body. It felt so comforting…. The gentle flames rose, the soft hissing shifting into a roar. In the gloom of the stairwell, the flames…no he was the only source of light.

And then he wasn’t.

He winced, eyes squinting as a sharp light appeared. The fire around him seared into his skin, burning white hot, and retreated toward the light. Blaze swerved around, only to catch a glimpse of the fire spiraling around the silver blade of the intruder before it sliced into his chest. A boom rocketed through his ears, and he was flung away, a gale howling and drawing all the air out of his lungs. His limbs twitched, eyes rolling back in his skull-

Blaze’s eyes whipped open, only for darkness to meet them. Head throbbing, he attempted to lift himself up, only to gasp in pain and fall back onto the thin mattress beneath him. He tried to move again, only to meet hands holding down his shoulders.

“GET THE F-”

“Blaze! It’s just me!”

Blaze stopped struggling as he recognized the voice.

“Careful. You’ve-well, you have more than one broken bone, and quite a few burns. I’m surprised you were able to walk this far.”

And thankful you managed to pass out before you attempted to climb through the window, Sparrow thought as she let go of Blaze. Even if Blaze had managed to not fall on the broken glass scattered along the floor, he likely would have gained some serious gashes while struggling through the window.

Frowning, Blaze blinked his eyes, but his vision remained black. “Wait, did I blind myself again?” He lifted his hand to his face, and felt a piece of cloth covering his eyes and wrapping around his head. His face contorted into a scowl, but before he could even open his mouth, Sparrow cut him off.

“Sorry for the blindfold…You didn’t have your sunglasses and well…” Sparrow ducked her head. As much as the group of supers joked about Blaze’s power, she knew that it had to be, well, rough really didn’t cover it. To be the only member of the team to have a power that could do naught but harm, and one that he couldn’t even control, really…

“It wouldn’t do for me to blind the person healing me,” Blaze finished quietly, anger spent all too quickly. Although the pain assailing him paled in comparison to the trauma from…what even was that? A hallucination? Well, whatever it was, the current aches and jabbing pain in his chest and arms and head were certainly enough to make his brow furrow as he tried to restrain himself from moaning.

Footsteps broke the awkward silence. “Well, here’s the bag of supplies you needed, Sparrow!” Skipping around, Rainy slipped a pair of sunglasses onto Blaze’s face, and pulled off the blindfold.

“Ta-DAH!”

“Ahhh that’s much better. Thanks Rainy.” Blinking, Blaze took in his surroundings. He was still in the stairwell landing. A small amount of light trickled through a window, while a couple flashlights constituted the bulk of the illumination. Blaze peered at the walls and ground around him. There were no char marks.

And Sparrow was covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking as she barely held back a series of giggles. Beside her Rainy was doing the same, albeit having far more trouble concealing her amusement.

“Hey, what’s so funny?”

Sparrow burst into laughter, bending over and clutching her side as she finally couldn’t hold it back. Blaze frowned.

“What? Seriously tell me!”

Sparrow and Rainy continued to laugh, until Blaze finally thought of taking off his sunglasses. She gave her friends a look. Even though her eyes weren’t blazing, Sparrow and Rainy averted their gaze, although their laughter only seemed to increase in intensity.

“Really?” Blaze asked, brandishing the sunglasses, which came complete with attached nose and moustache. His mouth twitched, then his frown collapsed and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hey, make sure to keep them on, Blaze.”

“You guys SO owe me for this.”

“I think it makes quite a lovely addition to your supersuit. You should keep it.”

Rolling his eyes, Blaze put on the glasses again. The three laughed again, but his smile fell as he remembered why his first pair of aviators had been broken in the first place.

“Wait-so what happened? Where’s the intruder?”

Rainy and Sparrow glanced at each other, but remained silent.

Blaze frowned. “Did she get away or something?” The mere words left a foul taste in his mouth.

“No. She….” Sparrow trailed off, wringing her hands. Rainy opened her mouth and shut it. The hair rose on the back of Blaze’s neck. What could be worse? If even Rainy couldn’t manage to find the words...

Sparrow took a deep breath. “She threw herself off a cliff,” she said. She bit her lip. She could still see the hooded figure, an intruder, but a person nonetheless, silhouetted against the break of dawn, lifting her arms like some twisted martyr and laughing before she flung herself off the cliff. Why? It was so senseless, to waste life like that.

“….You’re kidding,” Blaze managed to breathe.

Sparrow shook her head.

Although…while she obviously wasn’t able to examine the intruder’s injuries, she had seen Blaze’s chakram, and hadn’t missed the amount of blood that the fleeing runner had left in her wake. If the intruder had no backup or medical assistance, chances were that such a wound would lead to a rather slow and painful death. If so, would the runner have flung herself off the cliff if Sparrow and her friends hadn’t pushed her to that point?

She took a deep breath. These thoughts wouldn’t help. She was a doctor. It was her job to be calm under duress. Blood and death were unpleasant, but they couldn’t be avoided in her field. Noticing that her right hand was clenching her left arm, she released it and started to unpack the medical supplies in the backpack.

“Wish we weren’t. We had cornered her, you know, up by the ridge near the roof, and she just leaned back and let it go-I mean, let go of her hold on the rock and just toppled off. We could just barely hear a splash several seconds later.”

“What the hell? Are you sure she didn’t just jump to a nearby ledge, or land on a rescue helicopter, or something?”

“I flew and surveyed the cliff face from the top to about 20 meters down and didn’t see anything. I didn’t have time to check everything, since we all simultaneously panicked.”

“What?”

Rainy answered. “Well, we thought that maybe the intruder was a red herring, you know, to lure us out of HQ. I mean, who attacks a base, steals nothing except a wooden sword-”

“WAIT-SHE THREW HERSELF OFF THE CLIFF WITH WAY TO THE DAWN?”

“Yeah, we’re still confused about that-“ Rainy stopped as Blaze unleashed a series of curses only to hiss in pain and clutch his side.

“Careful! You might have broken some ribs,” Sparrow cautioned, placing ointment and bandages on the worst of the burns on Blaze’s hands and arms. Blaze winced and let out another curse. “And maybe a wrist.”

“Anyways, of course once she threw herself off the cliff, we dashed back to HQ, thinking that she was some sort of red herring-” Sparrow continued.

“-kamikaze sort of person-” Rainy added.

“-and good thing, too, since we found you collapsed on the stairs here-”

“-so we sent Jackal and Blackie and some sparrows to scout HQ. They haven’t found anything yet-”

“-and Rainy found a mattress and we managed to move you onto it. We’ll move you once I set any broken bones. You could be a lot worse,” the crimson flecks on the staircase caught her eyes, and she quickly turned her gaze to Blaze. “-but you need to rest,” she finished, giving Blaze a sympathetic but stern look as the latter opened his mouth to protest. Pouting, the redhead clenched his first.

“I swear, if hoodie comes back from the dead, she is going to find my hands around her throat.”

~~~

“I just don’t get it,” Jackal said, scratching his head.

“She invaded our base, which should be pretty difficult to get into, led us on a crazy chase, and then went and killed herself. Not to mention that she was one person going up against all of us.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty creeped out by the lack of any backup. Or at least, backup that we can see,” Blackie added. “There’s something we’re missing here.”

“And chances are, the longer we take to figure it out, the worse of a state we’ll be in.”

“Did she even take anything?”

“Apart from Blaze’s wooden keyblade? I don’t think so. At the very least, it would have had to be something small.”

They had investigated the main areas that they thought would be targets for attack or theft, but with no success. With Blaze out for the count and Sparrow and Rainy tending to her, they were too few in number to really conduct a comprehensive search of the base. With the absence of any clues, they decided they might as well track the path of the intruder through the base, and keep an eye out for any possible other intruders. It didn’t seem as if there were any people in HQ besides themselves, but that didn’t dispel their sense of unease. If the enemy was well organized and prepared, they probably didn’t stand a chance.

“Should we dust for fingerprints or something?” Blackie asked as they approached the ballroom.

“Probably not worth our time. She was wearing gloves.”

“Oh. Right.”

“And I don’t think we have the lab equipment to do some sort of DNA analysis on the blood-huh? What is it?” he asked, eyebrow rising as Blackie facepalmed.

“I know this is the least of our worries, but do you realize the mess we have to clean up?”

Jackal grimaced as he pointed his flashlight at the floor of the ballroom, adding the beam of light to the faint light of dawn trickling through the upper windows. Pools of water and pieces of the broken chandelier littered the floor, and the smell of smoke and burnt wood hung in the air. In the corner a circle of char marks tainted the floor, complete with bloodstains on one side. And then when you factored in the mess in Blaze’s room, the totaled elevator, and god knows what other messes the hooded intruder made.

“You know, I might actually feel bad about making Blaze clean all of it this time,” Jackal said, rubbing the back of his head. Looking to his side, he saw Blackie walking over to a corner of the ballroom and pressing a few buttons to open another computer terminal.

“Hey, this is no time to browse the internet-”

“I’m trying to look up-what the?” Blackie’s retort quickly shifted into a groan. Jackal ran to the computer terminal and looked over her shoulder to see a blue screen with a popup message.

“All our documents and program files are encrypted?”

“You have got to be kidding me!” Blackie moaned, slamming her head on the keyboard.

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Jackal yelled, kicking the wall. Composing himself, he crossed his arms. “Well, who wants to bet our little hooded friend is responsible,” he grumbled, fist clenched.

“That-that freakish-how did she even find the computers, nevermind get the password and mess around with them?”

“This sucks….” Jackal said, pacing. “On the bright side, even though we lost a ton of important data AND can’t operate the security system, at least we have our smartphones to access the internet. What were you trying to look up again?” Jackal asked, pulling out his phone and opening the internet browser. He frowned.

~~~

A few minutes later Blaze’s phone vibrated. Before Blaze could reach for it, Rainy snatched it out of his pocket.

“Dude, how is this even working? If only my cell cases were this indestructible.”

Plugging in Blaze’s passcode, because she somehow knew these things, Rainy read out the text.

“Hoodie is officially evil. She totaled our computers…and destroyed our WIFI.”

~~~

“A storm is coming,” Rainy said, glancing out of the broken window. After some struggles, they moved the now bandaged Blaze to the nearest bedroom, where Sparrow continued her examination of her friend’s injuries. Sparrow, brushing her bangs away from her face, turned to look out of the window as well, and frowned. Clouds gathered on the horizon, and the once howling air assumed an eerie stillness.

She closed her eyes. It was okay. Her friends were all safe.

“Am-am I going to be alright?”

Sparrow started at how faint her friend’s voice sounded. “Of course Blaze!” she stammered, wringing her hands. “I mean, your bones will heal, and even if there is some spinal damage your motion hasn’t been affected enough for it to truly be serious-there’s nothing life threatening and you’ll probably have full range of motion-”

“Then why the hell aren’t you going after her!”

“What?” Sparrow froze, bewildered by the sudden change

“THE DAMN INTRUDER!”

“Errr…Blaze, what’s gotten into you? Just calm-”

“I AM NOT CALMING DOWN!” Blaze shouted, trying to lift himself up again, only to curse vehemently as pain shot through his back and side.

“Woah there, don’t move, you can’t risk-“

“Who’s to say she didn’t magically fly away or some hidden helicopter picked her up-you can’t let her get away with this Sparrow-”

“Hey, lay off of her! She’s healing you, and besides, we’re all to blame, I guess-”

“Then why didn’t you fly after her the moment she jumped, huh? You’re the only one who had a shot of pursuing her-”

“She was off healing your sorry butt!” Rainy spat back at Blaze, hands on her hips as she glared at the redhead.

Sparrow put up her hands. “Jeez, guys, we’re getting nowhere turning on each-”

“Yeah, cause we just all seem to be a bunch of failures, right-”

“Just shut up!”

“Well, sorry that I’m the only one who apparently faced the hoodie in serious combat-”

“What the heck is wrong with you-”

“Heroes aren’t supposed to let the bad guys get away-especially bad guys that ATTACK THEIR FRIENDS!”

The door slammed. Then it slammed again.

“You’re not the only one who’s hurt, you know!”

“Last time I checked, you’re walking around!”

“Fine, next time I’ll go after the bad guys, and you can just lie on the stairs, completely vulnerable to enemy attack-”

A high pitched whine shot through the room and the three threw their hands over their ears. Grimacing in pain, the three looked up to see Blackie and Jackal standing in the doorway, the former smirking as she turned off the sound emitting from her cellphone.

“Did we come in at a bad time?”

“Errrr....”

“Ummm…”

“Well…”

Rainy, Sparrow, and Blaze glanced at each other, embarrassment mingling with lingering irritation on their faces.

“Wait-why are you two here?” Rainy said, scratching the back of her head. “Is there something wrong?”

“Well, we haven’t found any scent or sign of any other intruders except hoodie, but we traced hoodie’s path and we think she entered through a window on one of the upper floors.”

Rainy and Sparrow both turned to Blaze. Before the latter could open his mouth to utter a snarky remark, Sparrow sighed.

“Well...you did have a point, Blaze. I’ll go investigate.”

“Wait-let me go with you-I can totally be stealthy!” Rainy exclaimed, pulling a rope off of a random hook on the wall and knocking over several boxes in her haste to follow Sparrow to the window.

Sparrow shook her head. Her hands moved quickly, gathering some of the supplies into the bag and handing others to Rainy. “Guard Blaze for me, Rainy. Blackie, Jackal, try to see if you can find any more clues in the manor. I’ll be back soon.”

~~~

“Uggghhhh! I’m so tired!” Blackie moaned as she and Jackal patrolled the halls for what seemed like the thousandth time. Jackal’s nose was trained to the floor as he padded across the floor, while Blackie peered around the halls, opening every door and checking each room. Most of the rooms were pretty empty, of course, filled with cobwebs and old furniture, but no harm in checking.

“Although…I bet a swarm of evil minions will come crawling out of nowhere the moment we take a coffee break. Hah! At this point, that would almost be worth it. A visible enemy is better than one lurking in the shadows.”

Jackal stopped, tilting his head to the side and giving Blackie a look.

“Yeah, I know, look who’s talking-ooh! A text from Sparrow,” Blackie said, pulling out a phone as it vibrated.

She gasped. Jackal shifted into human form and peered over Blackie’s shoulder.

“Huh? What does it-oh….”

In the makeshift hospital room, another cellphone vibrated. Rainy snatched the phone away from Blaze before the latter could harm himself while reaching for it.

“Oh god…”

“Rainy, what is it?”

“Sparrow…Sparrow says she found the body at the edge of the water. There was no pulse.”

Shards of hail began to clatter against the window. The wind hissed.

~~~

Sparrow wrapped her jacket more tightly around her, thankful that she had grabbed it in her haste as she left HQ. Her pajamas weren’t much use as the temperature plummeted and the fury of the storm rose. The light of dawn had fallen as clouds consumed the sky, and the towering walls of the ravine outside the cave were wreathed in shadow. The wind screeched and moaned. Lightning sliced the sky, and the rain pummeled the surrounding rock.

~~~

“I swear something bad is going to happen to Sparrow. This storm doesn’t seem natural,” Jackal said in between taking bites of his sandwich. Although there were no windows in the videogame room, they could still discern the clattering of hail and the crackling of thunder in the distance. Funny how all of this had started when he left to get snacks for the Super Smash Bros party, and only now did they get a chance to eat. Who knows what might have happened if he hadn’t been sent out, if he hadn’t caught the scent of the intruder in the hallway?

What would have happened? If they hadn’t confronted the intruder, would she have slipped in, damaged the computer system, and left without further damage to any of the supers or their home? Or would she have done something worse?

“Yeah, but storms tend to get pretty vicious in these mountains. Maybe we’re just, you know, panicking unnecessarily because the timing is so unfortunate,” Blackie replied, although her smile was strained. She took another bite of her own sandwich. It was a good thing that they finally decided to eat. They needed to keep their strength up after all.

“At least Sparrow managed to text us to say she found shelter in a cave.”

“Shame she didn’t have the time to examine the body. To, you know, try to determine who the intruder is.”

“Yeah, dragging that would have been a little nasty.”

The fireplace crackled. They stared at the flames. Their limbs ached. It had been a long day even before their late-night videogame party, and now, well into the morning, the lack of sleep was beginning to catch up to them. Jackal yawned. In retrospect, they shouldn’t have decided to sit on extremely comfortable beanbags.

“I don’t know what we expected, really. I mean, yeah, crazy stuff has happened before, and she was somehow able to get across the ravine before and enter through a window…”

“She wasn’t exactly in the best physical condition for an escape. Blaze hit her pretty badly, if the blood was any indicator.”

“Guess we should clean that up now.”

“Yeah…” Jackal muttered, only to collapse onto the beanbag, snoring.

~~~

Evening came. The storm continued. There were a few texts from Sparrow, and then her phone died. Rainy’s attempts to part the rain and hail enough to trudge through it had ended in failure-she was barely able to reach the cliff face before nearly collapsing. It had been a struggle just to drag Rainy back and close the door after the failed attempt. Windows shattered, and the supers boarded up the rest.

“I don’t know whether to be furious that we had to get an old mansion with rickety windows as our base, or thankful that it was built into the mountainside so that there is less surface area to be battered by the storm.”

“Yeah….”

“…I’m really worried about Sparrow.”

“Me too.”

Blaze remained still, feigning sleep as his friends talked, but beneath his sunglasses his eyes stared vacantly into space.

“It must be awful, being alone.”

“Especially after, you know, seeing…”

Blaze bit his lip. His fingernails jabbed into the skin of his palms.

~~~

The next morning. The storm raged on.

“Well, at least there’s one good thing about all of this.”

“Huh?”

“If we can’t get out, no one can get in. We at least won’t be dealing with any more intruders.”

“Hey, don’t jinx it.”

~~~

The third day.

“So, what do we know?”

The four young adults were gathered around the fireplace again.

“Sparrow’s phone can’t reach us anymore, it’s near suicide to even walk outside in the storm, nevermind attempt to climb down the cliff-“

“Our internet and computers are down thanks to the intruder-”

“And likely the only one who knows the key to decrypt all the data and programs on our computer system is the intruder, who is dead.”

“We don’t even have a proper rescue vehicle after our chopper got totaled in that last mission-”

“At least I don’t think there are any other intruders. That’s one good thing. And we still have hot chocolate. And marshmallows!”

“Sparrow doesn’t.”

“Way to ruin the mood.”

“Hmmph. Some heroes we are.”

~~~

Sparrow looked out onto the wall of ice and water roaring down the cave entrance. She braced herself against the wall of the cave, the palm of her right hand pressed against the ragged rock to stop it from trembling.

The blood, the gashes…She couldn’t get the images out of her head…

~~~

The fourth day.

There were bags under Rainy’s eyes, but a smile remained plastered on her face. A strained one, but a smile nonetheless. That’s how it should be, right? A smile made everything better! They were tired, but they had food! The elevator was totaled and Blaze was still recovering from injury, but no one was attacking them anymore! Little by little they were repairing the damage from the intruder’s invasion, taking advantage of the time they were stuck in HQ to clean up the debris and grime and blood-after Rainy took some time to sketch and commemorate the occasion, of course!

She skipped along the hallway, swinging her arms from side to side. A backpack with flowers and butterflies rested on her back, and her clothes were rather bright and cheery overall. It was quite a lovely day indeed, endless storm or not!

Reaching a door, Rainy glanced furtively to either side and slipped into the stairwell. The roar of the storm concealed her rather noisy footsteps as she ran up the stairs until she reached a boarded up window. Rainy pulled a hammer out of her pocket and worked quickly, pulling the nails out of one board and placing the now free board on the ground next to the window. After a glance above and below to ensure no one had followed, she creaked open the window.

Concentrate. You can do this.

Rain shot through the window, carried by the wild wind, only to halt before it could hit the floor beneath the window. Moving her arms in circles, Rainy drove rain back through the window, and then swung her arms apart. For several meters in front of her the rain on the rooftop parted, forming a thin tunnel just wide enough for a person to slip through. The smile became more sincere.

Still focusing on maintaining her tunnel, she climbed through the window and closed it after her. She spun around as she walked, moving her arms as the rain directly over her head parted, only to fall normally as she passed. The wind still whipped at her jacket, but its accompanying rain did not follow. It was rather eerie and beautiful, to be in the midst of this wild tempest. Only inches away the clear air around her was swallowed by wind and rain and hail. She could not see the cliff face near her, or even the ground a few feet away. The storm roared and here and there droplets of water that rebounded from the ground would strike her clothes.

One step. Then another. And another.

Minutes passed.

Rainy’s arms began to shake, her head pounding. Her breath was shallow and rapid. She dragged her feet along the ground. She gritted her teeth, face contorting into a scowl. She could almost feel the weight of all the rain around her, hammering at her invisible shield.

Her eyes narrowed, only to widen as she spotted the edge of the cliff just a few meters before her. She was going to make it!

BOOM

“Eeep!”

The moment of panic as thunder rumbled was all it took. The shield shattered, and a wave of water crashed upon the young woman. Rainy collapsed, the ground slamming into her face. She didn’t move. The rain pummeled her rather small frame. Eyes tearing, she reached her arm out toward the edge of the cliff before it fell to the ground.

Each day she got a little farther, just a little. Blaze, Jackal, and Blackie didn’t know, of course. Her long sleeves and hats mostly concealed the cuts and bruises from when she slipped on the rocks, or when the hail battered her. Each day she collapsed, and was eventually able to drag herself back to the window, drenched and broken.

“Sparrow…I’m…I’m so sorry. Please be alright.”

~~~

Five days.

A faint clicking echoed along the hall as Jackal pushed the wheelchair. After a couple of days of bedrest, Blaze’s first attempt to walk ended in agony and failure. Maybe Sparrow was right about spinal damage. Rainy was currently poring over Sparrow’s medical textbooks in search of advice, but in the meantime, they decided to play it safe. Jackal was just thankful that he was able to find a wheelchair hidden in the junk in the basement in order to appease Blaze’s whining about being stuck in one place all the time. And Blaze certainly seemed to be enjoying his semi-freedom.

“I’m telling you, you’re missing out on a brilliant opportunity. We should totally attach a harness to this and turn it into a dogsled, and then you can pull me along and it would be so awesome!”

“Remind me to tell Rainy to give you fewer painkillers next time.”

“What? I have to make the best out of my situation, right?” Blaze replied, grinning as his good hand held on to the arm of the wheelchair. Compared to earlier, he felt relatively good, and actually fairly clearheaded.

“NOW FASTER! FASTER! MUSH! MUSH!” he commanded, and shaking hiz head and chuckling, Jackal obliged, sprinting as he pushed Blaze down the hallway.

“WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

Eventually they skidded to a stop, Jackal panting and bending over. Despite his exhaustion, he smiled. Maybe it would be easier to pull Blaze in dog form-he had more endurance as a dog, anyway. Managing to catch his breath, Jackal righted himself and placed his hands on the back of the wheelchair, ready to cart Blaze to some other part of the manor.

“Wait.”

Jackal paused, following Blaze’s line of sight. His face darkened.

“You want to go in there?”

“Yeah.”

Jackal couldn’t find a way to argue. Sure, maybe it might not be healthy, but he had no right to stop Blaze. As he wheeled his friend through the doorway and into Blaze’s room, his hands tightened around the handles of the wheelchair. He could still remember sprinting along the hallway, following the sound of yelling and thuds. Blaze had told him how close it had been, how Jackal’s lucky throw of the chair had just managed to knock the intruder aside before she could deliver a rather nasty finishing blow to Blaze...Jackal’s insides grew cold at the thought of what might have happened if he had been a second late, an inch off…

Blaze’s eyes narrowed as he took in his room. It was odd how normal it looked. The same bed, the same desk. Not at all like the site of a battle.

His eyes latched onto a series of black char marks along the floor. Before he knew it, the fist that was not bound by a sling slammed into the wall.

“AAARGGGHHHH!”

“BLAZE!”

“No-sorry,” he hissed, clutching his hand to his chest. Why couldn’t he seem to keep his emotions under control? Even over something as silly as a model keyblade. Hadn’t he said himself that it meant little, in the big scheme of things?

He gritted his teeth, closing his eyes and turning his head away from Jackal.

But why? WHY? It was all so stupid! Who just waltzed into their base to break and steal a few, relatively small things, hurt him and some of his friends, and then went and offed herself!

“No, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have–well, it is your room, but still-”

As Jackal continued to stammer, Blaze began to tune out. Not intentionally of course. It was just, well, maybe it was the painkillers, but something....

Something was off about his room.

Well, obviously his room would feel different. Getting beaten up in a place certainly would certainly change your perspective on it. How was he supposed to sleep there, or do anything productive there now that all he could think of was that fight. He glanced over to his computer and tablet and sighed. Not that he seemed to get any art or writing done there anyway.

“What is it?”

“I know I’m going to sound stupid, saying this, but does my room seem warmer to you?”

“Huh?” Jackal tilted his head. Warm was the last word he would use to describe this room. The whole manor was rather chilly, actually. Jackal glanced about the room. Even the fire normally crackling in the fireplace had died.

“I don’t know, maybe warmer isn’t the best word. I guess the air seems lighter? Or clearer?” Blaze continued, scratching the back of his head with his good hand.

“Maybe it’s the lack of the fire. We should work on ventilating this room better.”

“Yeah…” Blaze shook his head. He looked at the door to his closet, remembering how the hooded intruder had darted over there, jerking the door open. Something irked her about that scene. For an instant a silver light flashed across his eyes.

What sort of painkillers DID they put me on.

Before Blaze could ask Jackal to wheel him over to the opposite side of the room, a deafening crackle made them freeze. The lights flickered off as the room shook. The wheelchair toppled over, followed by a loud crash.

“BLAZE!”

“JACKAL!”

…

“Oh. My. God.”

~~~

Four days earlier….

A small shadow was cast on churning waters as Sparrow flew deeper into the ravine, her wings starting to ache.

What was I even thinking? It will be nigh impossible to find the intruder, especially if the river washed her away. Guess it was worth a shot, though-

Her train of thought halted as a screech echoed through the ravine and she spotted the shadow out of the corner of her eye. In midair she turned, shifting back into human form and kicking out at the eagle a moment before it would have sunk its talons. Her foot made contact with the raptor’s stomach, eliciting a squawk from the latter as it jerked back and swooped away. Arms flailing, she prepared to shift back into bird form before she hit the river below, only for her hand to catch onto the edge of a ledge jutting out from the ravine wall. With some struggling, she pulled herself up onto the thin lip of rock.

I have to thank Rainy for those lessons, she thought, brushing herself off as she caught her breath. The air was still, and the impending storm couldn’t be far off. She leaned back against the rock wall behind her, wondering how much more she could travel before-

“Aaack!”

Instead of a rocky wall, only air met her back-that is, until she fell backward, landing with a splash in a puddle of mucky water. She rolled her eyes at her unfortunate luck.

“Well, this is-wait…” Stone walls rose either side of her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see that the hole led deeper into the rock. She rolled onto her knees and scrambled back to her feet. From her backpack she pulled out a flashlight and flicked it on, the thin beam of light revealing a hole that seemed to extend many meters into the cliff face. She grimaced as she inhaled the damp and briny air. Beneath the hum of insects and the plinking of water dripping from the roof of the cave, she could discern something else. The air was too stagnant for the faint whisper to be wind. The sound was faint, shallow, and jagged, but breathing nonetheless.

Looking down, she spotted a fleck of crimson on the ground beneath her.

Her heart pounded in her head.

Who else could it be?

She hesitated, and then shook her head. Whatever faced her in the cave, she had to be brave enough to face it.

Stepping carefully to avoid the pools of water and shining her flashlight ahead, the blonde edged into the cave, running her hands along the grimy walls. For several paces she had to duck her head lest it sc along the rock above, and then the tunnel widened into a cavern several meters in height and width. Sparrow stopped, breath billowing in front of her face. Lichen covered walls and twisted rock formations surrounded her. Eyes wide, she traced a vein of quartz along a wall. Her elbow knocked aside a small pile of rocks and debris resting on a small pillar of rock. Sparrow grimaced as the pebbles clattered onto the ground and echoed throughout the cave.

“Oops.”

The echoes faded, the cave silent apart from the ceaseless dripping of water. Sparrow focused, trying to pinpoint the faint breathing she had heard before. Maybe she had just imagined it?

Behind her, fabric rustled. Sparrow spun around and directed her flashlight toward the sound. In the corner of the cave, only a few meters from the blonde, a hunched over figure stirred. A hood covered her face, and a ragged strip of cloth was wrapped around her waist, a red stain spreading on one side. Her jacket and pants were torn and coated with mud and grime. Lifting her head, she froze. Although Sparrow couldn’t see her face, she guessed that intruder was staring at her. The winged wooden blade was clenched in one hand, and as Sparrow watched, her grasp around the hilt tightened.

“It’s…errr…I’m here to-to help-” Sparrow said, holding up both hands. Funny how the assertion flowed so easily out of her mouth. She hadn’t really thought of what she was going to do if she found the intruder alive. (How was she alive, anyway? This cave was a decent distance from the ledge the runner had launched herself off of). She couldn’t bring herself to attack such a sorry mess, so starkly different from the tall and proud figure on the edge of the cliff only about an hour ago. Just letting the wounded young woman die didn’t seem right either.

Great. I’m sympathizing with someone who was just trying to kill me and my friends. Get it together Sparrow.

Well, she couldn’t help it-she felt sick about the whole thing. They had been acting in self-defense, of course, but technically she and her friends were the reason that the intruder was in such a pathetic state at the moment.

The runner’s head jerked left and right. Movements stiff, she tried to drag herself back, only to hiss in pain as she collided with the stone wall behind her.

“Hey, stop, it’s alright! Look …well, I guess you have no reason to trust me, really, but I swear to god I can-I mean, I know how to heal-”

Something between a laugh and a hoarse cough left the runner’s mouth.

“Why bother….heal…just going to tear me apart again, aren’t you?” she managed to choke before she was caught in a series of dry heaves and coughing. Her entire frame shook as she clutched her chest with her free arm.

Well, she kind of has a point. Sparrow thought. If she did heal the intruder and the intruder miraculously survived, what would she do then? Bring her back to HQ? Make her a prisoner? Interrogate her?

Sparrow shifted uneasily from foot to foot. She had to do something. She took a step forward, hands up.

“I promise, I don’t want to hurt-”

“No-please-just go!”

“Easy, easy!”

The runner’s breath was rapid, coming out in ragged gasps.

“No-you-you’ll only make it worse-”

Sparrow froze at the change in the intruder’s tone, the amount of terror and dread laced in it.

“Jeez! Calm down!”

The blonde took a few more steps forward. The runner clutched her forehead with her free hand.

“No-I can’t, please, I’m not strong enough to-”

“Look, I’m not going to hurt you. Just put down the sword-”

“NO!”

The runner clutched the sword more tightly to her chest, only to be seized in a series of convulsions as a scream rose from her mouth. The hairs on the back of Sparrow’s neck rose as the sound ricocheted around the cave, only to be drowned out as the skies broke, unleashing hail upon the land outside the cave. Lightning struck a nearby peak, illuminating the cave. The dripping walls flashed in the sudden light, the fangs of stone looming around the two young women. The flashlight fell out of her hand and rolled away, leaving her in darkness.

“Ok, fine, keep the sword, just let me help you-”

“Just-just stay away!” the runner shrieked. Lightning lit the cave again, casting a stark light upon the trembling runner as she raised her arm and hurled the sword across the cave. It missed Sparrow by a wide margin, landing with a thud in a far corner of the cave, but the short blonde still jumped back, eyes wide. The hooded figure shuddered, and fell back to the ground. Her limbs twitched for a moment, then were still, only a faint movement of her chest indicating she was alive. Barely.

“What the hell? What is wrong with you!” Sparrow shrieked, although the runner couldn’t hear her. Her knees caved in and she slumped against the stone wall behind her. She was suddenly aware of how much her hands were trembling, how her entire body was shivering violently. Eyes closed, she struggled to master her nausea as her heart pounded in her head, rivalling the tempo of the icestorm outside.

~~~

Sparrow’s eyelids fluttered as she struggled to hold back a yawn. Exhaustion was seeping into her limbs and head, which wasn’t exactly ideal for the work in which she was currently engaged. Biting her lip, she forced herself to focus as she drew the needle through flesh, trying to stitch together the wound as best as she could by the light of her flashlight. What else could she do, really? As unnerving as her brief interaction with the intruder had been, it had taken less than a minute after the runner’s collapse for her medical instincts to kick in. Judging by the ferocity of the storm outside, she was stuck there anyway. Might as well save the poor scrap than share the cave with a corpse.

~~~

The wound on her side was bandaged, as was the nasty bite on her leg. The bleeding was stemmed, and hopefully her use of disinfectants and antibiotics would preclude infection, but only time would tell whether the runner would pull through. After checking for further wounds along the runner’s legs, she turned her attention to the rest of the runner’s upper body. Judging by the charring on the sweatshirt, there were likely some nasty burns on her arms and chest. Careful to not disrupt the runner too much, she pulled off what remained of the runner’s sweatshirt, and then her shirt. Sparrow’s eyes widened. The clothes fell out of her hands.

“Jesus.”

Yellowed bruises littered the runner’s rather thin frame. A swathe of bandages was wrapped around the runner’s upper chest, and, as Sparrow surveyed the runner, she noted several more along her arms, neck, and back. Sparrow reached toward the bandages, then jerked her hand back. The runner’s skin was burning despite the frigid air. Noticing the burns alongside the old wounds, Sparrow shook her head and directed her attention toward treating the present injuries.

~~~

Outside hail continued to assail the mountainside as Sparrow pulled off what remained of the runner’s charred gloves and began to treat the burns. Just as she was about to finish wrapping the bandage around the runner’s right hand, she stopped. Most of the burns were fresh, but at the bottom of her palm, right above a band wrapped around her wrist, there was a dark, almost triangular shaped burn that seemed to be older. She pulled back the armband to see that the small marking was connected to several other lines burned into the runner’s flesh. They were too straight, too regular. Sparrow traced the burns. Three arrows, radiating from another triangle about a third of the way down the runner’s forearm. A small line cut horizontally near the top of the lower triangle. Sparrow winced as she took in the severe blistering along the burn marks.

“Well, this is only getting creepier and creepier. Who are you, anyway?” she murmured. Frowning, she leaned forward, reaching for the runner’s sweatshirt, which she had inconveniently dropped on the runner’s face.

“Funny, I was so busy with your injuries that I never bothered to-“

Soft laughter echoed around the cave. Sparrow froze, fingers a hair away from the runner’s sweatshirt. She glanced at the hooded figure, who was still apart from the faint movement of her chest, and whipped her flashlight around. The beam of light only met walls and pillars of moist stone.

Boots clicked against the stone floor.

Before Sparrow could direct her flashlight toward the source of the voice, a wan orange light emerged in the center of a lantern, illuminating the face of a woman. She seemed to be several years older than Sparrow. A long coat and pants covered her wiry frame, and rope and a small pack were strung along her back. Stands of dark hair fell to the sides of her face, although the hair in the back was cut short. There was a wry grin about her face, although the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Sparrow started, reaching for the dagger in her belt, only to find that the sheath was empty. She glanced down at the array of medical tools before her and snatched a small knife she had been using, pointing it at the woman.

“Who are you? How long have you been here?”

The woman chuckled. She sauntered closer, then stopped a few meters away from the blonde.

“Oh how rude. Attacking first and asking questions later?”

Sparrow lowered her arm, ears reddening. Her muscles remained tense as she warily eyed the woman. “Errr…well, I technically asked the question first-I mean, sorry, you kind of just-I guess I’m just a little on the edge, with this being a creepy cave and all and then you laughing like that,” Sparrow stammered, biting her lip.

“Yes, I can see that.”

The blonde struggled for words, confusion and embarrassment competing in her mind. While the woman could be an enemy just as much as she could be an innocent passerby, immediately threatening someone with a knife was a rather excellent way to make a bad impression.

“So, what are you doing-” The woman appeared to not be listening, cutting her off and gesturing toward the figure on the ground.

“Will she wake?”

Sparrow couldn’t read the expression on the woman’s face.

“Well, she’s lost a lot of blood, but she has a chance. Probably be out for a few days, mind,”

“I see…” the woman said, frowning, as she brought her hand to her chin. “How did she end up like this?”

“Errrr…” Sparrow looked at her feet, her jaw shifting from side to side. “Wait, why are you so interested in her? Do you know her or something?”

“I believe any sane individual would be concerned about someone grievously injured in their vicinity.”

“Ehehe, right.”

“Unless you were the one responsible for her wounds?” the woman added, tilting her head as her amber eyes peered into Sparrow’s. Sparrow flinched, and then recovered, shooting the woman a glare and putting her hands on her hips

“W-where did that come from? I’m the one healing her!”

The woman looked down at the blonde.

“Then why the alarm at my query?”

“Errr-I….”

A hint of a smug grin crossed the woman’s face. She strode forward and Sparrow tensed, stepping back. The woman swept past her and proceeded toward the collapsed runner.

“Wait, what are you-”

The woman held a hand up and Sparrow fell silent, shoving her hands into her pockets. What was she supposed to do? The lantern light flickered around the cave, but Sparrow could only barely make out the outline of the runner as the woman bent over her. Sparrow swore she could hear the woman mutter something, but her words were too soft to discern. The woman took off her coat, revealing a tight-fitting black shirt with silver markings, and drew the coat around the runner’s thin frame. A few moments later, she rose to her feet and took a few steps away. Sparrow’s brow furrowed as she directed the beam of her flashlight toward the runner again. Was it just coincidence that the hood of the coat had been placed so that it concealed the runner’s face?

“Could have bothered to keep her from freezing,” the woman remarked, brushing her hands off on her pants and looking pointedly at Sparrow.

Oops.

The blonde opened her mouth, but no words came out. She looked at her feet again, only to lift her head as the woman continued.

“Nevertheless, it appears I have to thank you. I likely would have been too late.”

“Oh, erm, thanks-thank you! So….wait…you-are you the one who healed her injuries from before?”

“A sharp one, aren’t you? Only took you so long.”

“So, you do know her!”

“You could say that.”

“What happened to her? How did you get here? Who are you, anyway?”

The woman rolled her eyes.

“All the questions and you haven’t even had the courtesy to introduce yourself.”

Sparrow gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head.

“Sorry! I’m-I’m Sparrow.”

The woman quirked an eyebrow, then shrugged her shoulders. She picked up the lantern, placing it on a boulder, and slid the pack off of her back and began to rummage through it. Sparrow waited, tapping her foot, and a few moments later, she couldn’t help but blurt out:

“Oi! I gave you my name, it’s only fair you tell me yours!”

The woman ignored her, continuing to rifle through her bag.

Sparrow threw her hands in the air.

“But-aargh- you are impossibl-”

“My name is Adder.”

“Adder?”

Adder turned to Sparrow, quirking an eyebrow as she pulled out a bottle of water and zipped up her backpack.

“Hmm?”

“Oh…umm, nothing, I mean, I’ve just never heard that used as a name before-it’s not a bad thing, it’s just a little unusual-gaahhh I’m sorry!” she stammered, her ears growing red. Wringing her hands, she scrambled for a change of topic.

“So, uhhh how did you get here, anyways?”

Adder took her time, sipping some water from the bottle before responding. “I believe the better question is, how did you get here?”

“Hey, I asked first!” Sparrow said, putting her hands on her hips. Adder rolled her eyes. Shrugging one shoulder, she let the coil of rope resting on it slide down her arm and into her hand.

“I have some experience with mountain climbing. You on the other hand, don’t seem particularly prepared for such a feat,” she remarked, gesturing toward Sparrow’s pajamas. The latter gulped.

“I….err…I…” Sparrow scratched the back of her head.

Ahhhh, why am I so terrible at lying? I mean, I could just tell Adder I have superpowers, but yeah…I still don’t trust her, honestly. But I can’t attack her and demand for answers either…

Silence drew out between the two women. Adder sighed.

“Well, I’ve got better things to do. See you when you’re composed enough for intelligent conversation,” she scoffed, turning around and sashaying toward another corner of the cave.

“Hey-wait-I meant-aggghhh!” Sparrow moaned, throwing her head into her hands.

~~~

Sunset had passed, killing whatever faint light trickled into the cave from the entrance. The storm persisted at full fury outside. Sparrow shivered, pulling her knees closer to her chest. The stone floor was cold and damp, and she seriously regretted not bringing a blanket. Speaking of which…

She glowered at Adder, who lounged in the opposite corners of the cave, a blanket wrapped around her wiry frame as the lantern flickered beside her. Sparrow clutched her flashlight more tightly, as if the small beam of light would anchor her, protect her from whatever dark forces loomed around.

Between them was the collapsed runner. Every so often Sparrow would check on her, mostly to ensure she was still breathing, although every time she attempted to pull back the runner’s hood, Adder stopped her. She felt as if the woman’s eyes were perpetually trained on her, even if half the time she seemed to be preoccupied with something else. She bit her lip, fingers drumming against her side. If only the woman’s attention, or better yet her grip on her backpack would slip. Sparrow was glad the roar of the storm drowned out the restless rustling of the sparrows resting on a ledge near the roof of the cave. She had to time this right, or she’d lose the element of surprise. She shifted around, trying to find a more comfortable sitting position: a futile effort given the slippery stone around her. Her legs were stiff and cold.

“You should get some sleep.”

“What?” Sparrow lowered her head from where she had been counting the stalactites for the hundredth time.

“Sleep, you idiot. You’re dead on your feet.”

Sparrow ignored her.

Only after you fall asleep first.

“Don’t you have ‘better things to do’”-the blonde muffled a yawn before continuing- “than order me about?”

Again Adder’s face assumed that supercilious expression that Sparrow was starting to loathe. “What’s ruffled your feathers, princess? Do you not trust me? Or am I just getting on your nerves?”

Sparrow turned her head away from Adder lest the latter note the growing irritation on her face. With her free hand she gestured for Adder to leave her be. “Look, I’m perfectly fine, I’ve done this plenty of-”

“Besides, lack of sleep dulls the senses.” Adder continued, cutting her off. “You wouldn’t want to mess up and hurt your patient again.”

Sparrow started.

“What-wait-did you just-”

“I said that you wouldn’t want to mess up and hurt your patient. See, you’re so tired you can’t even hear straight.”

Sparrow groaned. Her eyelids fluttered and she struggled to resist another yawn. She was too tired to argue, that was certain. “Fine. You already said you healed her before. You go do that, and I’ll just-”

She trailed off, sliding against the wall and slumping onto the floor as sleep took her.

~~~

Sparrow’s eyes blinked open. They closed. She mumbled something incoherent. Usually she was an early riser, up and working before everyone else, but today she wanted to do nothing more than sink back into sleep. Every inch of her ached. Her limbs were stiff, her head aching, and all she yearned for was to sink back into that bliss. Shivering a little, she clutched the blanket covering her and curled into a fetal position.

The rumble of thunder jolted her back into reality. Thoughts still a little hazy, she forced her eyes to open and brushed away the hair covering her face.

To find a pair of yellow eyes inches from her face.

“AAAHHHHHHH!”

The blonde flailed about, struggled to disentangle herself from her blanket, and then accidentally hit her head against the wall behind her.

“How was the nap, princess?” Adder said, cackling as she rose to her feet.

“What was that for?” Sparrow shot a glare at the woman, rubbing the back of her head.

“And stop calling me princess!”

Adder shrugged her shoulders. “Thought you might appreciate the rise and shine, sleeping beauty. You’ve only been sleeping for half the day.”

“Half the day…oh dang it!” Sparrow buried her head in her hands as she hugged her knees to her chest.

“Is there something wrong, princess?”

“Errr….uhhh…no.”

Well, so much for my plan. Great job Sparrow, you really pulled that one off well. On the bright side, Adder hadn’t killed her while she was sleeping. It could always be worse. Not that that made the current situation any better.

Sparrow lifted her head and stared at the dark-haired woman. Adder stared back.

She could still hear the storm howling outside. She sighed.

What was she doing, sitting here and doing nothing? Sure, the raging storm outside limited her options, and her brief forays deeper into the cave had led to dead ends, and her unintentional nap had kind of messed up her plan. But she couldn’t just spend her time sitting here, doing nothing for hours when a person who potentially was an enemy and most likely had all the answers about the strange events of the previous day was stuck here with her? Was it simply that she felt it was wrong to attack someone who, although acting a little suspiciously, had not been proven culpable of any wrongdoing? Was she too afraid to be wrong? Wasn’t it better to be safe than sorry?

Or was it fear that if she did attack, she might not be able to win?

She looked down at the blanket beside her, and then at her hand, which she had unconsciously clenched into a fist. She let it relax, and looked up at Adder.

Come on, Sparrow, just give this your best shot.

“Look, Adder, you see, can you just, well, be honest with me? Hoodie-I mean, your friend-wait-is she your friend? Well, I kind of met her before, you know…errr…finding her here, and it kind of wasn’t a pleasant meeting, and I’m really confused and worried, so…errr…would it hurt you to tell me why she got so beaten up in the first place? Is she sick or something? She has a crazy fever. And where did that creepy burn mark with the arrows come from?”

At her last question, Sparrow swore she saw Adder flinch, although a moment later the woman was nonchalant as ever. Her brow furrowed.

There was something not adding up here.

“Well, I don’t particularly feel like answering you,” Adder smirked, spinning around and striding back to her corner of the cave.

“And you’re welcome for stopping you from freezing to death.”

“I-well-errr…uhhhhh….gah!” Sparrow slapped her hand to her forehead, her cheeks growing warm.

~~~

Another hour passed. Sparrow grimaced, crossing her legs tightly. While her stomach and parched mouth had been thankful for the food and water in the backpack, her now bloated bladder was not so appreciative. She bit her lip, struggling to ignore the sound of running water echoing throughout the cave. Shame that she really didn’t have anything to distract her apart from checking in on the runner every so often. Part of her should have been proud of her work-the runner was still alive after all, and that wound had been nasty-but she was just so tired and confused that she honestly couldn’t care at this point.

And Adder’s annoyingly silent presence wasn’t helping. Although she refused to engage in conversation with Sparrow, for the past hour, the dark haired woman seemed to be amusing herself with a one-sided staring contest with Sparrow. She recalled that she still hadn’t seen Adder sleep, although it was of course possible that the woman had slept for part of the time that Sparrow was sleeping. A shame really. If only Adder would sleep so she could sit in this cave in peace.

Clenching her teeth, Sparrow covered her ears to block out the sound of the rainstorm and crossed her legs, but it was soon becoming a futile effort.

“Can you just leave me alone for, like, five minutes? Would that be so hard for you?” she finally snapped, glaring at the Cheshire grin on Adder’s face.

“Ah, watch that temper, princess.”

“Damn it, Adder! I need to pee!”

Silence. Then Adder burst out laughing, bending over as she slapped her knee.

“Why didn’t you say so? Not that you should be so prissy, princess-you know we’re both girls here.”

The blonde shot her a glare. Still chuckling, Adder waved her on.

“Fine, I’ll not watch you undress. Rather hypocritical, if I do say myself, considering you pretty much stripped our friend here while she was unconscious.”

Sparrow’s ears burned. Avoiding eye contact with Adder, she snatched the flashlight beside her and strode to the furthest corner of the cave (which unfortunately wasn’t all that far), shooting several furtive glances over her shoulder to ensure that Adder’s eyes weren’t following. Grimacing, she stepped behind a column of rock, trying to position herself so that _.

Just as she was about the pull down her pants, the light of her flashlight illuminated a familiar shape against the wall only a couple of meters away. Sparrow paused.

Well, for nearly bleeding to death, she certainly threw Blaze’s keyblade rather far, Sparrow thought, looking down at the winged blade. She had never really paid much attention to Blaze’s keyblade replica collection, and they tended to use other, less valuable wooden swords for sparring. Kind of ironic that the supposed antagonist had to grab the sword that was probably the most villainous-looking in Blaze’s collection, at least in Sparrow’s opinion. Sure, there was an angelic wing gracing half the guard and the end of the blade, but the rest of the blade was dominated by a deep purple that melded into red_ demonic wing. A sinister turquoise eye rested at the point where the blade met the hilt.

Thank goodness it’s only a wooden sword, she thought, eyes tracking the sleek curves of the demonic wing comprising the blade. If the intruder had been fighting them with a real sword…She shuddered at the thought. Taking a couple of steps forward, she bent down to pick up the blade.

”Don’t touch that!”

The panicked cry echoed throughout the cave. A force yanked at the collar of her pajama shirt, and Sparrow staggered several meters back, dropping the flashlight. She snapped her head around.

Adder stared back at her.

The two women froze, breath billowing in the air. The playfulness was gone from Adder’s face. Her mouth hung slightly ajar, a hint of-was that fear?-in her amber eyes, as if even she was taken aback by the ferocity in her voice. Before Sparrow could open her mouth, Adder lifted Sparrow into a fireman’s carry and walked away from the sword. The blonde flailed, but it didn’t make much of a difference. Sparrow’s eyes narrowed.

Shifting into bird form she flew out of Adder’s grasp, and landed next to the blade.

“No!”

Before Adder could run after her, Sparrow, in human form, reached down toward the sword. Adder shrieked.

“I SWEAR DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH-”

“Or what?” Sparrow said, fingers pausing inches from the blade. She looked at Adder, whose dark hair was in disarray about her face.

“You’ll die,” Adder said, her eyes glimmering dangerously.

Thunder rumbled outside the cave. Breath fogged as it met the air. Lamplight flickered along the walls, columns of rock casting dark shadows.

“What, you’re going to kill me?”

“I wouldn’t need to. You merely touching that sword would suffice.”

Sparrow laughed. A part of here couldn’t help but be amused by how Adder’s composure was slowly starting to fracture, the blasé supplanted by disquiet. The woman’s hands were shaking, her previously placid face contorted in mingled fury and tension.

“Yeah, right. I got whacked by that thing plenty of times only a couple of hours ago.”

Adder’s expression clouded, her eyes fixed on the blade.

“It couldn’t have been this unstable before. She’s completely lost control.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Stand aside. Your presence is only aggravating it.”

“Ok, so you think you can psych me out by saying some really random stuff. Seriously, why all the fuss over a wooden keyblade-it’s not an actual keyblade, is it?”

“Stand aside, Sparrow,” Adder sneered, drawing a dagger from a hidden sheath in her pocket and brandishing it at Sparrow. “Unfortunately for you, I happen to have uncannily accurate aim.”

“Unless I touch this first-” Sparrow retorted, thankful that she had retained the composure to make a snappy remark as she moved her hand closer to the blade. She smirked as Adder gasped, and stopped right before her skin would have made contact with the sword. Perhaps Blaze was rubbing off on her. Well, hopefully bold brazenness was the right way to go in this situation; she was in too far to change her tactic now.

“And what happens if I do? Does something happen to you, eh?”

Sparrow’s stomach shifted uneasily at the positively dangerous look on Adder’s face, but she couldn’t help but grin in triumph. It felt liberating, to be doing something at last, to have the upper hand.

Is being reckless supposed to feel like this? I almost want to try it more often.

“Tell me exactly what is going on, or I will touch it.”

Adder’s free hand clenched into a fist.

~~~

"Argenti sanguinem semper destruit."

~~~

Present day

Candlelight flickered upon weathered walls. The wood panelling once might have been elegant and grandiose, and here and there one could see remnants of intricate carvings, but after years of disuse the walls were riddled with cracks and dents. The only undamaged piece of furniture in the room, actually, was a plush couch in one corner. A trio of young adults rested upon it, huddled underneath a pile of blankets. While there were no windows in the room, one could discern the rumble of thunder and the clatter of hail. With the ceaseless storm, a chill had settled upon the mansion.

The fourth friend was several feet away from the rest, fiddling with some matches and tinder as she struggled to resurrect the fire.

"It would have helped if someone stored the wood bark side up," Blackie muttered, brushing hair from her face as the small flame fizzled out for the tenth time.

"Hey, I thought down was drier!" Rainy retorted, placing her hands on her hips. As she did the ball of water she was playing  with fell,  splattering onto the floor. Droplets of water bounced across the ground, quenching the small spark Blackie just managed to kindle and drenching a portion of the firewood beside her.

"Rainy!"

"Aaaah oops! Sorry!"

"No hot chocolate for you!"

"Noooooooooo!" Rainy moaned, clapping her hands to the sides of her head.

"If we even get to making hot chocolate," Blackie grumbled, turning back to the fireplace and separating the soaked wood from the remaining dry wood. After a couple incidents it had been determined that Sparrow and Blackie were the only one capable of and trustworthy enough to build a fire without burning the house down. 

Jackal shot a glance toward Blaze, who shrugged, a smile playing about his lips. Jackal rolled his eyes.

The two had soon discovered that the power outage extended throughout all of headquarters. Blackie had surmised that some nearby lightning strike had struck either the generators or somewhere near the generators, although with the storm raging more fiercely than before, it was difficult to tell. And just to their luck, even the gas had been shut off (although it could be worse, Jackal realized. Imagine if there had been a gas explosion or something).

Jackal handed a marshmallow and some chocolate to Blaze with a wink. "Might as well eat these-I doubt we're getting the fire made anytime soon."

"I heard that!"

Jackal lobbed a marshmallow at Blackie.

"Lighten up Blackie! 

Blackie mock-pouted, placing her hands on her hips.

"Easy for you to say! I'm the one working my butt off here!"

Rainy giggled, looking up from where she was entertaining herself by making shadow puppets in the light. Jackal handed her a marshmallow on a stick, and she let out a squeal of joy. 

"Do you wanna build a s'more now-"

"Oh come on Rainy, you've been singing variations of that for the last hour."

"Sing something else!"

Rainy paused, tilting her head to one side. A moment later, her face lit up.

"It's a small world after allllll, it's a small-"

"NO-ANYTHING BUT THAT!" everyone else in the room screamed in unison.

~~~

Minutes passed, yet no flame rose in the fireplace.

"Well, so much for that," Blackie said, as she reached into the tube of matched to find out that she had exhausted them all.  She glanced at the candles around them, debating the possible merits of using them to start the fire. Or she could scour the mansion for more matches.  Maybe she'd find some better fire starting material while she was at it, although she doubted it. She certainly wasn't desperate enough to do something stupid like throwing aerosols on the fire. 

"Mmmm, this is delicious!"

"Oooh-can I have another!"

"Go for it."

"Oh my god I love s'mores."

Blackie facepalmed.

"Ok, that's it, forget it! Give me some chocolate before you eat it all!" she said, laughing as she snatched the nearly empty bags of chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers from Jackal's grasp.

Sighing, she popped a marshmallow into her mouth. Cold marshmallows were ok, but she had to admit she was rather looking forward to s'mores. If only Sparrow was here-the medic was better at starting fires than she. Well, it couldn't be helped. She turned to look at her friends.

"Well, sorry about not getting the fire started. Maybe we-wait a second..." she said, her brow furrowed as she stared at Jackal.

Jackal paused, marshmallow an inch from his mouth. 

"What?"

Had it been a trick of the light? No, her night vision too good-not that it was perfect, but her shadow powers certainly helped. Her eyes flicked from the crispy golden brown marshmallow in Jackal's hand to the burnt marshmallow resting on the stick in Rainy's hand to the steaming mugs of hot chocolate on the table before them. A faint acrid smell met her nostrils.

"How...." her eyes flicked from Jackal to Rainy, who bit her lip before bursting into a fit of laughter.Then her eyes settled on Blaze.

Her jaw dropped.

The crackling light resting in Blaze's hand retreated from his palm to his pointer finger, shrinking as it moved. Silence filled the room, as the redhead brought his pointer finger to his mouth. With a smirk, Blaze blew out the flame.

Blackie staggered back, tripping over a log and falling into the pile of firewood.

~~~

[The cave, four days before]

“She’s cursed.”

“Cursed?”

“Listen to me.”

Adder was shaking, the knuckles of her clenched hand white. Sparrow bit her lip, yet she wouldn’t let herself tremble, even if the air was getting rather cold in the cave. She had to be strong. Tough.

“Nothing-nothing of what I am about to say can leave this cave,” Adder continued. “Keep your hand close to the bloody sword if you feel you must, but don’t touch it until I’ve had my say. Preferably never touch it at all, but I guess you’ll never realize how stupid an idea that is until I have to spell it out for you. Got it?”

“…ok.”

“Good. My full name is Adara Westergard. Oxford graduate, daughter to two electrical engineers. My degree was in mathematics, but frankly, sitting in some office pondering theorems all day, teaching a set of brats, or working as some consultant or analyst for a major corporation weren’t all that appealing. Admittedly the latter was profitable, but as soon as I made enough to support myself, I was out. Hurt feelings and damaged connections be damned. Besides, the company collapsed not that long after the bubble burst.”

Sparrow frowned, not sure where this was going, but she felt it would be rude to interrupt.

“I took to travelling. Mountains, ruins, monasteries, archives and museums. I travelled, searching for the writings of ancient mathematicians and philosophers, decoding old manuscripts, even trying my hand at decoding some scripts whose language was long forgotten. Perhaps I was wasting my time again. Finding artifacts for museums and textbooks was not appealing either, but something drew me to ancient lore. There are puzzles and mysteries lost to time. Time makes men forget, and perhaps there were things we shouldn’t have forgotten.

“Several months ago, my travels brought me to a set of ruins several miles from Dublin. As it happened, a family was exploring the very same place, on a hiking trip, I suppose, when, well-did you hear of that freak earthquake in Ireland a few months ago?”

“Yeah…” Sparrow began. “I don’t see how this-”

“Earthquake,” Adder repeated, spitting out the word. “Hah! Well, let the authorities believe what they want to believe. The entire family died as the cavern collapsed on them, the parents and baby sister’s body was recovered, the older sister’s never found, and new laws regulating access to ancient sites were proposed and eventually rejected due to budget constraints.”

Sparrow frowned at the offhand way Adder addressed the deaths. How could she be so callous? _ she froze, brows drawing together and mouth dropping into a little ‘o’ as the realization struck her.

“So the older sister-you-she-“

“A sharp one, aren’t you?” Adder sniffed, tossing her head to throw the bangs away from where they had fallen across her face. She continued.

“Admittedly the earth did shake. A little. A high keening sound struck the air, followed by a rumble and screams, and, being the idiot I was, I ran toward them. I-I almost wish I didn’t.”

Adder wasn’t looking at Sparrow anymore, yellow eyes fixed on some point in the distance. Sparrow thought the blitheness in her voice now seemed forced. “There was blood everywhere. Splattered on the walls, the scattered rubble. I don’t know how long I stood there, heart hammering, trying to avert my eyes but unable to-to... At some point-maybe a second later, maybe an hour-I managed to wrest control of my limbs from my fear, and tore toward the bloody figures on the ground. Crushed, impaled with spears of rock, or torn apart by granite shrapnel. I can’t remember much. I scrambled around, trying to move rocks, rubble, screamed for help, not that there was anyone else around on those damned moors. The father was dead before I even got to him. The mother and toddler….I should have put-I should have put them out of their misery, the state they were in, barely even recognizable as people, rather than feebly attempt to free them. I managed to at last free the toddler and carry her to get her to help but she died halfway-halfway to my van. I-I-”

She fell silent. Outside, the rain hissed.

At last, Adder’s mind seemed to return from the dark place to which it had drifted.

“After the moans and sobs fell silent….I heard something else. A faint buzzing. I looked in the direction of the sound, and for that moment, I forgot about the bodies around me.

“The walls were lined with old runes ...and they were… I guess glowing is the best way to put it, glowing with this eerie silvery light. I did the stupid thing again, and walked over toward it, trying to discern the script. Up close, it almost looked like miniscule, white-hot fires were tracing out the words, although no heat emanated from them. I managed to recognize a couple of words, and then some force threw me into the stone wall behind me. I was lucky I didn’t break my neck. As I rose to my feet, I saw her. She was unconscious, blood all around her-but she was breathing.

“Yet something about her-I don’t know how to describe it, it was kind of a feeling more than anything tangible or rational-something felt off about her. You said you saw her wrist?“

“Yeah…Wait-was that marking on it one of the runes on the wall?”

“Sharp again, princess,” Adder replied. There was noticeably less contempt in her voice this time. “Except burning along those lines on her wrist was the silver ice-cold fire that was on the walls. I picked her up, and the fire on both her wrist and the walls faded.

“For a moment I considered bringing her to a hospital. Maybe that would have been the smarter decision, but some gut feeling urged otherwise. I brought the girl to my van, and reported the accident to the authorities. Hospitals weren’t exactly equipped to handle these sort of situations. Then again, I truly wasn’t either, “ she gave a sharp, cold laugh. “But I at least was willing to consider…unconventional methods of treatment far before a doctor would think to use them, and I wasn’t about to treat her as some experimental test subject if my suspicions were valid.

“I treated her wounds, and her condition stabilized, but she wouldn’t wake. I pored over manuscripts of Celtic lore, Norse lore, Germanic lore, Eastern, Egyptian, even alchemy, trying to find something, anything.

“In an old scroll, I finally found it. There was a forgotten fable of a lord who invaded the highlands and forced the locals into slavery. The man was vain, desperate for more power, and paranoid about retaliation or usurpers. With threats of and torture against their families, he forced the local mages to construct an amulet, to give him the most powerful weapon. The product was a silver necklace, which, when worn, allowed the wielder to channel massive amounts of power into any weapon, making that weapon nigh unbeatable. The lord called it the ‘argenti sanguinem’ when he first used it, for the amulet lit his warhammer with silver flames that were as cold as ice. Most just called it the Silver. He set forth, conquering and pillaging village upon village.

“Of course, the mages cleverly sealed their vengeance in the amulet. For energy isn’t created or destroyed. It’s merely channeled from one form to another. The amulet drew upon the lord’s life force itself, slowly weakening him physically even as the weapon consistently slew his enemies. Dizziness, fatigue, pain in his limbs began to plague him constantly. Some even said that his decisions were becoming more irrational, but none could challenge him, for any who did were felled with his weapon. Until one day, the lord had grown so feeble that he fell off his horse and hit his head on a rock. When one of his guards picked up his fallen warhammer, the warhammer, no longer controlled by his master, released an energy blast that destroyed half his troops and the lord himself.

“What followed was a series of adventures and misadventures, lords, kings, sellswords, tricksters, and farmers, all fighting over the amulet, either to harness its power or to destroy it. Again and again great men achieved great conquests with the help of the amulet, and in turn were destroyed by it. Eventually, with the help of descendants of the mages, the amulet was split and sealed away in the very same ruin that I had visited. Memories of the amulet were lost to time.

“Sealed away, but few prisons last forever. I still don’t know why the seal failed when it did, and why it was a common girl like her, of all people. The seal shattered in an explosion, which killed her family, and a fragment of the Silver amulet pierced her heart, and she absorbed the curse. She nearly died from the strain of that alone, and it took everything I had and knew to nurse her to health. Her wrist is permanently marked with that symbol-it’s the alchemical symbol for silver, by the way-and the power of the amulet, as far as I can tell, is absorbed into her. She can’t remove it, and any time she uses any object for self-defense, she risks awaking that power.”

“I’ve been around her enough to sense when a weapon has been affected by the Silver. If you had touched that blade we both would have been blown sky high just like the lord’s troops. She’s a weapon, a danger to herself and others. So step aside, alright?”

Sparrow had to admit, it was an intriguing tale. After all, she had managed to listen to Adder spilling it all out without telling her to just cut to the chase already. And it did make sense. Yet Sparrow had always retained a healthy amount of skepticism, or so she thought. What if Adder was trying to dupe her, just to get her away from the sword?

“Sooo…you expect me to believe that?”

Adder rolled her eyes. “You asked me to give you the truth and I gave it, princess.”

“Errr, well, it just kind of sounds a little difficult to believe,” Sparrow said, scratching the back of her neck.

Adder laughed. “Says the girl who can shapeshift into a bird!”

“Touché.” Sparrow frowned. How could she tell if Adder was just making up nonsense to save her skin, or if she really was telling the truth? Before Sparrow could come up with an answer, the older woman spoke again.

“A pity. She’s little more than a kid.” She looked at Sparrow. “So are you, I guess.”

“Hey!”

“So what did happen? Who pushed her so far that she lost control and let the curse seep into that weapon?”

Sparrow didn’t say anything, but her eyes widened.

“Damn her…silver…blade…why…fire…” Blaze muttered, caught in some feverish dream, then fell unconscious once more. Sparrow sighed, wiping her brow as she tried to assess the damage.

“What happened while we were setting up the trap?” she asked Jackal as the latter arrived with a mattress.

Jackal frowned. “I don’t know.” She helped Sparrow move Blaze carefully onto the mattress. “From the looks of it, the intruder and Blaze got into a fight in Blaze’s room and started using those wooden keyblades of all things. I was still blind, and couldn’t see anything. I could hear a lot of thuds and the clack of wooden swords hitting each other, and groans, mostly the intruder’s. Frankly it sounded like Blaze was winning, but then I heard a thud and a gasp of pain from Blaze. Blaze told me that the intruder was fighting with pretty weak blows, when all of a sudden she knocked Blaze into the ceiling. As for the intruder, her voice got…weird. Maybe it was just me. She didn’t sound that different, but something was off. Blaze swore the sword glowed silver for a moment, but she kind of got hit in the head so…oh yeah, you might want to check for a concussion, by the way. I guess the intruder was playing with Blaze before trying to knock her out, but honestly, none of this makes much sense.”

“Shame she had to go cliff diving before she could give us the answer.”

“Yeah.”

...

“Actually…I have to admit that does clear up a lot…” Sparrow conceded. She shivered at the thought of what might have happened if her and Blaze’s positions had been reversed. After all, Blaze was pretty decent with a sword, while Sparrow was a far better healer than a fighter. “But…” She looked at Adder. The older woman was tough, and Sparrow had felt the strength in her wiry muscles when she tried to drag Sparrow away from the sword. But if she was working with a person who was essentially a walking weapon, then…

“So, she essentially is pretty difficult to beat in battle when she loses control and her weapon turns into a time bomb if she’s knocked out? And the power is constantly draining her energy and is taking a toll on her mind? So why-”

“So why didn’t I just kill her?”

Sparrow started, glaring at Adder. She was going to ask Adder about why she worked alone with a force that dangerous-after all, what if Adder got sick, or incapacitated in some fashion? She could put a lot of people at risk! Was there honestly no one in the world that Adder trusted enough to help her?

“What? How could you say such a thing?”

Adder lifted an eyebrow. Yellow eyes peered into Sparrow’s.

“Am I honestly supposed to believe that you weren’t thinking it yourself?”

“Errr-I well-” Sparrow stammered. Sure, she had discussed mercy killing and balancing the life of one against potential dangers to many others-she had to as a medical student, but things just seemed to get hazy when superpowers came into play. Was it still the same? The curse no more than another contagious deadly disease? Even then, what would she have done?

“She was doing a fairly good job containing it. The more she healed, the stronger she grew. I was able to find ways to help her control it, to not let the Silver consume the weapon, to not let it sap her strength. Maybe, for once, my studies allowed me to do something useful.

“What I didn’t account for was the mind.

“At first I shook it off. I didn’t know her that well-maybe it was just part of her personality, losing focus at times and such. But then….then came the panic attacks, thinking irrationally, running off, then turning and attacking anything in sight before collapsing again. I couldn’t tell whether the Silver was drawing strength from her mind as well as her body, or if the strain of holding back the Silver was slowly wrecking her mind. I-I tried to help, but-”

She rolled up her left sleeve, revealing a series of bandages on her arm.

“I didn’t know what to do! I saved her to live, not to be a prisoner! I tied her down-but I couldn’t stand the look on her face when she saw the rope binding her to the bed. I tried to assure her, when she was lucid enough, that she was fine, that she was recovering, safe! I didn’t know what would happen if-if I told her the truth.”

Sparrow’s eyes widened. It didn’t seem as if Adder was talking to her anymore. She felt like she shouldn’t be hearing this, that it was too personal, too raw.

“I couldn’t sleep, I kept seeing her face , she-she was so wounded, looking at those ropes, and I kept having dreams about her family, of blood and mangled limbs…I had to untie her. I had to. I would go insane if I didn’t. And for the first day, for the first day it was…beautiful. She was better than before. We talked throughout the day, about anything really, current events, favorite movies and books, plans for rebuilding her life. At one point she offered to help me with my studies. I-I laughed at her-I said I worked better alone….I regret that now.

“Good things never last. Gods, why hadn’t I learned my lesson? The next day…yesterday, the demons returned. She ran away. I tracked her down, panicked, anything could happen, what if she hurt someone, what it she was hurt-I couldn’t....and then I found her here, almost fatally wounded-AND IT WAS ALL MY DAMN FAULT!”

Sparrow jumped as Adder raised her voice, pounding her fist into the wall. Her yell echoed into the silence. The blonde grasped around for something, anything to say.

“Who is she? Why do you keep hiding her face?”

Adder was silent. A part of Sparrow’s mind was screaming at her to shut up, that this was not the right time, but it felt wrong to leave that last piece of the puzzle empty. To leave the injured girl, the cursed girl, faceless.

“Come on, who is she, Adder? You promised you’d tell me the whole story!”

The woman looked at Sparrow. In the dim light of lantern and flashlight, Sparrow could see that her cheeks were wet.

“I made a promise, when she was on what I thought was her deathbed. What maybe should have been her deathbed. A stupid thing, really, to hide, but she made me promise.”

Adder closed her eyes, biting back further tears. For the first time Sparrow saw the bags underneath her eyes.

“Sparrow, I-I’ve failed her enough as it is. Don’t force me to break that vow.”

The breath caught in Sparrow’s throat. Before she could fully comprehend what she was doing, she dashed over to Adder, wrapping her arms around the woman. Adder stiffened-in surprise or from not having been on the receiving end of such a gesture for so long, who could tell-before she collapsed, burying her face in Sparrow’s shoulder as her body shook with long-restrained sobs.

“I promise Adder, I won’t.”

~~~

“Did I completely miss something?”

Blackie rose to her feet, brushing some stray twigs off of her clothes. She placed her hands on her hips, eyes fixed on the trio nestled on the couch, each of whom had the same sheepish expression on her face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rainy responded, collapsing into another fit of giggles.

Blackie struggled to maintain her glare, but a smile crept along the edge of her mouth.

“So, how did it happen?”

“Ehehehe.” Blaze began, scratching the back of his head.

“Oh. My. God.”

“What? Am I-AAAAHHHHHOHMYGOD MY HAIR IS ON FIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEE!”

“NO BLAZE STAY STILL YOU’LL ONLY-”

“I NEED TO STOP DROP AND ROLL JACKAL-AAAGGHHHH!”

“BLAZE!”

“OMGOMGOMGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEBLAZEISAFIREBENDERTHISISTOTALLYAWESOME!”

“Where did you come from, Rainy?”

“WAIT-WHAT?”

Blaze grinned sheepishly, running his hand through his slightly shorter hair.

“When the lights went off, I kind of fell out of the wheelchair and panicked, trying to see what was going on, and the fire just appeared in my hand.”

“We had to take him off pain meds,” Jackal continued, playfully elbowing Blaze. “You can guess why.”

Blaze shoved him back. “I feel a lot better, anyway.”

~~~~

"So, Adara, was it?" Sparrow said.

"Please, call me Adder. Adara Westergard," she spat, shaking her head. "Rather pretentious, don't you think?"

"Why Adder, then?" Sparrow asked, tilting her head to one side.

"I like circuits. What?" she threw her hands in the air at Sparrow’s confused expression. "Never heard of an adder circuit before? Seriously, what did you learn in school?"

Sparrow rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help but smile.

"Well, to be honest I was thinking of snakes."

Adder laughed.

~~~

“…What are you doing?”

Rainy and Blaze froze, spotting Jackal leaning against the doorframe. Rainy shook a little as she balanced on one foot, her hands raised in the air, while Blaze had sunk into a lunge, one arm raised with the other pointed toward Rainy.

“If you two are planning to burn down the house, I am not cleaning it up.”

“But Blaze being a firebender exponentially increases the number of Avatar scenes we can reenact!” Rainy said, giving Jackal a puppy dog face.

It wasn’t very effective.

“Well, once I learn to do more than just make a small flame appear in my palm,” Blaze said, shrugging his shoulders. “Sheesh! I wasn’t born yesterday, you know. I think I can manage not to destroy things.”

“You do realize-”

“I lit a fireplace in the bunker. Train in there to your heart’s content,” Blackie interrupted as she appeared out of nowhere.

“That works too.”

“Thanks, Blackie!”

Blackie shook her head as Blaze and Rainy headed off, frowning a little as she noticed Blaze’s limp. The redhead was too stubborn to admit he was still in pain and Blackie frankly didn’t know how to help him anyway.

“If only we could get into contact with Sparrow,” she said for what must have been the tenth time that day.

“At least she can shapeshift into a bird-she wouldn’t need to eat as much in that state…I think.”

In unison, their eyes turned toward the window. Still they could see naught but a sheet of rain and hail, periodically shot through with lightning.

“It’s been what, seven, eight days, now?”

“No storm should last this long.”

“Maybe the world’s ending or something.”

“What?”

Blackie shrugged. “Well, for all we know, it could be. No internet, no cell service, no form of contact with the outside world.”

“Sounds like a movie.”

“Especially a horror movie. A group of reckless young adults, trapped in a mansion in the middle of nowhere, cut off from the rest of the world. After emerging from unspeakable terrors, they find it was only the tip the iceberg, for the world is overrun with-”

“Zombies? Titans? Inferi? White walkers? Snakes? An eternal winter?”

“Haha-let’s hope not.”

“Have you tried fixing the internet?”

“Well, I could look up instructions on the internet if we had it.”

Another long pause.

“I think that hooded girl is involved in all of this. The timing is far too convenient.”

“Well, one thing is certain.”

“What?”

“We need to work on a better way to leave HQ during inclement weather. Superheroes can’t exactly give a rain check.”

~~~

“That is an odd weapon,” Adder remarked, gesturing toward the corner of the cave where the winged blade rested.

“Huh? Oh, you mean the keyblade-I mean, it’s technically a model of a keyblade-this weapon from Kingdom Hearts-a videogame-ok, not ringing any bells for you, I guess. It’s Blaze’s-she has this whole collection of them, all hanging on the wall of her room, it’s pretty impressive, actually-“

“Blaze?”

“Errr…I…she’s…”

Adder raised an eyebrow. “You do realize I read the paper. Your little crew isn’t exactly a secret organization, you know.”

“But how did you know I am-?”

Adder leaned against the rock wall, placing her hands behind her head. “How many people are able to shapeshift into a sparrow?”

“Oh, errrr, yeah…haha…”

“Blaze is the blinder, I’m guessing?”

“Yeah.”

She shouldn’t be so hesitant to reveal anything, especially since Adder had told her her whole backstory. Well, not everything, but it was quite a lot.

“Interesting…”

“Hm?”

“How does that even work?”

“What?”

“The blinding. Or do you mean to say that you’re a doctor and you haven’t investigated the actual mechanism involved when someone is blinded by her?”

“Errr…to be honest I’m too busy treating injuries to really get a good sense of the cause. It definitely hurts, kind of like your eyes are burning for the first few seconds, but I guess I never paid as much attention to it since the blindness is temporary.” She probably didn’t have sufficient equipment to investigate, and probably couldn’t use it effectively if she did. She was a medic, not a scientist. The more she learned, the more she realized how many gaps in her knowledge there really were.

“Why don’t you join us?”

“What?”

“I know you don’t have superpowers or anything, but you probably know more than any of us about potentially dangerous artifacts and, well…errr…”

Adder laughed, shaking her head. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not good with people. They hold you back,” Adder said quietly.

Sparrow frowned. And yet here Adder was, caring for someone else.

“Hey, you should try again, at least! Besides, you need friends to catch you when you fall.” She winced, knowing how cheesy it sounded, but it was true, wasn’t it?

“I think I have good enough balance.”

“I meant metaphorical falling, you know.”

~~~

In the mansion, a trio of young adults huddled around the fire of the fourth, entranced as she tested her newfound powers.

In the cave in the mountains, the sparrow and the adder shared stories as they kept a careful eye on the fallen runner beside them.

Above them, a shard of sunlight struck through the clouds.

~~~

"You want to leave," Adder said, looking out of the cave. For the first time in days the opposite cliff was visible, the curtain of rainfall receded to fog and a faint drizzle.

"I have to," Sparrow said softly. "My friends are probably worried sick about me."

"Well, don't waste your time hanging around. Go off and stop your friends from falling since apparently they have a propensity to do so. I can manage," Adder said harshly, shoving her hands into her pockets.

“You sure?”

The dark-haired woman gestured to the runner. “She’ll wake soon…hopefully…and then once she neutralizes that sword we’ll be off.”

Sparrow noted the bags underneath the woman’s eyes, coupled with the slight slouch of her shoulders, the way her right hand fingered the small rock she held, turning it over and over.

“Well, goodbye, then,” Sparrow said. She walked out onto the lip of the cave, taking in a deep breath. There was a scratch of blue in the sky, peering through the clouds. At last the dank cave was behind her, the mountains and open skies ahead, and her friends not far away. A breath of wind tossed her short hair. She probably stank from wearing the same clothes for-how long had it been?-but she didn’t notice. Closing her eyes she spread out her arms. There was birdsong in the distance.

A hand seized her arm and pulled her away from the ledge. Sparrow staggered back into the cave, opening her eyes to see Adder’s rather stern and irritated expression. “Are you serious? You can’t just stand on the edge of a ravine closing your eyes!”

“Hey, I can fly, remember?”

“Doesn’t mean you might risk hitting your head on the cliff before you manage to shapeshift.”

“Hehe…true…thanks.” She rubbed her arm, looking outside and then back at Adder. “You sure you’ll be alright?”

“I already told you, I-I can manage.” The rock turned more rapidly between her fingers. Before she could react, Sparrow seized her in another hug. Adder hesitated, slowly returning the hug.

Sparrow wondered how many hugs the older woman had received, cooped up in her solitary studies, shutting everyone out. At least she now had the company of that girl, not that Sparrow could tell if she was actually good company or not. It was funny, really. A week, and still Sparrow still barely knew anything about her.

"Good luck. I hope she gets better, and, well, you get to go exploring ancient ruins and not run across any more life threatening artifacts, and errr..." she finished lamely, red trickling along her ears.

Adder chuckled softly.

"She will, thanks to you."

Cold metal slipped into her back. And out.

No arms were there to catch her as Sparrow fell, head slamming onto the rock beneath her.

END PART II

[Running]

“The heart is not so easily changed...but the head can be persuaded.”

~~~

PART III

~~~

She fell.

Gravity wins. Day falls to night. Life falls to death. Even running is no more than a series of falling steps, pushing away from the earth, doomed to return.

The moorlands ended sharply, grasses and brush giving way to a steep drop to the ocean. A wooden stairway was bolted into the cliff, beige against red-brown rock. Footsteps rattled the wood as two figures ran down the staircase, beside the cliff for a few hundred meters, and left the boardwalk for the array of rocks rising from the ocean.

With the wind came fragments of conversation.

“-after introducing the plasmid we have to heat shock the bacteria-so it will actually take up the plasmid-and then we incubate it for an hour so it can recover from the transformation. Biology. So many incubation steps.”

“At least they give you time to code.”

“True.”

“Still…all that work just to obtain a protein. Shame there isn’t some machine that can just string the amino acids together.”

“Who knows, maybe there is and the paper hasn’t been published yet. I’m a little behind on my readings.”

He gave a mock gasp of shock. “You, behind on readings? How could you?”

She elbowed him. “Hey, I’ll get them done in time before the next journal meeting.

“Besides, that’s how a lot of bio research tends to work. Instead of finding a way to assemble macromolecules from scratch, we take the tools from nature. Manipulate them, alter them. You’re limited by some of the existing rules, restriction enzymes can only cut at certain sites, for instance, but the machinery is already all in place-oh my god-”

As they turned around a corner and the ocean fully came into view, the runner in front scrambled from rock to rock, coming to a stop right before the surface beneath her grew wet and treacherous. Waves crashed against the rocks, shooting water into the air. Black snail shells peppered the rock around her. The more she looked, the more she saw: a ribbon of foam winding its way toward the horizon, the ever shifting patterns of waves, the way the water near her rose and fell with the waves, water collecting in pools beside her and receding. Above her the sky was blue, with only a hint of wispy cloud.

Closing her eyes, she listened to the ocean crash against the rocks. An especially large wave sent salty spray into her face. She laughed. The wind teased her bangs, and she was thankful that the rest of her hair was tied back.

"Enjoying the view?"

"This is amazing," she said, opening her eyes and turning to look at him. It was certainly worth the run across the moorlands, not that the journey itself wasn't phenomenal as well. A vast open sky, rolling hills of heath...she smiled. He shook his head at her gape-jawed awe, but he couldn’t help but let a small smile creep along his face. There was something peaceful about this place, after all.

They didn't measure how long they sat there, their eyes for once not glued to their watches. After a time they rose, stretching their legs, and headed off, picking up the pace as the terrain beneath them shifted from jagged rocks jutting from the sea to a rocky path next to the cliff. At one point her foot caught on a rock and she tripped, the ground rushing up to meet her.

"You okay?" he asked, stopping and turning around, but she was already on her feet. “Yeah, I’m alright,” she replied quickly, face flushed as she caught up to him and they resumed their run. She could run along a rocky trail for miles without incident, but then whenever the ground leveled, that’s when she had this annoying tendency to trip or roll her ankle. Atrophy of vigilance. Blood began to trickle from scratches on her knees and right palm, but she hadn't noticed them.

"Where are we going, anyway?"

"There's a cave further along that gives you a pretty good view. My brother and I used to play there all the time when we were younger."

“Awesome. Hmmmm, have you heard anything about how the lab repair is going, by the way?”

“No idea. I keep worrying each morning that we’ll get an email informing us that repairs ended early and we have to cut our unexpected holiday short.”

She laughed.

“Did you hear anything about the cause of the explosion?”

“Something about a gas leak.”

“I’m just glad no one was hurt.”

With their portion of the lab closed off, their lab group had decided to trek across part of the continent, across hill and dell, moors and fjords, ruins and villages, Ireland, Scotland, Norway. The two runners would go on a run in the morning while the others slept, and then the group would hike or explore or get into some other shenanigans.

Speaking of shenanigans…

They came to a stop in front of a steep slope about 20 meters in height. He gestured toward the footholds sticking out of the rock, and she gave him a skeptical glance.

“You sure this is safe?”

He shrugged.

“You’ve climbed onto rooftops that were probably about as safe as this.”

“And you’ve gone cliff jumping.”

He rolled his eyes.

“It’s all a matter of being aware of your surroundings. Besides, you really have an aversion toward stepping outside of your comfort zone.”

“I’m trying, Aldwin.”

He laughed.

“I swear there will be no cliff jumping today.”

With some effort, they scrambled up the slope, sweat dripping as the sun beat down upon them. Arms shaking, she managed to pull herself onto the thin lip of rock at the top of the slope. Pullups had paid off, apparently. Brushing her hands off on her shorts, she glanced around. Above them the cliff towered about 50 meters, maybe more.

“I see you managed to get up in one piece. You’re bleeding, by the way.”

She glanced down toward her leg, where a thin line of red ran from her knee to a few inches above her ankle. She bent down, pressing her fingers against the mostly-dried blood, before discovering the small cut on her knee.

“It looks worse than it is. I’m fine.”

“Alright. Onwards, then.”

From his pocket he pulled out his cellphone and flicked on the flashlight app. Smirking, he gestured toward a slit in the rock and slipped through. She followed. Darkness swallowed them, apart from the light from his phone. Slick walls pressed against her from either side-she grit her teeth and edged forward. For several minutes they walked, the path winding upward. At last light flickered in the distance. She blinked as the path opened into a high-ceilinged cave. The ocean glittered before her as it stretched on toward the horizon, the entire scene framed by the silhouette of stalactites. They couldn’t be that far from the top of the cliff-the rocks were tiny from here, the waves and foam thin white lines rippling along the water.

“Now that is a view.”

“Yep.”

Aldwin strode over to the edge of the cave and sat down, legs resting against the side of the cliff. She sat down a meter or so behind him-there was no way she was sitting that close to the edge. She breathed deeply, wondering if she could capture this moment well enough in her mind to paint it later, not that she could ever do it justice with her horrible painting skills. Sighing, she looked at the cave wall. Her fingers ran along a vein of quartz, stopping as they brushed against a line of-was that chalk? She peered at the faded image: two stick figures fighting off a scribbled multilegged mess that might have been a dragon, etched onto the wall who knows how many years ago? Ten? Fifteen?

"Do you miss your brother?" she asked, suddenly.

He paused before responding.

"Sometimes, yeah. But he’s…he’s busy, and I’m busy, too. Can’t be helped, you know?" he finished, staring out toward the horizon.

She followed him to the mouth of the cave. Her hand reached toward his shoulder, but she drew it back before it touched him. She let her palm rest against the wall.

The world lurched. Her arms wheeled-her feet slipped, nothing but air beneath her. A hand reached toward her and missed. Air rushed through her hair, waves crashing against the jagged rocks below.

Splinters dug into her hand as it caught the trunk of a small tree growing out of the side of the rock. Mustering all of her strength, she threw her other hand toward the branch, the tree groaning under her weight. She hung there, ears pounding. Her flesh crawled, her body wracked by tremors, and yet there was some sick part of her, that-there was a warm leaping feeling in her stomach. Eyes flicked downward, the rocks jutting out from the ocean blurring before her eyes. Her stomach reeled. She forced herself to look up. The wind swept her bangs into her face, cool air brushing the sweat away. Vaguely, head spinning, she recalled that hydrogen bonds absorbed energy in order for the individual molecules to break free as water vapor, part of the atmosphere rather than clinging to her skin, her grip tightened around the branch as a gust of wind sent the branch swaying from side to side.

Suddenly, absurdly, she was not afraid.

“Here!”

A rope tumbled toward her. Keeping a firm grasp on the tree with one hand, she grabbed it with the other. Half rappelling, half letting him pull her up, she made her way back up until she reached the cave. He half lifted her into the cave, dragging her several meters back from the edge, and immediately brought her into a hug.

“I’m so-I thought you were-are you-”

“I-I’m fine.”

She could feel him shaking, but said nothing of it.

The terror faded as the day drew on. They slipped back through the cave and ran back to camp, greeting their labmates and laughing and sharing a glance as they asked them if they had felt the freak earthquake that morning, pretty freaky, right-and where were they going to hike today-wasn’t there a village not far past that hill where they could have lunch-campfire food was getting a little tiring after all…

Yet that night, as she lay down in her tent, curling up in her sleeping bag, she couldn’t shake it, that feeling, the echo in her ears, the lingering breath of the gale, the song of wind and sky.

She couldn’t see. That was good. Better to sleep in darkness, to fall. Light would reveal the ground. It was always the ground that killed you, never the fall itself.

This was completely crazy.

She glanced furtively about as she jogged toward a small boulder. A day after the freak earthquake, and she had made some excuse about her hip hurting from the fall and needing to take an easy run on her own. She promised she wouldn’t run too far from camp, and certainly nowhere near any cliffs. It was only half a lie-her hip did ache from where it slammed against the cliff, but that wasn’t the only reason she wanted to be alone. She could swear something strange had happened during that fall. A hypothesis tugged at her mind, but she wasn't about to launch herself off of a cliff to test it.

So apparently jumping off of boulders in a grassy field was a good substitute.

Come on, just let yourself fall, she urged herself. Every time she leaned back on the rock, some instinct made her catch herself just in time. At last she slipped, arms wheeling. She hit the ground with a soft thud.

No trace of that feeling.

One hour and many falls later….

"Well, that was a waste of time," she muttered to herself, gingerly rising to her feet. Certain she was going to form bruises in many places the next day, she started to run back home. Clearly whatever she felt was a side effect of adrenaline or some other neurotransmitter triggered by a near death experience. No more.

The wind met her face, teasing her hair. She stopped, closing her eyes. The breeze rippled through grass and shrub. She took a deep breath. The air was crisp. Dew lingered on the grass. Her eyes opened.

She brushed her bangs away, and, with her heart suddenly thudding in her chest, her hand slid down her hair until her fingers touched her hairtie. She pulled it out, slipping it onto one wrist. Off came her shoes and her socks. She stowed them in the shelter of a rock.

A manic grin crept across her face. She ran.

With each step her feet pressed against the earth, kicking up clumps of dirt as she pushed off. Blades of grass folded beneath her footsteps, brushing against the soles of her feet and rising as she released them. Grass, earth, heath, and sky. The ground held, only its surface yielding, blades of grass pressed down, her feet dealt small impressions upon the dirt-

There was only air. Air. Around her and inside her. It had always been there, silent, guarding, with each breath, with each step. Currents rose and fell, gusts swirled around her. She could sense them somehow, leap over them, run alongside them. The rhythm of her limbs accelerated. Her heart leapt. The ground fell away. She was beyond it.

As simple as breathing.

The ocean glittered beneath her as she sped into the sunset.

Ice shackled her limbs. Not that she had any energy or desire to move. Not anymore.

Adrenaline and endorphins wore off. Reality returned.

She sat in her tent, hugging her knees to her chest.

She didn't know what to do. Nothing she had learned could explain this, and she doubted she had the scientific expertise to investigate. She could try, of course, but how could she acquire the proper equipment and run some tests without questions being asked? She was barely more than an intern here, after all. Besides, did she even want to know the reason?

If only she could discuss this with someone, bounce the questions and fears churning in her mind off another. She thought of all her friends from home, her teammates, Aldwin and the rest of the lab here…

She shook her head.

She was a scientist and athlete first…but if she revealed this, if it spread to the wrong ears, that life would end. It would consume her. She had to conceal it.

Waiting was worst. Stasis was stifling. Just let it change, let it begin, let it end.

[London. One week later.]

The old track was deserted. Members of the club had access at any time, but 4am was an odd hour for even researchers, and summer was an odd time to be on an indoor track.

Shooting a furtive glance to each side, she headed toward the pole vault mat, eyes fixed on the climbing rope hanging from the ceiling rafter.

How to fall properly, she thought, straining to remember how the pole vaulters fell once they cleared the bar, arms spread wide, falling on one’s back so the weight would be distributed evenly, rather than placing all one’s weight on a foot and twisting one’s ankle or worse. Although, in circumstances where there wasn’t a soft mat below her, wouldn’t she want to land with a roll?

She shook out her shoulders, taking a deep breath. Perhaps this was too risky. Perhaps she should just forget about this whole powers thing, lest she get caught or-the image flashed through her mind-of her falling from that cliff, just barely catching the tree branch, feeling the tree shake, the jagged rocks waiting hundreds of feet below, and she flinched. Who knows, this strange talent might just save her life.

Or perhaps that was the excuse she gave herself each day as she snuck out to the countryside, sometimes telling Aldwin she needed to run alone that day, to run through the sky, warmth spreading through her at the mere thought.

Pain spiraled through her, lacing along her fingers, her toes, her head. Her chest seized up, throat tightening. Let it end, let it end.

The Game of Thrones theme rose into the air. She picked up her cellphone.

“Hey, are you alright?” Aldwin asked.

“Uhhh…yeah…well, not really, but I’m hanging in there. Just got a cold or something.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

”Not really…My roommate made me some soup and I’ve had plenty of fluids. It just stinks that I can’t run.”

“You and your priorities, mate.”

“I know. I’m really tired still-I’m going to rest now. Call you back in a couple of hours?”

“Ok. I hope you get better soon.”

“Thanks.”

He hung up. She shivered, wrapping the blankets more tightly around her. With each breath she felt as if knives were slicing her throat and chest. Her head pounded. Sweat dripped down her forehead. Her arm trembled as she placed her cellphone back on her bedstand, just narrowly avoiding knocking over the cup of tea resting upon it.

She should go to the doctor, just to be safe. This had been going on for several days now, mild headaches and fatigue at first before it just spontaneously spiked today and she called in sick. She grit her teeth. What if a medical exam revealed her powers–not that she was sure how it could reveal something, or if it would be thorough enough to reveal it. Maybe there was something abnormal about her vitals, something in her blood, maybe? The power had to have some physical manifestation, even if its mechanism was unknown.

She sighed only to break into another coughing fit. She would go to the doctors tomorrow. Her health was more important.

There is no peace here.

She dreamed that night. Cross-country season again. Hundreds of runners stretched to either side, the field looming ahead. Tension crackled along the line, breaths bated, hearts hammering. The gun fired. She tore across the field, weaving through the wave of runners and jostling for position. Elbows thrown, spikes tearing into the grass.

The gun went off a second time. False start or someone fell, back to the line. Her limbs didn’t listen. She sped forth as the others turned back, not really knowing why, the race hadn’t started yet, it didn’t make sense, she needed to turn back, she’d get DQed, the team needed her-

The gun fired again. And again. And again.

And suddenly she was the only runner left in the race.

~~~


Rata-tatata-tatata-tata
 
THUNK THUNK THUNK
 
“Get up! Get up! It’s me, Aldwin!”
 
She struggled out of bed, stumbling over her shoes in her haste reach the door. The world around her spun-she stopped, holding one hand to her head. Once the world stilled, she staggered over to the entrance to her room. She yanked open the door, barely noting that she was only in a sports bra and shorts.  “Aldwin, what’s-” she broke into a fit of coughing. Lifting her head once the coughs subsided she blinked blearily at her friend, who had already grabbed her jacket and a pair of pants and threw them onto the bed.
 
“Get dressed. We need to go now.”
 
She began to pull on the clothes, insides twisting as she caught the faint sound of gunshots and screaming in the distance.
 
“Why are-wait, what?” Her jaw dropped as she finally noticed his padded vest, the heavy boots, and the gun tucked into one pocket.
 
-bzzzt-suspects spotted between-bzzzt-citizen evacuation-bzzzt-
 
“Blast this connection,” Aldwin muttered, pulling out the radio and pressing a few buttons.
 
 “Why-“
 
“Wear this under the sweatshirt,” he interrupted, tossing something toward her. It slipped through her fingers.
 
 “Ack-sorry.”
 
She picked the vest, frowning as she rubbed the material between her fingers.
 
“This is Kevlar, isn’t it?” she whispered.
 
She looked at Aldwin, eyebrow raised. He grimaced, fingers drumming against the doorframe.
 
“Please trust me.”

Shaking, she pulled off her sweatshirt, strapping on the vest. Her fingers trembled as she clumsily zipped it up and wrestled her sweatshirt over her head. Her voice was quiet.
 
“If this is some joke-”
 
“I’ll explain on the way.”
 
She pulled out her swiss army knife and a small first aid kit from the drawer on her bedstand and slipped them into her pocket. She followed him out of her room and out of the small apartment, locking both doors behind her. He began to run, ignoring the few passerby in the halls who stared at them. She attempted to follow, only to stumble, chest heaving and wheezing. He stopped, helped her up and brought his shoulder underneath one of her arms, bracing her weight against his. With his support, she managed to stumble forth as they turned toward the stairwell and hurried down the steps.
 
“There was a bombing at the British Museum several hours ago. Terrorist attack, they think. London’s on lockdown,” he relayed as they ran.
 
“What? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
 
“Most people aren’t around here this time of day, and besides, it looked like you got plenty of texts on your phone when I glanced at it-”
 
“Dammit, I forgot that-”
 
“Good thing, so your location can’t be tracked-”
 
“You’re starting to concern me.”
 
“Any road, there was no sign of the suspects until about 20 minutes ago, when firefights and a police chase broke out.”
 
“Are we heading to some sort of bomb shelter, then?”
 
“…No….”
 
“Then what?”
 
The distant gunshots grew more frequent. She let out an involuntary moan, summoning all her strength to place one foot in front of the other. Six more floors, five, four….
 
“Then what?”
 
He fell silent. She opened her mouth to say more, only to cough again. Worse than before. Aldwin was almost entirely supporting her weight by the time they came to a stop at the basement door. He pulled on the handle. Locked.
 
“We’re technically not supposed to-“
 
“I know that-” Aldwin cut her off, rolling his eyes. She lifted an eyebrow-trespassing wasn’t exactly something she would expect Aldwin of all people would do-and groaned.
 
“Fine, Mr. Mechanical Engineer, I’ll do the dirty work.”
 
She pulled out her swiss army knife and gestured for Aldwin to stand aside. Tongue between her teeth, she pushed the blade of the knife through the thin crevice between door and frame, nudging it back and forth as she pressed on the handle. After a few seconds, the door swung open.
 
“Nice one.”
 
“Thanks,” she said, reluctantly.
 
Weaving past a series of shelves stocked with long-forgotten supplies, he found the far wall and shoved his weight against a small metal panel in the wall. It swung open and he slipped through. She followed, still bracing herself against him, her legs just felt so weak, drained really….They ducked under pipes, and squeezed past several machines, careful not to touch them, before Aldwin gave her a boost onto an air vent and climbed up after her. In the same fashion they ascended several more meters off the ground, bracing their weight against vents and pipes and the nearby wall. At last, as she surveyed the pipes around her, wondering where they were climbing next (and avoiding looking at the ground), Aldwin pulled a wooden board propped up against a vent and the wall aside, revealing a hole. He pulled out a flashlight, revealing a small tunnel, cracked cobblestone path winding deep into the earth.
 
“You have to be kidding me.”
 
“I know, I know, convenient.”
 
“There was a secret tunnel beneath the apartment this whole time and you never told me about it?” she whispered, not knowing whether her voice was low simply because it hurt her chest less, or because of the urgency with which he closed the entrance to the tunnel, flicking on a flashlight. They hurried forth, voices hushed, distinctly aware of the way their footsteps echoed in the tunnel.
 
“No one is supposed to know about this.”
 
“Just like no one is supposed to know why we’re sneaking away in the first place?”
 
She lifted an eyebrow, staring at him levelly, and he sighed deeply.
 
“Jarvis Allen is dead.”
 
She nearly stopped in her tracks.
 
“No…”
 
She tried to force her breathing to steady. Her PI? Dead? Sure, she hadn’t interacted with him much-he was far too busy writing grants or going to academic conferences to interact with the lower level members of the lab, but he was still the head of the lab, someone she knew, even if it was vaguely….
 
“How did it happen?”
 
“Scotland Yard doesn’t know exactly, or at least they haven’t released that intel to me. It wasn’t natural.”
 
Silence drew out between the two-then she started and fixed him with a glare.
 
“Wait-are you implying that the terrorists are after members of our lab? You said they attacked the museum-”
 
“I suspect it was a diversion. I don’t have all the details; communication isn’t -”
 
“We’re not even a high level security lab-I work in BL2, for goodness sake, it’s not like we were producing a superweapon-”
 
“Scotland Yard would agree with you; thus why you’re with me during my hours off instead of a more qualified set of bodyguards.”
 
“Yet if that’s true,” and she still couldn’t believe it was, “You work with the lab, too, so you’re in as much danger as I.”
 
“True.”
 
He ran his hand through his curly dark brown hair, eyes distant.
 
“Perhaps we weren’t the target, not initially, but I got a call-”
 
She let out a small yelp as Aldwin abruptly shoved her to the side-she hit the wall, finding herself in a crevice in the wall less than a meter deep and a meter wide. He slipped in after her as a flurry of shots rang in the dark, sharp blasts echoing along the narrow tunnel.
 
“Bugger it all,” he muttered.
 
“What happened to ‘nobody knows’ about the tunnel?” she gasped, bracing herself against the wall as her hands trembled. This wasn’t happening, this wasn’t happening, thiswasn’thappenningthiswasn’thappeningohmygodtheyweregoingtodie-
 
BANG!
 
She jumped, only to see her friend calmly pointing a gun in the direction of the attackers. Aldwin fired again, ducking back as they returned fire. In the semidarkness, she couldn’t see who was firing, or how far away they were. Again and again blasts echoed through the tunnel. She covered her ears, eyes closed, praying. She had never liked firefights in action movies all that much, and to be in the middle of one-she wanted it to stop, and feared it too, because if it stopped, it meant that one side was definitively dead, right, and so-
 
Silence. She could feel Aldwin breathing next to her, could hear her own hoarse gasps. And something else. 
 
“Aldwin?”
 
“What?”
 
“Do you hear something?”
 
“No?”
 
She strained her ears, wondering if she was imagining the low hiss. They peered out of their hiding place, Aldwin shining the flashlight back toward whence the guns had fired. They blanched.
 
Caught in the beam of light was something yellow and swirling.
 
“Shite.”
 
They ran for it. It was what they both were best at. Behind them rolled plumes of gas, billowing and snaking through the tunnel. The hissing grew louder-
 
The fatigue and chill had settled deep within her now. She stumbled more than ran, gasping with each breath as pain stabbed her chest, her throat raw. Her chest seized up, coughs racking her body, and she collapsed, arms coming up just in time to protect her head from hitting the floor-the gas hissed not far behind her.
 
“No,” she whispered, head pounding as she struggled to rise to her feet only to crumple to the ground again as another coughing fit took her. He turned back, running toward her and she gestured at him to keep going-as much as she wanted the help, she didn’t want to drag him into whatever fate she was doomed to have now-curse this sickness-he reached down to either help her up or carry her, but stopped, jaw agape. Coughs subsiding, she turned around.
 
A meter away a wall of gas extended from floor to ceiling, still swirling, but advancing no further.
 
“What the-“
 
The two shared a glance, but before they could speak further, shouts echoed further down the tunnel. Several masked figures advanced through the gas.
 
“Leg it!”
 
Aldwin grabbed her hand, she rose to her feet, and they ran into the abyss. Darkness filled her vision-they couldn’t risk using the flashlight now lest they become an easy target for their pursuers-whatever night vision goggles her friend had pulled over his head mid-run would have to suffice as they struggled through the winding darkness. She could feel his arm tugging on hers, could sense how he was holding himself back to stay with her; even as adrenaline pulsed through her vein and fear obliterated pain, she was still slow, still weak. At last he pushed on another panel in the wall and they squeezed through the hole, emerging into what seemed to be a larger room. The beam of the flashlight waved from left to right, revealing rusted ceiling beams and spiderwebs, before it landed on a gleaming metal shape.  
 
“Convenient.”
 
“Quite,” Aldwin replied, pressing a button in the wall as she instinctively started to drag several boxes across the opening they just came through in an attempt to barricade it. The far wall began to creak open, revealing a gray sky. Making haste, they headed toward the helicopter, Aldwin climbing in first, and then helping her up, the sprint here had taken its toll on her, after all, her chest heaving and sweat dripping down her forehead, kind of embarrassing really, sick or not, it was running after all-
 
CRACK
 
She staggered backward, instinctively bringing her hands to her chest as she fell onto her friend. Aldwin froze, horrified eyes turning to her. Her heart pounded, yet there was no pain apart from a dull ache on one part of her chest. Her hand quickly slid across her chest, finding no blood.
 
“I-I’m fine!” she stammered, yanking the helicopter door shut before the attackers could fire again. Aldwin nodded, face still pale, and seized the controls. As the blades thrummed and the copter rose from the rooftop, bullets helplessly pinging off its sides, she fingered the part of her chest where the bullet had been repelled by the vest, ascertaining that yes, she was alive, yes she was fine, but god, if Aldwin hadn’t-or if the sniper had aimed for a different part of her-she remembered a professor once explaining the mechanics of Kevlar, of how the impact of the bullet was spread outward along the fibers in each layer of the soft armor, like a several nets working in tandem to catch an object plummeting through the air. Science was truly beautiful. After several minutes of silence, she spoke.
 
“Thanks, Aldwin.”
 
He didn’t look at her, eyes glued to the controls and the skies ahead. “It’s my buggering fault you’re in this mess,” he muttered.
 
A low sigh escaped her mouth before degrading into a deep throaty cough. She brought a hand to her face, head throbbing. “Where to now?”
 
“Out of the country, if we can manage. We need to lie low for a time.”
 
“Aldwin, what’s going on-“
 
Before she could demand an answer, a loud boom rattled her ears.  She slammed into the side of the small cockpit as the copter pitched.
 
“BLEEDIN’ ‘ELL!”
 
Aldwin pulled back on the controls, trying to regain control of the copter as it spiraled through the air. She could spot smoke out of the corner of the window. Her eyes flicked toward the control panel, taking in the array of unfamiliar knobs and buttons and displays. Were they being pursued? She opened her mouth, and shut it. They were losing height. Her head was throbbing. Sweat dripped down Aldwin’s face; she frowned as she took in how he bit his lip, brows furrowing, the same way he did when he was taking that exam she proctored once, struggling to draw from hours of studying yet faced with an intractable problem about distances between restriction enzyme sites on a plasmid. She closed her eyes, and just as soon as she did, opened them, hugging her knees to her chest.
 
The helicopter swung over the river, descending rapidly. Not far ahead of them a two tiered bridge spanned the river, the levels linked by a spire-topped tower on each side. Two covered walkways comprised the upper tier, metal frames extending from one tower to the other. Far beneath them lay the road, arcing from one end of the Thames to the other. Between the two towers the road was split in the middle, each half raised to allow boat traffic to travel past the bridge. Or to perhaps deter passerby; the bridge was deserted of its usual traffic due to the lockdown order.
 
“Aldwin,”
 
Their eyes met. He nodded.
 
She swung open the door to the copter as they spiraled toward the bridge. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a missile firing from the other copter.
 
“JUMP!”
 
She pushed off, limbs flailing, although she landed softly on top of one of the covered walkways. Before she could move the walkway juddered and she fell, beams striking her face. A wave of heat rose behind her. Ears ringing, she struggled to her feet, chest heaving as she broke into another coughing fit. She swayed on her feet, her vision slightly blurred.
 
This high above the ground, the wind thrashed the bridge, sending her bangs flying across her face. Clouds rolled through the sky, heavy and gray. The middle of each walkway had fallen away, leaving a gap of no less than thirty meters not that far in front of her, twisted metal sticking out from the broken ends. She rose to her feet, head pounding as she avoided looking at the river below. Her eyes scanned bridge from the metal lined path she stood upon all the way to the spires of each tower, spotting no one.
 
“Aldwin?”
 
She cupped her hands around her mouth, stomach seizing up.
 
“ALDWIN!”
 
“Aaagghh…”
 
“ALDWIN!”
 
She staggered toward the edge of the gap, looking across to the opposite side. Her friend just barely clung to a beam jutting out from the opposite beam of the walkway, which, as she watched, began to creak.
 
Thump. Thump.
 
Her head jerked up to spot a line of figures advancing from the tower on the opposite side of the gap from her, weapons drawn as they marched along both walkways. The breath caught in her chest.
 
“Hang on!”
 
Wind barreled across the bridge, knocking the armed men to the ground as the bridge creaked and moaned. She ran, clearing the gap with ease and landing inside the covered walkway from which he was dangling. She wheeled around; her hand shot out and grabbed his. Her chest was screaming, but she didn’t notice, all she saw was her friend, and the river many, many meters below, and the feeling of his hand warm against hers, as she helped him up, instinctively pushing him away from the edge, placing herself between him and the drop that had almost taken him. For a moment, if she had let it, warmth spread out in her chest, relief or pride, she couldn’t tell-and distantly came the loud crack, and a second, and a third, and she felt something sticky pool next to her hand-but she was fine-another crack-his knees buckled out beneath him-
 
A mesh might break a fall, but nothing was unbreakable. It was only a matter of applying another force, of pushing so hard that you couldn’t handle it any longer-
 
 “NO!”

In the depths of the walkway another figure advanced toward them, raising his gun once more.
 
Brown eyes met hers.
 
“Fly, you fool!” he managed to choke out.
 
She didn’t. Wouldn’t. Couldn’t. The blood and his pallid face held her eyes. She gasped for breath, lungs searing. Her eyes burned. Another crack, and fire shot along the side of her head. She saw was the blurry face of her friend, mouthing “no”, the steel bars of the walkway crisscrossing over her head, before her mind fell into the dark.

~~~

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends

Every ending was a fall, or perhaps every story was, life driven by gravity to a deadly stop, savoring the air for some time before shattering.

It was said that falling never killed you; only the ground did. Perhaps that was true, at least physically. But there was more than one way to die. She closed her eyes as she continued to fall, yet the images flashed through her mind anyway. Every second she braced herself for the crash, for the ground to meet her body and shatter it. What would it feel like: a sudden surge of pain before oblivion, or would she linger in her broken body, pain wracking her until she yearned for the end? The crash didn’t come. She simply withered away in in fear of it, her thoughts destroying her more than the ground ever could—

She and Aldwin lay on their backs in the grass, listening to the waves lap against the shore. A swathe of stars above them-she traced the Milky Way with her eyes-

“-and then you multiply the wavefunction by its complex conjugate-”

“And it just got real?”

“Oh come on! How do you know every single punchline?”

She laughed. The air was crisp and cool, with a faint tinge of salt, she tried to cling to it, to dispel the sterile stench that invaded her nostrils. She couldn’t picture how the rougher blades of grass brushed against her back and even as she stared at the stars, they blurred and swerved—the soft earth beneath, still holding one last glimpse of the sun’s warmth, froze, grass withering and twining into ropes that chafted against her wrist and ankles as cold metal pressed against her back—the stars were gone, replaced with a cracked stone ceiling—her eyes stared blankly at it—her head throbbed—not again, not again—she wouldn’t look to the side, she couldn’t—

—she slipped over the top of the fence, back arching as she deftly avoided the sharp ends of metal sticking out from the top and landed safely on the other end, gloved fingers slipping around the links in the fence as her feet braced against the fence. The ground was many meters below, but that proved to be little obstacle as she clambered down the fence the same way she had ascended the other side. Shame they couldn’t afford electric, would have been a more amusing challenge. All the more evidence that this was an unexpected turn of events for all parties involved-but they were fools to believed that no one would have followed them—she smirked, drawing a hooked dagger from the sheath in her sleeve and slitting the throat of the guard patrolling alongside the fence—

—her vision faded, sweat dripped down her face while chills racked her thin frame, her mouth was dry, she couldn’t move her mouth, all her muscles had seized up, it took all of her strength just to retain consciousness—

—they hadn’t even noticed her following them through the door-at least, not until they were both solidly knocked to the floor with their necks snapped. She sped through the hallway, aiming a kick at a guard from behind and stabbing him before he hit the floor. Her hooked blade wheeled around, taking out another guard who had approached from behind. She dashed toward another guard, who raised his fists only to gasp in confusion and pain as she ducked down at the last moment, sliding between the guard’s legs and kicking his leg out from under him in the process—

—An order barked, one figure behind a panel pressed a dial. A series of syringes filled, she could see them out of the corner of her eyes, but she didn’t bother to look further. There was no point—

—a line of guards approached from in front and behind. Her eyes flicked to a cart, which she vaulted onto and used as a platform to propel her to a ceiling rafter, which she grasped with both hands. Arms tensing, she swung around the bar, kicking guards in the head before launching herself off the bar and into another guard, whose throat also met her blade. As she jumped to her feet, she kicked the cart toward set of guards and knocked them over. Each guard met her dagger before they could return to her feet. Once finished, she strutted off down the hallway, smirking at the sight of all the bodies around her. Behind her a dark figure rose to his feet and aimed a punch. Without turning around, she snatched the man’s arm with one hand, and used his body weight and momentum against him to flip him onto the ground—

“Subject ready for extraction.”

—she emerged from the computer room, backflipping into a guard and knocking him to the ground. Her kurtkuri slid out, but before she could finish him, she ducked behind a carton as gunfire echoed along the hallway. Damn it all. She had to move quickly, but the gunfire was coming from the direction she needed to head. Her eyes flicked to the ceiling, her mind planning out alternate routes, and then she sensed movement behind her. She vaulted onto the crates, and launched herself from there, wrapping her legs around the guard’s neck and bringing him to the ground, his body serving as her new shield from the gunfire. As her dagger slit his throat, a gun pressed against her head. She laughed, even as another hand snatched her throat—

—the needles drew closer—she should be panicking, thrashing, perhaps somewhere in some dim region of her mind that signal was being sent, but it didn’t register with her limbs, nausea worked its way through her stomach, her lungs throbbed, knives seeming to split her head—

Suddenly she didn’t care.

“Three.”

“Two”

Thud.

The man at the panel fell to the ground, blood seeping from his neck. Glass shattered. The dagger sliced the ropes.

She lifted the taller young woman and slung her over her shoulder. Gritting her teeth, she ran, careening through the hallways with her fragile load, dodging and leaping over fallen bodies. In the distance, sirens began to wail. Hissing through her teeth, she jumped out of a second story window, landing on all fours on a bush beneath with her cargo safely on her back. Eyes flicked left and right, noting the flashing lights in the distance. Not looking back as she ran from the building, she pressed a button in her pocket with her free hand.

A roar shattered the air. Behind them a wall of heat rose, trees sizzling as it rolled forth—

The chakram wheeled around again and pain surged into her side. Claws of fire rose from the wound and throttled her, consuming the air. She choked on flames, the skin along her fingers cracked and bubbling, pink blisters forming, she couldn’t scream, fire was tearing down her throat—

No. Not tongues of flame but molten teeth, melting and deforming as it burned. Embers were always the hottest part of the fire. She remembered staring into the campfire on late summer nights, entranced by the way the lights flickered and glowed along the long-burned charcoal, shades of orange rippling along the wood. The metal glowed, too, searing into her skin, scorching one arrow, a second, a third. A triangle beneath. Did she scream? She must have, although how would she have managed to hear that faint guttural chanting—

She smirked at those pursuers, those fools, the ones she had outwitted, outran-warm pooled through her even as blood seeped from her side. Even if they didn’t fully realize it, they had already lost. All she had to now was to trust her instincts, close her eyes... Her wrist itched and throbbed, the wooden blade heavy.

She let go, toppling over the side of the cliff, air embracing her.

One, two…good, she was out of sight, now, time to fly—

Nothing.

She moved her arms and legs, summoning that feeling, straining with all her might, yet it was as if she was moving them through gelatin, which made no sense, considering how easily she was plummeting through the air. Her breath caught in her throat.

Maybe you’re not as powerful as you think you are.

She drew her knees close to her chest and closed her eyes as she braced herself-no amount of training could save her from a fall this high-a force thrust her up and aside, her body into the cave where she would be found not long after, bleeding and broken and half out of her mind—

She fell through the darkness, breathing shallow as her mind was assaulted by memories, living them again and again as the fever burned through her head, she wanted to live, she so desperately did, but this falling, it wasn’t living, was it—

She plunged toward the earth, which, at last was visible, rocks barbed and waiting among churning waves. Her breathing was shallow-only seconds left-

Something tugged at her spine.

Wind runner.

A voice, at once shrill and low, like air screeching through branches, and thudding against her ear.

She was back at the shore again, at the beginning, tumbling from the cliffside cave. This time there was no branch to save her. She closed her eyes, heart hammering and arms flailing, yet, at the same time, a sense of calm crept over her. Perhaps, if the story was rewritten now, if she didn’t rise from this fall, she wouldn’t have, he wouldn’t-she was being stupid, wasn’t she?

Get a grip and wake up.

He screamed. It was no use to attempt to cover her ears, her arms were stiff, her legs weren't working this time, he was screaming even louder. She didn't want to look, to see his face, but her eyes were glued toward him, her body stiff as air gave way beneath her. Terrified eyes met hers. Next to him, close to where she fell, a few droplets of blood from where her hand had brushed against the rock earlier. Soon it would be the only trace of her that remained.

Why do you give up?

She averted her eyes, staring at her hands. The wind tugged at her hair.

Why? the voice insisted.

“I-I can’t.”

The voice laughed.

You have no idea what you’re capable of, Mistral.

The wind nudged her head up, and despite herself, she looked at the cave. Aldwin was gone, but despite the distance she had fallen she could see every stalactite, every crevice in the stone, the way the water dripped into pools, the veins of quartz she had stared in awe of not so long ago, the streaks of blood on the rock from where her fall-scd hand had brushed against it…as she watched the rock behind shifted, as if an invisible hand was etching into the stone, and the blood slipped into the compressions, spreading out into the three arrows all emerging from the same point. Her eyes flicked down to her wrist and to the mark, and to her wrist again. Similar, yet…different.

Her blood glowed silver.

Her eyes widened.

Wake up. Reclaim what you have lost. Your only enemy is fear.

Wake up.

She gritted her teeth. Breathe in. The ice holding her limbs in place shattered. She surged forward, ignoring the fire rising in her glutes, the ache in her chest, pulling strength from some part deep inside of her that she did not know she had-

Pain exploded throughout her body as it met the ground.

~~~

Another soft crack. The feathered body plummeted, joining its broken brethren scattered across the cave. At least thirty sparrows littered the cave floor, necks snapped on some, others crushed almost beyond recognition. Droplets of crimson were scattered across the floor.

Strength spent, the young woman bit back sobs, not wanting to look (even if she wanted to she could barely move her neck), but even with her eyes fixed to the darkness of the roof of the cave, she had heard every screech, every sickening snap, every thud and crunch. One had fallen on her chest, a featherweight, delicate thing.

Just breathe. Just breathe. Panicking will only make it worse. Stiff upper lip, keep your eyes open, don’t look away- A tear slipped down her cheek, followed by another. Who was she fooling?

Limbs askew, short blonde hair half fallen over her pallid face, Sparrow lay limply in the center of the massacre, half-lidded eyes bloodshot. A searing, itching ache radiated from her back. With each breath icy knives stabbed her chest. She willed her fingers, her legs, her arms to move, and received no response. Her limbs twitched. That was all. Sweat trickled down her face despite the winter in her chest.

Beside her rested the discarded syringe, now empty.

“S-snake venom. Y-you had t-to be t-t-that…c-cliché.” It took all her strength just to move her mouth, and even then her words were slightly slurred.

“Clever girl,” Adder remarked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sparrow had seen a victim of snake bite a few times during her time as an EMT and when she shadowed doctors, had become accustomed to treating patients and dealing antivenin when required, handling the rare allergic attack. She had studied the damaging effects of different brands of venom, rattlesnake, copperhead, cottonmouth, could already venture a guess as to which species provided the venom and how much time she had left. She couldn't see her reflection, but the images of those patients and the patients in her medical textbooks were scarred in her mind. Most lived. With help. On instinct her mind ran over the steps: put the patient down such that the wound lay above the heart, keep the patient calm and still, consult the patient about the snake’s appearance, intravenously inject the proper antivenin…

"Why?" she managed to gasp at last.

Adder chuckled. Kneeling down, she lifted Sparrow’s chin with one finger, yellow eyes staring into the younger woman’s. Already they were starting to glaze over. Excellent.

“I'm doing you a favor, if anything. Probably would have gotten a worse fate from one of your so-called friends than from me,” she said, voice dropping to a hiss.

Her thumb brushed against the blonde’s cheek before she let go, letting Sparrow’s head flop back to the ground.

“W-what are you t-t-talking about?”

“Skeletons in their closets, princess,” she shrugged, throwing aside the term as if it was obvious.

“And-and you think-”-Sparrow struggled for breath- “-y-y-you think I'm going to believe that?”

“You trusted me, didn't you, princess? And compared to some, I’m merely an amateur."

She spat in Sparrow’s face, another cackle shooting from her throat. Sparrow bit her lip, holding Adder’s gaze. As much as it hurt, she would not look away. Another tear crept down her cheek. She would have broken into sobs right there and then, if it didn’t hurt so much when her chest moved. Her breathing was shallow, faint, and growing weaker by the minute. Her back tingled and throbbed, and even Adder’s sickening sneering face was starting to blur.

“W-w-why not-why not just s-stab me…and b-b-be d-d-d-done w-with it?”

Adder tilted her head, an odd, almost childlike gesture, before lifting her foot and placing it on top of Sparrow’s face, slowly applying pressure.

“Because you’re pathetic.”

With a cackle, Adder removed her foot and gave Sparrow’s face a kick for good measure before she turned and walked away, taking in the ravine from the cave entrance. Blood began to trickle down Sparrow’s face from her nose.

She was alone. There was no way she could bank on her friends finding her in the vastness of the ravine, as much as her heart held on to that one shred of hope-how could it not? She couldn’t even remember if she had brought antivenin in her pack-it was unlikely, not that she could grab it when she was paralyzed, Besides, she wouldn’t put it past Adder to give her some modified venom that had no antidote or required a very specific antidote

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Why had she scouted alone, even if it had saved the runner’s life? Hooray for good deeds and karma and all that, not that that made much of a difference when you were dying. Not to mention she had a sinking feeling that her actions, well-intentioned as they were, had enabled some dark chain of events to initiate. Her throat felt thick. She had rather botched up this one, hadn’t she?

“Oi! At least t-tell me what-what all this is about, since I’m d-done f-for anyway. Y-you owe me t-that!” Her voice trembled despite her best efforts.

Adder lifted an eyebrow, not even bothering to turn around. “Tell you my plan? Does it look like I’m stupid?”

Sparrow stared at the person who had pretended to be her friend, only to use and destroy her….and something snapped. Each word stabbed her chest, sending black spots across her already blurring vision, but she didn’t care as she screamed at the darkness, unwilling to let the inevitable take her.

“COWARD! COWARD! You lowly RAT! I've seen rodents with more balls than you! YOU EFFIN-”

Sparrow’s stream of curses was cut off by a gasp as a hand seized her arm, straightening it out with so her palm faced upward. A needle slipped into the crook of her elbow. Adder swerved around.

"What the hell are you-"

The woman strode toward Sparrow, yellow eyes blazing. Before she could reach the blonde, the needle withdrew from her arm. A piece of gauze was placed on the puncture and hastily fastened with a strip of tape.

The runner slowly rose to her feet, teeth clenched, ignoring the terrible weakness in her legs and the deep ache along her side. Her expression was hidden in the shadows of her hood, the longcoat extending past her knees, fabric rippling even though there wasn’t much of a breeze coming in from outside. In one hand rested the winged blade, while in the other was a second syringe. She might have looked epic if it hadn’t been for the way her legs shook and how she needed to brace herself against a stalagmite in order to remain standing.

"A-a life for a life. My debt is repaid." Her voice was raspy and faint, although it carried in the near silence of the cave.

“You fool, she-“

"Didn't you just hear me? You're not the only one who saved my life, Adder," she said, voice a little steadier. She tossed the now empty antivenin syringe aside, taking the blade in both hands and brandishing it in front of her. The older woman let out a cold, sharp laugh, striding toward the runner. Without thinking, the runner took a small step back. Adder placed one hand on the sword, bringing her face close to the runner's.

"I told you, you can't be fooled by these people."

She steeled herself as she looked directly at Adder, taking a shuddering breath. Bare feet attempted to grip the slick rock beneath her.

"I won’t partake in murder."

Adder laughed again, taking the runner’s shoulder with her other hand.

“The world isn’t black and white, you fool. Some people need to die.”

“But-”

“Perhaps if you had learned that lesson before, he wouldn-”

“-there has to be another way,” she interjected quickly, voice shaking. Her sword fell limply to her side as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to focus on something else, anything-if she looked back she was lost-but wasn’t it the past that drove her actions? After all, hugs shouldn’t end in murder.

“Look at me, girl. Look at me. Good. Now listen to me. If you had gotten the job done without being seen, no one would have had to die. It’s your fault.”

“You won’t kill her.”

“And how do you intend to stop me. Oh?” She chuckled as the runner looked down toward her sword. “Honestly, you’re not going to attempt to use that as leverage?”

“Why should I trust you with it?”

Adder smiled, shaking her head.

“Because you can’t trust yourself with it.”

The runner fell silent. She glanced toward her blade, eyes tracing the demonic wing until it met the unblinking blue eye on the hilt, and shivered. Her eyes flicked toward Adder, the sword, Adder, the other girl inches from death on the floor, and Adder again.

“If you just needed her dead, why were you playing with and lying to her?” she said softly, unable to conceal the pain in her voice.

Adder scoffed. “Would you rather I tortured her for information?”

Sparrow gulped. Looking back, apart from that one initial reveal after the whole sword thing, Adder hadn’t revealed much of herself at all, bits and pieces, to be sure, but much of their conversations had consisted of Sparrow nattering on about one thing or another, particularly about her home and her teammates.

Stupid, stupid, STUPID

“That-that venom was torture.”

Adder laughed.

“You know what I think?”

The runner stared blankly at Adder, not even resisting as Adder snatched her chin with her hand.

“You’re a coward. You shy from getting your hands dirty, but you can’t accept the consequences of not doing so.”

“But-” she attempted to stammer, but her voice died in her throat as Adder continued.

“Take if I hadn’t saved your life, or better yet, if I helped you escape without killing everyone in that facility. Let’s see, not only would I have faced possible resistance on my way out that would have threatened both our lives, but likely the survivors would have communicated with those up top and surely you’re intelligent enough to know where that would lead, hm?”

What in the blazes in going on here?

Sparrow struggled to turn her neck to watch, although she was not foolish enough to voice her thoughts aloud. Weak as she was, Sparrow had enough judgment to know that drawing attention to herself wasn't the best idea. Shame that the paralysis was far from wearing off; this little spat would be the perfect chance, now when Adder was distracted she could-

She finally managed to shift her head slightly, only for her eyes to fall upon one of the feathered bodies beside her. She choked back another sob.

Do what, exactly? The paralysis had barely worn off, and even if it had, what was the point? Her mind kept replaying that scene, of the needle slipping into her back, of her falling, head hitting the stone floor, a swarm of birds converging on the dark-haired woman, who wove through the blitz of wings and beaks, snapping neck after neck, slaughtering them all. A sparrow was no match for an adder.

"Listen to me. I’m the only ally you have. Give it to me now, before-"

The runner yelped as Adder stopped speaking and yanked her to the side. An arrow clattered into the rock where her head had been seconds before. Another soft twang-the runner flinched as another arrow shot straight toward them-Adder snatched the shaft out of the air and swung the arrow around, stabbing it into the darkness behind them just as a figure emerged from the shadows. Blackie screeched in pain, clutching her shoulder as blood pooled around the shaft. Adder’s foot connected with Blackie’s stomach while flexing both wrists-a curved blade flicked out from a secret compartment in each sleeve, one of which conveniently sliced across the canine’s muzzle as she attempted to lunge for her arm. Blackie and Jackal hit the ground hard, the former fading into the shadows before Adder could strike a third time. The runner staggered away from the fight, hiding behind a set of stalactites. She cast a yearning look toward the light seeping in from the cave entrance before directing her attention back toward the battle.

Adder aimed another blow at Jackal, only to slither away from a blast of water toward her head-the water halted before it could splatter against the wall, veering toward her again. The woman raised her dual blades in front of her, diverting the water’s blow.

“Dammit,” Blackie muttered, reappearing from the shadows a distance away and knocking the runner to the ground with a well-aimed punch. Gritting her teeth, she seized the shaft of the arrow with her uninjured arm.

“NOOOO BLACKIE! That is NOT how you deal with arrow woouuunds!!!” Sparrow cried. No one heard her. Granted, she was still very weak and her whisper of a voice didn’t carry well over the chaos of the fight. Still a shame.

As Blackie vanished into the shadows again, Sparrow struggled to move her head, to see something other than the patch of stalactites, sparrow corpses, and blood that filled her line of sight. Cries of pain and thuds echoed in the cave, shadows flashed across the streak of lights from the entrance and a fallen flashlight-she tried to summon some sort of strength to her muscles, wondering how much necrosis had set in before the antivenin was administered. She had to know that her friends hadn’t joined the feathery carcasses scattered along the floor–

“Probably would have gotten a worse fate from one of your so-called friends than from me.”

She winced, shaking her head to dispel the words that clung to her like leeches.

They’re not Adder, they’re risking their lives for me, dammit! They’re not Adder.

Muffled thumps, far closer to her than the battle. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a dark figure on the ground not far from her. The hooded runner hadn’t risen to her feet. Instead, she thrashed about on the ground, jerking her head one way, then another, bringing her hands to her face again, and again, and again. Outside the wind swept away the clouds for a moment; the ray of light from the cave entrance grew stronger, revealing something glistening encircling the runner’s head. Sparrow gasped. The runner’s arms reached up again in another futile attempt to dispel it, only to fall, her jerky movements now sluggish as her lungs burned. She gave a sputtered gasp, only to choke and retch as water filled her lungs.

Rainy loomed over her, eyes frigid.

~~~

Stab. Dodge. Swerve. Feint. Kick. Turn.

Blackie gritted her teeth as she emerged from the shadows behind the woman, driving her dagger forward. Metal clanged as Adder swerved around, blocking the blow with her khukuri and driving her other blade forward, but before she could make contact Blackie slipped into the shadows again. Her left shoulder throbbed and she had difficulty moving her left arm, thanks to that arrow attack, but her other arm was working fine, and so was the rest of her. Blackie grinned. It was true that the older woman’s agility was rather alarming-she was a whirlwind, really, constantly close but out of reach. She managed to block Blackie no matter where she appeared from, all while fending off Jackal’s lunges and bites. On the other hand, after that initial arrow attack, she couldn’t land a single hit on the shadow super. Blackie frowned, pondering how she could distract the woman long enough to land a hit.

~~~

“No…Rainy, please don’t, she didn’t, she-”

Sparrow’s voice was barely above a whisper, unheard above the grunts and thuds, the clash of metal and stone, the howling wind, and the slowing thrashing of the runner as she struggled toward air that she would never reach-

~~~

Rainy’s eyes narrowed, tongue held in between her teeth. Her hands circled each other, arms steady but graceful, as if this was a simple training exercise, and really it was, holding a sphere of water in the air-

~~~

The runner had nearly drowned before. Instinct had taken over, she guessed, a breath of air before she toppled beneath the waves, limbs thrashing for that brief moment, before her limbs, or likely, it was her lifejacket, pulled her back into the open air. Terrifying, yes, and shock and fear had seized her from the moment she was cast into the water until a rescue raft pulled her out, yet that truly horrifying moment, when she was entirely taken away from the air, was brief. There hadn’t been enough time to think, to fear, to panic. To give up. Unlike now.

She struggled to open her eyes one last time, barely recognizing the pain as water assaulted them, and closed them-

~~~

Jackal yelped as Adder slithered away from his lunge and kicked the canine squarely in the chest, throwing him to the wall. Blood dripped down his muzzle, and a gash along his foreleg nearly cut to bone. He struggled to his paws, not for the first time. His panting shifted into a deep snarl.

He sprang forward, ignoring the way his limbs ached and his wounds smarted. Midway through his leap he shifted into human form, aiming a roundhouse kick at Adder, who started, leaning back and just narrowly avoiding the kick-

“Urrgh!”

Adder was thrown back as Blackie’s fist connected with her jaw. Blackie faded into the shadows just as Adder launched a kick at her mid-fall, wheeling her arms back and landing neatly on her feet. Blood dripped from a thin line along her cheek.

Jackal spun around toward Adder, Blackie reappearing a few feet away from her. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Rainy and the drowning runner, her friend seeming to be taking her sweet time with taking down the hooded girl.

“Dammit, Rainy! Get Sparrow out of here!” Jackal yelled as he ran forward, pulling a knife out of his pocket.

Rainy jumped, the sphere of water collapsing and splashing against the ground. The runner gasped, shuddered, and fell still.

With a yell, Jackal threw a punch at Adder, only for the woman to catch his wrist.

Jackal’s eyes widened.

When Blackie rose from the shadows to strike, Jackal’s now knocked-unconscious body toppled into her, knocking her to the ground.

~~~

Rainy could hear her own breath. Shallow, hoarse, rapid. There would be no use in attempting to calm it. She stared at the just barely breathing runner, then brought her hands to her face.

“Rainy…” Sparrow managed to say, at last. Her throat was tight, although whether it was from the venom or from shock and pain, she couldn’t tell. She could still barely move, even if the pain had faded.

Rainy peeled her hands away from her face and turned to Sparrow, flinching at the expression on her friend’s face. Raising her hands, she stammered. ¬

“This isn’t what it-well, I guess it is, but I-I’m so sorry Sparrow, I should have gotten here earlier storm or not-I’m such a terrible friend-I thought since you said hoodie was dead-”

Sparrow frowned, but before she could say anything, Rainy blathered on.

“-but this is my fault-but I’m going to get you out of here and-”

Sparrow opened her mouth-Rainy stopped, flinching despite herself....Sparrow’s voice was faint but Rainy could read her lips.

“Duck!”

Rainy dropped to the ground just as a blade cut through the air right where her heart was, and rolled to the side, grabbing the stopper on the second flask on her belt. A stream of water fell from the flask and under the guidance of her arms, melded into a whip that lashed out at Adder, who just barely dodged it.

“Thanks, Sparrow.”

Out of the corner of her eye Rainy spotted Jackal and Blackie lying on the ground, both out cold. Rainy drew the ribbon of water toward her, letting it circle protectively around her body. Adder flicked her wrists, the daggers slipping into the compartments in her sleeves as she brought her index and middle fingers together on each hand, pointing them at Rainy.

“And she’s the one who stabbed me,” Sparrow said, gesturing with her head toward Adder. “Just so you know.” Rainy’s eyes narrowed.

“No. One. Poisons. My. Friend,” Rainy hissed, punctuating each name by whipping the water toward Adder, who swept away each strike with her fingers.

“Envenomates,” Adder said, rolling her eyes and easily parrying another blow with a sweep of her arm.

“Nuance.”

~~~

Sparrow could move her fingers. Small, slow, jerky, like moving them through a sea of needles. She could hear the rush of water and barely audible thuds and rustles as the two women faced off.

Rainy was probably the best fighter they had. Yes, Jackal’s canine form was fast and vicious, Blackie was nigh untouchable when she used the shadows, and Blaze certainly had fire in more ways than one, but only Rainy was a natural fighter, born and trained. She reveled in action and seemed to be completely in synch with her powers. Not to mention she was the only martial arts expert among them.

Yet Adder had already taken out Jackal, Blackie, and Sparrow with ease, and Rainy was far from at her full power. If only a waterfall was nearby. There were thin pools of water scattered all around the cave, but she could not draw a single drop from their still surfaces.

Sparrow turned her head toward the runner, who still hadn’t moved.

~~~

Rainy leaned back from a stab, arm swinging out to grab Adder’s wrist, who shot her other hand forward at the same time, grabbing Rainy’s hand. Rainy smirked, blasting water into her face. Sputtering, Adder fell back, grip loosening-Rainy slipped her hand out Adder’s grasp, only to gasp as Adder kicked Rainy squarely in the chest, throwing her back. Rainy threw her arms out to the side, the water catching her fall. Returning to her feet, Rainy streamed the water into a ribbon whirling around her, fixing her eyes toward Adder, who was several meters away from her. As Adder advanced toward her, Rainy swung her arms back and forth, firing small bullets of water from the water swirling around her.

“COWARD! AZULA! MALIFICENT! ADELE DAZEEM!”

“HEY!” the runner yelled, lifting her head up from where she was playing dead in the pool of water.

“EVIL OLD STEPMOTHER LADY!”

Adder chuckled. “Old?”

Rainy yelped as a small dagger whizzed through the air toward her head-the young woman just barely dodged it, the blade slicing off a few hairs. Another dagger shot toward her; she knocked it out of the way with her water, frowning. She couldn’t see her opponent well enough to get a sense of where the daggers were being thrown. Brow furrowed, she dodged to the side, slipping behind a stalagmite, then darted to the shelter of a stalagmite to Adder’s right, shooting water back at Adder.

“HEY EVIL QUEEN, YOU’RE GONNA HAVE TO CATCH ME!” Rainy yelled, grinning, before slipping as quietly and stealthily as she could through a web of rocks jutting out of the earth, planning to hide behind a pillar of rock and strike when Adder came after her-that is, until she tripped over a sparrow carcass and faceplanted, water crashing around her.

“Oops.”

She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the dimness of the stalactite forest, the faint light from the cave entrance all but blocked by the stone pillars. She felt around the ground, trying to see if there was a stray rock, or maybe one of Adder’s daggers had fallen there. Her hand closed around something cylindrical next to her-that would have to do.

“AAAGH!”

Rainy brought her hand to her cheek, finding it wet and sticky. Hissing in pain, Rainy rolled to her feet, flicking on the flashlight and sweeping it around until she found Adder…one foot away from her face.

“Holy Snickers bars you look like Azula!” Rainy gasped, finally getting a good look at the woman’s face. “An old Azula,” she added with a smirk.

Rainy just barely ducked under a sweeping kick, Adder’s hands jabbing toward her face, striking far too quickly for Rainy to snatch her arm. Gritting her teeth, Rainy attempted to point the flashlight into Adder’s eyes, only for it to be knocked immediately out of her hand.

“…you’re not Azula, right?”

Rainy swore sweat dripped down her face-but it wasn’t, because otherwise she could have used it, right?-as she was pushed back toward the entrance of the cave, gritting her teeth as she just barely evaded a swarm of kicks and jabs and avoided being cornered against a stalagmite.

I can’t find an opening. She’s too fast.

Rainy took a deep breath, then feinted a punch toward Adder’s chest and quickly jabbed it toward Adder’s head.

Adder smiled.

The woman ducked beneath the feint, spinning around, jabbing her fingers behind Rainy’s ear and grabbing the back of Rainy’s ponytail, jerking Rainy’s head back. Her other arm seized Rainy’s arm, wrenching it upward and backward, and as Rainy lashed her other arm out in a futile strike, only for it to be seized and yanked as well. Rainy gasped as her face was pressed into the ground and with a clink, metal was locked around her wrists.

“Rainy!”

Sparrow managed to lift her head and torso enough to take in the scene, her face falling. Adder pressed her foot into Rainy’s chest, then kicked it, smirking. Not far away, Blackie and Jackal were still collapsed on the ground. Adder leaned over Rainy, chuckling as the younger woman spat at her.

“That’s the best waterbending you can do now, Loony?” Adder sneered, bringing one finger under Rainy’s chin and jerking her head up. She traced the cut along Rainy’s cheek, driving her fingernail deep into it. “Shame it’s daytime, I might have gotten a slightly less pathetic fight out of you otherwise.”

“Luckily there is one of us whose power rises with the sun,” a snarky voice remarked from the entrance to the cave.

~~~

Blaze grinned, silhouetted against the sunlight.

“Glad to be back. Sheesh, I was out of the game for a while.”

His light tone belied his white-knuckled grip on his chakram. He swallowed, blinking rapidly as he peered into the darkness. Hoodie was collapsed on the ground, as was Sparrow, and he couldn’t see or hear Blackie or Jackal. Rainy was on the ground, too-despite himself, Blaze bit his lip, although he quickly returned to a snarky grin. Not that it made much of a difference, considering the only other person left standing in the cave kept her back to him. His instincts screamed at him to strike while the woman’s back was turned, yet he held herself back. Normally he was only second to Rainy in terms of barreling into a fight, but given the current success rate of that approach, and how the woman wasn’t even bothering to turn around...

Blaze couldn’t see the dark grin that spread across Adder’s lips.

“You know, I’d recommend getting away from my friend if you know what’s-“

“So you’re Blaze. Took you long enough,” Adder remarked, cutting Blaze off.

“And who are you supposed to be?”

“I think she’s Azula. Except old,” Rainy said in a loud whisper. Adder rolled her eyes.

“Just because I’m not an immature baby like Loony doesn’t make me old.”

“SAY THAT TO MY FACE YOU LIMP NOODLE!” Rainy retorted, thrashing beneath Adder’s foot. She opened her mouth to add more, only to gasp as Adder’s foot met her nose.

“GET YOUR FILTHY-“

“By the way, great job with the rescue mission, mister leader. Not that you were doing much of the leading.”

Blaze started, then shot the woman an indignant glare. “Wait, I’m not-hey, if it hadn’t been for -”

“Nah-uh-uh! First rule of leadership: everything is your fault.”

“…touché.”

Blaze’s eyebrows furrowed.

“But pretty bold words for someone who won’t even turn to face me.”

Adder laughed.

“What are you gonna do? Blind me? I’m so terrified.”

Blaze clenched his fists. “I’ve got a better idea!” he yelled. Drawing a deep breath, he dropped into the stance he had practice countless times in the past few days, throwing his arm forward.

He punched naught but air.

“What?”

He swung his arm forward again. Nothing. Again. Nothing.

“Having a little trouble there, are we?” Adder said, barely holding back a snicker.

“Shut-” Blaze punched the air again. “-up!”

Gritting his teeth, Blaze unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks to the air. ”Why. Won’t. This. Work-DAMMIT!” he cursed as pain shot down his spine after a particularly wild punch. He blinked the stars out of his eyes, cursing again. With a moan he glared at his still flame-free hands.

“Come on! I just charged it this morning! Is there an on switch or somethi-”

“BLAZE!”

~~~

The runner barely paid attention to what happened next. A clash of steel upon steel, a thud as Blaze jumped back, followed by a muffled curse from Blaze as Adder caught her flung chakram and threw it back. The runner took her head into her hands, feeling her heart thud in her ears.

“Dammit! Why isn’t this working?” Blaze yelled, the fire failing to manifest once again. He reached toward a side pocket, only to stagger out of the way just in time as a kick swung toward his face. Okay, maybe visually showing frustration was not the best strategy in a battle, but having a trump card taken away like that really wasn’t fair.

Adder laughed. “Isn’t it obvious?” Not even looking at Blaze, the woman ducked another attack and spun around, aiming a blow directly at the portion of Blaze’s ribs that were still healing, before kicking him in the back of his knees for good measure. Blaze keeled over, wheezing and dropping her remaining chakram. Chuckling, Adder wasted no time in pulling out thick band of fabric and strapping around Blaze’s head, covering his eyes, and just as quickly pulled out another pair of handcuffs and bound his wrists.

“Can’t-can’t win by playing fair, huh?” Blaze choked, face scrunched from the pain.

Adder scoffed, rising to her feet and brushing off her hands on her pants. A smirk danced across her face as she pressed her foot against Blaze’s back, putting all her weight on a particular point that made Blaze hiss in pain. How convenient that Sparrow had revealed her patient details as a conversation topic.

“Don’t flatter yourself. You didn’t ever stand a chance. What were you going to do, anyway? Blind me? I can fight in the dark. You, on the other hand, were limping even before I attacked you. Once you used the only weapon in your arsenal-one that you’re too weak to control, by the way-you would be defenseless.”

The runner slowly rose to her feet, grip on her blade tightening. She bit her lip, tempted to test things, to ensure her powers still worked, but she could barely walk at this point, nevermind run.

Writhing and dazed from the pain, Blaze still managed to spit at Adder. Or at least somewhat in Adder’s direction. He hoped. “D-don’t-don’t…underestimate…me. I-I’m exponentially…more powerful…than I was a few days ago.”

The attempt at bravado only made Adder roll her eyes. “Well, you integrated that into your technique and it of course made no difference.”

Silence drew out for a few seconds before it was finally interrupted by a snort from the runner. Despite everything, or maybe because of everything, this one familiar joke from a life that now seemed distant, she couldn’t help it.

Blaze snapped her head around, and the runner flinched, averting her gaze.

“Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

The runner didn’t answer, instead looking directly at Adder, tracing the flecks of blood on the woman’s clothes and blades, and the controlled but half-ecstatic in her yellow eyes. Calculus jokes, seriously? Well, as stupid as it was, she’d take it.

“Although, you’re technically wrong, There’s still the plus c,” the running added, letting out a short, choked excuse for a laugh. Just stick to the familiar things while you’re trapped in a cave with a sadistic assassin-who-you-thought-was-an-ally-and-your-savior and a bunch of superpowered people who hate your guts, with a deep wound in your side, not to mention the damage dealt to her long before. She could barely stand, just nearly got drowned to death, and she was laughing at math jokes.

Rainy frowned from where she was tied to a stalagmite. Jackal and Blackie were still knocked out, Sparrow could still barely move from the looks of it, she was pinned with her arms useless, and now even Blaze had fallen. This hadn’t been exactly what she had wanted when she wished for an end to monotony at HQ…Then again, it wasn’t as if all hope was lost. Sure, they were beaten and tied up, but what self-respecting superhero hadn’t ended up in such a position at least once? In fact, it was only in the really good stories that the stakes were raised like this (although she could do without what happened to Sparrow-this Azula-evil-queen-lady would pay for that). Anyways, now began the fun part with the evil monologues, cause what sort of overdramatic, butt-kicking villainess could resist gloating? Rainy grinned, bouncing up and down, then froze, realizing she probably should take on a more fitting role for these theatrics. Hmmm, should she go for terrified captive, or exhausted and seemingly defeated, or defiant and snarky-although Blaze would have that last one covered.

Right on cue, Blaze groaned, “So, who are you and what do you want with-AGH!” His threat was cut off by a gasp as Adder increased the pressure on his chest. With her boot firmly pressed against Blaze’s chest, Adder seemed more interested in cleaning off her kukris. Eventually, she looked over, smirking and giving a knowing look toward Rainy and Sparrow…and then went back to cleaning her blades.

Rainy coughed.

After some time she finished and sheathed them. Her eyes flicked toward the runner, who stared at her in turn, neither speaking.

“Psst. Hey, evil Azula-lady.”

Adder shook her head. Turning away from the ruins of the battle, she flicked a stray bang that had fallen across her face.

“Yoohoo, we’re still here, you know.”

Adder tilted her head, eyes fixed on the sky outside the cave.

“Hey, you-you-”

“Oh, I’m sorry, was I supposed to say something?” Adder interjected, raising an eyebrow.

“Well…ummm…aren’t you supposed to, you know, do the whole epic boasting about your eeeevil plan and all the super-obvious plot points we missed?”

If Sparrow could have moved her arm, she would have facepalmed.

Adder chuckled. “I’ll pass.”

“WHAT! NO FAIR!” Rainy shouted, struggling against her bonds as she did so.

“Are you planning to kill us?” Sparrow asked flatly. A silly question in some ways, given the aching, itching sensation lingering in her back, but you never know.

The dark-haired woman chuckled, giving one last kick to Blaze’s chest before stepping off. “Just as I suspected. I almost shouldn’t even bother,” she sneered, flipping Blaze over with one deft kick before stamping on his nose.

“It’s a pity you inferiors couldn’t put up a better fight, although what else could I expect? Power really was wasted on you scum,” she scoffed, spinning around and striding toward Blackie and Jackal’s still unconscious and chained bodies, checking them, and kicking them for good measure. “Disgusting rats,” she added, flicking one hand to the side.

“Well, at least she has the dramatic part down,” Rainy muttered.

“So, Drizzle,” Adder spat, swerving and strutting toward the chained-up rainbender.

“That’s a new one, Ice Queen,” Rainy shot back. “You really need to work on your nickname game.” Yep, this was going to be fun. Maybe she could even get this evil lady mad enough that she’d slip and reveal some crucial information or something.

“Your friend told me so much about you. You must feel so proud, the greatest hero, the only true fighter on the team, the one they rely on to provide the muscle, to be their shield. Funny, isn’t it, that they trust you so much, when you’re the selfsame force dragging them into peril. But of course, we can’t blame you. Need to sate your need for excitement, after all.”

“What?”

“You put your friends in harm’s way for your own sordid satisfaction.”

“Seriously? That’s the best you can do?”

“Can you deny it? You need danger, you need combat and you can’t help but also drag others into harm’s way. Who concocted an elaborate plan for maximum dramatic effect, rather than taking out the intruder directly, risking lives in the process? Who let their friend chase after the enemy, allowing her to be captured and tortured? Who went directly for the kill rather than pulling the selfsame friend out of the line of fire? You claim to be the hero, but you should consider where your heart really lies” Adder smirked, flicking Rainy’s chin with one finger.
“I wonder, in a world with no evil to fight, how would you fare? Would you commit evil yourself, lest you lose your mind to boredom?”

“Shut up!”

“Oh, did that hurt?” Adder chuckled. “Ah, but I’m forgetting my manners. Since you wanted a show more than your friends’ lives, I’ll give you a show,” she said, spreading out her arms. They fell back to her side, and she turned away, chuckling softly. Slowly, she took a step toward Sparrow.

Adder spun around, lunging and driving one kukri deep into Rainy’s left side as the other slashed across the young woman’s face.

“RAINY!”

“You are a pathetic blight on this earth that deserves to be exterminated!”

Laughing wildly, Adder twisted the knives, a sadistic grin stretching across her face. She pulled out the knife in Rainy’s face and swung it toward her chest-

A wingtip hooked onto the blade, holding it back.

Adder paused, yellow eyes murderous. Her voice was light, but with a steely edge. “You wouldn’t dare. You value your life too much.”

The runner held the winged blade in place, Adder’s kukri caught in its hooked end. She shivered as her eyes traced the blood seeping from the gashes on the young woman’s body. As Adder drew her other blade from Rainy’s face, the runner’s free hand snatched Adder’s wrist.

“This is madness, Adder.”

“Didn’t she just attempt to drown you?” Adder asked, rolling her eyes.

“…And how does mutilation accomplish anything?”

“Very well. You want a clean kill?”

“No!” the runner cried as she felt Adder tense her arm. She knew her stance was horrible, that Adder could easily unbalance her and be free to go in for the kill. No, it wasn’t any physical limitations that held Adder back.

“Please Adder. Just…let it go,” she pleaded. “Or-or else...well…you know.”

“You’re actually kidding me. They tried to kill you and you’re actually taking pity on them?”

“True courage is knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one,” the runner said quietly.

“You really think so?” Adder said, rolling her eyes. “Then I’d like to ask you a question.”

“What?”

“What do you do when there is an evil that you cannot defeat by just means? Do you stain your hands with evil to destroy that evil? Or do you remain steadfastly just and righteous even if it means surrendering to evil?"

The runner frowned, glancing at the clearly defeated superheroes around them.

“Things aren’t always that simple. Not all evil is necessary.”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“How can you narrow the whole realm of possibilities down into two choices…I don’t know...How can I even trust you, after I’ve seen you lie and deceive?”

“Deflecting, deflecting. You’re pulling at straws, straining to find any argument to avoid the choice you must make. You feign decisiveness but your voice betrays you. You doubt your abilities. You doubt me. You doubt your own judgment and mind. You’re afraid to take a single step too far in one direction, lest you shut the doors to other paths. You’re ruled by fear of making the wrong choice. Your doubt will kill you if you’re not careful, nearly has already.”

As the runner didn’t respond, Adder muttered something under her breath, and drew away the kukri caught by the runner’s blade, jerking her other wrist out of the runner’s grip as she did so. “Look, I won’t make any fatal blows unless we reach an understanding,” she said, holding both arms up. “Now, answer my question.” The runner flinched as Adder brought her blades close to Rainy again, but Adder merely wiped her blades off on Rainy’s sweatshirt before sheathing them again.

“…Can’t you ever see yourself in the people you hurt, Adder?”

The runner held the blade before her, letting the winged end rest on her free hand. Beneath her hood, her face was contorted with repulsion.
“I know I want to cast it and anything connected to it to oblivion. I hate it and everything it’s destroyed,” she spat, tears dripping down her face. She swung the blade down toward her side. “But I don’t want to destroy anyone else’s future. I’m not worth that.”

“Don’t make me laugh. In the heat of the moment, if it was your life, or your friend’s life, you would kill as well. Oh, I forgot! You already have.”

The runner inhaled sharply.

“Hah! Don’t fret like that. Their inferior lives were worthless, and grieving them is pathetic.” Adder shook her head.

“As for torturing the enemy, which you took offense to not so long ago, can you claim you’re any different?” she continued. “Don’t tell me that if I placed his murderer before you, right now, that you wouldn’t do the same. Don’t deny that part of yourself that yearns to have others cringing at your mercy. You know it’s there.”

“That-on the bridge-that was-it was-but this is-”

“This is necessary,” Adder insisted, placing one hand on the runner’s shoulder and looking straight into her eyes. “Thanks to your sloppy work at least.” The runner averted her gaze, and Adder grabbed her chin, yanking the runner’s face toward her.

“And there’s no other way?” the runner whispered, throat tightening.

“No.”

The runner was silent apart from her shuddering breaths. She slipped her left hand into her hood, fingering scabbed and broken skin. Her hand fell back to her side. A tear slipped down her face.

“I really can’t believe you anymore. I want to, but…” the runner paused, struggling to collect her thoughts. “Adder…when I...when I was at my lowest, you were there for me. You saved me from what might honestly have been a fate worse than death…But…”

“But what?”

“Your question. To commit evil or surrender to it.”

She shuddered, looking sadly at Adder, before her gaze dropped to her hand.

“In either case, evil remains. If so, perhaps it’s a paradigm best abandoned.”

“You can’t run away from this!”

“We both want the same thing, in a way, don’t we, Adder? Just a restoration of what we had before, shattering both the evils of our past and those that harm our futures in one fell swoop.”

The runner drew her hand into a fist as she continued.

“But nothing we can do can bring our lives back, as much as we can fool ourselves into thinking that way. All we have are vague approximations, attempting to bleed out the pain by crushing those we blame, or to relive what’s been lost. Moving on means letting go of what made us who we are, and so we remain.”

She sighed deeply. “Maybe you’re right, and this evil is necessary for what scraps of a future I could piece together. Hah. I already know I’m too broken to return to who I was, and what you ask me to do will only destroy me further. That future…I-I don’t want it-no…I can’t want it, anymore.”

Adder scoffed, although there may have been a flicker of fear in her eyes.

“And tell me, how does this differ from a surrender to evil? The bridges behind you have burned. Without me, you’d’ve died ten times over.”
The runner was breathing heavily, clinging to the wall to hold herself up. She shivered, looking at Adder directly.

Despite all that has happened to me, I still want to live. Even if it is a shattered life. But it’s becoming clear to me that, debt or not, perils or not, working for you is not living. I’m through accepting your limits. I’ll take a different risk. And maybe, in that way, find a middle road. Still, somehow her throat tightened as she attempted to speak those thoughts. Her free hand gripped the wall behind her.

“Something-something has changed within me,” the runner began, tentatively. She took a deep, shaking breath. “Something is not the same.”

“Wait a second….” Blaze blurted out despite himself, since it wasn’t good to draw attention to oneself especially when the antagonists were fighting amongst themselves. Luckily his voice was barely audible due to the fact that he was still writhing in pain.

“I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game,” the runner continued, shoving Adder’s arm off of her shoulder and taking a step back. She lifted her blade in a defensive stance.

“She is seriously not. Oh god she is.”

“Too late for second guessing, too late to go back to sleep. It’s time to trust my instincts, close my eyes…” She closed her eyes, taking another deep breath. The air was dank here, yet she filled her lungs anyway. Deep breaths generally didn’t do her much good, but she was willing to try anything at this rate. For despite the comfort in the familiar song, and the heady rush in her head at her newfound advantage, she was shaking, clinging to any source of strength she could muster, her courage on a knife’s edge.

She opened her eyes to the half-shocked, half-disgusted look on Adder’s face. “And leap.”

“You fool! We don’t have time for this!” Adder snarled. The runner drew her arm back as the woman attempted to snatch it, throwing out her arms as she began to walk backward toward the cave entrance.

“It’s time to try defying gravity.”

Adder stalked after the runner, kukri still in hand.

Yes.

“I think I’ll try defying gravity.”

Another breath, another step away. She would forge her own path, heedless of the dangers that lay ahead. Adder may have saved her life, and damn it, threads of loyalty tugged at her despite everything, but she would never live unless she let it go.

“And you can’t pull me-”

A small clink, barely noticeable. The runner’s eyes widened as she turned around, arms flailing. She flung herself in front of Adder as the bottle hurled by Blaze collided with a stalactite above her.

“NO!” Sparrow yelled, barely managing to prop herself up on her elbows, muscles screaming with the effort. She was helpless to do anything more than watch as the glass shattered. The clinking of shards hitting the floor was drowned out by the roar of the inferno and a sickening thud as the runner and Adder were thrown against the cave wall. In an instant they were enveloped by the flames. The conflagration lit up every corner of the cave, then faded, casting out plumes of smoke.

…

In scattered corners of the cave, small flames flickered, flung there by the explosion, catching onto stray wood fragments and other matter. With little purchase, they’d inevitably fade. They barely illuminated the heavy smoke that hung in the air, light flickering around the plumes and obscuring the vision of the supers.

Rainy blinked, noticing that the rope tying her to the stalagmite had been mostly burned through, and whooped, half in glee and half in paralyzed shock. Maybe in a few minutes the reality would come crashing upon her, but for now she would ride on adrenaline. She was good at procrastinating like that. A moment later the whoop turned into a startled shriek as she recognized that said flame was inching towards her. Acting on instinct, she flung herself forward, rolling on the ground in case any flames had caught, entangling herself in the ropes in the process. “Oops.” Gingerly, for her shoulders and frankly the rest of her body were screaming at her, she managed to wiggle out of the ropes. She staggered to her feet as well as she could, choking on smoke, and limped over toward Blaze’s direction, nearly stepping on her friend in the process. With the help of one of Rainy’s bobby pins and several tries, they eventually managed to unlock both handcuffs. Once he was on his feet and blindfold removed and used as a makeshift bandage for Rainy’s gash, with the help of Sparrow’s whispered instructions, Blaze managed to pop both of Rainy’s shoulders back in. Still the heavy smoke lingered, the three barely able to see each other despite their close proximity.

Losing themselves in the work of escaping had been a nice distraction, albeit a possibly dangerous one, yet no counterattack came. Blaze, Sparrow, and Rainy began to discuss possible plans in frantic whispers, locating Blackie and Jackal, escape routes up the cliff. They were careful not to mention the bomb. Sure, neither Sparrow nor Rainy could blame Blaze for using lethal force like that. Rainy most likely would have done the same, given the opportunity, and Sparrow’s mind still reeled from the sudden betrayal. Not to mention it likely saved their lives. Still, that other woman seemed to have just been coerced into this attack, and may have paid for it dearly, at least judging by the silence.

Blaze began to scour the cave floor, trying to find his chakram just in case, although it was clear from his winces and frequent pauses that any movement was excruciating. Not to mention it was an unpleasant task, as his fingers met only dank water, rough stone, blood, ash, and sparrow corpses, and he kept colliding into pillars of stone. He might as well have been blind. With a groan, he stopped, trying to pinpoint where the epicenter of the explosion had been. Were those two truly lost to the fire, or were they simply lying in wait? If only the smoke could clear… Did Molotov cocktails normally explode this way? He hadn’t exactly tried using one before, and he might have not mixed the chemicals exactly as instructed, but it still seemed odd.

“Hehehe. Hehehe. Hehehehe.

AHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

The bitter sound pierced the air, almost more of a strangled howl than a laugh as it rose and fell, echoing off of the cave walls. The three turned their heads frantically in every direction, unable to pinpoint the source, especially given the darkness and slowly-dissipating smoke. Blaze felt a tug on his shoulder, and looked at Rainy, who simply pointed, eyes wide. Following her gaze, he could see a thin line of flames marking the edge of a winged blade. By their faint glow, and against the veil of the slowly-dissipating smoke, they could make out the sight of one figure staggering to her feet, shaking with the wild laughter, while another figure lay motionless at her feet.

~~~

“Heh. Heheh. Heh”.

The runner’s laughter slowly died.

I’m alive. I’m alive. I’m alive.

Somehow, the mantra didn’t seem so comforting at the moment.

She stood in the center of a remarkably clean circle of stone, the stalagmites and cave floor around them untouched despite the explosion set off a minute prior. There were no soot or scorch marks upon her now-dry coat. Sweat ran down her face, her insides itching and broiling. A hacking cough rattled her chest, a series of convulsions taking her. She glanced back at the supers and her eyes widened. Shaking, she took a step back, only to stop as her sword began to vibrate. Her teeth clenched. She struggled to flex her right hand, the fingers failing to respond, and let out another peal of laughter.

In that one, brief, uncharacteristic moment of selflessness-or was it really selfishness, the inability to lose another person she relied on-she had sealed her fate. Just not in the way one would expect.

The bandages and wristband on her sword-arm had been burned off, the skin raw and puckered. Her hand was fused to the hilt. The eye in the blade, once blue and now silver, flashed a fiery red. A burning sensation crept along the scar on the runner’s forearm.

“I’m getting a bad feeling about this,” Rainy said, frowning. Sparrow nodded, about to add more, when Blaze interjected, pointing a finger at the hooded runner.

“Hoodie! Surrender now, tell us what you know, and there will be no more blood spilt.”

“Blaze, I think we should-” Sparrow began, only to stop, blinking.

For instead of consuming the wooden blade or fading, the embers on the edge of the blade were oscillating, for lack of a word. The orange glow waxed and waned, just barely noticeable, but perhaps too regular to be normal. Almost as if stirred by a breath, or in time to a heartbeat.

“Are you even listening to me? This is your last warning.”

Sparrow lifted an eyebrow, noting the edge of pain in Blaze’s voice. Sure, Blaze was always one for bravado, but this was a little more desperate than usual. Face it, they all were struggling to stand-this was a bluff, as opposed to a ploy for an easy surrender. Adder taken out or not, they likely would not be able to afford another fight.

Of course, perhaps there couldn’t be another fight anyway, given the runner’s state.

The embers glowed more brightly.

The runner’s eyes flicked down toward the arrowed scar on her wrist, faint smoke rising from the burn marks, before her gaze turned to the supers. “It’s over. Go away. Now!” the runner hissed, choking out the words from gritted teeth.

Rainy’s eyes also flicked toward the burns.

“Wait-are you an airbender?”

“What?” Blaze and Sparrow said, turning to look at Rainy.

“Well, she has a glowy arrow on her wrist…though that would make her the Avatar, too...and there are three arrows…and on the wrong side…ok nevermind I’m tired…”

The runner looked at her wrist again, noticing the light now beginning to pulse along the lines just as Rainy had said. She staggered back, slumping against the cave wall, her head falling into her free hand.

“Just leave me alone!”

“Not until you tell us what the hell is going on!” Blaze pressed. The runner’s intervention on Rainy’s behalf may have made him reconsider skewering her the moment he had a chance, but he wasn’t about to forget his spinal damage and broken ribs, his injuries only throbbing even more thanks to the runner’s “friend”. “What were you and-uh…what’s her name?”

“Adder,” Sparrow said.

“Huh, that’s a weird name. Well, what were you and Adder doing?”

The runner’s body shook with laughter again.

“I think she might have hit her head against the wall a little too hard,” Rainy whispered.

“Then hand over Adder. She is guilty of attempted murder and assault, and who knows what else. If you comply, we’ll help you get a pardon or-or something,” Blaze insisted, albeit a little grudgingly.

The runner’s head snapped up at this, eyes meeting the supers’. She pushed herself away from the wall.

“I might have failed. My life is as good as forsaken.”

“But I will never let you hurt her!”

An eerie whine echoed through the cave as white flames erupted along the length of the winged sword, crackling and spitting. Blaze’s jaw dropped.

“STOP SETTING MY KEYBLADES ON FIRE!”

Eyes glowing white once more, he dashed toward the runner, who looked down, instinctively raising the blade in front of her.

“YOU B-”

Blaze stopped mid-sentence, ducking as a bolt of flame shot out of the blade and just over his head.

“She can control fire?!!?” Rainy and Sparrow gasped in unison.

“That’s it! I challenge you to an Agni Kai!” Blaze shouted, attempting to throw his own fire from his fist but only getting a wisp of smoke. Another whip of flame shot toward Blaze’s head, just missing his face. Fire licked at the bottom of his hair for the second time in only a few days. “On second thought, I take that back,” he stammered, patting the flames out with his gloved hands. “Can we get back to a nice civilized conversation? Cause you said you didn’t want to kill us, and in case you haven’t noticed, throwing fire at us is an excellent way to add murder to your list of misdeeds.”

In response, more whips of flame lashed out toward the trio-Rainy jumped in front of Sparrow, gasping as the whip sliced at her arm. Ducking under another whip, Rainy pulled her friend further from the danger, wishing she hadn’t used the last of her water. Whatever droplets there were upon the stalactites had sizzled away in the inferno, and would likely be insufficient besides. Blaze joined them in the shelter of a stalagmite.

“You do realize your form is awful hoodie,” Rainy remarked, peeking out from the shelter of the stalagmite. “A firebender’s stance must be-”

“YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING HER RAINY!” Blaze yelled.

Flames pulsed from the runner as more swirled around her, shielding her and Adder from their sight. A barrage of fire shot from the shield, the light reflecting in the three young adults’ eyes as they took in the scene with horror.

“We have to retreat, Blaze!” Sparrow yelled over the inferno. Blaze paused, fist clenching. “Blaze.” After a few seconds, he nodded, then looked at Rainy

“Find Blackie and Jackal and get them and Sparrow out of here. I’ll hold her off.”

Rainy nodded. Blaze slipped out of the shelter of the stalagmite, waving his arms as he limped in the direction opposite where he believed Jackal and Blackie were.

“Hey hoodie! Want another rematch? Come and get it!”

The bulk of the barrage shot in his direction and he ducked behind another pillar, already out of breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Rainy slipping out in the opposite direction, and he jumped out of his shelter again.

“Huh, you should really work on your aim,” Blaze sneered, ignoring his heart thudding in his chest as he just barely avoided _that shot at him, _ using the shelter of stalagmites when he could. His breath was short and harried, the smell of singed cloth reaching his nose. He could not keep this up for long.

~~~

Sparrow watched her friends leave, resentment mingling with fear in her eyes. It was awful to sit here, waiting for the flames to reach her, unable to do anything except watch her friends and call out if she spotted an attack from their backs, if her frail voice could even be heard over the roar and hiss of flame. She didn’t have the strength, or maybe even the will to use her powers, not after what had happened. With great effort she could move her fingers, and her arms and shoulders could shift slightly as well, but that was about it. Bloody lot of use she was. Maybe Adder was right-wait, that was it!

Adder had found her enough of a liability to kill her, and if that was the case, then clearly she had enough information to determine something Adder didn’t want her to know. She closed her eyes, trying to recall what Adder had said. Adder had mocked her for believing her cliché sob-story, but now, Sparrow couldn’t help but wonder if there was truth in it after all. After all, the strongest lies had roots in the truth.

~~~

Rainy found Blackie and Jackal in the maze of stone pillars and shadows, the two still tied up and slumped on the ground. Her hands quickly reached toward their wrists-she sighed in relief as she could detect a pulse. Both the wound in her side and her shoulders screaming, she slung Blackie over one shoulder. Yep, that was going to do some damage, but it was better than being burnt alive. She looked back toward the cave entrance. The runner hadn’t moved from her original position close to the cave entrance, and while the bulk of the fire was directed toward Blaze, stray firebolts and whips of flame shot out at random directions, illuminating the cavern. An acrid smell filled the air as hisses and whines formed an odd counterpoint to Blaze’s stream of insults.

Now this was one intense obstacle course.

The runner convulsed, skin itching and wounds throbbing. As she finally managed to still herself, gagging and trembling, she took in the wall of flames trapping her and Adder, swirling and white hot. She grabbed her sword arm with her free hand, trying to pull it back, make it stop somehow, but her arm moved of its own accord, continuing to shoot out tongues of flame.

All she could do was laugh.

~~~

Sweat dripped down Sparrow’s face, the rock beneath her feet heating up as she struggled to remember.

”…the power of the amulet, as far as I can tell, is absorbed into her. She can’t remove it, and any time she uses any object for self-defense, she risks awaking that power.” Sparrow narrowed her eyes, only to screech as a whip laced around the stalagmite, singing her shirt. Using what little strength she had, she rolled over and out of the shelter of the stalagmite, squashing the budding flames.

~~~

Rainy dropped Blackie off in the shelter beside Sparrow, and then pulled Sparrow back behind the stalagmites. A bolt of fire shot through where Sparrow had been a second earlier.

“Thanks.”

Rainy nodded, then sprinted back in the direction of Jackal. A wall of flame and she staggered back, arms waving wildly. With a roar, a second wall rose several meters behind her. Looking left and right, she found the walls extended from one end of the cave to the other. Crackling and spitting, the walls advanced toward each other, the space in between slowly shrinking.

“Really?”

She tried to spit, to generate any sort of water, but her mouth was parched. Any sweat she had instantly evaporated in the blistering heat.

“RAINY!” Sparrow shouted.

“I’m alive!” Rainy shouted back, breathing rapid and shallow. For how long was another question. She clutched her arms to her chest, ignoring how her shoulders burned at that action. She would face a far more scaling pain soon.

Without water, Rainy had always been a little vulnerable, but her archery skills and martial arts prowess had ensured that she had never felt helpless.

Sadly, those would do little good against pure flame.

~~~

At Sparrow’s cry, Blaze turned in Rainy’s direction, only to have the breath knocked out of him as a bolt of flame collided with his chest. He fell to the ground, chest heaving as he rolled, snuffing the fire before it could sear him further.

“AAAGH!”

He struggled to his knees, but three more bolts were already careening toward him. Acting on instinct, he crouched, holding out his hands to shield his face, bracing himself for the inevitable agony.

It didn’t come.

Blaze looked up. The flames pulsed in a ball right before his face, tendrils flickering an inch from his face but not touching. He blinked, and a grin spread across his face. Throwing his arms forward, he sent the flames back toward the runner, the bolts growing as they rushed back, crashing into the shield. The runner staggered back.

With renewed vigor, he staggered over to the wall of flames blocking Rainy. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hands alongside the wall and swept them to the side, flinging the fires back toward the runner, and quickly did the same with the other wall barring her from Jackal. Rainy’s jaw dropped, and she had to use her hand to shut it. “You rock, Blaze,” she said, heading back toward Jackal as Blaze smiled and went in the opposite direction, not caring that he was still limping.

“Bring. It. On.”

~~~

Sparrow breathed a sigh of relief as Blaze saved Rainy. Perhaps the tides could be turned, as long as no one collapsed from exhaustion or pain.
Still, their escape was far from assured. Even as Blaze sent fireball after fireball back, and grunts of pain could be heard from the runner, the siege of fire did not relent. If anything, the flames grew fiercer, roaring and screeching as they shot again and again toward Blaze. Adder said the power drew energy from the user, weakening them until they were destroyed. Odd, really, that they should grow like this, considering how weak the runner already was.

~~

“Hey hoodie? Have you ever heard the tale of Icarus?” Blaze said, parrying flare after flare that rushed toward him.

“He and Daedalus were imprisoned for their failures, and decided to leave their imprisonment by building a set of wings with which they could fly away. And so they set off toward freedom. Icarus, however, decided to fly a little too close to the sun,”

He advanced toward the runner, unfazed by the walls of flame rising to block his passage. He dispelled them with ease.

“He was allured by the power of the light, its raging heat and warmth, but he was no true master of the flames. The wax melted and the wings fell apart, and Icarus fell in a burning mass.”

He threw his arm forward, pointing at the wall of flame enclosing the runner.

“And you will do the same!”

The runner lifted her head from her hand, taking in the terrible flash and blaze of the white fires surrounding her. The light was almost blinding to look at. She winced, looking in all directions, but there was no respite from the brilliance. Even the dank floors of the cave, littered with murky water and blood as they were, had been better than this scorching purity.

“You’re right.”

She wondered if she’d even get a chance to see the sky, to breathe a wisp of air that wasn’t acrid or musty. Funny how those things matter so much at the end.

“But you’ve been blind. I’ve been smoldering for weeks now. This is just the last breath of the fire, the one great supernova, as it were, before it all crashes into oblivion!”

Hundreds of bolts of flame surged out, the great conflagration converging on Blaze from all sides. The fire screeched, sparking and flashing.

“NO!” Sparrow shouted. Several long, terrible seconds drew out as the flames roared around where Blaze had been, and then…

The flames retreated to either side of Blaze as he emerged unharmed, arms flung out to either side. The flames gathered into two separate discs, one around each hand. With a laugh, he swung his hands together, pointing them toward the runner, and the discs collided into an inferno reaching from the cave floor to ceiling.

“My turn, hoodie.”

~~~

Sparrow continued to watch the spectacle, trying to puzzle it out as Blaze leaned forward, likely trying to muster the strength to send such a massive wall of flame back toward the runner. Of course, energy transfer sometimes didn’t make intuitive sense when it came to the supernatural, but from the looks of it, the runner didn’t seem to be weakening, even as the flames rose higher and higher. Almost as if she wasn’t a source, but a conduit.

Sparrow gasped.

“BLAZE-GET AWAY FROM HER!”

“Nrrrghh-just, give me a second,” Blaze moaned. Pain stabbed at his back, his body shaking as he held the ball of flame. He drew his arms back, shoulders tensing, and threw them forward once more, taking a step forward as he did.

With a screech the inferno shot toward the runner. He closed his eyes as a blinding light filled the cave.

As the red against his eyelids dimmed, he opened them to see the runner standing before him. All that remained of the fire was a faint line of flames along the blade in the runner’s hand, and three similar lines, barely discernible, forming a triangle around him, the runner, and Adder.

ba-dum

Blaze blinked, a grin creeping across his face as the runner gasped, clutching her chest.

“I-I won!”

“BLAZE!”

ba-dum

He turned his head toward Sparrow, not recognizing the frantic tone in her voice.

“Hah! Did you see that? I-”

ba-dum

Blaze’s eyes widened, pupils shrinking. His knees crumpled and he fell to the ground with a sickening crunch.

ba-dum

“BLAZE!”

ba-dum

Adder gasped, staggering to her feet. She turned to the runner, yellow eyes quickly flicking from the fallen Blaze to the runner to her glowing wrist. Pure terror set into her eyes.

ba-dum

Rainy turned, dropping Jackal next to Sparrow and sprinting toward Blaze.

ba-dum

“WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?” Adder screamed, bangs flung across her face.

The runner was silent.

ba-dum

A gust of wind shot through the cave, quelling the lingering flames and throwing off the runner’s hood.

ba-dum

Rainy skidded to a stop and dropped to her knees, pulling back Blaze’s sleeve to try to find a pulse.

ba-dum

A gaunt face stared at the sky, pale, freckles faded. She blinked, taking in the glimpse of blue, her back to the others in the cave. It was a clear day, the air brisk. The light framed her thin figure, silhouetted against the sky. Long hair dd along her right shoulder, tied back from her face, but much of the left side of her head was shaved, the skin red and swollen. A welt sliced from the back of her head to the front. Other fine lines of red branched off from the main line, their tips reaching her cheekbone. Her eyes were sunken, the irises lit with a silver glow.

ba-dum

“Adder-I-I’m sorry.”

ba-dum

To use evil or to succumb to the greater evil. She had sought a path in between, hoping to avoid either, only to realize she had fallen into both.

ba-dum

The Way to the Dawn shuddered, then the light abandoned it completely. The blade shattered, fragments clattering against the rock. They could hear a pop, followed by a faint hiss.

The runner let out an unearthly scream as a fiery light rent the mountain in two, casting them all to the mercy of the wind.

END PART III

[Running]

There is power in me yet

My race has not yet run!

~~~

PART IV

~~~

Three arrows. A slashed triangle.

She couldn’t help but finger the blistered lines on her wrist, the skin raw and itching from its recent violation. Funny, she had never given much thought to what her wrist had looked like before, and would never bear witness to it again. She paid such attention to her running shoes, yet not to the tools that were integral to herself. The tilted M drawn on the creases of her palm, the faint blue of the veins stretching down from her hand, now partially lost beneath the wrecked skin. Before, if someone showed her a set of hands, could she pick out which one was hers?

Well, now she could. That was the good and bad thing about being marked, she guessed.

“We’ll be arriving shortly.”

The runner flinched, then looked up. Adder had a way of sneaking up on her. Most people she knew made some sort of sound to announce their presence-the flapping of a particular shoe, the jingling of keys, the rhythm of a particular stride-but Adder gave no sign of her presence unless she wanted to. Feeling the slight shift of the floor as the jet turned, preparing for a descent, she pulled the band back over her scar and grabbed the hoodie laid out beside her.

“Do you blame me for it?” Adder asked, eyes fixed on the runner’s wrist.

The runner paused, then shook her head.

“No. I mean, scientifically it doesn’t make sense, some burn mark being used to draw out a curse, but given the empirical evidence-dying before, not dying after-I mean, doctors don’t even know why some forms of neurosurgery actually work, which actually is kind of concerning given side effects…” she trailed off, realizing that she was rambling.

“Adder?”

“Yes?”

“I just…I…well…what’s left for me? Even if your plan succeeds….”

Nearly every night, echoes of gunshots invaded her sleep, and she woke in a cold sweat. Again and again she saw Aldwin falling, falling, bloodstained, eyes empty, or else was writhing on a table as needles descended toward her. An hour with no unprompted tears was a rare victory these days.

Adder was the only one who seemed to have any faith in her. Adder had saved her from more than one fate worse than death. Adder had managed to erase those who discovered her secret, and the evidence along with them, eliminated any connection between her and the London attacks, the Tower Bridge explosion. Adder ensured that necessary calls were made, emails sent, papers filled out. A leave of absence from her job, it was alright, she had been far from the violence, it turned out, and admittedly she was shaken, but perfectly fine. No, she didn’t know what happened to Aldwin, he had been deployed on some sort of military assignment not long before the attack, and he hadn’t been on the list of casualties…no, he hadn’t gotten in contact with her, but you know how the military was. And oh, she was coming home soon, so there was really no need for anyone to come and check on her, yes she’d be careful on her runs.
Her old self existed in the world still, while she drifted in the shadows.

“I’m just so weak. I can’t even talk on the phone to anyone without risking breaking down into tears, I can barely sleep, I don’t feel like myself. I even have trouble enjoying running now, and if I don’t have that I-” she stopped as she felt Adder place a hand on her shoulder.

“You’re not the same person you were before. You can let it destroy you or you can embrace it.”

~~~

Blackie opened her eyes, and quickly squeezed them shut as light flooded into them. Blinking and squinting, she eventually opened them enough to recognize the white walls and the sole painting of snowdrops. A sterile smell greeted her nostrils. The local hospital. Friends, thanks in part to the superheroes’ involvement in the rescue effort after a recent landslide.

Echoes of the battle leaked through the haze in her mind, and she shot to a sitting position, hissing in pain as she did so. Only then did she note the bandages wrapped around her shoulder and several limbs, and the frankly stiff bed she was resting upon. She bit her lip-as much as the pain had been dulled by medication of some sort, it was certainly nothing to sniff at. Actually, she wasn’t sure if she had ever been beaten up this badly. Her power was designed to evade, to strike with nigh impunity, and up to now it had served her rather well.

She looked to her right, spotting Jackal’s limp form on an adjacent bed and the faint rise and fall of his chest. On her left, she could just barely discern Sparrow’s blonde hair behind the numerous articles of medical machinery, wires, and tubes.

Blackie couldn’t help the small grin that spread across her face.

If all was (mostly) well, the pain was worth it.

~~~

[Several hours earlier]

A vast, empty sky. Sunlight stark against the rock. Peaks shot up in rows, tips encircled by cloud, and a river sliced through a ravine far below.
She would have enjoyed the view if her stomach hadn’t been tumbling and seizing up as it had been for the last few hours. Her hands clutched chilled metal. She could taste blood in her mouth from where her teeth had sunk into her lip.

“Hey, Flareshot, it might be a good time to touch down you know,” she insisted, not for the first time. If the eagle heard, he did not listen as he glided through the mountains, the young woman clinging to his back. He was quite a sight to behold, feathers gleaming in the sunlight, not far from liquid fire. His wings outspread stretched twelve meters, and long tail feathers streamed behind him. Glorious, to be certain-that had been part of the reason she had been drawn to the statue in the first place-but the excitement had worn out several hours before, supplanted by the empty feeling in her stomach and the aches along her body.

“The joyride has been, well, kind of cool beyond how terrifying it is, but it’s probably best that we head back, people are going to be missing you and god, I am so stupid-I didn’t mean to wake you, and this is probably a felony or-”

The young woman stopped, feeling Flareshot stiffen beneath her. She gasped as the eagle came to a stop, hovering in midair as his wings flapped in an odd circular pattern-technically impossible, but then again, all of this should be. Her eyes scanned the bare rock, the world still around her. The temperature plummeted even as the sun blazed above her. An unearthly scream just barely reached her ears.

KRAK-KABOOM

The young woman shrieked as the earth seemed to shatter-had it not been for her fast grip upon the eagle’s back, she likely would have toppled off as roaring winds flung Flareshot back. Just barely, the eagle managed to swerve before it would have collided with the nearby mountainside. Rocks and debris filled the air.

Despite herself, her mind quickly reeled through the possibilities even as her body trembled. She didn't think there were any active volcanos in this region, nor were there the typical harbingers of an eruption-no smoke and ash, and it did not resemble an earthquake either. Mining or road construction maybe, there-what was she thinking? She needed to flee, not ponder the source of a deadly explosion currently flinging giant boulders and people, not that she really had much control over-wait what?

Her eyes widened as they picked out several figures, clothing bright against the shattered stone, flung high from the explosion and now hurtling toward the ground.

"Go after them!"

And for once, the eagle complied, angling its body upward. The sheer speed forced her eyes shut-she struggled to open them a hair. Flareshot seized a body in one talon, then one in the other-a third neared. Taking a deep breath, she held the eagle’s slick back between her legs, hands letting go of their grip on the eagle. Barely able to see in the tumult of dust and stone and howling wind, she reached out toward the falling young woman as a shard of rock the size of a house barreled toward them -

~~~

Regain what you have lost

Broken she is.

Broken they both are.

Fail.

Fall.

Shatter.

The runner stared into a silver-laced abyss.

~~~

Blaze opened his eyes. He blinked. He blinked again. Blackness met his eyes regardless. There was no sound.

…what…just…happened…

The ache in his back, the heaviness of his limbs, and the burning pain on his face, were gone. That would have been good, except that he couldn’t feel anything else either. It was as if his limbs were lost to him, and he couldn’t even feel his chest expand with each breath. He wasn’t breathing.

Cold. He felt cold. And then he didn’t feel anything.

~~~

The young woman gasped, sliding off Flareshot and hitting soft earth, the explosion site a half mile behind. Coughing, she let go of the person in her arms and laid her on the ground, the two people caught in Flareshot’s talons on the pine-needle coated ground beside her.

Once the world stopped swerving around her, she managed to get a proper look at the people flung by the explosion. They were not in mining or roadwork attire-one of them was in pajamas. The clothes were oddly splotched, red-brown…She stiffened in realization, then retched, and the little food she had left in her stomach littered the rock. She staggered back, nearly falling over, only to be caught by a metal wing. Bracing herself against Flareshot, she took several deep breaths, then hurried over to the three bodies, searching for a pulse.

Pajama-girl’s eyes fluttered open-they darted back and forth before they fixed on the brunette. Her voice was hoarse and faint, but she managed to spurt out her words rather rapidly and calmly. “There's a hospital–follow the river downstream-metal building, plenty of signs pointing to-” she broke off, eyes drooping.

“Hey-hey, stay awake, talk to me,” the young woman stammered, noticing just how pale pajama-girl was, and the odd angle at which her limbs were splayed out. With effort, the pale blonde woman opened her mouth again.

“Thank-”

Her eyes closed-the young woman’s hand jumped to her wrist-her pulse was faint, but there. The wind howled, tossing around the young woman’s long brown hair as she stared out into the emptiness, dust rising from the explosion a half-mile off. Flareshot nuzzled her side-not a particularly comfortable sensation, cold metal rapping her side, making an odd clanging noise that was as affectionate as a metal statue could sound. Standing a little straighter, she ripped off part of her shirt for an impromptu bandage, and patted Flareshot’s side.

“Well, think you can cooperate for one flight?”

~~~

Her hands were translucent. It was pretty cool. Possibly would have been cooler if her skin was the only translucent part, or if there were varying degrees of translucency over her body, and then she could see all her internal organs and bones or something. She had never really seen inside herself that way, and it certainly would be fascinating. She looked at her hand, wondering if it was possible to make some small cut and see what it looked like.

For science.

“Am I dead?” Rainy wondered aloud. Her surroundings were just pure boring cliché darkness, with nothing to really judge her relative motion by, yet she had the distinct sense that she was falling.

“I was hoping the afterlife would be cooler than this,” she pouted. Then her face lit up. “Although, if I am dead, please please pleaaaase let this mean that I can haunt and prank the living for all eternity!”

Not that Rainy could see any way out of this annoying icky blackness. Which was certainly an obstacle to implementing her plan of an eternity of shenanigans. The empty darkness was immune to punches and kicks, given her several attempts, and there was no water around her that she could sense. Sucking in her cheeks, she tried to squeeze every drop of moisture she could into her mouth, so she could at least have something to work with…only to find her mouth completely dry.

“Oh, come on! I can’t ghost spit? Although I guess it makes sense if there’s no ghost water for me to ingest.”

She frowned at the prospect of a rather dreary waterless future, where at best, she could be some sort of poltergeist, moving water but unable to really touch it or drink it. That is, if she was actually dead, she reminded herself. Given her lack of information, she could be either one way or the other, sort of like Schrodinger’s cat. Both alive and dead at the same time. She amused herself with the concept for a time. For a long time. Her watch was broken, and there was no other way to track the time in the abyss, but it certainly felt like an eternity.

“Come on, no mysterious voices about to give me some exposition? None?”

She sighed, staring out into the abyss.

“I really hope they’re all okay.”

~~~

Spotted sighed as the fresh air hit her face. The window offered a well-needed break from the sterile air of the waiting room. She had been surprised at the lack of direct questions given to her-after her brief explanation that excluded any mention of flying eagle statues, the doctors had nodded and told her to wait outside the ward while they treated the patients. Maybe it was some sort of Good Samaritan policy? She didn’t exactly know how different laws in the States were. Speaking of which, it was probably a good thing that she wasn’t asked too many questions, given that she didn’t have her passport or ID on her.

Yup, she was never doing that again. No more hero business for her. Once was enough.

Still, she thought, in this case, it was all worth it. Thanks to her and Flareshot, three people had avoided what likely would otherwise have been certain death. It was a satisfying feeling, even if she had absolutely no clue what was going on.

The landscape outside the hospital was peaceful, with row upon row of pines, their branches swaying in the breeze. She missed her little cabin in the woods, and once she was assured that the three people she saved were definitely healthy-as opposed to just “stable” as the doctors had told her not long ago-and she was informed a little maybe as to what in the world happened, she would be off on her merry way.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a golden flash rising from the trees.

“Hey, what are you doing here, Flareshot? I told you to hide in the bushes so no one would see you. Wait, what are you doing?”

She gasped as the eagle veered dangerously close to the building, and she leaned out of the window, waving her hands frantically. A move she regretted in the next moment as Flareshot reached out golden talons and snatched her from the window.

“NOOOOOO! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!” she screamed as the eagle flew away with her trapped in its talons.

~~~

It was said that patience was a virtue, yet how did one delineate that act from procrastination?

Rainy pressed her fingers together as she looked down, or at least at what she thought was down, considering her hair was sticking up in the opposite direction and the sensation of falling was pretty clear. She had no clue what to do at this point, but something had to be done. Somehow, the thought that she might be in an inescapable prison never occurred to her.

“Okay, new plan!”

After some struggling to get into an upright position, considering there wasn’t really any ground beneath her as she continued to plummet, Rainy crossed her left foot over her right thigh and her right foot over her left. Drawing her spine straight, she placed one hand on each knee, palms up.

People were surprised that the excitable young woman could stay still for that long. It wasn’t easy per se, but Rainy found a certain peace in maintaining an inner, well, not calm really. There was an art in staying cheerful in the face of oblivion. Some might call it denial, but after all she had been through, Rainy found it was the best way to survive. No, to live.

She would see past the illusions.

Focusing on an imaginary point in the middle of her forehead, she closed her eyes, imagining a deep indigo light enveloping her.

And if it meant helping her friends, she would defy reality as well.

~~~

“Sparrow!” Jackal exclaimed as his friend at last stirred, opening her eyes. Blackie, who had been dozing off after not sleeping for the past day, started, smiling for the first time in what seemed like ages.

“We’re so glad you’re okay!” she added. Okay, Sparrow wasn’t really okay, but considering her face wasn’t as pale as before and she wasn’t dead…

Sparrow blinked. Everything around her was blurry, initially from the haze of sleep and partially from the drugs. As her vision cleared she quickly tabulated her surroundings. Hospital. Blackie. Jackal. They were in chairs on either side of her, heavily bandaged. The other beds in the ward were empty. They were…safe. Still, she didn’t smile.

“Where are Rainy and Blaze?” she managed to wheeze. Her friends’ faces fell. Only then did she note the bags beneath their eyes, how Blackie’s eyes were red, and how Jackal’s fists were tightly clenched.

“Are they-” she managed to wheeze.

“We don’t know,” Jackal said quickly, noting the panicked look in Sparrow’s eyes. His gaze fell to his hands. “The doctors say some woman dropped us off here, but she vanished before they could talk further with her.”

“We don’t remember anything between being knocked out in the cave and waking up here,” Blackie added, wringing her hands. “And there’s apparently a giant crater in the side of the cliff where we went to rescue you, according to the park rangers… You don’t seem surprised by that.”

“I-I remember the explosion, just not much of what came after…I think there was a giant eagle…” Sparrow said.

“An eagle?”

“You sure it wasn’t a sparrow?”

“It was massive. More like a roc than anything else.”

“Funny, given the Lord of the Rings marathon we were planning got replaced by a Super Smash Brothers tournament,” Jackal began, then paused because, god, that felt like ages ago.

After a few moments of silence, Sparrow narrowed her eyes. “What about hoodie and Adder?”

“Adder?”

“The woman you two were fighting in the cave,” she began, voice oddly distant.

“She-she pretended to be a friend. She’s the one who stabbed me, w-who killed all of them,” she bit down on her lip, shoulders shaking. Jackal rushed toward her, arms out for a hug, pausing only as he noted all the tubes hooked up to his friend. Not wasting another moment, he shifted into dog form, rubbing his head against Sparrow’s right hand.

“We’re here for you, Sparrow,” Blackie said softly, squeezing Sparrow’s other hand. “We’ll work things out.”

~~~

The runner fell, and didn’t bother to stop. Wouldn’t have made much of a different anyway. Around her, the darkness was laced with silver, thrumming with it, really. She shuddered at the sight, yet couldn’t muster the energy to look away. Look away to where. She buried her face in her hands, chest heaving.

She still had a consciousness? Frankly, she had expected otherwise. Maybe it was a process of slow fading into the shadow, or she was just trapped here for all eternity, doomed to insanity.

Regain what you have lost.

The runner let out a cold laugh as the memory echoed in her head. There were plenty of things she had lost. Her internship, the hair on the left side of her head. Likely a lot of blood as well. Her friend. Her peace of mind and her freedom.

Well, she had tried, hadn’t she? She had tried to retain some humanity, to not be responsible for another lost life, to not be a slave, to not be ensnared in the death trap of power.

No, she had merely attempted to avoid further loss. Cowering and retreating, clinging to a crumbling cliff.

She closed her eyes, and still the silver threads pressed against her vision.

She should have listened to Adder. She should have just given Adder what she wanted, and then there would have been no chance of this happening. She always made the wrong choice.

~~~

“So, I’m free of the Silver, then?”

“For the most part.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

”Out of my way!”

The runner dashed along carpeted hallways, slipping into a room with snowboarding posters and keyblades decorating the walls. Hearing footsteps, she seized the winged blade from the wall.[

“I removed the shard that plagued you, but you nonetheless have been scarred by it. You’re attuned to the presence of Silver.”

She could feel it. Adder was right. It was here. Silver threads twisted all around her, just out of the corner of her vision. Ensnared around each other, pulsing as they veered toward a single focal point.

“You can pull it away from where it was sealed, can transfer it from one object to another.”

With Blaze briefly stunned after she whacked the blade at him, she darted to the door where the lines convened, the light pulsing, dancing along its frame. Made of old stone, the doorframe pulsed with the threads-somehow she didn’t hesitate, whether due to adrenaline of the thrill of finally finding it or something more sinister, who could tell?

“I’ve determined the location of another shard of the Silver. Retrieve it, and consider your debt repaid.”

She placed the hand with the blade against the frame, brow furrowed, and a sharp pain jolted through her-beneath the band on her wrist, her scar glowed. She muttered something under her breath, and the eye on her blade’s hilt flashed silver. Her insides burned as the silver at the corner of her vision faded.

She turned to face Blaze with a snarky retort on her lips, the shadows of her hood hiding both the faint glow in her eyes and the euphoric expression on her face. There was no way she would fail now, not when she was so close to completing her objective, to untangling the threads that bound her. A tiny battle, and then she would be running free.

…

“But try not to use it.”

Silver lines danced along the blade and Blaze was flung to the ceiling.

“You may hold some command over it, but do not underestimate its power. It can consume you even now.”

She shuddered, her body a wreck as the last of the inferno faded, silver slipping into her eyes.

~~~

Fear was for fools. For those who lost. Let yourself be controlled by fear, and you were nothing more than a pawn.

Adder’s right hand trembled-she clenched her fist in a futile attempt to steady it. Shackled in the shadows, she was barely there as it was.

“You, you bastard,” she spat. Her bangs had fallen into her face, and her eyes were bloodshot as she struggled against the invisible bonds holding her in place.

“I spent my life on this mission! I risked everything to save your worthless hide, and you couldn’t bother to do one simple task!”

Adder fixed rage-filled eyes upon the barely visible young woman before her, almost more a reflection or a shadow.

No-it wasn’t over. She couldn’t let it be over. Never.

~~~

“So, what did happen after we were knocked out?” Blackie eventually asked.

Sparrow wondered at how her voice, although raspy, was so level despite the frankly horrible situation and her red eyes and flushed face. Maybe it was from medical training, of having to remain calm under pressure, even as images of crushed and bloody sparrows flashed in from of her eyes and she kept seeing Blaze falling and Rainy sprinting toward him, too late, too late. Maybe it was simply that she was so exhausted. Still in canine form, Jackal pressed his head into her hand again.

“The short version? Adder beat everyone up, then hoodie and Blaze had an Agni Kai and blew up the mountain.”

…

“…what?” Blackie managed to blurt out as Jackal’s tail shot in the air. Blackie’s facial expression might have been funny to behold in another context, Sparrow mused, but given the rather grave circumstances.

“Adder had everyone pinned down and was about to go on some killing spree, hoodie tried to stop her, and then Blaze nearly killed Adder with a Molotov cocktail. Adder didn’t die, ‘cause hoodie jumped in the way and did something to dispel the attack, and then started shooting fireballs at us. Blaze, after not being able to firebend initially, started firebending back,” Sparrow summarized rather succinctly for someone who had been nearly died of venom just a day earlier. “At first it seemed as if they just both happened to have fire powers-”

“But the timing was all too convenient,” Blackie finished, frowning. “Blaze getting fire powers after hoodie attacked us. Hoodie using fire powers herself.”

“How did it happen, by the way? Blaze getting fire powers in addition to his whole blinding thing,” Sparrow asked.

“It wasn’t long after you left,” Jackal said, shifting back into human form and sitting back in his chair. He rested his hand on his chin as he continued. “I was wheeling him around the house-we put him in a wheelchair for the time being-and we ended up in Blaze’s room. He said he had a weird feeling or something, and I thought it was just the meds, and then the power went out thanks to the storm, and in the resulting chaos Blaze set his hair on fire.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Sparrow said, grinning despite herself. “By the way, how strong was Blaze’s fire power at first?”

“Eh, he couldn’t really get more than about a handful of flames, although Rainy was trying to help him,” Blackie said. “I’m surprised they didn’t burn the whole house down.”

Sparrow chuckled, but her face quickly became somber. “Well, then that means my theory really might have been correct.”

“What do you mean?” Blackie asked.

Sparrow took another breath.

“Adder told me a story to convince me that she was a-an ally. Obviously she lied, but there was truth in it.

“She told me that there was some ancient relic, known as the Silver. It gave the bearer great power, but at the cost of, eventually, their life. It drained their energy until they had nothing left, essentially. Adder claimed that hoodie had been infected by the Silver, and at the time it explained hoodie’s odd behavior, and how she was able to overpower Blaze’s attacks at times but was awful at fighting otherwise.”

Sparrow shook her head, wincing as even that small movement hurt. “There was some other tragic backstory stuff in there and I actually bought it. Most of it was probably a lie spewed by that rat, but if Adder had wanted me dead because I knew too much, then some of it had to be true, right?

“So what is this whole ‘great power’ thing, then?” Blackie asked.

A small grin appeared on Sparrow’s face. “That is where I believe Adder lied. She claimed that it gave the wielder of the Silver the power to make any weapon nigh invincible.”

“And what do you think?”

“I think the Silver-I have no idea if it is actually called that, but I’ll use it for the sake of simplicity-it amplifies your powers. I don’t know if it only affects superpowers, or if for a non-super it would affect your strength or endurance or the like, but in the case of people with powers, it strengthens one facet of your abilities, while weakening the rest.

“I realized it when Blaze was fighting hoodie in the cave,” Sparrow said. “Hoodie was throwing firebolt after firebolt after Blaze, and as Blaze kept throwing them back, they only grew more intense. It was like some sort of feedback loop.”

“I yelled at Blaze to run away, but it was too late. His last attack drained all of his energy, and he collapsed. I could hear Rainy crying out as she ran over, and then the accumulated power just exploded.”

“Ouch.”

Sparrow nodded. “Another thing: I’m betting the Silver is why hoodie was in HQ in the first place. In the cave Adder kept asking hoodie to give her something, and I get the feeling it was the Silver.”

“Wait, you’re saying some powerful artifact that can lead to explosions was in HQ all along and we never noticed?” Blackie asked.

“It’s a bit of a stretch, but it’s the best lead I heard so far. We picked up a lot of weird objects on our missions, and that mansion was built long before we placed our headquarters there. Who knows?” Jackal said.

“There are definitely some issues, but it does explain a lot,” Sparrow said. “When Blaze first arrived in the cave, he wasn’t initially able to use his fire powers, from the sound of it, and Adder acted as if she knew why. If you say that Blaze obtained his fire powers not long after hoodie left HQ, presumably with the Silver, then maybe the Silver, when left latent in HQ, stopped Blaze from developing his fire powers. That would also explain why when Blaze first came into the cave, his fire powers temporarily vanished. He was in too close proximity to the Silver.”

“Then what about when he did start using fire powers?” Blackie asked.

“From what Adder implied, the Silver drains you regardless of whether you use it, but if you actively use it it drains you more quickly. Likely the Silver got activated when Blaze threw the Molotov cocktail at Adder and hoodie, and then from there the vicious cycle began.”

“And how come it didn’t affect any of us? Did it affect any of us?” Blackie said, looking a little nervously at her hands.

“No idea,” Sparrow said. “Maybe it’s host specific, or Blaze somehow came into contact with it the most. Maybe it was in his room or something.”

“Blaze started getting those weird silver hallucinations after fighting hoodie in his own room,” Jackal said. “And the fire powers first manifested in his room. Maybe coincidence, maybe not.”

“So you’re saying Blaze was under this “Silver’s” influence all along, until hoodie came and removed it. With the cap on his fire powers removed, they finally began to manifest, when Blaze returned to the cave, the fire powers vanished again until the Silver was fully activated and Blaze got drained of his power in a dramatic firefight,” Blackie summarized.

“Exactly,” Sparrow said, then sighed. “I just wish I had figured it out earlier, before it was too late.”

~~~

It is not too late.

Rainy’s jaw set.

Breathing deeply, she visualized the blood sliding through her veins, the fluids in her stomach and intestines, molecules flowing in and out of cells. The human body was mostly made of water, wasn’t it? With each breath she drove them along their course, circling her body, swerving in an endless cycle, both up and down.

But she was falling, wasn’t she? Which meant-

Rainy threw her arms out to the side, and her body shook as it jolted to a halt. Around her the shadows fell away.

Plip. Plop.

“Now that is much better,” Rainy said as she took in the glowing scene beneath her.

FINALE UPDATE STARTS HERE

~~~

The runner felt something seize her insides and wrench her to a halt. The force should have been enough to rent her body apart, yet she, yes, she still had hands-she could see them before her face, and her bangs fell to the side, and beneath that-

Something was glowing.

She blinked. Beneath her was a lattice structure of faint slashes of light, with brighter beams weaving along the surface. The surface stretched for some distance before fading into the void.

Her hand pressed against the lattice to brace herself and she let out a small cry as a thousand pinpricks of sharp pain shot along her palm. She yanked her hand back. Now that she really looked at it, the filaments seemed to be comprised of countless thin shards, some of them as small and biting as fiberglass, while others were the size of her finger.

Moving gingerly, she rose to her feet. Her hair fell past her shoulders apart from the small area on her left where it had been shaved off, revealing a jagged scar on the side of her head. Dd around her frame was a long black coat. Bare feet touched the not-ground.

She coughed. Her throat was raw, her chest crushed. Beneath her coat, a black singlet clung to her frame, a silver pattern lacing up the side, and long spandex shorts matched the top.

“Glowing. Well…well, that’s something.”

Several meters away from her Blaze lay on the ground. His eyes were closed, and thin filaments of light slipped in and out of his body. The runner shuddered, instinctively tearing her gaze away from the sight and toward her feet.

Adder stood before her.

A part of her grew cold, yet her eyes lit up. After all, better to have someone to help explain and work through things than to be alone.

“Adder? Where are-”

She felt her voice die in her throat as Adder’s eyes met hers and held them. A shocking vibrant yellow, like some sickening disease. Poisonous. Like a dying creature that sought to mutilate everything around them.

Echoes of Adder’s last words to her returned to her mind as a deep silence drew out between the two.

“WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?”

Defenses came to her tongue and withered. Excuses shriveled. Desperate pleas and apologies died.

This was the end, and it was all her fault. The deep silence and Adder’s haunted stare confirmed what the runner already knew. What she had known from the moment the immense power coursed through her, insides burning, a process begun that she was helpless to stop.

Adder gave a smile that showed too many teeth

Too late, the runner realized that perhaps, sometimes, it was better to just trust and obey. Even if it led to atrocities, even needless ones. A boat in a rapid had two options when meeting a rock: follow the river’s course around it, even if it wasn’t their choice, or collide into the rock and shatter.

If Adder had any other recourse, things would have been different. She wouldn’t have abandoned her charade of a protector if she saw some sort of advantage in working with…no, manipulating her protégé.

Adder, who had accomplished the unthinkable, who had survived and slaughtered, who had brought back a Silverfallen from the brink of death, had no more plans. Broken apart from the world, this shard was a prison one did not escape from.

Doomed to fade, a chronicle cut midsentence, Adder had only one more use of the servant who had inadvertently brought her to ruin.

Adder lifted one hand. Fingers shook, then steadied as they clawed toward her palm. Adder threw her arm toward one side. Something seized the runner’s insides and she shot backward through the air.

In the midst of her head spinning and white flashing across her eyes, she realized how she had survived the fall off the cliff after she escaped the manor.

The ground stabbed into her back as she slammed into it, thousands of small needles jabbing into her back despite her thick jacket. Her head spun, a searing pain clenching her chest. Before she could manage to string a thought together she was torn away from the ground and rammed into it a moment later.

Again. Again. Again.

Distantly, she realized she was screaming. The sound tore from her chest as she was hurled through the air and struck the shard-laced lattice. Another

There were no monologues, no maniacal laughter. Not even insults or accusations or devastated ranting. Just cold silence interspersed by thuds, glass-like shards splintering, and screams.

One plunge toward the ground should have killed her. Snapped her neck. Or at least damaged her windpipe and halted her screams. She wasn’t bleeding, even although she could feel the glowing shards jabbing into her skin, larger fragments stabbing even deeper. Every time she was thrown one way another, slight movements in the stabbed shards smarted. Her entire body stung and throbbed and ached. At times her vision would fade, senses blurring and what she assumed would be shock setting in, only for it all to suddenly blaze anew, senses sharp and bright as her body howled.

There seemed to be no sense or rhythm to how she was flung across, sometimes hitting the splintered surface sharply, other times scraping across its surface for many meters. Soon her coat lay in tattered strips, the tears reaching partway up her chest in places. Panic seized her, mind in a pain shot blur.

God

Please

Just stop

Distantly, she heard a few choked sobs. Maybe.

Shards met her back, and she stared into blackness. The edge of the platform. For a moment she rested there, the darkness tugging at her mind. In the distance she thought she could almost see a thin narrow platform, as if it was the other end of a bridge long shattered. Right at the edge of the broken beams stood Aldwin, several messy strands of curly hair falling across his eyes. With a bittersweet smile, he reached out his hand.

Behind him a man aimed his rifle.

No!

More men approached on either side of the broken bridge, guns pointing at Aldwin, at her. She screamed-she wanted them to leave, to fall away, but she couldn’t move-her shard-stabbed body throbbed. Trembling, eyes fixed on Aldwin, she wanted to curl up, or to bolt and leave all else behind.

With a sound like a gunshot she was thrust forth again, and the images shattered. Her cheeks were wet.

There were no armed attackers with guns, chasing both her and Aldwin. Just Adder, and she was alone. Both then and now, she had frozen with terror like the coward she was and failed.

But you were able to fight that time. This time, perhaps more so.

There was a storm in her head. She was nothing except a mass of throbbing pain, flung from place to place, a small fragile thing caught in a maelstrom.

The fact that she was able to take a few breaths that sent searing pain along her lungs alerted her to the fact that she had been resting on the ground for a longer period than usual. Craning her head just a little she caught sight of Adder striding forward, a void in her eyes that the runner realized would never be satisfied.

Adder’s hand seized her throat, fingernails digging into the runner’s skin as she tightened her hold, lifting the runner a few inches from the ground. The runner’s eyes widened, trembling as her lungs soon screeched for air. Veins on her neck swelled, darkness flickering in front of her eyes, although she didn’t lose consciousness. That escape was lost to her.

Regain what you have lost, the voice whispered in her ear again. You need it. She stole it from you.

Her neck snapped. Her neck snapped again. Again something kept her alive, sentient, but the pain remained. At last Adder released her hold on her throat and she collapsed to the spiky ground at Adder’s feet.

Adder opened her mouth, then closed it. Kicking the runner’s body over, she stepped slowly but firmly onto the runner’s face. Walking away, Adder flung out her arm and the runner plummeted through the air again, a never ending series of falls and crashes-

Regain what you have lost! the voice howled, joining the roar in her mind as her thoughts tumbled and crashed, her mouth gasping for breath. As she shot through the air, her eyes fixed briefly on Adder.

Air swept into her lungs.

~~~

There was nothing here for Adder. Perhaps there was a time in her life where she had sought such oblivion, but now every fiber of her raged against the dying of the light.

There were screams. That was something. It was a monotony that she could almost lose herself in, pain wrought by her own hands, lives held under her control. Almost. Maybe if there was blood she might have been able to hold the illusion longer, but that was not to be, apparently. No red crept into this world of light and shadow, and the air was devoid of scent.

Like an automaton, her movements lacking none of the slippery grace they usually held, she jabbed her arm one way, then another, fingernails deep in her palms. Just pure, raw pain. Her life had been important. There had been purpose once more, only for some inferior to wrench it all away again.

Adder couldn’t even obtain the satisfaction of killing the runner. She certainly was trying, a part of her mind blocking herself from considering what would have come after the bloodlust and excitement faded and she was left truly alone. Despite the spikes jutting through the runner’s body and the blunt trauma-even the neck snapping-the runner just wouldn’t die. Well then, she would make whatever remained of her existence pure torment. It was all she had-

A yell tore through the silence and Adder froze. The runner’s mouth was open as she shot backward through the air, throwing her arms out to either side, but the sound seemed too clear and sharp, with the hint of a rattling hiss at its edge. Something seized at Adder’s chest, a dissonant throbbing inside.

The runner halted in midair. A chill trickled down Adder’s spine. The shards embedded in the runner’s skin slipped out, clinking softly as they fell to the ground.

Adder blanched, throwing her weight forward, teeth clenched, yet it seemed to have no effect as the runner righted herself and drifted down until she was floating a few inches above the glowing pattern.

“It all makes sense,” the runner said softly, gaze distant. “The gas that came to a halt. The soldiers flung off the bridge. In a way, I knew it all along, at least instinctively.”

Something thrummed inside the runner, something immense, yet unlike the Silver or the fire. The first had been brilliantly consuming, sheer overwhelming and horrifying as a blinding light collapsing to pitch. The second was a scorching inferno, despising her as it tore at her insides. This-this was like an old friend greeting her, whispering in her ear. Her mind felt oddly lucid.

The runner stared at her scarred wrist, then slowly closed her fist.

“You didn’t exactly lie about the Silver. It does absorb one’s power, enhancing only a facet of it. A facet, far stronger than it should have been, which remained while its original source was torn away.”

The runner strode forward, not touching the ground. The strips of fabric draping from her ripped jacket began to flutter, then snap back and forth as if in a gale.

“And yet it could not be entirely severed. It lingers. I can feel the wind calling.”

A grin starting to cross her face, she looked at Adder.

“You can hear it too, can’t you? And you shouldn’t.”

She reached across and a roar arose behind her. Wind spiraled out, weaving around the runner and slamming into Adder. Breath pummeled from her chest, Adder shot back, shards tearing at her clothes as she tumbled, slicing along the ground this way then that, caught in a twisting, coursing current of air.

As she neared the edge of the glowing platform, at last Adder struck the ground and was held there, pinned as wind continued to tear at her. The runner seemed not to walk, but instead surged on currents of air as she approached Adder.

Avoiding Adder’s eyes, the runner flicked her wrist, and the wind flipped Adder onto her front, revealing the torn back of Adder’s shirt. Large strips of fabric had been torn away, revealing a mark tattooed across her back: three arrows pointing downward. Wind swirled around the runner’s arms. It crackled as it reached her hands, forming two glowing jagged blades.

A torrent of wind held Adder in place, pressing her against the shard-strewn ground. Her muscular body shuddered as the force crushed her and she struggled to breathe.

She has brought ruin. Do the stupid heroic thing and spare her, and she’ll destroy more lives. People will die because of your supposed mercy.

Shivering, the runner tore her gaze from Adder, and stared at the abyss beneath her feet, a gaping maw beneath the lattice of light.

She looked at Adder again. Hands fell to her side, blades vanishing. While the wind persisted, holding Adder in place, the runner fell to her knees. She gritted her teeth, hand clutching her head.

It took her several moments for words spoken to her to register in her head.

“No wait-keep holding that pose-awww, nevermind.”

Lifting her head, she looked around the shard-strewn platform, but it was empty apart from her and Adder.

“Guess I’ll finish from memory!”

She looked up.

Rainy waved from where she was floating many meters above her. In her hand were a sketchbook and a pen that she had somehow pulled out of nowhere. Placing her tongue between her teeth, Rainy drew several more lines, then spun it around with a “TA-DAH!” to show her a rather impressive depiction of the runner floating above Adder, blades raised.

“Although I must admit this was my favorite part,” Rainy continued, flipping to another page. “No wait, that’s you getting beaten up.” She turned backward a few pages before turning the sketchbook toward the runner, the page depicting the runner surging forward, tasseled coat whipping behind her.

The runner frowned.

“Were you there the whole time?”

“Yep!” Rainy beamed. It was a shame no one ever thought to look up.

“And said nothing?”

“Interrupting the dramatic climatic scene would have been just plain rude. Oh, wait, I just did that. Sorry.”

“Convenient that you chose this time to interrupt. I guess I shouldn’t blame you. I’m sure watching my former mentor giving me the pain of at least fifty deaths was certainly entertaining,” the runner hissed, a trace of the wind’s howl in her voice.

“Hey, my money was on you, hoodie! Not to mention I couldn’t really do much without risking this whole sparkly thing collapsing. Which would be a bad thing. Hey, wait, where are you going?”

The runner glanced over her shoulder and back toward Rainy. “I stopped Adder from killing you, but that doesn’t mean I trust you.”

Rainy immediately adopted a sad puppy dog expression.

“You tried to drown me, remember?”

“Oh…right. Oops.”

As usual, Rainy adopted a blithe smile, although she couldn’t help but shiver at the expression in the runner’s eyes. Dark and cold, like a wind-wasted landscape.

“Why did you interrupt just then?”

Rainy paused, tilting her head. “I don’t know, it just sort of felt right. Like I needed to interject. Showing you the drawing was a bonus.” Somehow stowing her sketchbook and pens somewhere, she rested her chin on both hands. “Not to pry-”

“You seem to make a habit of that,” the runner interrupted darkly.

“But what stopped you?” Rainy persisted, looking pointedly at Adder.

“I-I don’t know. She’d hurt other people if she lived. ‘Cause she tried to kill me. Her crimes warranted it. No, that’s not it…I…What does any of it matter?” she laughed coldly, bringing a hand to her head. “When the Silver drew Blaze’s power, our bodies were likely vaporized, our spirits flung into this plane until we fade from existence or from sanity.”

“Speaking of Blaze,” Rainy said, pointing back toward the center of the latticed platform. “You have kind of been ignoring him.”

The runner turned toward where Blaze lay and took a step toward him.

“No, from up here!”

The runner looked up at Rainy, then shrugged. The wind swept around the runner and she glided upward, hair streaming out behind her as currents caught and played with strands. For a second she thought she heard a faint squee come from Rainy. Coming to a stop next to Rainy, she raised an eyebrow. Grinning as usual, Rainy pointed downward.

“Azula-”

“Adder-”

“Meanie-Maleficent’s problem is that she doesn’t see things from the right angle.”

The lattice of glowing shards wasn’t uniform, nor was it random. In many places it did appear chaotic to be certain, but here and there they coalesced into lines, just imperceptibly neater and brighter. The lines laced through the platform, forming curves, circles, and symbols.

“Or that she can’t.”

“Hm?”

“She was trained to deal with things like these, Silver and powers, for lack of a better word, but things began to fall apart the moment tests showed she had no innate aptitude for powers. A defective weapon, you might say.

“What she did here was really just channeling my energy in a way. She held a piece of my power, and was able to move me through it.

“Still, she knows more about the Silver than anyone, so if she couldn’t find out something, I doubt-”

“Can I see your wrist?”

“What?” The runner instinctively pulled her wrists to her chest.

“You know, the one with the glowy scar on it.”

The runner hesitated, then pulled up her sleeve on her right forearm.

“Do you know what it is?”

“Adder told me she used it to strip the Silver away from me. Some sort of rune-thing.”

Rainy nodded.

“The three arrows is one of the symbols for Silver, but the triangle with the line across its top is Wind,” Rainy began. “Silver bound to wind. Which kind of makes sense,” She gestured toward the runner’s hair, which was still whipping back and forth in the churning wind that held the runner aloft.

“And the silver symbol is here too,” she said, gesturing below them. Looking down, the runner could see the three arrows snaking their way through the lattice, Blaze’s body lying along the middle arrow.

“There are a bunch of runes that are kind of difficult to translate, but there’s something that represents stability or stasis. That symbol kind of means focusing I think. Or amplifying? And that triangle is the symbol for fire.” Rainy gestured to a large triangle with vertices close to the edges of the platform. “You get it?”

“Hm?”

Rainy looked at the runner. “Fire, focused, becomes blinding light. Wind, focused, becomes-”

“Flight,” the runner said softly.

“I admittedly didn’t guess it,” Rainy said with a chuckle. “Blaze actually was a firebender from the start, but the Silver altered his power. Kind of makes me wonder what would have happened if the Silver affected me, since I’m a waterbender and-”

“Be happy it never happened to you,” the runner snapped, that odd hiss in her voice again. Rainy shivered, reminding herself that this was the first time the two had interacted without one of them attacking the other. Still, like a brief gust, the runner’s anger subsided, and she bit her lip, averting Rainy’s gaze.

“Sorry-I-”

“It’s okay.”

They lapsed into silence for a minute before the runner looked at Rainy, frowning. “I don’t understand how any of this has to do with escaping.”

“I did…something to make this place,” Rainy said. “Long story short I bloodbended myself to stop myself from falling and somehow in the process you guys and this glowy thing appeared. By the way I really hope this isn’t just a dream cause I will personally go to whoever came up with that sort of lousy storyline with it all being in my head and I will-”

“Well, of course it’s in your head, Rainy, but why on earth should that mean it’s not real?” the runner cut in with a wry grin. Rainy started, looking at the runner with surprise, and they both broke into laughter.

“You’re not bad, hoodie. Not bad at all,” Rainy said, then her brow furrowed.

“I must say, you’re being oddly calm for having just been beaten up like that.”

The runner shrugged. “I guess dramatic superpowers can sometimes fix that. Somehow.”

Her mind felt incredibly clear. It wasn’t as if the pain had vanished exactly-it was still somewhere at the borders of her consciousness, but it was vastly overwhelmed by the wind in her ears and the energy pulsing inside her, a piece of herself she hadn’t realized she had missed. Despite the emptiness around her and the rational part of her mind worrying about the likelihood of escape, she couldn’t help but feel so alive.

“Anyways, you were saying?”

“I’m still not exactly sure what I did. I’m guessing this place somehow represents what is going on, and through altering things here maybe we can change them. If that makes any sense. Blaze’s power was channeled through the Silver, leading to that whole giant firestorm and explosion that sent us here. You’d think that the power was used up then, but I get the feeling it’s not. It’s holding us here, while it continues to drain Blaze. And while it might be interesting to see what happens when he is fully drained, I get the feeling we really wouldn’t survive then.“

Rainy looked at the runner, still somehow smiling despite her rather grim words.

“And?”

“I have absolutely no clue.”

“I thought you had figured everything out?”

“Me? Hah!” Rainy laughed, running a hand through her hair. “I’m usually the person who attacks first and asks questions later. I guess I did pick up some things from Sparrow-she’s super good at figuring those things out-and from assorted video games and tv shows. In truth I was hoping that in the midst of my explaining something would click for you.”

“Well, I doubt we can just start changing the lines by brute force,” the runner said, wincing at the memory of fiberglass tearing at her skin. She rested her hand on her chin, thinking. “Maybe we need to try a new angle?”

Without waiting for an answer she swept down toward where Blaze lay, coat tassels fluttering behind her.

“So…cool…” Rainy sighed without realizing she was speaking aloud.

“You coming?” the runner said, looking back over her shoulder.

Rainy gingerly shifted, ensured that the small movement did not threaten to collapse everything, and then employed her graceful ninja skills, letting herself down in small, jerking drops before plopping down on the lattice, thankfully landing on her bottom rather than on her face. Getting to her feet, she joined the runner.

Together they walked up to Blaze. Maintaining a smile, Rainy bent down next to him kept up a grin. She seemed fascinated as she examined the threads slipping in and out of her friend’s body and the odd pallor of his face, but her insides clenched. She tried to make some sort of lighthearted comment, but for once she was lost for words. There seemed to be more of the tendrils than before. Eventually she managed to place her hand next to his neck despite the fiberglass-like shards covering him. His skin was horribly cold.

“I-I can’t feel a pulse,” she said slowly, the tremor in her voice betraying the way her insides grew cold.

“Let me see,“ the runner said, bending down and placing her hand against Blaze’s neck. No pulse pressed against her fingers…but as she focused, she could feel something. Not exactly a pulse, but a faint thrum or vibration coming from Blaze. Actually, now that she focused she could sense a faint thrumming along the lattice beneath her not unlike the pulses of energy that accompanied the spidery filament of Silver she saw in Blaze’s room seemingly so long ago.

“I can feel something thumping, although it seems to pulse outward into the filaments. Anatomy doesn’t seem to work here, anyway. I should be bleeding all over and have my bones shattered after what Adder did to me.”

“Would pulling these off help, then?” Rainy suggested, gesturing toward the tendrils.

“Likely not,” the runner said far too quickly, then frowned, not understanding how she had jumped so rapidly to that conclusion. She was someone who relied on rational thought, not instinct and intuition. Her next words came more slowly, and after some thought. “If something is being drawn away from him, we’d want to redirect it back to him, not cut him off from them.”

“Makes sense. What then?” Rainy asked, rising to her feet as well.

“I don’t think there’s much hope. I don’t really know a ton about the Silver, and even what is known is mostly theoretical.”

“No hope?”

“Hm. Although….I feel like Adder’s been quiet for a reason.”

“Apart from the fact that you’re crushing her face into the ground?”

The runner shrugged, although there was a hint of an odd grin on her face. She closed her eyes and Rainy looked at her, confused.

The runner shoved Rainy to the ground.

The lattice slammed into Rainy’s arm as it took the brunt of her fall, and as her head turned she saw a long, jagged shard stab the air right where her head had been.

“A sneak attack? Kind of pedestrian for you, Adder,” the runner said, smirking as she ducked under a slash of a second improvised dagger, eyes still closed.

Mouth agape, Rainy stared at the runner and Adder, then pulled out her sketchbook.

The runner dodged another blow from Adder, drawing her away from Rainy. The more she used the wind, the more precise her touch became. Adder began a strike from behind, and she could feel a small perturbation in the air, painting an image of how Adder aimed to stab at her chest moments before it happened. Another shift in the wind a kick aiming for her that she deftly dodged. A part of her was alarmed at how quickly she was progressing, but the rest was too excited by the expanding possibilities to care. While she had little technique to speak of, her movements were oddly swift, using currents of wind to nudge herself out of the way just in time.

The fight lasted for only a few seconds, the runner dodging every attack of Adder’s before managing to trip her and knock her to the ground with a well-aimed kick. A gust of wind followed, holding Adder in place, this time on her back. Which frankly must hurt considering the back of her shirt was still torn open.

“That was fun,” the runner said, finally opening her eyes.

The next series of words from Adder’s mouth were cut from the story due to highly vulgar content.

“Sorry about pushing you to the ground,” the runner added, looking at Rainy. “I let the wind pressing against her slack a while ago to see how she would react to what we were saying.”

“Clever,” Rainy said, holding up her sketch. The runner gave her a thumbs up, and Rainy stowed her sketchbook…somehow.

As Rainy rose to her feet, the runner felt a shift in the air currents around her, fainter now that she wasn’t focusing, but still there. She frowned slightly. It didn’t seem there was a way to turn these powers off. And as tempting as it would be to walk everywhere with hair streaming behind her and clothes dramatically fluttering….Well, that was a far less pressing problem at the moment. She turned her attention to Adder.

“I must thank you for that training-it certainly did help. Although you should have known better than to attack a Silverblooded.”

“Silverblooded?” Rainy asked.

“Well, Silverfallen is a cool name, but it kind of holds the implication of failure given that everyone else with that title died pretty quickly. Although I do like the name Silverfallen. Well, that doesn’t matter much now.

“I think I can reverse things here. If I could control the direction and location of the Silver from without, maybe I can do the same from within. Draw the energy back through Blaze, and then into me. It’s just more risky. A lot more.”

“And you’re just going to absorb all that power?” Rainy asked, tilting her head.

I could. I really could. So close. The thoughts came into her mind unbidden.

“No,” she said, shaking her head, reminding herself of how horrible she had felt when the Silver-charged blade had pulsed in her hand, flames roaring around her. The Silver was not a power to be held. It consumed.

“Luckily, we have someone who is pretty much incapable of using powers, apart from annoying weird loophole. A power sink, if you will.”

“F—you,” Adder spat. A particularly strong gust of wind slapped Adder in the face.

“So that’s the plan,” the runner continued, walking over to Adder. “I channel the Silver into you, just like you wanted. No one dies, like I wanted.

“What I want to know is, are there any flaws that I should know about? You know things I don’t about the Silver. And considering you want to live just as much as we do, I wouldn’t recommend sabotage.”

A long, tense silence drew out, and eventually Adder nodded. “It’s stupid, but it’s about as likely to save us as it is to kill us,”

“No other suggestions, then?”

Adder shook her head.

“Well, better than nothing.” The runner shrugged, one hand clenching and unclenching.

“Get ready to grab Blaze and run,” she said to Rainy.

Rainy nodded, but didn’t head over immediately, instead whispering into the runner’s ear.

“Is trusting Adder really the best idea?”

“Do we have any other choice?” the runner whispered back.

“Touché.”

“Yeah…”

“By the way, you never answered my question.”

“Hm?”

“Why didn’t you kill Adder before? Did you have that plan even then?”

The runner shook her head, then frowned. Face it, keeping Adder alive was a threat to them all, and it wasn’t as if she didn’t deserve it.

But when it came to when she held her blades over Adder’s body, somehow instinctively knowing that if she did strike, it would truly be fatal, she couldn’t. Possibly it was that she didn’t want to be a killer. As much as she would root for fictional characters to slaughter horrible villains, it was far different to be the one with the blade in her hand. Terrifying.

Maybe it was intuition, that killing Adder would lead to consequences she wasn’t particularly up for facing. Maybe it was a mix of things.

“We Silverblooded need not make sense,” she said softly, then looked a little sheepishly at Rainy, expecting more prying questions or a frustrated expression. Instead, Rainy grinned.

“Good luck.”

“You too.”

The both walked over to Blaze’s body, the runner standing a couple of meters further away. She released Adder, although she kept a careful eye on her as she concentrated on the immense power pulsing around them, holding them there. For a moment, she wondered how many lives it had taken before them, and whether they would soon be joining them, then shoved the thought away, focusing on the multitude of threads of energy around her.

And pushed.

A ripple of light cascaded along the lattice, a brittle rattle soon following as it began to shake. With a sharp clatter, fragments at the edge of the lattice began to fall off, toppling into the abyss. The tendrils receded from Blaze’s body, and the runner looked at Rainy. Nodding once, Rainy carefully lifted Blaze’s body, trying not to shiver as she felt how cold he still was. She heaved him over one shoulder, carefully holding him in place, and began to run as quickly as she could away from the runner and Adder.

Taking another deep breath, the runner pulled on the power around her, drawing it toward herself. She gritted her teeth, shuddering as the power, cold and deep and horrible, rushed toward her, the lattice falling apart more quickly now.

She held out a hand to Adder. As Adder looked at her with pure hatred seething in her eyes, she briefly feared that Adder would refuse, despite it all. At last Adder took her hand, and the runner sighed in relief.

All was as expected. Fire and Silver were drawn apart, the former flowing one way, while the torrent of the other flowed through her then into Adder….and back? The runner’s eyes widened as she noted a thinner connection between her and Adder, flowing the wrong way. No, that couldn’t-that was impossible. It wasn’t as if she could draw the Silver back from Adder, right?

A force slammed into her like a wave and she staggered back, although Adder’s grip on her hand kept her from falling. As the runner struggled to catch her breath, head suddenly starting to spin as two floods of power passed into her body, only one flowing into Adder, she saw a grin playing about Adder’s face.

“You see, I took away most of your power for good reason,” Adder said softly. “When the Silver bound to your powers and awakened them, they were inexorably linked. Why else were the symbols for Air and Silver linked on that burn on your wrist? To save you from dying from the Silver I had to take your command of wind as well, although luckily for you the piece that gave you the ability to fly was spared. Now that you’ve drawn the wind away from me where I kept it safe, the Silver must follow.”

The runner blanched, the wind around her starting to churn more quickly, whipping her hair into her face.

“Honestly, I thought you would have been smart enough to piece that together,” Adder sneered, placing a few fingers underneath the runner’s chin. “It was pretty clear that your powers were growing at an alarming rate. One of the most obvious signs.”

Adder dropped her free hand to her side, the nails on her other hand digging into the runner’s.

“Good luck channeling two shards of Silver at once, especially when you made yourself the Sink for one.”

The runner trembled, struggling to keep the Silver that trapped them flowing toward Adder as the other Silver struck her, seizing her chest and her limbs. Her mind was a maelstrom, the wind roared as it spun around her. Fear in her eyes, she looked desperately at Adder.

“Please! Help!”

”ADDER!”

Adder laughed. Something glinted in her hand.

“You doomed yourself, idiot.”

With her free hand Adder slashed at the runner’s face, drawing a deep gash that sliced from above one eyebrow, crossing her face and extending to the bottom of her jaw. Smiling, Adder let the shard fall back into the lattice.

Rainy watched in horror as the runner fell back, silver droplets dripping down her face. With a high-pitched creaking noise, the last of the lattice collapsed. Fragments fell around them, their glow fading somewhat. Warmth began to creep into Blaze’s body and he blearily opened his eyes.

The shards halted in midair, then shot in one brilliant mass toward the runner.

~~~.

“Hoodie-hey, are you okay?”

Rainy’s voice came as if from a long distance.

The runner lay on dusty stone, staring blankly into space. A gray sky above her, dawn not yet arrived. She felt crushed, deflated. Ripped apart. Much of the injuries she incurred from the battle in the cave had been inexplicably healed, yet weaknesses and pain crashed down upon her nonetheless. She was acutely aware of how fragile she was. Thin, frail, arms weak and even her trained muscles often strained and enervated from a somewhat too intense training schedule. To say nothing of her mental weaknesses. Blood dripped down her face, red at the edges of her vision. She couldn’t muster the strength to wipe it away.

She was back to being herself. No, that wasn’t the right way to describe it, since holding all that power had felt so right. It was as if she had reverted to a different version of herself. A different mindset.

After a truly great race, or even more rarely, an exceptional training run, she had feeling she never felt any other time. Happy and heady and warm, and incredibly alive. More open to others, smiling. A part of her would yearn to move again, to sprint across mountains, but she was satisfied enough to linger in the glow of a wonderful run. After a few hours the sensation suddenly faded, and she was engulfed in a wave of exhaustion. But that crash, although draining, still didn’t truly capture the sudden loss she felt. The comfort and content lingered, fading gently as it guided her to sleep.

Perhaps it was more like when she had tried one of those special low-impact training treadmills, which lifted her in a bubble of air, compensating for her body weight so her muscles carried less weight with every step. She would sprint and throttle along at a speed she could only maintain for a shorter distance, barely feeling any exhaustion seep in. The first time she tried one she was foolish enough to bring the weight back to a hundred percent without slowly easing herself back to normal. A terrible heaviness seized her body, legs shaking as she took each step, muscles not working properly and balance slightly off.

Perhaps it was like both of those at once, magnified many times. Even that didn’t fully capture it.

This was more like jumping from the endorphin–fuelled euphoria and incredible lightness and swiftness to the awful way she feel after a horrible race, wanting to collapse, hands gripping the fence or the chute as she shook, muscles enervated-or worse, carrying traces of unused energy. Even without fears of her performance hurting her team or her coach pointedly ignoring her as she felt the spike of fear that maybe this time she truly served no worth, there was a deeper disappointment, as if she betrayed herself in some fundamental way. She had never done well with failing herself; even after learning to hide the feelings in front of her teammates, she would later lock herself in her room, head aching and eyes burning as tissues littered the floor.

A fall from power.

The ground crumbled beneath her feet.

“HOODIE!”

It only made sense that she should literally fall as well.

Her instincts kicked in immediately, hand reaching and catching a small ledge in the rock. Her body slammed against the rock-. She wasn’t strong enough to pull herself up.

Rainy’s face appeared above her, oddly blurry to the runner. She blinked, only realizing then that she had been crying.

“Grab my hand!”

She tried, straining with her free hand. There was too much of a gap between them. She moved her legs back and forth, attempting to summon the wind, air running, anything.

She gasped as a terrible pain shot across the wound on her face, slicing along the gash before boring deep into her skull. She stopped immediately, trembling, and the pain faded.

“You can do this! Just a little farther!”

The runner nodded, blinking the spots out of her eyes. She reached up again, straining to meet Rainy’s hand. It was mere centimeters away, but if she shifted her weight…

A cry came from Blaze some distance behind them.

“Adder,” the runner said softly, giving Rainy a look that said save your friend.

Rainy froze, still reaching her arm out toward the runner. The runner stretched her free arm, fingers just brushing Rainy’s, but her hand clutching the ledge slipped. She tumbled into the ravine.

“HOODIE!”

She struggled to move her arms and legs, reaching for that once-familiar sensation of flight, and stopped immediately as the horrible pain shot through her skull again. Her head tipped back, the air rushing past her catching her hood and drawing it over her head.

She tried one more time-

The wind came to her, thin whispers instead of a gale. Doing no more than carrying her when she ran, turning and spiraling around her limbs, but it was enough. Her downward progress slowed, then reversed just as the flooded river beneath her was close enough to send up sprays of water, and she ran upward. Layers of rock passed beneath her feet as she ran up the side of the ravine. The lip of the cliff passed beneath her feet and she rose further into the air,

“ADDER!” she shouted, reaching out along that invisible connection that bound them both, source and sink, and threw Adder back. It didn’t have as much of a dramatic effect as she had hoped, but Adder did collapse to the ground as if some spectral fist had punched her square in the chest. Yellow eyes looked up, fixing on the runner.

“Leave,” the runner spat as she hovered over Adder. The effect was somewhat ruined by how her legs still had to remain churning to keep herself aloft, to say nothing for the fact that she was in nothing but a torn jacket, sports bra, and spandex shorts, yet fear briefly flashed in Adder’s eyes before they shifted to smoldering fury. Rising to her feet, she lifted both hands above her head, pure venom in her face.

“And know this: if any of my friends or family suffer unfortunate accidents, I will find you.”

Adder’s muscles tensed, her mouth opening to say something, but she closed it. Shaking with fury, she turned away and fled into the bush.

Beneath her, Rainy closed the remaining distance between herself and Blaze, and together they managed to tear fabric off of his shirt and quickly bandage the new gash Adder left on his body. The runner watched silently, still running in place. She started to sing softly under her breath.

“To those who ground me, take a message back from me!”

“Tell them how I am defying gravity! I'm flying high, defying gravity and soon I'll match them in renown.”

“Maybe I will.”

She looked at the land lit by the light of early dawn. How fitting, really. The rising sun illuminated layers of reddish and soft brown rock spotted with brush. Snowcapped peaks rose in the distance.

So much had changed. So much gained and lost. But the sun was up, and a series of trails lay out before her. The bottom of the ravine loomed far beneath, but for once the sight didn’t make her stomach clench. And when she did return to the ground, it wouldn’t be a fall.

Not that she intended to return immediately. After all this chaos, with plenty of emotions to be sorted out, there was only one thing she really could do.

She ran off with the wind.

END PART IV

[TatlTael]

DefyDatGravityGurl.docx (200.39 KB)

PT 1 REVIEW ATTATCHED.

[Running]

Epilogue

Rapids threw themselves at rocks, sending streams of spray into the sky. The runner perched atop a boulder encircled by foam, the wind catching her hair and sending it streaming behind her. In the midst of the flow she let her eyes close for a few moments, savoring the crisp air.

She was strangely aware of the wind, its subtle shifts and fluctuations and its low murmur in her ears. Mere shadows of what they had been to her once. Again the pain of that loss seized her chest, and she shook her head. She rose to her feet, and hopped across several stepping stones until she reached the bank. Vaulting over a fallen log, she landed in a grassy clearing a few paces from the river's edge. 

From a branch a stopwatch dangled; she snatched it with one hand, clearing the time present on the screen. She took a deep breath, falling into a starting stance, then took a step forward, summoning her power.

White-hot pain stabbed through her skull. With a gasp the runner stumbled into a tree, and braced herself against the trunk, eyes closed, teeth clenched.  

As the spots in front of her eyes receded, she pressed the stopwatch again and opened her eyes. She brought her free hand to her face and drew it back, noting the red on her fingertips. 

Ugh.

A mirror and gauze rested atop from an open bag beside her; she picked them up and quickly wiped away the blood dripping down her face before applying bandages. Putting away her first aid kit, she picked up a notebook and pen, glancing briefly at the stopwatch as she wrote. 

Test #17. 18.47 seconds. Initial increase in duration appears to have leveled out. Perhaps adrenaline partially negates its effects? Not sufficiently, apparently, although I'll continue searching for an alternate to my current solution.

Along with the first aid kit and writing materials, several other objects rested around her in a loose semicircle, the knapsack that formerly held them resting against a fallen log.

Almost absentmindedly, she picked up one of them: a jacket that looked more than worse than the wear. Her fingers brushed against the worn fabric, now riddled with burns and tears. A shudder of revulsion went through her. Again she wondered why she hadn't just incinerated the damned thing. 

Was this some sick joke of yours, Adder?

She rested a hand against her bandaged face, knowing instinctively that it was more than that. It frightened her all the more. 

Her heart still hammered as her other hand tightened its grip on Adder's jacket. 

You have a few choices, now.

Remain in hiding. Return to the life you had before. Study, run, relax with friends. Savor each moment, knowing you were a splinter from losing it all. Better than risking what you have on delusions of grandeur.

But you know, don't you? That shadow will loom. Some ties can never be truly severed. You will meet the Serpent again. 

She flung the jacket at a tree, where it made a rather unsatisfying faint thump. Rubbing her forehead with her fingers, she let her eyes rest on a box handmade from fine dark wood. It had arrived at her temporary residence a few days ago. On its top her name was inscribed in a painfully familiar hand.

She picked it up, the wood cool from where it had been resting in the shade. She had seen it what seemed like a lifetime before, although her name had not been inscribed on it back then. Hands shaking, she lifted the latch.

It was empty. 

Her eyes watered, but she bit her lip, willing the tears back as she lowered the lid. What had she expected? Some magical reveal? It wasn't like he was going to hop out of the box alive and well. 

Still, why had he written her name on the box? Upon close inspection, she realized the first few letters had been engraved carefully, whereas the last few had been rapidly scrawled on. He wasn't one to rush a project without reason. She recalled him showing her the half-finished box, pointing out the make and the secret compartment...mentally facepalming, she opened the box, running her hand along the inside. At last she flicked open a hidden latch.

Out tumbled a light airy fabric, the material strong yet silky in her hands as she picked it up.     A piece of parchment slipped out of the folds and dropped into her lap. Her fingers trembled as she picked it up, and it took her several tries to unfold it.

I know. 

I don't have much time. I fear something terrible might happen and I need to find out what I can. Don't talk to anyone at work-there may be eyes there. There are tunnels under your apartment that could offer several escape routes 

I should help you first...but I can't go into this blind. My brother might be caught up in this as well. 

If I don't come back, I want you to have this. It was definitely worth the all nighters.  

Stay strong. You've got this.

-Aldwin Bowen

Face wet, the runner carefully folded the note, slipping it back into its compartment. Her eyes narrowed as she lifted the parcel of fabric toward the light, letting it unfold. 

Slowly a pained smile spread across her face. 

~~~

"And then words were quite insufficient to describe how truly epic that fight was, which is why I was certain to make even more sketches of it to do it justice!"

The rectangular room once might have been a formal conference room, but tables and chairs had been abandoned in favor of a mismatched menagerie of sofas and beanbags, upon which four out of five superheroes now lounged. At one end Rainy stood on top of a rolling chair resting next to a corkboard filled with sketches, gesturing wildly with a ruler. With each creak of the chair Sparrow winced, but she had long since abandoned her efforts to convince Rainy to choose a safer method of delivery.

“What I can’t believe was that I was unconscious for the whole thing,” Blaze muttered as Rainy continued nattering. It was frankly difficult to believe that this whole crazy story actually happened, even if everything seemed to fit. He  moaned, rubbing his head with a partially bandaged hand. The sudden motion made him wince.

"So, what exactly is your point with this? Not that this meeting isn't entertaining and all, but you have taken quite some time with this," Blaze said a bit more loudly. Sparrow nudged Blackie, who started from where she had been dozing off. 

"Some time? I think we're nearing the five hour mark," Jackal said, then checked his watch. "Nope. We're past it." 

“Welllll, there's only one logical conclusion to a person attacking the party and leading us on a crazy series of events that nearly got all of us killed: she needs to join us.”

...

"Seriously, Rainy?"

"She tried to kill us!"

"Hey, she turned out to not be evil, I'll give her that, but-"

"Not to mention she's possibly incredibly dangerous."

"And probably doesn't even want to join-"

"It makes sense to me," Rainy said, tilting her head to the side.

"You also believe in an almighty breakfast deity," Jackal said. 

"It's the Egg God, the Ghosts of Breakfasts Past, Present, and Future, and their Egginess must be respected at all costs. Anyway, that's beside the point."

"Well, as our runner has, as you were, run off, I think we should spend our time discussing things we can actually deal with," Blackie interjected, tapping her fingers against the table.

"True," Sparrow said. 

“Like how we be more concerned about Adder?” Jackal said, rubbing his still bandaged nose. “Have you found anything Sparrow?"

Sparrow shook her head. "I haven't been able to turn up anything of use from inquiries based on her name, appearance, or any of the references and information she let slip. Of course, it doesn't help that a good portion of those might be lies." She grimaced, wondering if the thought of that awful woman would ever not be accompanied by phantom memories of her body seizing up as the stench of blood melded with dank air.

"Don't worry about it Sparrow!" Rainy said. "I'm sure she'll meet the pointy end of my arrow sometime or another."

Blackie spoke up again. "I think our first priority should be to learn more about this Silver thing. Not just for Blaze's sake. Imagine if that had happened in a more populated area."

A silence fell across the room as she gestured out the window. In the distance, they could see the massive scar in the cliff side rent by the explosion induced by the runner.

"But where to start? I've found nothing on the net," Jackal said. "You guys?" The others shook their heads. "So we're lost there too."

"Well, start asking."

Five heads quickly turned toward the other end of the room. A tall figure leaned against the wall, arms crossed, face hidden in the shadows of her hood. Her jacket and pants were crisp, with bright blue and white lines arcing through black fabric, joining to form a pattern that resembled wings on the back. Fingerless gloves with the same lines covered her hands, which gestured toward the room around her as she continued. 

“Now, one would have thought that after all that, you would have added better security,” the runner said, chuckling. "I should really help you with that."

"How did you get-" Blackie began, but she was cut off by Blaze.

"Why should we trust you?" Blaze spat, fire spluttering from one hand as the other reached toward his sunglasses. Sparrow caught his hand, giving him a look. 

"Why should I trust you? Yet here we are," she drawled despite the way her insides were seizing up. Yep, she was glad she had practiced in front of the mirror the previous night. And her hood hid her fear. She could work with that.  

The runner took a deep breath, looking at the people before her as if for the first time. Fleeing or fighting for one's life likely gave a skewed perspective, anyway.  A rather motley crew she had to admit, but perhaps she could work with that. Likely better than fighting them. Hopefully. Most were looking at her with suspicion or outright hostility. Well, except for Rainy, who was positively beaming as she bounced up and down and then finally toppled off the rolling chair, arms flailing as she rolled along the ground and somehow managed to pop to her feet with a proud "TA-DA!" 

For what seemed like the first time in ages, the runner broke down into laughter. Not the type that seized her in despair, but the type that was uplifting and warm. At last she managed to catch her breath and look back at the supers, who apart from Rainy were staring at her dumbfounded. 

"Face it, that was not the way I would have liked to introduce myself. I know some wounds take time to heal. And for my part I refuse to serve anyone again. But I believe we can help each other," she said.

The supers glanced at each other, and after some hesitation each nodded. Blaze extinguished the flames on his hand and walked over to her, shaking her hand.

"Fine. Guess you deserve that. Any backstabbing and you're dead."

Yep, the runner was definitely appreciating how the hood concealed her expressions. 

"Excellent. Let's begin then, shall we?" she said.

Some run to flee. Some run toward a destination. Both have their merits.

But honestly, what would you rather be?

THE END

for now...

[TatlTael]

Always Falling.docx (149.73 KB)

^Pt II