DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MARVEL/DISNEY'S CHARACTERS OR ANY RIGHTS RELATED
A touch of black. One long line down the center of her face, to her chin continuing to her neck and torso. Separating the swirls and symmetrical patterns adorning either side of her body. In that brief moment she felt balance, a type of tranquility that came with knowing what she was about to experience. It was going to be a night that would be told forever amongst the people that she was close enough with to consider friends.
The emotional availability of the night, this place, brought out in a way that she would probably never experience again. Moments like this made her believe that she was indeed caught in some random pocket of the universe. Time meant nothing here, particularly for her. Space and energy moved all around. She could, just barely, feel the turn of the Earth below the tent-cloth that was separating the desert from her bare toes. To be so acutely aware of every molecule, every sigh and every heartbeat, in such a short moment…. She had not felt this way in a very long time.
Unfortunately her moment of absolute serenity was cut short by the door bursting open, "Jesus, Brina. I know you take this almost as seriously as giving up your firstborn and all, but we have to go! I can't wait here any longer and you are almost late for your own show!
Brina didn't even break track of keeping the paint from smearing, "I told you that if you wanted to leave early, you could. I'm not stopping you from going and getting yourself lost and dehydrated."
"Wow. Way to lighten the mood. Are you done yet? Holy shit, you look like some badass vampire hunter or something. What's up with the leather? Not that it's not super sexy and all but it is over a hundred degrees out there!"
"Tyler, if I was worried about the heat I would be naked." Her comment was received with an obnoxious sigh, "Besides, I think leather suits me rather well."
Tyler just brushed her fingers through her tangled black hair tying it up into a bun, meanwhile giving Brina a look that spoke volumes of sass, "Well, that paint is probably going to smear… Come on. I know that at this point you're only dragging this along to ruin my fun night. Think of the children! The people need me!"
Brina scoffed and rolled her eyes before picking up a can of hair gel, carefully applying it to her short platinum hair, "Since when are there children at Burning Man?"
Just as Tyler took in a breath to release some ridiculous explanation about awesome parenting Brina threw a towel at her face, "Don't answer that. I'm ready anyway. Where's Kora and Hollis?"
"They went to go and set up early. Do you have your stuff?"
"Yeah, I just need to grab my chains." She made her way over to her mat and grabbed the staff before opening her duffel bag, digging around until she pulled two metal chains with wicks at the ends of each. "Do we have lighter fluid?"
"Yes. Now can we go? Please?" Brina had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. One of her current favorite things to do was drive Tyler insane. But hey, that's what roommates are for, right?
Tyler was ready for action. Her hair was pulled away from her face for once. She was in a black bikini and had all sorts of odd amenities attached to her including a tutu, a Miss Universe sash, and bracelets up to her elbows. Not to mention that she looks like she just got done having a water balloon fight, but with paint.
Brina smiled at her friends individuality, "You look great, Tyler."
Hearing the compliment Tyler started bouncing up and down, "Aww, so do you man! I love your getup! You look like some sort of futuristic Amazon spy or something!"
Brina inhaled quickly, shaken by the comment. She soon started laughing because there was absolutely no way that any of them knew. She had covered her tracks too well. Deciding to let the thought go she turned and examined herself in a mirror and almost purred. She looked good. At least, as good as a youthful person could be whilst going out and doing a shit-ton of drugs in the middle of the desert. She got one last glimpse of herself before turning and smirking at her friend, "Thanks man. Now let's go put on a show."
Burning Man is a haven, a sanctuary or souls who only seek freedom and expression. Love being the driving force of the entire convention of artists, bohemians, both old and new-age hippies. It's been something that Brina has been looking forward to for the last however many months. Freedom is something that she will not take lightly having fought so hard for it; so if she can have any chance at all of being bathed in it along with however many more pilgrims who seek the same adventure, you can bet your ass that she will take it.
As both she and Tyler approached the center of the artist colony she began to feel the pulse of the drums, the quick breathing of the people crowded together seeking out other bodies. The lights around were stretching out over thousands of heads, up into the sky. She briefly wondered how many miles away this great love-fest could be seen… Whether or not it could be viewed from space. Probably.
When they finally arrived at their destination they were met with one wide open space, about one hundred feet in diameter. There were people gathered around the circle, waiting for the show to begin. Little did any of them know the star had already arrived.
Brina took a deep breath, and stepped forward into the center of the circle. She didn't say a word, nor give anyone a sign that she was aware of anything around her. She lifted her staff, drenching both ends in lighter fluid, and stood perfectly still with it balanced in one hand over her head.
As everyone around the circle waited with baited breath, silence settled over with the dull mellow sounds of the surrounding festival.
Brina stayed exactly where she was, quietly listening and breathing while adjusting to her own physical capability. In… Out… In… Out.
She briefly wondered to herself whether or not she should pull a wild card and start this thing off with a bang. She hadn't used her—… particular set of skills in quite a while.
'Not a good idea. Could bring unwanted attention.' She quickly brushed that thought away. She hadn't been found so far, and it had been a long time since having any unpleasant run-ins. Besides' this is Burning Man. Who the fuck is going to care if something strange happened out here? It is after all, what the whole week was about.
Without waiting for another argument form herself she quickly spiraled the staff over her head before jerking it in front of her and breathed from deep within, lighting the wick with dragon-like fire. She spun the staff around again, lighting the other end.
And she danced.
Her body bent and spiraled and moved along with her instrument as if they were one. She went on and one, breathing fire every once in a while.
As she was off in her own blissful imagination, Tyler gathered with their other friends, Kora and Hollis. They watched in awe as their friend did things that honestly, didn't make sense. "How is she doing that?" Kora asked.
Tyler's eyes never left their dancing friend, " What do you mean?"
Kora's eyes narrowed slightly, "She's fire-breathing…"
Her words were met with an eye roll, "Well, obviously she's a fire-dancer."
"No but that's exactly what I mean. She didn't even use a lighter to start the fire. She literally breathed the fire herself." Before Tyler had time to answer however Brina was suddenly right in front of them, smiling brightly, "How is it, guys?"
She was met with oohs and aahhs and 'that was incredible!' before everything shifted into questioning.
Hollis decided to to ask what the others were afraid to, "So, uh… How did you breath that fire?"
Brina went so incredibly still it shifted the fun atmosphere into one of uncomfortable nervousness. That is, until it was busted by Brina smiling wickedly, "Magic." She giggled and started to dance around the small group.
She pulled the poi chains from literally nowhere and without even dipping them in lighter fluid, head each ball in her hand. "Watch closely."
Her friends leaned in only to have their eyes bulge out of there heads once they saw her calmly breathe into her hands. Blue flames glided from her parted lips into her palms where they remained blue, dancing around her fingers.
Hollis' jaw dropped. "Okay. How the fuck did that just happen?" Brina only winked before setting off around the crowd again doing intricate stunts. Her friends had honestly never seen her look this carefree. She was always very reserved and always seemed to be worried about something. They were concerned about whether or not Burning Man would be too overwhelming. It was amazing seeing someone as mellow and quiet at Brina enjoying herself as much as she was.
Tyler finally decided to offer an explanation, "Maybe the acid's finally kicking in, guys."
Everyone face palmed, not even thinking of that beforehand. Obviously. It had to be, because there was no way that anyone could breathe fire like a goddamn dragon. They unanimously decided to let it go, and accept that their drug-addled minds were playing tricks on them.
The night continued, Brina finally finishing her act and joining the rest of the group. They traveled all over the colony, joining raves, viewing art, meanwhile all severely under the influence. Even Brina joined in when ecstasy was being passed around. It was the best night that any of them had ever had together. Truly, it was something to be remembered.
Brina did basically whatever the hell she wanted, powers and all. How would anyone be able to tell the difference with the state they were in?
Around four in the morning they were all partied out, wanting to enjoy the last few hours peacefully before they slept through the next day.
"Let's go back and chill?" Offered Hollis.
Tyler on the other hand, had different plans, "I want to watch the sunrise!"
"Are we allowed to leave the colony? I don't think it's safe to be out in the desert by ourselves," Hollis claimed.
Tyler rolled her eyes, "Well, it's four in the morning. I don't think we have to be worried about heat exhaustion unless it was the middle of the day or something. Please, guys!"
Brina sighed, "I don't see why we can't. We will be back way before it even warms up anyways."
Two little fists went into the air, "Awesome! Let's get going then. I don't want to miss it just because you guys are being lazy."/
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
After about an hour of walking they found their way into the hills. They found the perfect spot (apparently it's the ideal sunrise-watching spot according to Tyler.) and settled in to enjoy the peaceful morning./
While Hollis and Tyler sat and bickered with each other, Kora and Brina made their way higher up onto the hill, where the view was absolutely stunning./
Kora deepened her voice and grumbled, "Everything the light touches is our kingdom." meanwhile resting her hand on Brina's shoulder.
Brina rolled her eyes but giggled nonetheless, "The sun hasn't even come up yet, dopey."
Kora quickly retorted giving a slight shove, "It's a figure of speech, you ass."
Brina caught her hand, holding it tightly, "I'm glad that I decided to come with you guys."
Kora scoffed, "Well, we've only been trying to get you to go for the past two years."
"I might just be tripping right now, but I really want to cry from happiness."
Kora snorted, "Yeah man. That's definitely you just tripping. You can cry though. This is a beautiful view. Hell, I might cry from it."
"That would just be sad."
A minute went by before Kora slowly asked, "…Speaking of tripping, wanna tell me what's been going on with you all night?"
Brina stilled, "What do you mean?"
"Well," Kora continued nonchalantly, "I mean like you breathing fire and jumping around like a goddamn ninja. You know, things that humans aren't supposed to be able to do normally."
"…We—"
"—And don't lie to me either. I've known you for five years, Brina. And it's not just the crazy abilities that you obviously have. I know that five years isn't much, but you look exactly the same as when I first met you. You just cut your hair off. Come on, dude. Give me some credit."
Brina released Kora's hand quickly as if she had been burned, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Kora reached out and connected their hands again, this time allowing their fingers to entwine, "I don't understand why you're hiding this from us. From emme/em. You know we all love you. You can tell us anything."
Brina was shaking at this point, "Your right. I'm… different. I know that you've at least always known. I just figured you'd let us dance around this at least until—"
"Until what? We all get old and you stay exactly the same? Until we come over and see you fucking water bending in your bathtub? Yeah, don't think that I haven't seen that. Well I've kept quiet. I let you get comfortable, feel safe. Now I think that I at least deserve an explanation."
"What do you want me to tell you? I don't know what the hell is wrong with me! I know about as much as you do on that subject!" She looked at the hurt look on her friends face before continuing quietly, "Look, I'm sorry that I fooled you guys. I just want to enjoy what we have right now, alright? Before—"
"Before what? Jesus, Brina, what? Were you just going to ditch once we started noticing more crazy shit going on with you?" Brina looked like she had been slapped. Kora sighed, "Shit, I'm sorry that I jumped to that conclusion, okay? I just don't know what to expect from you anymore, and you can't deny that wouldn't be a likely outcome. Are you okay? You're not in danger or anything, right? No one is looking for you or—" She was interrupted when Brina's hand slapped over her mouth.
"Shut up. I need you to be quiet."
Kora tried to yell at her through the vice-like grip, "WHAMPH—"
"I said shut up. Listen… Do you hear that?" Brina was looking around now, examining the sky and listening for movement. She finally took her hand way from Kora's mouth before grabbing her and hauling back down the hill.
"I don't hear—"
"Be quiet. They'll hear you. That's probably how they found me. Christ this is ironic. How the fuck did they find me?"
"Who are you talking—"
"No one. Listen," Brina grabbed Kora's shoulders before looking straight into her eyes, "You need to go and grab Tyler and Hollis. You need to run."
"What the fuck is happening, Brina?!" Kora was confused, angry and startled by her friends reaction. There they were having a proactive conversation and then Brina had to go and pull this bullshit.
"Goddammit, I don't have time to explain this to you! They are coming for me. You need to go, grab Tyler and Hollis and leave. Go hide, do something, but you have to listen to me."
"But I don't see anythi—"
"Jesus Christ shut up Kora! Look, I'm sorry I'm being a dick right now, but trust me, you're going to want to hide. Fast." As Kora looked into Brina's eyes she knew that this wasn't just her trying to end the conversation. The closer she looked all that she could sense was fear.
She began shaking, "Okay. Okay, I'll go and find them."
"Good. As fast as you can. Go hide."
"But what about you?"
Brina looked away, "Forget about me. As far as you know, I don't exist. That's the only thing that's going to save you. I'm sorry. Please, I know you don't have any reason to, but trust me."
Shaking harder than ever Kora stumbled down the hill before falling into Tyler and Hollis. Grabbing both of them she quickly whispered, "We have to hide."
Tyler pouted, "But the sun is just-"
"I don't give a shit about the sun right now," Kora gripped their wrists, dragging them away, "I said get up. Brina's gone."
"What?"
"I'll explain once we are hidden."
"Well, where is she?" They all glanced up the hill, but Brina was nowhere to be found. They quickly scanned the valley, and noticed a group of people quickly making their way towards them. Without another breath all three friends ducked and took cover.
After about ten seconds Hollis asked, " So where's Brina?"
Kora's eyes began to water, "She said to forget about her. As far as we know, she never existed."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? We can just fly back to New York without her!"
Kora looked like she wanted to slap them, "I can't answer that right now, okay? Just… Help me look and see if you can find her."
Slowly their heads rose from behind the boulders towards where the group of people were gathered. Tyler quickly pointed out, "They look like a SWAT team."
"Why is there a SWAT team in the middle of the goddamn desert?" questioned Hollis.
"They are here for Brina." Kora wiped the tears from her eyes; her friend was gone for good, and she just now noticed that the sun was peaking over the horizon. 'This is ironic, we were just talking about crying over the view.' Her thoughts were interrupted by Tyler gasping.
"There she is!"
They turned their gaze toward the group with guns and saw Brina quickly making her way towards them. "Oh, god."
"What the fuck is she doing?"
"…I don't know."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Brina walked steadily toward the group of armed men. Not only was she afraid for her friends, she was pissed. How dare they conveniently show up when she was having the best night in decades. This wasn't the first time, god knows it certainly wouldn't be the last. She was just so fucking done.
At this point all that she really wants is peace. A life for her own. She doesn't want to run anymore. Maybe this will finally give her some solace in knowing that her friends, people who trusted her, weren't going to get hurt.
Because that's what always happened. Unless she remained alone, people always got hurt.
She finally came to a stop in front of the group calling out loudly, "You stupid fucking Russians. Why haven't you bastards given up by now?"
"It would not be wise to disgrace your own people with such talk, мой давно забыли товарищ." An elderly man stepped forward, one that Brina quickly recognized before laughing coldly.
"Ah yes. My people." She spat, "From what I understand брат, by people are nothing but a a group of psycho, totalitarian bigots who only seek destruction. So yeah, I'm going to have to call bullshit on my people. And now I'm 'long forgotten'? If that is the case then I am afraid I do not understand why you have insisted on chasing me all over the planet for however many years." She was looking for something that was obviously confirmed before she threw her head back and laughed, "Oh, Svan. It's nice to know that you have not changed in your old age."
The leader, Svan, seemed to stiffen before cursing to his men, "So you see, comrades? See what happens when you spend too much time amongst Americans? She cannot even muster up the decency to speak in her mother tongue. It seems to have warped your thoughts, child. Luckily," He smirked, "We are here to remedy that."
"First of all, you're calling me child when we are both well aware that I am your senior by at least ten years? I know I do not look as decrepit as yourself, but that was still idiotic for you to say. As for your purpose of coming here… Well, you can try. But I am afraid I have a citizenship now and everything, oh comrade."
"Enough! Now, you will return with us. With me, or you will die. It is your choice, sister."
"More like a distant aunt. Thank you for actually giving me options for once, but I am going to have to deny both of them" Brina grinned. This was entertaining to say the least. She could tell Svan was growing impatient however, and decided to get this over with.
Within a second she kicked out to a man who was advancing behind her, knocking him off his feet. Two more came from the front before she shoved both of them out of the way. 'If they want to underestimate me, fine.'
She didn't throw has much force into the next few punches, quickly allowing her enemy to overpower her. Before she knew it she was on her knees in front of Svan. Guns were trained on her head from all directions. There was nowhere for her to move, let alone blink. If they could all actually kill her, then so be it.
Svan placed his hand on her head, looking into her eyes. Meanwhile she silently glared back, " I do not understand why you feel the need to fight, sister. We could be victorious together. Wouldn't you agree?" He was quickly taken out of his power trip by a vicious snarl and his own shout of pain. She had bitten his wrist.
Inside he boiled with rage, retracting his hand before swinging back and striking her across the face, knocking her to the ground in the process.
He turned around, examining the damage done before snarling, "Why do you you continue to fight? You have your old life waiting for you back home… Or at least, had a life." He reached behind, pulling a handgun out of the holster, "At least I can say that I found you. And as you have already proven, you are no longer of any use to us. It is a pity, really. I had so hoped that you could have done a little trick of yours to at least prove that you are not completely incompetent. However all that seems to remain is your uncanny ability to never age. But—" He released the gun from safety before waving it around lazily, "This might not be so horrible after all, having the satisfaction of killing you. In fact, I believe it has always been a little fantasy of mine." Raising the gun almost lovingly, he trained it towards the center of her forehead.
She offered no response other than spitting on him and raising one eyebrow in defiance.
He sighed, "Farewell, моя сестра." Then he pulled the trigger. There was a scream heard in the distance toward the hills, "Well, it seems that she was not alone." He looked toward the hills, "Go and take care of it." It took Svan approximately three seconds to realize that not one had moved.
Consequently, he also realized that he never heard a body hit the ground.
He turned back toward Brina. He wasn't sure if it was a trick of the angle in which he was standing or whether she was actually arching back, as if catching herself from falling.
Brina couldn't believe it. That asshole had actually shot her. Point blank.
Hell no, if she was ever going to die, there was no way that she was going out like this.
Still supporting herself with her knees, she flung herself back forward, eyes turning a solid black.
Within half a second, Svan spontaneously exploded, showering everything in blood and entrails.
Before the others had time to react, Brina was already on her feet. Clapping her hands together, she created a shockwave. She used the opportunity to breath fire on all remaining survivors, setting everything aflame. Once she was satisfied that everyone was dead, she shot up from the ground toward the sky.
She glanced back to her friends, still hiding behind the boulders, before rippling through the air and disappearing.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Tyler, Kora and Hollis stared out at the aftermath for a solid minute before looking at one another./
"…So Brina is a badass basically?" Hollis offered, "Oh my god it would explain so much!"
Kora quietly explained, "She is on a whole other level actually."
Tyler decided to interject, "Did she actually blow that guy up? With her mind?"
"Yep."
"…Is she coming back?"
"No. Not anytime soon anyway."
"…What the fuck!"
"Yeah. Holy shit. Wow. So Brina is obviously okay, we just have to concentrate on getting back, Come on."
"Oh, so you're gonna just take this all in stride? Oh-fucking-kay Kora. We literally just watched our best friend get murdered. Then, she proceeded to come back to life and kick ass. Did she seriously just fly away?! And breathe fire like a goddamn dragon? Jesus Christ—" Tyler's rant was interrupted when Kora grabbed her and shoved her back against the boulder, "What the hell-"
"Listen to me, Tyler. Hollis. We can never speak of what just happened. Do you understand?" Kora glared at the both of them.
Tyler scoffed, "Are you fucking serious right now? First of all, why not? And second of all, who the hell is going to believe us anyway?"
"Obviously Brina is alright, so we don't really need to worry about that. All I know is that it wouldn't be safe to talk about what happened, so let's just drop it after today, yeah? If she comes back, then she comes back. She instructed us to basically forget about her, so I don't really want to know what kind of shady shit she's been dragged into."
"But what abou—"
"There are no 'buts', Tyler. We drop it. If those people found her in the middle of a fucking desert, how quickly do you think it will take others to find us?" She was met with quiet stares. "Exactly. This is why after we head back to the festival, we don't speak of it. Brina will find us when she wants to. Just let her get her shit taken care of. Agreed?"
Tyler and Hollis nodded in reply before they quickly made their way back to the colony.
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Translations:
мой давно забыли товарищ: My long forgotten comrade
брат: Brother
моя сестра: My sister.