Summary: Not all spirits protect humanity and not everyone who starts out good remains that way. Jack learns this the hard way when he meets the prototype Guardian, Lady Midday.

1: Slash and Burn

Burgess

July 7

The town of Burgess, known over the last several years for its picturesque winters and largely happy populace, was facing a very serious threat: Summer.

Now, summer is largely a time of joy, particularly for the town's children (and teachers). It was a time to play outside, to hit the beach, a time for ice cream and making memories. Last week had been like that. Today was not.

Walking through the town, a casual observer would note the lack of activity. No children played in the sunlight, people drove short distances instead of walking. Even animals made themselves scarce. This would be because the town of Burgess was facing a record breaking heat wave that had driven the smarter portion of the populace inside.

Two teenage boys trudged through town, brown grass crunching under their feet. Heat waves distorted their sight and breath came in ragged pants. Reaching a bench, the taller of the two flopped down, hand shielding his eyes. "Your damn brother just had to need an escort!" he huffed, glaring at his friend. The other glared back, "not my fault the brat can't walk home alone. You didn't have to come anyway, Bryan."

Brian huffed, giving up on finding a comfortable position on the bench. "Not like there's anything better to do." The two continued on, cursing the sunlight burning through their clothing, scorching them to the bone. Bryan and Trevor, the shorter of the two, were seniors at the local high school. In a town as happy as Burgess, they were as close to delinquents as you could get. Bryan had tattoos and smoked, while Trevor was an unsuccessful playboy with near-failing grades. Hardly hardened thugs, but misfits nonetheless.

About a quarter mile from their destination, the duo stopped again. Trevor spat on the ground, silently furious. Bryan had surpassed silent resentment and was instead cursing the weather, Trevor's family, and life in general. "Fucking heat!" he growled at the sun.

"Excuse me?" came a lightly accented reply. What? Blinking, Bryan realized that the sun hadn't, in fact, responded and whirled around. Trevor, who had looked over first, let out a long whistle. It was a girl, and definitely not one from Burgess. Bryan's eyes widened at the sight. Expertly dyed hair starting out fire truck red and shifting through orange to a sunny yellow at the tips, perfectly tanned skin. Designer sunglasses hid her eyes but did nothing to hide her beauty. Bryan glanced over at Trevor, whose attention was fully captured by the firey goddess. Considering his record with pretty girls…

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" Bryan fought back a groan as his friend's voice lowered into a smug purr. Did he really think that worked on anybody? Trevor strutted forward, eyes never ending their perusal. "What's a girl like you doing in a dump like this?"

Miraculously, the partial redhead seemed more amused than anything, lips twitching up. "Just passing by. Isn't today lovely?" Trevor snorted, still moving closer. "You're kidding, right? This heat's a nightmare. Seriously, the sooner autumn starts, the better." This time the girl was not so amused, lips thinning and hands forming fists. For some reason, Bryan felt the need to warn Trevor, which was odd in itself; He loved watching him strike out.

"I happen to hate cold weather," came the even reply. Was it his imagination or had the temperature increased slightly? The light was filling his vision now, forcing him to squint at the couple in front of him. "Your attitude seems pretty disrespectful considering how necessary this season is." Bryan backed away slightly, buffeted by the heat. Why was the heat coming in sideways, as opposed to from above? He fell back into a wall, mouth dry and eyes tightly closed. He needed water. Opening dried lips, he tried to call out to Trevor but nothing came out. The world seemed to be moving. Huh.

"Disrespectful? Please, it's not like nature will give a crap what I think. Besides, this is just a global warming thing, nothing natural about it." Silence.

Trevor looked up when no response came before falling back in surprise. The beautiful teen had been less than in inch away from him. On a normal day, he'd take that as a sign to kiss her. But there was nothing inviting about the girl anymore, not with her teeth bared and skin practically glowing in the light. He wasn't afraid of a girl, he wasn't, but somewhere in the back of his mind, an instinctual wariness kicked in. Trevor moved back and she followed, never letting him more than a foot away. "Uh, l-look, I didn't mean anything by it. We're cool, right?" His back hit the wall. Where the hell was Bryan?! This girl was freakin crazy! Something warm brushed his leg and Trevor chanced a quick look down. Bryan! Forgetting about the weird redhead for a moment, he tried to rouse his friend. "Bryan! Wake up! Come on, man, I can't carry you back!" His friend remained motionless, skin flushed and breath shallow.

Trevor looked up, seeing the girl had stopped several feet away. She was grinning, her teeth glinting. "Get over here! Can't you see he needs help?!" The girl moved forward, and he gasped as waves of heat smashed against his skin.

"Help you?" the girl giggled, a strange, crackling noise somehow surrounding the girlish sound. "Why should I help somebody who disrespects Mother Nature?" Forgetting his friend, Trevor bolted. He heard the same crackling giggle behind him. "That's right, keep running! I love a good chase!" Trevor ran, his feet barely touching the ground. He was almost there! No!

He'd tripped on an uneven section of pavement, face meeting the ground in a spray of blood. Trevor choked in pain as he grabbed his injured leg, precious water streaming down his face. In desperation, he tried to crawl. He wasn't far! He could read the signs on the front doors! Not hearing anything behind him, he looked back. Nothing. Relief made the tears come down harder. He'd made it. Turning back, his broken nose brushed against orange cloth. Trevor looked up and saw hellish red eyes and the shine of descending metal.