Burning Woman
The smell of burning wood, metal, and plastic enveloped the air as a huge fire consumed an apartment building nearby. Hiccup stared at the monstrosity of it all, he took pictures with his camera while avoiding people who were evacuating. How convenient for him to be in the right place at the time.
People were running to safety as firefighters rushed in to extinguish the flames. The heat radiated and the fire was spreading quickly. The neighboring buildings tenants hurriedly moved out along with a few of their valuables. Hiccup could hear cries of defeat and anguish as the residents watched their homes burn down. But something tells Hiccup that this wasn't caused by a measly loose wire or a forgotten stove. The flames roared and grew taller. Ambulances arrived in the area and tended the injured, making sure everyone was safe.
The flames continued to burn bright when a cold gust of wind surged into the area. Hiccup smiled and looked up to see a flying young man carrying a shepherd's crook. "It's Frost!" a young boy yelled excitedly, almost forgetting about the fire devouring their old home.
Frost smiled and waved at the crowd before getting to work. His blue eyes sparkled in contrast against his dark blue domino mask.
A glimmer of hope waved upon the people around the flames. Hiccup smiled to himself. Superheroes weren't always welcomed in Burgess but now everyone seemed to see them as a beacon of hope.
Blue lightning-like sparks radiated from Frost's arms, his frosty white hair sparkling, his blue eyes glowing fiercely. He directed his power to the flames, helping the firefighters extinguish the flames but the fire seemed to fight and burned brighter.
Hiccup could see Frost struggle.
The young man glided around the building, still pouring his power into snuffing the fire out. It's the first time anyone saw Frost showing a hint of struggle and exhaustion against fire. Hiccup took more pictures of the situation, making sure to capture the heroes' act. As long as Frost and the firefighters didn't give up, there was still hope. People in the neighboring area started getting buckets of water and fire extinguishers to help out the heroes.
As Hiccup captured the moment, his camera captured a silhouette coming out of the flames. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked closer, only to find nothing but the flames. The fire finally started to die down and the crowd cheered. He shook the image out of his head and joined in the applause.
Once the fire was extinguished, Frost landed and congratulated the firefighters. He made his way to the emergency respondents and made sure the injured were alright. Hiccup chuckled as he took photos of the hero, charming as always.
Frost had always been a crowd favorite, he was famous with the children and even more famous with the ladies. Maybe it's because of the way he smiled, ever so playful and genuine. Or how he looked like the typical superhero from TV with his dark blue hooded cape and indestructible spandex suit.
After Frost was done greeting the people, he took flight, leaving frost on the ground where he stood.
Hiccup took one last photo of the place before heading out. That's when he heard a scream from the crowd. He quickly turned and saw a young woman emerging from the burned building.
She was naked, covered in soot and her skin was burnt. Hiccup took a photo of the scene before the woman collapsed. Medics rushed to aid her, wrapping her with a cool, wet cloth and lifting her to the ambulance.
He could hear the people's murmurs about the woman, wondering if she was okay, wondering how she survived the flames without being burned to the bone, wondering if she was also a mutant or a super. He shook his head and walked away. Could it be possible? Are there more of them?
...
Lights blurred her vision as medics rushed her into the emergency room. Her senses were fuzzy and her head hurt as hell. A burning sensation slowly spreaded across her body as she was carried into a new bed. "What happened?" she muttered.
"You're in Burgess Medical Center, you're going to be okay."
"Oh my gods, what happened to her?" Voices echoed around her. "What's her status?" Pairs of hands and apparatus kept touching her, she screamed in pain. "How did she even survive that?" Her eyes shot open and realized where she was. "Poor girl." She quickly sat up and looked at the faces around her, all of them shocked. She breathed heavily. "Miss, please lie down, you'll hurt yourself," a doctor said as they tried to calm her down. "You're in Burgess Medical Center, you're going to be okay."
The burning sensation was getting hotter as voices overwhelmed her senses. The emergency room was loud and there were different smells. It was too much. She got up, carrying the blanket to cover her body even if it stung to press it against her skin. She headed to the exit. Nurses came to follow her but they gasped, standing frozen in their tracks.
She bit her lip as the sensation got hotter and hotter, the seething pain crept into her whole body, it even felt like it was burning her bones. Her head spun and her vision fogged up. Suddenly, all the tension and heat was released. The noises abruptly died down at the same time the pain disappeared.
She felt multiple pairs of eyes stare her down. She looked around and everyone's face was either filled with confusion, fear, or both. She looked at her skin and saw that her burns are gone, as if she wasn't even harmed in the first place. Run, her mind said. And she did, ignoring the staff racing after her. Heat quickly spread from her chest, and with a blue flash, she was gone.
...
Footsteps. Gravel crunching beneath her feet. How did she even get here? Where is she? Merida looked around, holding the hospital blanket closer to her. Trees and trees for miles with only the moon illuminating her. Where is she? She scrunched up her face and shook her head. No memories either. Just the reoccurring explosion and screams of voices she can't remember.
"Merida, listen to me!" a voice echoed. Sternly. Loudly. It was a woman's voice. She turned to look for the source of the voice but nothing. Just trees and darkness. "STOP! I am the queen! YOU listen to ME!" the voice said, louder this time. Merida's ears rang, she gasped in pain and fell to the ground, "Where do you think you're going?"
A fire sparked in Merida's chest, spreading throughout, making its way to her head, throbbing. "Young lady, come back here! Don't you dare walk out that door!" Merida closed her eyes as if shielding them from something extremely bright. A roar followed the voice. Shivers sent down her spine. She ran and ran and ran, not looking back, not looking if there was even a source.
The heat spread throughout her body, oozing out of her skin until it burned the blanket, setting it on fire. She yelped and shook the blanket off of her. Her whole world was spinning. She was running. In the forest. Naked. In the middle of the night. With a massive headache. She swore she was going to pass out as the pain spread.
Her skin crackled like firewood, flames emitting from her pores. An awful taste of acid crept up her throat. She illuminated her pathway though she wasn't sure where she was headed. Her stomach grumbled and her body shoved herself towards the nearest tree for support. Fire rolled out of her tongue and onto the grass, setting it on fire.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, nooo…" she mindlessly stomped on the grass in an attempt to distinguish the flames but to no avail. In fact, it only fed the fire. Flames spread all over her body, her fiery red hair bursting into flames. "STOP!"
...
Footsteps ran across the roof of the museum with the moonlight glinting against the building's glass. It was past midnight and the town had just slept.
Milleon sat on a beam and listened attentively, camouflaging in a dark corner of the museum. She grabbed her golden hair, treating it like a lasso, as she waited for the criminal to do their deed.
Her focus remained on the crown jewel sitting at the center of the building. Even though it was heavily protected by high tech security systems, the host still wanted utmost care for the jewels. After all, it was an ancient relic from a lost kingdom in Germany and it still had over a hundred museums to visit.
The footsteps died down and was replaced by a knock on the window across her. She squinted her eyes and saw a masked grinning idiot. She let her camouflage deactivate as she shook her head at the young man.
He touched the glass and frost spread on the surface. He drew a heart and winked at her. Milleon glared at him as he managed to open the window without triggering the alarms. She's got to admit that she's glad he chose the good side because he'd be a pretty good thief.
"What do you want, Frost?" she sighed. This was the 4th time he had barged uninvited into one of her commissions. She wondered how he kept knowing where she was. There was no way he was tracking her, was he? She doubted that he'd have access to her files from the Association.
"A wonderful evening to you too, Milleon!" Frost replied, flashing a lopsided smile as he walked on the ceiling, swinging his staff over his shoulder. His cape draped awkwardly behind him. " I'm just here to help. I don't want you to feel alone during a mission." Moonlight pouring from the windows on the ceiling hit his white hair in such a beautiful way, it was almost sparkling.
Milleon smiled sweetly, "Aww, that's so sweet of you! Feeling lonely certainly is the most dangerous part of our work!" Frost laughed at that as she rolled her eyes. Why did he have to be so charming? "I'm very much alright by myself, so can you just—"
Swift footsteps made their way on the roof of the building, Milleon quickly camouflaged into the environment. Frost hid in the dark as well as they heard hushed bickering. A laser beam cut through the ceiling and made a "pop!" sound when it was removed. Frost waited for the alarms to blare off but was surprised to hear none.
Once a beefy man held by a rope sneaked through the hole, Milleon grappled the man with her locks. He let out a yelp and struggled. She ran across the walls and wrapped the man in her golden hair.
Frost took this as a queue to take action, he swooped out of the hole on the ceiling and kicked the goon who held the rope up. The man has red hair and an eye patch. Frost immediately recognized him and shoved him with his staff. A Stabbington brother. The man blocked with his brawny arm, securing the rope under his feet, and took a knife out.
"Hey, bringing a knife to a stick fight isn't fair!" Frost whined as he somersaulted away from the man.
"Very funny," the man growled, tightening his grip on his jagged knife.
Frost swung his staff, tracing the floor with frost and caging the man's feet in ice. He jumped over the man's head and kicked the man's hand, toppling over the knife. Before the man could elbow him, Frost summoned ice and snow over and froze the man in place.
"Man, that wasn't much of a fight. Ya boring," Frost stuck his tongue out in disgust. He poked his head through the hole on the roof to see the other brother unconscious and wrapped in Milleon's hair. She was talking with someone on her communicator, probably the police.
His earpiece buzzed to life: "HQ to Frost, forest fire within your perimeter. 8 o'clock."
He spun and gasped. The fire was growing fast. He scratched his head, Burgess never had a forest fire before. What could have happened? Right on cue, the police came. He jumped to meet Milleon at the entrance. "Forest fire, we gotta go."
Milleon raised an eyebrow but nodded. She handed the culprits to the authorities and apologized for having to leave immediately. She climbed on Frost's back and they took off. "What happened?" she gasped, staring at the growing fire.
"I've got a hunch it's the same as this morning." Frost spun his staff and held it with both hands in front of him. Chill surged through his body as he summoned his power. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped around them. With a spark, he swung his staff to the direction of the fire, releasing a blizzard to tame it.
To their surprise, the fire quickly vanished.
Frost landed at the edge of the damage, letting Milleon climb down and survey the damages. Her hair glowed and lengthened as she walked through the forest. She knelt and took a piece of burnt fabric from the ground. It barely survived but she could make out the logo printed on the fabric. She closed her eyes and sung, her hair glowed brighter starting from her roots.
"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine—" Milleon suddenly dashed. "Frost! Frost!" she yelled.
Frost flew to see a young unconscious woman in her arm. Milleon had wrapped her hair around the woman's body. She looked up, "She's alive but we need to take her back to HQ."
"Why not the hospital?" he knelt to meet her gaze, reaching for a marble on his utility belt.
She handed him the burnt fabric, "She's already been there."
A/N: if you moved from ayoungwriter to here, heyy welcome! welcome! please enjoy your stay! i hope you like the addition to the first chapter~ the second part was originally supposed to be the second chapter but i rly wanted for rapunzel to be introduced uwu
so far we've got: Frost - Jack, obviously and Milleon - Rapunzel! (like million bc shes a golden girl and shes also got chameleon powers ahaha badumtss)
anyways, leave a review and dont hesitate to ask if youve got questions so far! see you next week~