Chapter 7: She's On Fire
Sasuke spent the rest of the morning cleaning up the wreckage the Undersiders left behind. The PRT's staff was too busy to fix it and overworked besides, so he figured that he could offer his services. For a price.
Much like the Endbringers, there was no evidence that the Undersiders had used their powers. No darkness, no bugs, only damaged hallways that weren't hard for him to fix. Lightning wasn't the only element he could manipulate with chakra, and the hallways contained concrete and clay, both of which were easy to shape discreetly.
He waited until no one was around to watch him work, but during this time, a girl from the Wards approached him. She was about as young as he was when he became a soldier, wearing a white and forest green dress underneath body armour, blonde hair tied in a braided ponytail. Her power was alive.
"Whatcha doing?" she asked.
"Fixing this mess."
She gazed at a large, paw-shaped crack. "Mind if I help?"
Sasuke was about to say no, but Vista had already moved her hands, squeezing the crack with a twist until it was barely visible.
"I'm Vista, by the way."
"Sasuke."
"Really?" Vista sized him up, buzzing with excitement she kept on a leash. "Cool. So, Sasuke, what do you say?"
He smirked. "Let's get started."
Vista had the ability to warp any space that wasn't inhabited by people. It wasn't just convenient, it was powerful, very powerful. Together, they succeeded in patching up some of the hallways through her power and some tools he grabbed from storage. The renovations he made held strong even after Vista released her hold on the wall.
"We're done," he said.
"Awesome." She peered at him through her green visor. "Hey, did you really take down the Merchants by yourself?"
"I did."
"Badass."
Vista stopped herself, as if she was expecting him to say something. When he didn't, she smiled.
"Who told you?"
"Flechette. She was talking about it early this morning."
Word spread fast, it seemed.
After he finished his job, he decided to claim his payment: Internet access and a spare SIM card.
"You sure don't want cash?" Vista asked.
"Don't need it," Sasuke replied.
Vista shrugged, and helped him get a SIM card that belonged to a former Ward. She didn't ask too many questions as he used her laptop to do more research.
"You're fast," Vista said, in awe at how fast he could type with one hand.
It was a skill he was more than happy to master. The Internet was perhaps the most staggeringly brilliant human invention he'd ever laid eyes on. If it existed in his world, everything would have been different. A man could get lost surfing the web for days and only reach the tip of the iceberg before he realized that the Internet wasn't the iceberg, it was the ocean. That was why he restrained himself, so this marvel would never wear off.
Once he was done, he cleared his browser history and handed Vista her laptop.
"Thanks," Sasuke said.
"You're welcome. Next time you go out to kick ass, can I come with?"
It wasn't the worst idea. From what he'd seen, Vista was fairly competent, and his speed and strength would work well with her space-warping power. Now that he was building a reputation, the other villains wouldn't pull their punches, and Vista's power couldn't protect her if Hookwolf got close enough to shred her with his metal body.
"As long as you can keep up."
She grinned. "Hey, you'll have to keep up with me."
They parted ways. Sasuke plugged in his new SIM card next to his first one – which he received for free from a vendor – then found a private spot outside the PRT building, ready to use it.
Working as the PRT's overqualified janitor gave him time to plan the right approach in contacting Faultline. If she lived up to her reputation, she'd act like their conversation never happened. The main sticking point was her price. Giving away a source of leverage didn't sit well with him. However, the information they potentially had was too good of a prospect to pass up.
Before he dialled Faultline's number, he gathered chakra and slammed the basement floor he was hiding in. A sealing array emerged, bringing forth a sparrow, a burrowing snake and a black cat.
These were no ordinary animals: all of them bore the Rinnegan, allowing him to see through their eyes as they traversed Brockton Bay. He disguised them so no one would notice their unique eyes, and imbued them with instructions to disappear at the first sign of danger.
Sasuke wanted to confirm the dossier Battery handed him for himself, and find out if any of the villains received their powers from Cauldron. Keep his options open. If he could summon his hawks and snakes, he would, but he still hadn't found a way to bring them to him. The Rinnegan compensated for that.
Once his summoned animals took off, he called Faultline. She answered after three rings.
"Faultline speaking."
"This is Sasuke. We met last night."
"Yes, we did. You've considered my offer?"
"When can we meet?"
"This evening, 7:30 P.M. Do you need directions to the Palanquin?"
"Yes, I do."
He received meticulous directions, along with a reminder to bring the vials with him. The meeting was set.
Or so, he thought. Through his summoned animals, Sasuke learned that no one from the Pure, Fenrir's Chosen or the Undersiders had consumed one of Cauldron's vials. The Travelers were the exact opposite. Unfortunately, he hadn't found the Slaughterhouse Nine's hideout, but that wasn't too surprising.
At least Battery's dossier was mostly accurate – Imp of the Undersiders was a parahuman with a power his eyes couldn't discern. It was a shame that using the Rinnegan's Animal Path was too costly to abuse... at least, for now.
Sasuke spent the rest of the day on a patrol with Battery to take care of a mess that the Merchants left behind, helping out where he could, resting for a meeting that wouldn't come. Five minutes before 7:30 P.M., Sasuke received another phone call from Faultline.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I'm rescheduling our meeting." Her voice was taut, like she was dangling off the edge of a cliff. "Something came up."
He heard her muffled screams amid explosions. Ones that sizzled and roared.
"We'll talk later!"
The moment after Faultine hung up, Sasuke breathed in deep, then let it out. His sword was at hand, and so was the rest of his equipment. He planted a beetle that would let him know if anyone investigated his room, then locked it.
It was time to meet Faultline.
The Palanquin was a nightclub on top of a hill two blocks away from a long stretch of road called Lord Street. Unlike most of Brockton Bay, the area surrounding the Palanquin wasn't flooded.
It was on fire.
Thick black smoke billowed upwards in wide plumes that covered the sky, staining his nose with its poisonous scent. A cape appeared in front of Newter without a sound, detonating the fireball in her hands as he sprung away. He landed on all fours, crumpling to a heap. Burns lined Gregor's skin as he sprayed slime to snuff out some of the flames. Shamrock was next to him, firing bullets that only missed the flame-wielding cape by a hair's length.
"Spitfire! Bring Newter over here!" Faultline shouted. The cape appeared right behind Gregor, but Faultline was hot on her heels, stabbing at her heart. She was too slow, forced to stop before she struck Gregor, but she bought Spitfire enough time to reach Newter, quickly regrouping with her teammate.
The cape walked out of the flames near the Palanquin's entrance. Her dark brown hair was tangled in thick knots, green eyes staring dispassionately at Faultline's crew. Cigarette burns dotted her cheeks like glistening tears, a red dress tapering at her knees. Bare feet crunched the street beneath, leaving footprints that burnt the pavement and caught on fire.
It barely took time to put a name to this cape's face: Burnscar, part of the Slaughterhouse Nine.
A statue clad in a flowing one-shoulder dress grew from a nearby building and tipped its massive urn, spilling a wave of water that consumed the street in a sea of endless blue richer than any ocean, bombarding Burnscar and her flames – yet passing through Faultline's crew.
Burnscar appeared on the rooftop opposite the one he stood on and threw two fireballs in a high arc once the wave petered out: one flew towards Gregor and the other landed near the statue. Gregor was barely able to avoid the fireball, but he and the rest of Faultline's crew couldn't prevent Burnscar from blasting the statue with white-hot jets of flame.
She hadn't noticed him. If he interfered, he'd be putting at least one target on his back. If he didn't, Faultline's crew could die.
Sasuke jumped from the unburned rooftop, landed behind Burnscar. He could behead her in an instant. Instead, he grabbed her neck and struck her with bolts of electricity that spread across her body. Lightning chakra of this quantity was enough to put down a regular human in a second, but Burnscar held on for three.
A second later, Sasuke was grasping air and Burnscar stood near Newter once was. Her eyes were seared with panic and fear and fury that was instantly crushed by a glare colder than ice.
She conjured a wall of flame as wide as the street that quickly approached Faultine's crew. The statue sent forth a geyser of water, but it evaporated from the wall's overwhelming heat. The wall did shrink, however, and Sasuke appeared in front of Faultline's crew, extinguishing most of the remaining wall with a pair of white powder bombs.
"What are you doing here?" Faultline asked. She was crouched over Newter, examining his wounds.
"Just passing through," he said.
Faultline didn't bother looking at him. "You picked the worst time to go on a jog. Leave, go home. You're only putting your life in danger."
"Too late."
Burnscar's voice was flat, any emotion sucked out of it. She blasted a fireball that was as wide as her torso. He was ready to fight fire with fire, but it wasn't necessary: a wall of water emerged in front of him, drowning the fireball.
"Labyrinth is the only reason why we aren't dead," Faultline said, answering his unspoken question.
"Before you came along, anyway," Shamrock said. Her lithe figure was covered in a tight black shirt emblazoned with a green three-leaf clover and matching black pants. "You think you can hit her again?"
"I can," Sasuke said. "Get to safety."
Labyrinth's water wall had transformed into a cocoon, keeping them safe from Burnscar. It wouldn't hold forever, though. Burnscar had ample opportunity to attack the statue as it rebuilt itself.
"Will you be joining us?" Faultline asked.
Sasuke frowned. "I'll be the distraction."
"Allow me to take your place," Gregor said. His breathing was laboured, yet his voice was calm. "You are fastest now that Newter is unconscious. Delivering us to safety will be better use of your skills."
Burnscar was all over the place, alternating between attacking the statue, attacking them and stoking her wall of fire. No fire had infiltrated Labyrinth's cocoon, but it was mere metres outside, fast approaching.
"Can you handle yourself?"
Gregor's nod was heavy. "I must."
A viscous liquid dripped off his hunched form in rivulets.
"He's survived much worse," Faultline said. "Shamrock, you'll cover Gregor. I'll clear a path. Spitfire, you'll take care of any flames I haven't secured. Any objections?"
"Once everyone is evacuated, I'll take out Burnscar," Sasuke said.
Spitfire's gas mask didn't betray her emotions, but her body language did as she flinched. "Don't you mean 'take on'?"
He only looked at her. Meanwhile, Faultline holstered her knife.
"You'll need support. Labyrinth can help you."
"I'll take it."
There was no reason not to: not only was Labyrinth a reality-warping Shaker, her ability to conjure water from thin air ensured he wouldn't need to create his own.
He picked up Newter, taking care not to aggravate his injuries. The watery cocoon exploded in all directions, swamping any lingering flames within its reach. Sasuke sprinted towards the Palanquin and swerved around Burnscar the moment she appeared, kicking the door open and setting Newter down at the back of the spacious room.
When he returned, Burnscar was choking the life out of Spitfire with one hand, using Spitfire's body as a shield from Gregor's slime and Shamrock's bullets. More of Gregor's slime was spread across the street.
"Not one step further, new guy," Burnscar said. "You're fast, but you're not fast enough to save her."
"What do you want from Faultline's Crew?"
"My friend. They're keeping her in their shitty club, forcing her to fight me."
Sasuke looked at her cold, dead eyes. Into them, searching for the fear beneath. "Why don't you let go of Spitfire and ask nicely?"
Burnscar didn't listen at first, but seconds later, she threw Spitfire right at him. He caught her with ease.
"How are you doing?" Sasuke asked.
Spitfire's panicked breathing slowly evened out. "Never better."
"There," Burnscar said. She faced Faultline, keeping an eye trained on him. "Can I please talk to Elle? I won't be long."
"No," Faultline said.
Burnscar shrugged. "I tried."
She didn't sound remotely sincere, but she did try. Frankly, he didn't expect that.
Spitfire punched the fireball heading their way only seconds after he set her down, rushing inside the Palanquin soon after. Gregor and Shamrock worked in tandem to stop Burnscar from wreaking more havoc with slime and bullets.
Meanwhile, Faultline swiped at the trench behind her with glowing hands, carving it deeper into the street. Combined with Labyrinth's water, they forged a dam that kept Burnscar's wall of fire at bay. Burnscar appeared in front of Faultline, about to blast her, but Sasuke kicked Burnscar into her wall, splitting it in two.
A plume of intense heat whipped at his body, but he stood vigil above Faultline with a shield forged from lightning.
"Much obliged," Faultline said, after the heat cooled off. It was still scorching hot, but he could handle it.
"It's time to go," Sasuke said.
"You're right." She climbed to her feet, releasing the glow on her hands. "Don't forget, Sasuke, we still have our meeting."
Faultline regrouped with Shamrock, helping Gregor reach the Palanquin before he collapsed. Moments later, Burnscar walked out of the inferno unscathed, surrounded by roaring fire that didn't burn an inch of her skin.
"Guess they ran away," she said. "I'll just have to go through you first."
Her red dress was frayed by bullets, stained with slime. He was still confident he could defeat her, it was only a matter of burning out her flames.
"You sure you want to fight?"
Burnscar flexed her fingers. The fire around her swelled. "You hit hard, but I'm tough. So you'd better run, or you're gonna die, cowboy."
He smirked. "It's too late to run away."
"You're right." Burnscar raised her right hand, finger outstretched. "Now draw."
She fired a bullet made of flame. He split it in half with a shuriken, but Burnscar popped two metres to the right, blasting a wide cone of sizzling fire from her outstretched hand. No need to move: water surged from the trench, smothering it.
Another shuriken seared through the air, one that Burnscar easily avoided by she teleported away. It was like a game of hawk and snake as he tried to catch a slippery opponent that didn't want to be caught. He was careful not throw the shuriken too quickly and kept his cool as the heat rose to a fever pitch, but he hadn't felt a thing: Labyrinth protected him and ate away at Burnscar's blaze.
Eventually, Burnscar had nowhere to run.
"Looks like you caught me. I'm so scared."
Burnscar's mouth was a flat line, boredom exuding from every pore on her face. More than a dozen wires surrounded her, all connected to the shuriken he'd thrown. They were held aloft by his fingers, glinting from the inferno.
"Where is the Slaughterhouse Nine's hideout?" Sasuke asked.
"Which one?"
"Any of them."
"Don't know, don't care."
Sasuke frowned. "Don't lie to me. You know where they are."
"If I did, why would I ever tell you?"
"Why defend them? Are they your friends?"
Burnscar smiled, all teeth. Empty. "I'm defending you from them, cowboy."
The wires drew closer to Burnscar, but she wasn't cowed by the threat. It wasn't because she was afraid, it was because she discarded her emotions. Buried them. He'd read her file, and like most of the Slaughterhouse Nine, her past was filled with tragedy. For someone like her, power could be the key to ending her pain.
Yet, she still sought her friend.
"Would you defend Elle from the Slaughterhouse Nine?"
Her smile disappeared. "Stop talking."
Sasuke made eye contact with Burnscar. "Help me get what I want, and I'll help you talk to your friend."
There was a second, a moment that made him believe that Burnscar was considering his plea. Then, a choppy, grating sound stripped of all its joy emerged from her mouth. She was laughing at him, mocking his request.
"Thanks, but no thanks, cowboy. I don't need a pile of ashes to be my middle man."
Lightning surged through the wires. There was no room for her to move.
She escaped to a marble rooftop licked by crawling flames. Her eyes didn't betray her pain, they were as hard as emeralds, unrelenting... but her emotions were still there, smothered by forced apathy, and that meant they couldn't communicate with words or fists.
One way or another, he'd get through to her.
Fireballs fell from the sky as he sheathed his shuriken and the wires connecting them. He leaped away from the fireball hurtling his way and crushed the flames before they could spread with a powder bomb. Spinning on the spot, Sasuke extinguished more flames and threw another shuriken at Burnscar.
As he anticipated, she returned to the street, sucking in the fire from her battered wall and shaping it into a pair of giant wheels that spun endlessly. With a swing of her left hand, Burnscar fired one of those wheels. Labyrinth's water sprung forth, dousing it completely... only for Burnscar's other wheel to pass the trench entirely.
It extended outward as it crossed the street, yet it was thin enough that Sasuke could shuffle to the side and let the wheel whiff past him.
Burnscar emerged, thrusting a densely packed ball of flame at his chest. It began to expand.
BOMB.
Sasuke jumped, soaring high above the bomb and the buildings. As he descended, a vortex of water slammed into Burnscar, overwhelming her flaming wheel and her bomb, which she hugged out of desperation. He landed on top of the vortex as it engulfed Burnscar, and when it stopped flowing, he touched the street below.
The area around him had changed. White marble covered every edifice, green garlands and golden ribbons crisscrossing its pillars. Labyrinth's statue towered above all, the endless water spilling from its urn gleaming against the setting sun. It had swept away every single one of Burnscar's flames with its otherworldly streams.
However, Burnscar was still standing, steam pouring off her body in waves. White fire screamed from both of her hands, but Sasuke wasn't willing to let her use it. His hand blurred in a series of hand signs that moulded his chakra. On the last sign, he transformed the water around him into a wild wave that swamped Burnscar.
Lightning surged from his hand once again, crashing against the wave in a sea of bolts, instantly capturing Burnscar in its gaping maw. Her limbs seized, and finally, her mouth ripped open, eyes bulging out as she screamed and cried from pure agony.
Once Burnscar collapsed, Sasuke stopped the lightning and approached. Pillars erupted all around them, trapping them both inside a maze that blocked out the sky. With the Sharingan's sight, he found Burnscar and turned her around. He waited for her twitching to subside.
"Who's there?" Burnscar asked, shaken. Frightened.
"It's me," Sasuke said.
"Oh." Burnscar frowned deeply. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you, I just wanted to see Elle. Then her friends got in my way. I didn't want to hurt them, either, but those motherfuckers wouldn't let me see her!"
Her eyes flashed orange for an instant. Even after the light disappeared, they were still bright with emotions of all kinds.
"Sorry."
"What will you do if you get to see your friend?"
Burnscar made an attempt to sit up. He helped her, putting their eyes level. "Leave. I don't want to recruit her. She's one of the only friends I ever made."
"Then you'll return to the Slaughterhouse Nine."
She tried to curl up her soaked fists, but her arms were still numb. "I have to."
Sasuke frowned. "We'll go together."
"Do you want them to kill you?"
Somehow, she sounded concerned.
"Then tell me where their hideouts are."
Burnscar shook her head in short, jerky movements. "It changes everyday. We split up, too, so you can't get us all at once."
He sighed. It was surprisingly cautious for a S-Rank – Class-S, rather – threat to take such measures. And yet, Burnscar walked around with impunity just to see her friend.
"Why don't you want to recruit Elle?"
She scowled. "I'm not going to let them torture her!"
Her eyes flashed orange again. How foolish of him. While he got what he wanted, he hadn't shown proper tact. Sasuke understood her craving for a true bond. He also understood what that desire could drive someone to do. What made it worse was that Burnscar was volatile and desperate, which meant he had to be careful.
"Why did you join them?"
"It's... easier." Her throat hitched, Seconds passed before she found her words. "Whenever there's fire, it's like a switch flips: I feel really powerful, I can protect myself, I don't really get hurt. I just burn things until I get what I want."
A sigh escaped from his lips, misting the air in front of him. Her answer gave him the clarity he needed.
"What if I helped you control your power?"
"Isn't your power electricity?"
Sasuke raised his hand and willed a small flame to appear. It grew until it was as large as his palm, then he let it fade into a bright flame the size of his fingertip, casting both of their faces in its warm, orange glow.
"Your fire is so strange," Burnscar said, enraptured. "It looks like fire, it feels like fire, but I can't make it grow. It's not an electric fire, is it?"
"It isn't."
Burnscar's mouth twisted into a coy smile. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"
Despite the fact he was revealing more of his powers to a serial killer, he smiled. "Help me find the rest of the Slaughterhouse Nine, and I'll help you talk to Elle. I'll help you learn how to control yourself around fire."
"I..." Her smile twisted again, becoming a sad, guilty frown. "None of the doctors could help me. Why do you think you can?"
Sasuke's smile grew tighter. "I've been where you are."
Her eyes grew dark from shame. "Then you know getting better's pretty much impossible."
"You won't recover as long as you're with the Slaughterhouse Nine."
"Do you really think they'll let you help me? I come with you, they'll find us, and we'll both be trapped."
"We'll fight them together."
Her mouth hung open. "You're joking." She scowled when he didn't respond. "I've got a kill order on my head. How are you gonna stop that, huh?"
Sasuke took off his mask and stared at Burnscar. The whites in her eyes grew large, ready to burst.
"I want to help you, and I'll protect you until you prove you won't be a danger to anyone. That's all the explanation anyone will need."
Burnscar suddenly giggled, and those giggles quickly became a full-blown laugh, tinged with an aching melancholy.
"You're crazy. But you know what? That's okay. You gotta be a 'lil crazy to be a cape. Hey, maybe you can join the Nine and protect me there."
He scowled. "Never."
"Thought so. Don't blame you, though: once you're in, you're bound for life."
"According to who?"
"The boss. Jack Slash." She chuckled. "Hey, can you tell me your name?"
"It's Sasuke."
It took her a couple of tries to get it right.
"My name's Miriam, but you can call me Mimi. Nice to meet ya, Sasuke."
In spite of everything, the feeling was mutual.
"Anyways, if you aren't willing to join our crew, then let me go. I can protect myself, and with my power at full blast, I can forget everything except the fire burning all around me."
Sasuke hissed. "Is that really how you want to live?"
"Dunno." Mimi looked up at the canopy, slowly pulling in her fingers. "I wanted to see the beautiful things that Elle could make. I got my wish." She sighed, bowing her head. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, but you're wasting your time. I tried to be good, I really did, and it didn't work. People like me can't be fixed."
She started moving her hand with more urgency, trying to snap her fingers, spark a fire.
"I see."
Sasuke extinguished his flame. In the darkness of the labyrinth, he stabbed Burnscar's heart. She went down quietly.
In death, Mimi found peace.
He loomed over her corpse, pondering where it all went wrong. Some people were beyond saving... but Burnscar wasn't one of them. If only she realized that, before she resigned herself to a half-life with the Slaughterhouse Nine.
If only he'd found the words that would have convinced her.