18. Fixer
Cherish led Riley to a beat-up Corolla without windows, where Burnscar was reading Crime and punishment in the passenger seat, covered in scraps and abrasions.
"Hi Bonesaw," said Burnscar, raising her eyes from the book when Riley opened the door to climb in the backseat. "Whose face are you wearing? It looks nice."
"Thanks, I made it from scratch. But it's not Bonesaw anymore. Call me Riley."
Cherish started the car, headed for Manton's truck. Riley carefully avoided looking at the place next to her in the backseat.
"What happened?" Asked Burnscar. "One day, you were happily riding on Jack's shoulders, and the next, you turned against everyone and killed him."
"Like I said, I'm not Bonesaw anymore."
"Are you like from an alternate universe?"
"Something like that. Where I'm from, I haven't been Bonesaw in a long time."
"Does that mean that the other Bonesaw is in your place now?"
Oh god.
"Nope nope, no switcheroos here. Just good old overwritten consciousness."
Oh god, she hoped. It didn't fit with what she thought had brought her here, but the thought of Bonesaw waking up in her room and all that would ensue threatened to unfurl, and she forcibly shut it down.
"And your new consciousness decided to turn on us?"
"Can you blame me? I had to do what was necessary to survive as myself. Jack knew right away that something was off, and could have maybe convinced me to be Bonesaw again, so I had to kill him."
"And Crawler? He was nice."
"Siberian killed Crawler. He was pretty happy about it. I had to kill Siberian, though. She expected me to be Bonesaw."
"How can you just stop? Won't people come after you for what you've done?"
"Maybe, but I'll do what I can to earn a second chance."
"People like us don't get second chances. Not with a kill order."
"It worked for me last time."
Burnscar frowned, then glanced back at her book.
"You know Shatterbird's reign of literary terror is over, right? No need to prepare for it."
"Culture is what separates us from animals," she said defensively.
Riley was pretty sure she was quoting Shatterbird on that.
She exchanged a look with Cherish, who shrugged, then back to Burnscar, who was squinting at the page with determination.
"Mind if we skip town?" Asked Cherish. "We can always come back later, but I'd rather not sleep in the same postal code area as my brothers."
Riley nodded, and the conversation came to a stop.
With no distractions, it became harder and harder not to look to her left.
Next to her, in the backseat, was a child's booster seat, a stuffed dinosaur abandoned next to it. A label on the dinosaur said it belonged to a certain Nathan. Judging by the fresh blood stains, the child had been in the seat when Shatterbird sang. Arterial spray on the back of the driver's seat suggested he hadn't made it.
Riley swallowed her unease. Neither Cherish nor Burnscar seemed bothered by this, and part of her wanted to be self-conscious over being the odd one out. She had to remind herself that being the odd one out of former members of the Nine wasn't a bad thing.
They arrived at the truck and ditched the car, to her unspoken relief. She opened the passenger door, grabbing her backpack, and opened a vial of biocide to get rid of the knockout gas before letting the others climb in
"I can heal those," she offered, pointing at the damage Burnscar had suffered during her fight with Shatterbird.
Burnscar nodded, and Riley climbed in the backseat, searching for her healing cream.
"It might take out the scars too, though."
"Oh…"
For a moment, Burnscar looked like she didn't know what to say.
"Or I can put it around those."
Burnscar nodded, and Riley put gloves on, then jumped from the backseat with the jar of cream. Burnscar sat sideways on the passenger seat while Riley applied the cream to her face and hands.
"Can I get that too?" Asked Cherish.
"Sure."
"Would that heal the…"
"No."
"But you can remove it, right? Quickly enough?"
"Of course. I can remove it, and then grow new skin in its place."
"Wait, when you say remove it, do you mean remove it?"
"What did you expect?"
"I dunno, laser removal, but faster and better?"
"Can you build a Q-switched laser? Because I can't. I'm not a laser tinker, I'm a surgery tinker. We can do it my way, or you can find someone else.
"Do you have any less invasive way to do it than by stripping off half of my skin?"
"First of all, it's less than fifteen percent. I've done more invasive haircuts. Sec—"
"Scalping someone so doesn't count as a haircut."
"Second," Riley continued like she hadn't been so rudely interrupted, "I don't need to strip the skin off. I can just dissolve it in place."
"Right, that's much better."
"Third, it's a five minutes job. You want it quick, this is the quickest I can do."
"I could settle for a little bit less quick."
"Besides, I'll regrow your skin right away, and I can turn off the pain. It's not even that bad. If you'd gone through the rest of the test, you would have one on the front too."
"What?"
"For Jack's test, he would have had you do all the other tests all over again."
For a second, Cherish looked like the lights had gone out of her.
Riley handed her the cream.
"Here, put this over your scratches and they'll be healed within a minute."
Cherish blinked, then accepted the cream and dutifully covered her face, neck and hands.
"You can remove it once it turns blue."
Soon, her two companions' superficial injuries were healed, and Riley put away the jar of cream.
"The fuel tank's empty," Cherish commented as she went to start the truck.
"No no, that's normal. It doesn't run on gas anymore."
Cherish looked like she was about to ask what it ran on, then wisely decided not to.
Burnscar resumed reading, although she mostly looked like she wanted to set the book on fire. Speaking of fire, was Cherish actively reining in Burnscar's worst instincts, or was she simply in one of her more subdued moods, where she would fear the use of her power until either someone coaxed her into it or that she did drugs to escape the guilt and lower her inhibitions?
Burnscar hadn't wanted to join the Nine. When they cornered her, she'd had the choice to join or die, and had chosen the former.
Riley experimentally flipped Burnscar's switch, rendering her immune to Cherish's power.
Cherish shot her an annoyed look. Burnscar was still engrossed in her book. The latter then, or Cherish's influence was subtle enough not to be noticed.
They arrived at a crossroad, where they could head West on the Interstate, South-East back to Shelburne, or take a smaller road headed South.
"Go South," said Riley.
"You sure? If we go West, we'll find a city before sundown."
"That's why your brothers will assume we went West. Better to stick to back roads and avoid being noticed. Plus, we might be able to track Shatterbird if she kept going South."
"Alright."
"What happens if we find Shatterbird?" Asked Burnscar, glancing back at Riley with a careful look.
It was a tricky question, given the friendship between Shatterbird and Burnscar. Riley glanced at Cherish, whose eyes remained firmly on the road, determined not to help.
"We'll stop her from remaking the Nine and coming after us."
"You mean kill her." The tone was accusatory.
"Not necessarily." Riley improvised. The look Cherish shot her made it clear she knew Riley hadn't even considered any alternatives. Riley ignored her and continued.
"We could simply remove her power, render her harmless."
"And unable to defend herself if someone came after her because of the kill order," countered Burnscar.
"The authorities probably wouldn't execute her if she was powerless," speculated Riley. "They would likely send her to prison instead. She might get the death penalty somewhere down the line, but I doubt heroes would simply execute her themselves if they knew she didn't have her power anymore."
"Do you think she would get a second chance?"
"I don't think she would want one. She actually likes what the Nine were doing."
"So, wanting a second chance is necessary to getting one?"
"Wanting to change is, I think."
Burnscar chewed on her lip.
"How does one go from wanting a second chance to actually getting it? Who decides that?"
"Depends. In my case, I surrendered to the authorities and helped in a time of crisis, so they decided to keep me around under heavy supervision. Others too."
Burnscar nodded, a pensive look on her face, then turned back to her book.
The sun was long gone by the time they stopped at a secluded, out of season ski cabin.
"Dibs on the master bedroom," said Cherish as soon as she got out of the truck to pick the lock.
Burnscar gave a hand to Riley to lug her stuff inside, her minions following behind.
The cabin was rustic in appearance, made from logs, but the inside was modern and cozy. The living room held a wood stove in the corner adjacent to the kitchen, with leather couches on either side, and a large TV and sound system on the wall across. Wooden shelves beneath held an impressive collection of CDs, DVDs and board games.
Upstairs, there were two bedrooms and a bathroom. The second bedroom had two twin beds, each with a wooden trunk by the foot and a dresser serving as a bedside table.
"Do you mind sharing?" Riley asked Burnscar. "I can always sleep on the couch."
"No, it's fine. At least we each get our own bed this time."
The Nine's lifestyle meant that more often than not, they had to share one or two beds seven ways (Mannequin didn't sleep, and Crawler didn't fit in a bed). She'd learned to sleep this way, and it was normal then, so much that she had to get used to sleeping on her own in the pocket dimension, and later once she got her own room at the Wardens' headquarter. Now, the prospect of sleeping in the same room as someone else felt strange.
She put down her backpack and a box of spare components, and Burnscar set Riley's travel bag next to the bed before moving her attention to the trunks. They appeared to contain spare beddings and covers. Burnscar began methodically opening the dresser's drawers to inspect their content, pulling out clothes and holding them in front of her to get an idea of the fit. Looting was something of a tradition every time they arrived at a new hideout.
Compared to their other crimes, it seemed mostly harmless, and it wasn't like Riley hadn't engaged in it already. She quickly joined in.
The room they were squatting in appeared to belong to two teenage girls. There wasn't much, mostly heavy pullovers and a few pants and socks, but they fit better than the ones she had taken from the cabin where she had stayed with Benny.
Speaking of Benny, she wondered how he was doing. Hopefully he'd gone back to his normal life without too much lingering trauma.
"What happened to Murder Rat?" Burnscar asked while smoothing a forest green sweater against herself. Actually, Riley noticed, most of her selection was in tones of green or blue, rather than her usual red.
"The essential bits are in my backpack. I'm going to give Mouse Protector and Ravager new bodies."
"So, you really meant it when you said you wanted a second chance?"
"Yeah."
"Think I could get a second chance?"
Riley took a moment to look at Burnscar, whose eyes were cast down on the sweater, carefully avoiding hers.
"Sure."
Burnscar smiled sadly, like she didn't believe her.
"Come on," Riley told her, "let's see if there's some food around. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
"I could eat," Burnscar agreed.
They went downstairs and began rummaging through the pantry, taking inventory.
"We'll have to do a grocery run if we're going to stay here for a while, but there's enough dry and canned food for a week or so."
"I can make pasta for tonight," Burnscar offered, and Riley didn't have the heart to remind her that her cooking was usually inedible.
"Sure," she said instead, handing Burnscar a jar of sauce and a box of spaghetti.
Cherish joined them while Burnscar was filling a pot with water.
"Mind taking care of my tattoo in the meantime? I'd like it gone ASAP."
"Even if I need to dissolve the skin? I was thinking about it, and I could also make parasitic worms that would burrow under your epidermis and eat the ink —"
"The first option's fine. You can turn off the pain anyway, right?"
"Right. Let me just get my stuff."
As she skipped to her room, she had to examine her own eagerness to help. She could sympathize with Burnscar, but Cherish had joined the Nine of her own free will. Despite being a misguided fool, Cherish fell in the same category as Shatterbird: someone who wouldn't want a second chance, because she actually enjoyed what she did.
Sure, they were allies for now, but what about once Mannequin and Shatterbird were dealt with? What would keep Cherish behaving then? Was it now her job to keep her in line? To impose her own rules?
Riley wasn't blind. Cherish wanted to exploit her future knowledge for her own gains and would likely stick around until she either got bored or got what she wanted.
At the same time, Cherish wasn't wrong when she said that the tattoo, and the tests she had gone through, were part of the Nine's legacy that Riley wanted to erase.
It was true, but no, that wasn't why she was helping.
Was it the loneliness speaking?
Closer.
She'd been craving companionship since releasing Benny, since losing Siberian, and even before coming back. Since her surrender. Since the pocket dimension.
Since realizing that she could be Riley and not just Bonesaw, drawing an invisible divide with the rest of the Nine.
She didn't just want company. She craved people who understood just how fucked up the world was, how fucked up she was, and didn't turn away.
She'd found it in Valkyrie and Jamie, but their visits were always short and supervised. Everything was controlled, measured, and she always ended the day alone in her room, locked from the outside.
Since coming back, the freedom to be on her own was a thrill, but the freedom to be with other people who understood her in a way only monsters could was even greater.
Cherish was a fool, but she knew Riley was from the future, and there was no pretense to keep up in front of her.
She could be herself, whatever that meant. Did she even know how to be? She was eager to find out.
She went downstairs with her supplies, and was pleased to see that Burnscar appeared to be a better cook when she wasn't under the active influence of her power.
Under the sink, she found a box of large garbage bags, and took a few to use as protection, laying them down on the living room floor. Cherish removed her shirt, and laid face down on top of the plastic bags, resting her head on her folded arms.
After turning off the pain, Riley was ready to start.
Using a spray bottle, she sprayed the surface of the tattoo with an enzyme that would liquefy the epidermis, then the dermis where the ink was.
The skin fizzed and dissolved neatly, exposing the subcutaneous layer and blood vessels.
Riley then applied a second spray to the raw surface, this one creating a thick pink foam. By the time Burnscar's water was boiling, the foam had done its job, and Riley methodically wiped it off with a towel.
"There, all done."
Cherish twisted around to look at the new skin on her back.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
She rose to her feet, unabashed in her nudity, and went straight to the bathroom, presumably to look at herself in the mirror. Riley gathered the garbage bags with the liquefied skin and threw them away.
"It was nice of you to do that," said Burnscar, setting down two bowls of pasta on the table, followed by a third.
"I try."
"I guess I'm still used to Bonesaw being so… Bonesaw."
She sat down in front of one of the bowls, and Riley did the same.
"You said I could maybe have a second chance too."
"I did."
"My power makes it difficult to stay in control… Cherie helped with that, but it's not perfect."
Riley nodded.
"What do you want?"
"I want… I want not to be a monster. I want to be able to be around an open flame without losing it. I want a second chance too. Cherie said that you disabled your power?"
"Temporarily, to counter Jack's."
"Can you disable mine?"
"I can."
"I just… Just for a little bit. I want to see what it's like, being me for a change."
"I get it. More than you think."
"I never wanted…"
"I know."
Burnscar swallowed, hesitating before speaking again.
"Can you make it so I don't have to drink blood like Cherie?"
Riley kept her expression solemn despite the reminder of Siberian's demise.
"Of course."
"And I was thinking about what you said, about the cream that could remove my scars. If I'm starting over as Mimi, then I want them gone too."
Riley nodded.
Cherish joined them, eyes red and puffy like she had cried, and sat down without a word.
"Want to watch a movie after this?" Asked Mimi. "We can make popcorn."
"Sure," Riley said as Cherish nodded mutely.
They picked a cheesy horror movie, laughing at the poor special effects and jump scares.
This is nice, Riley thought to herself as Mimi switched DVDs for the sequel.