Note: I am fire. Burn those who dare to care for me. (also interlude next chapter)

-The Light of Brockton Bay-

- Velocity's POV

I was patrolling the docks when the call came through from headquarters. The merchants were doing a jailbreak at the PRT-owned jailhouse. The alarm had been sounded half a minute ago and was confirmed by Vista, who was currently working the console. Miss Militia was in the PRT headquarters when the attack started, so she was already on scene. I could make it there in a minute, but the rest of the protectorate heroes are far enough away that no other backup will arrive for quite a few more minutes. Maybe Armsmaster could get there in 5 with his Armscycle, but that's stretching it.

Arriving at the fight, I find another one of Squealer's killdozers crashed through the side of the jail. PRT troopers in standard PRT riot gear have already started their counter assault against the tide of merchants. Squealer and Skidmark are nowhere to be seen; their probably breaking Mush out of prison; there isn't a real reason for them to do this other than that. Miss Militia is in the backlines, launching endless amounts of beanbags.

It may surprise people to hear, but I suck at large fighting groups. I can quite easily handle a small group of non-parahumans, but when it gets to larger groups, I start to run into issues. I have to stop using my breaker state to deal any significant damage to people. Because my speed comes at the cost of affecting the world less as I speed up, my punches are like an 8-year-old's when using my power. Normally I can flick it on and off against small groups as a hit-and-run strategy, but in the chaos of a large battle, every second I don't have my power on is a risk.

Normally I get designated as a more supportive hero in these situations. Picking off stragglers, quickly manoeuvring around the battlefield to save people, and moving to places that need immediate support instead of fighting the large group directly. Again, it sucks, but if I go inside the moshpit of a fight, I will get knocked out most of the time. Besides, saving civilians and dragging wounded PRT officers away from harm is still a worthwhile endeavour.

I run up to Miss Militia's side of the battle to act as a front guard for her. The PRT troops in front of her were being overwhelmed; most of the troops were, to be honest. That's what fighting the merchants is like—an endless hoard of crackheads. About a minute into the fight, I'm faced up against a trio of merchants when I see someone coming with my enhanced perception speed. A girl with a grey face mask and a very burnt and frayed-looking outfit was running up behind these 3.

The protectorate already had a meeting discussing the new cape Da'at during the last weekly meeting. They hadn't talked much about her since they didn't have enough info about her powers yet. Da'at had claimed she could become different versions of herself. During a meeting between Panacea, Glory Girl, Clockblocker, Gallant, and herself. She clarified further that she can change into alternate versions of herself from other worlds where she had made different choices.

Tentatively, we had listed her as a Trump 4, Breaker 2, Changer 2. She had 3 known breaker forms: the first had a minor master/shaker effect of calming nearby people slightly, the second had some kind of tinkertech cannon, and the third may have some kind of combat thinker power. We don't know if she's going to get any more breaker forms, so until we know more, she gets that classification.

Da'at had snuck up behind the 3 merchants I was fighting and brought out her sword. She swiftly used its pommel to knockout one of them from behind. From there, we manage to quickly knockout the other 2 merchants before she turns to us to speak. I leave Miss Militia to handle her because I'm needed elsewhere in the fight.

As the fight continues, I note that Da'at is getting angrier by the second, and her cloak is now starting to glow a dull red. 'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?' I then notice that Mush is out of prison. He attacks Da'at before taunting her. Mush escaping must have been a signal to retreat because some of the merchants are starting to scatter. Inbetween my breaker state flicks, I see Da'at slowly go from a dull red to a brighter red, covering more of her clothes.

The merchants are almost ready to start their full retreat when I see Skidmark layering his acceleration fields. My blood chills when I notice he's focused on Da'at. He's giving her a parting gift for capturing Mush. Miss Militia recognizes the danger Da'at's in. She yells "Da'at!" and attempts to tackle the girl out of the way of the speeding piece of concrete Skidmark placed in his field. Miss Militia is a bit to slow; I see her take the piece of concrete straight in the back.

The 2 get thrown back and tumble to the ground. Da'at shoves Miss Militia off and gets up with an amount of speed that is surprising for someone who just took a blow like that, even if it was second-hand. Miss Militia is in rough shape and will probably need Panacea's help soon with her injuries. Who I'm mostly focused on, however, is Da'at. She's looking over Miss Militia in a panic. Da'at, after her panic, proceeds to look up at the merchant capes. That's when she started to change.

The very air around her cracked and then shattered like glass in a similar manner to how Vista's power looks. When the weird visual effect ended, she looked completely different. Her hair was now white, with the lower half transitioning into flames mimicking the general shape of hair. Her cloak was now made of the same fire, and her pants were pitch black with fires blazing on the edges. Da'at's skin was burnt to a charcoal black, and parts of her body had burnt bones exposed. I couldn't see her eyes as fire covered the top part of her face, blocking it from view.

This entire time she had been slowly walking towards the merchants, and Miss Militia had already been dragged away by a frightened PRT officer. Da'at unsheathed her sword, which was now aflame and black with cracks of white hot magma spread across the blade. She proceeded to speak with a distorted voice that I could feel hatred laced into. "I will leave nothing, except for ashes in the wind."

I was about 20 feet away, and even I could feel the heat washing over me; it was almost enough to start burning. The merchants who were a few feet closer had started running away with some first and second degree burns; their clothes would have probably ignited if they were any closer. I was still stunned by the sudden transformation, but that quickly faded as she started to move.

Most of the non-cape merchants had left; Skidmark, Squaler, and Mush have gotten into the kill dozer. As they start the engine, Da'at doesn't yell, but her voice is loud all the same. "Feel the heat one last time... let me savour the light you've taken from many." Da'at swings her sword down onto the road, and a fissure filled with flame cracks the road open and shoots toward the tinkertech vehicle.

This is escalating too far, but I can't intervene; she's already as hot as a ramped-up Lung. I shout into the mic attached to my suit. "To all PRT personnel. Miss Militia is down and needs medical assistance. Da'at's in a breaker form we haven't seen yet. She is currently emitting heat similar to a ramped-up Lung and seems to have some form of pyrokinesis. She doesn't sound mentally stable and may start using lethal attacks. The current breaker form is partially aflame, burnt, and skeletal."

As I was talking, the fissure hit in front of the killdozer and exploded, tearing up the road and knocking the killdozer back. I was forced to back up again as the heat got unbearable. The killdozer quickly swivled to move in the other direction. Squealer looked terrified, and Skidmark was just shouting obscenities.

I really hope this doesn't end badly.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-

- Squealer's POV

This was supposed to be an easy fucking job. The bitch Da'at, what a stupid fucking name, had a fight with Mush, and he got put behind bars. Skids had planned a jailbreak to get him out, and it was supposed to be perfect. We knew where to ram my latest baby into to break open his cell. We had planned to do it when only a few of the PRT assholes were around. Overall, a perfectly executed breakout. Sure, a few of our men would get arrested, but there's always more of em.

What we hadn't planned for was Da'at happening to be around to fight. It shouldn't have been that bad, though. Her power seemed kind of shit; she could only make some fancy-pants suit, a sword, and some weird-looking cannon. She could barely fight with Mush, and even I know Mush is a pushover. Skids had planned to send her to the hospital as we left as a 'goodbye gift.' Only for Miss Militia to block the shot.

Again, this should of all been okay, until she transformed into that. What the fuck even is that? She looks like a walking corpse lit on fire. And then she slams her sword down, making the road in front of her explode and nearly toppling my ride. When the fuck did Lung have a daughter? The thing that really got me was her voice. I could feel it; if I were in front of her, she would burn me to a crisp and smile like fucking Burnscar.

"Get us the fuck out of here, you shitstain!" Skid yells at me.

"I'm fucking trying; you try driving something this big." I'm facing away from the blown-up road, and as I start to put on the gas, the firebitch speaks and swings her sword again, now only 25 feet away. "The fire gives me the warmth to survive... without it I will freeze."

This time the sword slash shoots a wave of flame over 25 feet away. I can feel my skin burning from the heat, even with the windows up. The front of the car is nearly wrecked from just two fucking hits. I floor the gas while ignoring Skidmark throwing insults. Skids rolls down his window and pulls out a sheet of metal to use his power on. "Take this you fucking cumstain Lung whore!" Skids shoots a ball of scrap metal from the sheet he has his power on.

Only for Ms. Inferno to bat it away with the flat side of her sword like its a baseball. We should be long gone, but the front is fucked up, and the firecrazed hero is attempting to keep up with us by making small explosions under her feet. That's when she pulls out the cannon from before. Only now the match struck through the center is lit, and the metal is glowing red hot. "BURN TO ASHES."

The cannon fires a fucking beam of fire at our rear. The entire backside of our ride explodes. The tank flips over forward in the air and lands upside down. I'm barely awake, and I feel like I'm having the worst hangover in months. Skids is unconscious; Mush is groaning but alive. I pull out Skids from his passenger seat and drag him outside the now-flaming wreck. I barely have enough energy to move. I can hear someone walking towards us.

It looks like Da'cunt is all out of juice from that last attack. It doesn't feel nearly as hot being close to her, and all the fire that was on her body is gone. Her face is a completely blackened bone, with about half of her skull covered in burnt flesh. She then does something that somehow makes my blood freeze even though I was close to burning to death a minute ago. Da'at, now only a few feet away, draws her sword.

'Oh Scion, she's going to kill us.' Quick, fucking think Sherrel. "W-Wait d-don't k-k-kill us. You'll go t-to j-j-jail." I stutter at the worst fucking time. I mean, who wouldn't stutter here? The grim reaper straight from the firey pits of hell is looking for her killing blow.

Da'at stops in her tracks now, just 5 feet away. She stares for a solid 20 seconds before she drops her sword, puts both hands on her head, and grasps her exposed skull tightly. Da'at shakes her head once like she's flicking off a piece of dirt, then finally stops moving. "No, I won't." Da'at glows a bright white that fades after a few seconds. Da'at now stands in front of me wearing the same grey clothing from before becoming that monster.

'Why is there a fucking matchstick in her mouth?' Is my last thought before I faint from exhaustion.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-

- Taylor's POV

I'm standing in front of Squealer and Skidmark. It takes a second to fully come to my senses. Acting quickly, I rush into the wrecked tinkertech vehicle and find Mush unconscious. I pull all 3 of the capes away from the flaming wreckage. I make sure they don't have any life-threatening wounds

I'm shaken at what I just did. 'I was genuinely about to kill them.' If I hadn't snapped out of whatever that was, I would have decapitated the 3 right then and there.

I honestly couldn't care less if they died. I wouldn't choose to kill someone, as its the wrong thing to do, but their deaths in general would be a positive for me.

No, the reason I'm shaken is that agency over my body was taken. When I was transformed into that, it was like my thoughts had become completely suppressed. I could only think about burning the merchant capes for hurting Miss Militia, one of the only people I've had be kind to me. I was furious, and lighting them ablaze was the only thing I could think of to make me feel better.

I want to be a hero, and killing people would go against that value. I don't think I'm going to go off the deep end again any time soon. I'm usually pretty good with keeping my emotions in line. Mush escaping and Miss Militia getting hurt just tipped me over the limit. Other than my dad or friends getting hurt, I don't think there is anything that can set me off like that again.

I also feel a lot more controlled after that outburst. It might be to early to tell, but I can still feel Scorched Girl's influence, and it's weaker now. I also have this weird match in my mouth. I can't seem to spit it out, and if I open my mouth, it doesn't fall out. It's like it magically stays on the right side of my bottom lip no matter what.

I put on my Seven Association identity. The PRT's most likely action is to temporarily detain me for questioning. Looking back at the fight, I didn't do anything too illegal. I injured some people, but that's expected; I acted threatening and made comment's about burning the merchants. Maybe a charge for making death threats, but it's a cape battle, so probably no charge there. Perhaps destruction of property, but cape fights always get messy, and if Glory Girl gets away with this amount of damage times 5, then they shouldn't be to angry.

Tensions are high right now, and I could just walk away and let things settle down. I can call them tomorrow morning. However, they may take me running away the wrong way. The best thing to do would be to talk to the PRT and try to not be detained for questioning. I take the zipties in my pocket and tie them around the trio's hands.

Off in the distance, I can hear a pair of vehicles roaring towards me. It takes a minute, but eventually Armsmaster pulls up on his Armscycle, and a PRT van spits out a dozen PRT troopers along with Assault and Battery. The PRT troopers were warily looking at the scene before Assault said something to them, causing them to go off and start setting a perimeter. Armsmaster is the first to approach me. I have read about him online, and I know his type. Not good with people skills and straight to the point to a fault. When I worked in Seven Association, I had to work with a few of these types; it's easy once you get the hang of it.

Armsmaster approaches me first. "Da'at."

"Armsmaster."

He looks me once over. "Have you calmed down?"

"Yes, I have."

He gives a simple nod. "Are Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush alive?"

"Yes, they have some injuries but should survive, even without Panacea."

I swear he gave a slight smile before giving a minor frown. "Velocity had said you were threatening to kill them."

That one makes me wince a bit. "My power can sometimes compel me to say things I would not normally say."

His frown fades. "You should make sure to not say things like that in the future. Other capes may use that as justification for lethal force."

"Thank you for your guidance." I say sincerely.

Armsmaster stays quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Headquarters has told me that you haven't broken any laws; your guiltiness for the property damage on the road is mostly nullified as the road was already partly destroyed by Squealers tinkertech vehicle and would have to be repaired anyways. Even without that, it is still within a justifiable level for this situation in my opinion and the PRT's guidelines. I would have to check the total cost later to know for sure."

Assault is watching this take place; he looks completely flabbergasted and is staring at Armsmaster as if hes from another planet. Is it really that surprising that I know how to talk to people like Armsmaster?

"I would like it if you stayed to answer questions on what happened."

I give my head a nod. "If we could do it right now, that would be preferable. I'm tired after this fight and would like to get home soon."

"That would be agreeable."

I give my recount of the fight. I don't add in what I was feeling during my breakdown. Everything from when I heard the initial boom to the moment they arrived here.

When I finish my story, Armsmaster speaks up. "I would recommend you go into the wards, but you have already booked your powertesting and are most likely going to discuss the wards in more detail then."

Armsmaster gives me one final look. "You're free to leave anytime you want."

"Thank you. I'm also happy to be working with you." I hold out my hand. Armsmaster takes a look at it for a brief moment before accepting my handshake.

"One last thing, is Miss Militia okay? She took the blow for me from Skidmark, and she wasn't looking good." Armsmaster actually gave a proper small smile this time. "Yes, Panacea is due to arrive soon."

I hung around a bit longer and talked to Assault and Battery. Assault jokingly accused me of mastering Armsmaster because of how well that interaction went. I think I saw him die a little when I told him he just needed better people skills and to learn a thing from Armsmaster. Seeing that everything is in order, I start to head home.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-

Home was the same as always. Dad makes dinner, and we talk a little bit. We have been talking more this recent week. It's a little hard to find subjects to talk about, especially since I'm no longer in school. We still manage to find stuff about. I have been thinking about telling him I'm a cape. I know it's not something I can hide forever from him, and if he were to blow up, it would be better that I told him rather than he find out.

After dinner, I excitedly get ready for bed. I think I finally have enough to dive in for a new identity today. I still feel conflicted about how my Scorched Girl breakdown went. I would rather not have something like that happen again. But there is an even stronger feeling that I shouldn't stop using my power because of that. I know deep down I could have controlled it better.

Slipping into The Otherside is significantly easier compared to when I first got my powers, just a little over a week ago. At first it would take a few minutes, as if I were trying to accidentally find the place. Even in this short amount of time, it takes a couple of seconds max.

The Otherside is a lot more furnished now. The bench I made is still there, but it now has a trash can and a streetlight next to it. I haven't figured out how electricity works with making things, so the lamp is off. It looks cool, though.

Approaching the edge of the river, I know I have enough light for a dive. I take a running start before giving a dive that local judges would rate a 5 out of 10. I never really noticed how calm it is being under the water; the only part that wasn't was the jarring nature of breathing water.

I swim down without caring for the stars floating above. I had the thought that maybe the reason I empty myself of light every time is because I swim down as far as I can go, but wouldn't that mean the best stuff is deeper? Maybe I'll try taking a star closer to the surface next time.

Finally reaching the point where I cannot go much further, I grab the star that is closest to me. I pull it up to the surface with great effort. I find it weird how the stars get harder to pull as you get closer; if it were like a magnet, that means that something above is repulsing it rather than something below pulling it.

Yanking it free from the river, I pant on the shoreline. Bringing it up to my eyes, I look and see what's contained inside. The first thing I notice is the lack of colour everywhere; everything is in sepia tone. I have a classy suit and dress pants, with a fancy-looking top hat. My hands are made of metal, and a couple gears and metal sheets surround the outside of my head. In my hands is a strange pickaxe with various cylinders and vials on it

I'm running fast, several times faster than a human should be able to run. I continue running until I catch up with someone I've obviously been chasing. He's a little younger than me and looks terrified for his life. I give him a small smirk and taunt him in a mocking voice. "Shouldn't have played with unauthorized toys, kid."

I slam the pickaxe into him, but instead of impaling him, it instead sits just half an inch away from his skin. The boy freezes in place as various things on the pickaxe begin to move and vials are slowly filled. That was when I finally blacked out and had a good night's rest.