Chapter 20
TWENTY
LEO
“About damn time you both showed up!” Reed was shouting at us before we could even assess what was happening.
Everything was spinning, and it wasn’t from the alcohol.
My system had burned that off as soon as my temperature started to rise.
I’d almost crossed a line—a hard line that had been drawn for a very long time.
If Reed hadn’t called, I was sure I would have acted on it, those fucking thoughts that always crept in when Alex was around.
Cooking together, being vulnerable… that kind of life wasn’t meant for me.
She leaned into it; she didn’t push me away when I wanted to pull her in.
That was the dangerous part. I hadn’t realized what was happening—but Joon had been right.
I let myself be vulnerable with her, and the moment I did, Alex got to fixing.
The way she comforted me, how she brought me into her home without a second thought.
Alex was letting me in, and the moment I lost control, her guard wouldn’t be up this time.
She wouldn’t see me as a threat, or be prepared to run from my flames.
I’m a fucking idiot.
“A little bit of focus would be fucking awesome, right now!” Reed shouted again, and I snapped back into reality.
Everything was on fire, and for once, it wasn’t my fault.
The buildings were already blown up when we arrived.
Heroes scattered around us, and it looked like the VIA had deployed everyone in the vicinity.
Helicopters flew overhead — news stations and Black Hawks — swirling together with their bright lights that only added more confusion to the scene.
Suits flashed by—some carting away the wounded, others locked in battle with Villains wearing those fucking jackets.
Thorn covered vines crawled up the buildings around us, bursts of lightning shot through the streets, and blood mixed with water as it ran into the sewer drains.
It was an all out turf war between Variants, and Nightmyre was the battleground.
“What is this?” Alex breathed next to me, her eyes flitting to every angle, unsure where to even begin.
The entire block was engulfed in chaos; she shouldn’t have been here.
Not because she was weak—I was far past that.
I hadn’t seen anything like this in years.
The closest I could think of was when Joon and I had been deployed to Iran on an emergency ‘peace mission’.
Variants with teleportation abilities had managed to bring the fight away from any civilians, then.
There weren’t buildings in the middle of the desert, no innocents to worry about while crimson soaked into sand. This was fucking Armageddon.
But it was too late; she was in the middle of it now, and I had to swallow everything building inside me before I started barking orders.
“WildGuard!” I called, and Reed snapped his head to the side. “Stay with her and keep a shield up!”
He nodded back before throwing up a hand, and I watched as Alex went rigid, surely feeling the pressure of his ability.
“Do what you can,” I breathed, trying not to let my eyes hover on her, trying not to let the fear take hold. “Stay with him, make sure you’re in range, alright?”
Alex’s eyes went wide before she nodded. “Okay… be careful.”
I wanted to hold her face in my hands, tell her everything would be fine. But I could only nod back before running off—the best way to keep her safe was to end this quickly, make sure she stayed away from me. Within seconds of getting out of range, I burst into flames.
An inferno lit up the night, a pyre to signal an incoming funeral.
There was no back and forth, no attempt to gain information before diving in. That was Alex’s expertise, and the way Joon preferred to do things, too. I’d never been good at restraint, and I was beyond my limit. Everyone with that damned bone emblem would burn.
A sea opened up for me. Heroes darted to the edges of the street, abandoning their fights and leaving Splinter members frozen with confusion.
By the time they realized who the Heroes were running from, it was too late.
One tried to come at me, another Variant wearing that fucking jacket, and his jaw unhinged like a snake.
It was grotesque; rows of sharp teeth were revealed as his lips pulled back, and a long tongue darted for me.
“Disgusting,” I snarled as I caught it in my fist.
He squealed as my flames started to devour him. They ran up the length of his tongue before charging down his throat. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever burned someone from the inside out before. The slimy appendage turned to ash in my fist, just before the rest of his body roared with orange and yellow.
The screams ended quickly—I wasn’t planning on saving anyone today.
Heroes preferred justice; they wanted to be seen as the good guys. The VIA took me in for one reason; I was born to be a Villain, and they shaped me into a Hero that they could control. Headlines didn’t matter, as long as I got the job done.
So I kept going, taking down anyone who had the courage to approach me.
The rest? Well, they were incinerated, too.
My mask worked double time as it tried to push more oxygen into me.
It only fueled my flames. Heroes scattered, changing course now that I was on the playing field.
They went to rescue any civilians left behind and focused on the Splinter members that tried to retreat.
I didn’t mind; it was easier if no one got in my way.
It wasn’t until coolant pushed into me for a third time that I started to feel it; the adrenaline wearing off, and anxiety starting to kick in again.
I chanced frantic looks behind me to make sure Reed and Alex were still standing.
They had their own small pile of bodies surrounding them.
I could see the moment Alex had them, the way they stood with blank gazes as her face went slack, before Reed took them out.
This needs to end.
I wasn’t sure how long she’d last; it wasn’t a judgement, or a critique of her abilities.
Not anymore. It was the sheer number of our opponents, the way they spilled into the streets like cockroaches.
Even I was feeling it, that lag in my ability as I kept pushing through.
The distraction made me pay the price, though, as an explosion hit me from the side.
I flew across the pavement, hitting the ground as something snapped in my ribs.
Pain splintered through my chest, around to my back, and made my legs go numb.
My fire extinguished before igniting again.
Something flashed in my vision, dark and quick, so fast I couldn’t catch it until it was right in front of me.
A Villain with bandages across his face stood over me; a warped, crazed smile split through the white layers that spanned over his nose and mouth, all the way down his neck.
White hair sat beneath a black hood, and his dark eyes squinted as he gazed at me.
“Cinder,” he purred. “You’re looking rough. I expected more from a first class.”
I stood swaying as my head went light. Did I hit it on the way down?
He disappeared, and I thought I’d blacked out before he appeared again, his fist crashing into my face. My mask shattered, crushing against my nose as blood spewed from my mouth.
“No fun,” he gave a childish wine. “I thought you’d put up more of a fight.”
Flames pushed out around me, a sad attempt at a barrier as I turned, trying to catch him, to just fucking see him. He was fast—too fast, more than Joon had ever been. He was flashing in and out of reality. Everywhere I turned, he would disappear again.
A hand settled on my shoulder, and I jerked back.
How can he touch me?
My fire still burned wild, still pushed heat into the night air like I was a living torch. He shouldn’t have been able to do that.
“I should introduce myself,” he hummed before letting out a mad laugh. “I don’t want to be rude, you know? Call me Glitch.”
A kick came at my head, and I barely dodged it. But he caught me when I went low, slamming a fist into my gut that took away all of the air in my lungs.
“Now, here’s the thing,” he explained, as if the world wasn’t burning around us, not needing to catch his breath while I wheezed.
“You’ve been digging into things you shouldn’t, and that’s causing a bit of a problem.
We heard about the Crowns Club—let me tell ya, my boss was pissed.
He wasn’t planning to let me come play yet, but I do have to thank you. ”
I shoved out my hand, sending a stream of fire his way. He dodged before my flames even erupted.
“I’ve been locked up for way too long.” His elbow connected with my jaw and sent me sprawling again. “You gotta stretch your legs once in a while, or it’ll drive you crazy. I’m sure you understand.”
Glitch backed up, finally standing still as I staggered to my feet.
A utility belt sat around his waist, and he reached into a satchel before pulling out a handful of multicolored pellets.
He threw them out, and mini explosions that looked like fireworks littered the ground.
I burned away the bulk of them, but still fell on my ass from the force. He was playing with me—I was his toy.
I’d never felt so weak.
He was on me again, a boot connecting with my face. I tasted asphalt in my mouth, and smoke poured out of me as the watch on my wrist flared, beeping frantically. My head went dizzy as the heat built with my rage, consuming me from the inside out.
I have to do it.
When he waltzed up to me again, standing over me with that crazed grin, a harsh ringing sounded in my ears. The world tilted, and my flames started to turn a shade of blue I hadn’t seen before.
I don’t have a choice.
“Oh?” He cocked his head with a pout. “That looks… hot.”