Todd and I joined Clint up front when we reached the Pentagon.
Fires lit up the area around it, and people who were using my siphoned power were getting closer and closer. They were making FBI and CIA agents roasted where they stood. This casualty number was going to be the highest yet.
Well, not if we stopped this.
We circled the battle zone, trying to get the army distracted. Some of them noticed us and shot fireballs, determined to down the jet. I ended up falling sideways when Clint veered the jet out of the fire paths.
"You're gonna have to jump out!" Clint said.
"Are you crazy?!" Todd exclaimed.
I pulled myself to my feet, dragging Todd back to the back of the jet. "Arm yourself, Todd. This isn't playtime."
"Who are you and where's Kiara?" he teased half-heartedly.
"Kind of wish I had a proper outfit for this." I looked down at the black attire I had been switched into thanks to Kasey. Another reason why I wanted to fry her. "This'll have to do."
In the next minute, Clint lowered the jet's hatch down, and the noises floated up to our ears. I grabbed Todd's wrist, carefully inching us down. Todd jumped back when a fireball came our way, but, as though it was nothing, I sucked the fire into a thin line and made it disappear into my palm. The warmth spread through my veins.
"Follow my lead, and don't do anything stupid," I ordered. "You're going to have to trust me on this."
"Trust you on what?"
I yanked Todd forward with me as we dove off the jet. Surprisingly, he didn't scream. I helped break our fall in the midst of chaos, and Todd did a roll away from me, turning up on his knees, firing at the enemy.
Kia! Long time no see! I heard Tony in my head. Where the hell have you been?
Talk later. Kick ass first.
I left Todd, charging my way into battle. I threw a warning shot to grab some attention for myself. I ducked on instinct at gunfire around me. I searched the mass of people for Kasey or Ethan, or even Seth if he was stupid enough to be present for this.
Are any inside? I asked Tony.
If they are, Capsicle and Romanoff are dealing with them. I'm out here for moral support for our government. And, you know, taking out the bad guys.
Well, now you've got Todd and Clint. Where's Bruce?
He wanted to sit it out. Not risk more lives, you know?
I thought about the Hulk and the times I'd seen him in action. I could understand why Bruce would want to stay away. If the threat was much larger, I'd bet he would've brought the Hulk to the fight. I'm heading inside to help out Steve and Tasha.
I threw a continuous stream of fire at the enemy. Some of them jumped back, others cried in pain. Some actually threw their own fire back at me, which I either dodged or stole for my own purposes. The army was closing in, and Tony shot at them from above. Todd was a bit ahead of me, having taken cover by an abandoned car. The transformation in him briefly startled me.
We've got it, Girl on Fire. Go help the dynamic duo.
Inhaling deeply, I turned on my heel, running past all forms of police and government to make my way inside the Pentagon. I knew a few fire wielders had broken in judging by how flames licked at a broken entrance. I jumped in, and I let my senses take over.
At gunfire, I ran for it without a second thought.
As I rounded a corner, I pulled myself back in order to avoid stray bullets. I peeked around to see two professionally dressed humans firing at an enhanced person a few feet away from me. I charged behind them, taking the person out from behind. I crushed us both to the floor, and we wrestled. It wasn't Ethan, Kasey, or Seth, but they still weren't friendly. Her lips pulled back over her teeth, and she had a fiery hand about to plunge for my heart.
I started when I got sprayed with bits of her blood. She keeled over backwards, landing as a thump on the tile flooring. I got on my elbows.
"Stay on the floor! Hands on your head!" barked a voice.
"Hey, hey!" I shouted. "I'm on your side! Did you not just see that?!" I rolled onto my stomach as the two humans moved in. They allowed me to get on my knees. "Listen to me, I'm part of the Avengers. You might know me as the Girl on Fire or Ember or whatever people are calling me these days. I'm Cynder, if that rings a bell for you." The two didn't seem to believe my story. "I'm on your side!"
"She's not wrong," said a familiar voice.
"Widow!" I said, using Natasha's Avenger name. Although, I was sure the Pentagon knew who she really was. I still wanted to try and keep it a secret.
Natasha, dressed in her getup, moved in between the two humans. I scrambled to my feet.
"You sure?" asked the one. I gave them a hard glance. "You came back to kill us just because you didn't finish us off the last time!"
At this, Natasha was the one who gave them a strange look. "What did you say?"
"She came through earlier, before you got here," said the second person in a warbling voice. "She...she lit the hall up. Fried good people. She had someone with her."
"Was he a big guy?" I asked suddenly. "Looked like he belonged in prison?"
"He could do that thing with fire too."
Tasha and I exchanged looks. "Where'd they go?" I demanded to know. Now I understood why Kasey and I traded outfits. Somehow, she found a way to transform herself to look like me. She must've done a pretty good job too. Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. had something that can do that.
One of the two Pentagon personnel flicked a thumb behind them. "Down that way. They looked like they wanted to stir things up. Never asked for directions."
"Where's Cap at?" I asked Tasha.
"Captain America?" one person repeated. "He came barreling down, asking where you were." They nodded towards me.
He's in trouble, I told Tasha. That's Kasey and her partner, Ethan. I've got to find them.
We've got to find them, you mean, Tasha corrected me. You could always use an extra body.
I smiled ruefully at her before looking at the Pentagon workers. "If anyone who can do this"—I pulled up a small flame in my hand (Tasha's eyes widened)—"comes your way and looks like none of us, shoot them." I nodded to Tasha. "Come on."
The workers moved aside as we blindly made our way through the inside of the Pentagon.
"You have your powers back?" Tasha croaked once we were out of earshot.
"Weird timing, right?" I said. "They're not at full power, though."
"We'll take what we can get."
As we rounded a corner, I could smell singed flesh. Gravely, Tasha and I walked past the fallen bodies, trying to not look at any of them. Steve? I tried. Steve, it's me. Whoever you're pursuing, it's Kasey Clark. Not me. I've got Tasha with me. We're coming to help you. Don't do anything stupid.
I worried after ten minutes when I got no response from Steve. Tasha and I found a body trail that was practically laid out for us. Is it intentional? Are they purposely doing this? I licked my lips, trying to not gag at the aroma clogging my nose. Tasha at one point had to plug hers. Some pieces of the floor still had a tiny fire eating away at it.
Tasha pulled two guns out from her holster belt, holding them at her sides. I kept a small fire on hand, at the ready.
Our trail didn't lead us deeper into the Pentagon, but rather, back out from where we had come in. Tasha and I exchanged a look before we dove back into the main war zone, which was still full of fire wielders, FBI, CIA, some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Tony, Clint, and Todd. Not to mention your occasional civilians who were so scared that they were running into the line of fire instead of away from it.
A loud boom had Tasha and I look straight ahead. Bodies went flying, some denting cars, some hitting the street. I could see in nearby cars, people were cowering. Cars swerved to avoid the strangers in the road who were stalking towards the Pentagon. Oh no.
Another boom. More bodies were flying.
I watched the third boom happen. One second there was a man, and the next he was nothing but a fireball, a small mushroom cloud. The grass he'd been fighting on was charred and black.
"Look who decided to join the fun!" Ethan's voice rang out.
I snarled, igniting my hand, just as Ethan ignited his. The fire against his face made it even more sinister. I ran for him, taking a leap to close the gap. I took him down on the grass, and we tumbled around. I struck him across the face, and he howled in pain. Apparently, while my body was fire-resistant, his wasn't. His skin started to melt away when I made contact.
Ethan roared in outrage, kicking me hard in the gut, sending me flying onto a highway. Cars screeched loudly as their horns blared, and their tires were trying to stop them from hitting me. Ethan was stalking my way. Without even being hit, I was causing a pileup on a highway. From the corner of my eye, I saw people get out of their cars. Some were stupid enough to remain in them, cowering in fear.
"Where's your girlfriend at?" I leered to Ethan.
He looked around, to his right. "Oh, what do you know? Looks like she found a playmate."
I turned my head to the left, and I felt my heart drop in my feet.
The highway was clear, the only people fighting were Kasey—who's hair was blonde and her features were strikingly similar to mine, and dressed in my clothes—and Steve, dressed in his Captain America outfit.
Steve had to know that Kasey was a fake, because he was fighting her. My mouth parted when I saw, like me, she had hands that produced fire. That's why she stole my clothes. She wanted to give the full impact.
I screamed as I was wrenched aside, my eyes tearing way from the other fight. I lashed out as Ethan had me by my throat. I called fire to my hand, but I saw it short out. Oh Gods no. No. No, no, no. I tried again and got the same result.
Ethan cackled. "Guess you're still malfunctioning." He threw us both to the ground, with me making an ident in the pavement. I struggled against him, hearing the frightened people watching. Hearing the gunfire in the distance. Hearing another boom.
I struck him across his fresh burns, and in retaliation he slammed me into the highway harder. I cried out, feeling a harsh throbbing in the back of my skull.
A burst of light hit Ethan in the chest, and his hands left my throat. He was on his back now, groaning.
You owe me, Kia.
I smiled. That I do, Tony. That I do. As I got myself up, Ethan began to scream in pain. I skittered back as I saw him begin to glow, similar to his partner in Chicago. I ran towards the pileup of cars.
"GET DOWN!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
The blast behind me got me off my feet, and I fell stomach first onto the highway. I rolled onto my side, seeing nothing but a mushroom cloud. The heat was really starting to factor in. I could feel the buckets of sweat clinging to my body desperately.
I shakily tried to pull the line of fire on the highway to my palm, but I struggled. Damn it.
Through the flames, Steve continued to battle Kasey. I semi-cringed as he swung the red, white, and blue shield at her.
I broke out into a lope at seeing Steve's shield hit him in the chest, sending him to the highway floor. It was Kasey who had the shield now, towering over him. She had a foot on his chest.
"Hey!" I shouted. The noises of battle in the city was muted in my ears. All I could focus on was Kasey and Steve. Steve, who, for the first time, was seeing double. He looked from me, to Kasey, then back to me. "Back off!"
Kasey looked up with my eyes, startled. Good, she should be afraid. She had something that didn't belong to her, like many of the people here did.
She quickly masked her spooked expression.
"So," she said in my voice, "you got a rescue squad to come and get you. We should have seen that coming." She pressed her foot harder on Steve's chest.
"The trick is done." My hands went into fists. "Show him your true face, bitch."
"Gladly." By pressing something on her face, the mask dissipated. Gone were my features. There was only one Kiara Rivers now, and she was about to wallop Kasey Clark.
"Get away from him."
"Oooh," she simpered. "How sweet. Standing up to the bully."
"Oh, you're not a bully," I snarled. "You're a full-blown monster. Bullies are just frightened little children." I started to advance.
"Ah-ah." Kasey grabbed Steve by his hair, holding a flaming hand near his face. "One more move, and I melt his face. I really don't want to, he's handsome."
I'm so sorry you're in this position, Steve, I told him.
Kasey screamed, releasing Steve, stumbling away from him. I wasn't sure what got her distracted, but nevertheless I saw my opening. I took the opportunity to run for them, leap to cross the gap, and throttle Kasey in the face. She roared, ferociously attacking. When she hit me square in the chest, I landed back-first onto the highway. I gasped, feeling a sharp burn. No. No. Not now.
Kasey chuckled as I got on my elbows. Her skin was pulsing lightly, but I guess the pain wasn't enough to make her scream just yet. Her eyes were alight.
"I'll be sure to end the Captain once I'm through with you," she snarled. She gave a look to Steve, who was slowly recovering from his bout with her. "It's amazing, how one measly disguise can fool even the smartest of people."
As Kasey stalked closer, I got to my feet, clutching at my chest. She struck me hard across the face, and she grabbed the top of my head, kicking me down onto my knees. The fireball she inched towards my face had my eyes watering. I struck her arms, trying to get her grip off me.
But Kasey's fire suddenly winked out, and she released my hair. She stumbled back, a dribbling of blood coming down her mouth. I didn't understand why until I saw the red blossoming in her chest.
Bang. Correction, two red spots on Kasey Clark's chest. She half-turned, and that was when shot three rang out. I cringed as I saw her head snap back, taking her body down with it.
**Sing it with me now! 'Ding dong, the bitch is dead!'
Sorry. If you haven't noticed, Kasey Clark isn't my favorite character I've made up. Hell, I like Seth more than I like her. Must be because she posed as Kiara and was able to fool people *cough* Steve, you poor baby *cough*.**