TW: f*re
They'd customised her tops to better accommodate her growing wings. In the time since the experiment, they'd grown to be equivalent to the space between the tip of her thumb and the tip of her pinky when her hand was stretched out. She was a freak.
Upon entering Mr. Lambert's office, she stumbled. He rose up, but she hissed that she didn't need help. Ever since she'd grown wings, she'd hated how she'd been treated. Most scientists were fascinated, taking measurements and eagerly scribbling down their findings. One of them - Lenora, was it? - babied her. That was worse. At least Harlow was used to being handled like an object of fascination rather than the girl she was.
As she lowered herself into the chair, she gripped the armrests so tightly that her knuckles went even whiter than they already were. Each movement was accompanied by pain. Each moment was filled with pain. She'd lie there at night, her breasts aching from her body weight, her neck turned to one side. Sleeping on her front wasn't optimal, but lying on her back was even worse. Come morning, she'd be just as tired as she'd gone to bed and her neck would ache too.
"I assume you haven't called me here because you have a cure."
"No." He smiled, a kind smile. Harlow didn't trust it.
There was a silence. Their eyes rested on each other, observing their opposite's micromovements.
"If you've got nothing to say, I think I'll just go back to my room and pity myself." She broke her stare, opting to examine her mary janes instead.
"Timothy Emile Reeves."
That name immediately got Harlow's attention. She perked back up and noticed the white envelope he was holding between two fingers. Instinctively, she reached out for it.
Mr. Lambert chuckled. "That's got you excited, hasn't it?"
"Give me my letter, please."
"You know it's against SPAI's rules to remain attached to your old life," he lectured her with a sparkle in his eyes. Nevertheless, he passed her the letter. She realised now it had been opened. This resulted in her wavering momentarily, but she still slid it out and eagerly lapped up its contents.
"Mrs. Ablington would have had me throw it away, but I see no harm in giving someone a letter from an old friend," he said.
"You know him?" Hope appeared in her eyes.
"No, I meant an old friend of yours. I'm afraid I never made Mr. Reeves' acquaintance," Mr. Lambert spoke, "But I know he must have been a good man to give up such a great talent to SPAI. It feels injust that he should get no credit."
Harlow opened her mouth to speak, followed by closing it to reconsider, then spoke at long last, "You already know what was in the letter."
It had been a remimder from her manager of what she owed him. He hadn't sent her here out of the goodness of her heart, nor for her sake. As usual, he'd been searching for ways he could profit and controlling one of the world's first superheroes had sounded very beneficial.
"Mrs. Ablington and I don't see quite eye to eye regarding how SPAI is run. Her measures are rather strict and extreme. One could even say..." He pretended to search for the right word, but Harlow had a feeling he had planned out what to say. "Inhumane."
"And?"
"Don't you want things to change? Don't you want SPAI to treat its agents as it would any employee?"
Harlow frowned and leaned back. "Sir, I don't know what kind of test this is, but I know for a fact your office will be under surveillance just like the entire facility. You won't get me to degrade Mrs. Ablington's policies on film."
"Miss Newman has already been convinced, Miss Quen. A promise of a more inclusive contract met with her approval. You should know after your friendship with her that her loyalties are rather fickle." He rubbed his thumb over his fingers demonstratively.
"I'm not the type to start a rebellion," mumbled Harlow, "Nor am I the type to be desperate for fair treatment."
"Maybe not, but only by overthrowing Mrs. Ablington will you be able to see Timothy Reeves again. Not only that, but under Mrs. Ablington, you will be continued to be prodded and poked at, no matter how much you're suffering. She could order the scientists to fix you like that—" he snapped his fingers, "—and a week or two later they'd have something at your disposal. Yet she'd have you suffer, just because your wings are unique, because of her reputation." He scowled, slowly molding Harlow's brain to better suit his intentions. "I would try to fix those eyes of yours, try to make your life better. I'd let everyone lead the life they wanted in their free time. They could love who they wanted, go where they wanted, do what they wanted."
Unlike some, Harlow hadn't grown up sceptical. Life had always been rather straightforward for her. She was told what to do and she executed the task. Whether it was a competition to be won, a exam to be aced, a rival to sabotage, Harlow would do it, no hesitation. Her feelings didn't matter. So she wasn't about to doubt Mr. Lambert, she was sure what he said was true.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because we, my little fallen angel, are going to bring down Mrs. Ablington brick by brick."
¤ ¤ ¤
Victor put a stop to his pacing, rooting down into the ground for a moment to gather heat at his hands. He could feel his palms growing hotter, it would only take the command and they would ignite the air around them. But it was his mind he had to keep careful. It was not easy to fight an illusionist.
Now that everyone except Alec and Esmeralda had a power and with Larver in charge, combat had become the hardest part of their day. Everybody was their own challenge, training people in a different way. For the instructor, it was heaven. For the students, it was hell.
His first fight had been against Asha and rather odd. She was extremely careful not to hurt him, often being quite gentle when she struck, but the moment he was about to flip the tables in his favour, she countered him perfectly. The result had been five minutes of pointless play fighting until Larver had ordered Asha to get on with it. The ice queen had apologised and struck him down.
Other battles had been less awkward. Ethan had beaten him within two minutes. Even with Victor's fire powers, Ethan's military training had been difficult to beat. Koi, on the other hand, had been a walk in the park. Larver hadn't praised him though. She never praised anyone.
Victor charged at Hunter, about to commence the battle. As soon as he reached her, he spiraled round. That wasn't Hunter. He'd seem her fight enough to know that she wouldn't have simply let him run into her. She was an illusion.
Hunter charged at him from the side, jabbing him in the side. The air around Victor's hands burst into flames, but Hunter had already dodged away. He stumbled, but stayed standing tall, searching for Hunter. He saw her momentarily, then she vanished from sight as she fabricated an illusion for him. He was in a green room, shrinking in beats. As distracted as he was by it, he tossed a flame towards where she had been.
"Ow!"
He grinned slightly, the illusion flickering around him. It shattered, revealing reality, but within seconds Hunter had constructed a new illusion. Shadow people crowded around him. Victor didn't like the fact that she could be anywhere. After what had happened last time, she'd be preparing herself to strike. He had to stay calculating; if he began chucking fireballs everywhere, his power would consume him. That had been what Asha had taught him, after all. His power was passionate and fed off his emotions, so he had to keep a cool, logical mind to remain in control.
As he frantically looked around he made sure to keep a ring of fire around him. As long as he was surrounded, she couldn't dive towards him. Within a short spell though, he realised that she could still throw things at him when something hit him in the back of the head.
"Ouch."
He staggered sideways. The flames around him flickered and faded as he tried to recover. Before he could, somebody leapt on him from behind, toppling him over. Instinctively, the flames gathered around him and Hunter yelped, clutching her burnt hands. Victor felt bad, but took the opportunity to pin her down.
"One, two, three, four, five." Larver stepped in and Victor got back up. "Wasphunter, go with Ice Rose to get medical attention. But in future, try to knock out your opponent as soon as you have the chance."
The muscular woman got up and staggered out of the arena. Asha quickly joined her.
Larver shifted her attention to the victor. "You need to work on your ability more. Fire should mean a definite win, but with you it's very much a stroke of luck."
Victor frowned. Sure, he'd expected criticism, but he'd still won, hadn't he? She could have been a bit less harsh. Then again, this was Catherine Larver. She spoke coldness as a second language.
They were dismissed for the day. Officially, they were meant to be working on their own skills this afternoon, but if Kaze could get away with practicing the violin, surely Victor and Andre could go to town under the pretense of going on a jog. They hadn't been in town in forever and Victor was in the mood for a trip to the bakery.
When they headed away before lunch, Alec questioned them about where they were going.
"For our afternoon jog. It's better to do that first and then eat."
"Oh," grumbled Alec, "Guess I'm going to have a lonely birthday."
"It's your birthday?" Andre's eyes widened. "We didn't know, I'm so sorry, of course we'll have lunch with you!"
"Nah," said Victor, "Let's go ahead with our plans and we can get you a cake in town. How does that sound?"
"Satisfactory," said Alec, then taunted Victor. "Do you know what that means, Harkins? It's a big word. I bet you can't spell it."
"S-A-Idiot-F-A-C-T-O-R-Y," Victor responded, "I decided to change the spelling to honour the birthday boy."
Alec rolled his eyes. "I guess you really are an idiot if you think that's how you spell it."
"If you think that, then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought."
The two boys headed to town, Andre still struggling with guilt feelings over them insulting the birthday boy.
"Relax, he will have enjoyed it," Victor tried to reassure him.
"You only have one birthday a year as it is. Won't it be sad for him to celebrate it without his parents? His family?" Andre speculated.
"Well, we will celebrate, just not yet." He opened the bakery door, causing the little bell to ring, and waved Andre in. "After you, Monsieur."
Andre laughed and admitted, "I briefly thought you were going to say ladies first."
"You've been listening to Alec. I'm not that stupid."
They headed to the counter, but Victor froze when he saw the girl behind the counter.
"You're not Alina."
"What can I get you?" she asked, gazing up from her magazine.
"Where's Alina?"
He knew he'd ended things on a bad note so he'd been hoping to come and apoligise today. He owed it to her. She was his friend and he'd treated her badly.
The teen shrugged. "She quit a few weeks ago. Was very dramatic about it, came with a suitcase and everything. She said something about going where she could live out her potential and then she got on the first train. Nobody's seen her here since."
Andre and Victor stared at each other in shock.
"Now, what can I get you."
Later, when they were sat eating their pastries, conversation was lacking. Victor's thoughts were with Alina and filled with guilt. His words must have struck a final chord and now she was who knows where doing who knows what. He just hoped she was happy. She deserved that much.
¤ ¤ ¤
His birthday had always been Alec's favourite day of the year, as childish and selfish as that might sound. It was the one day he ditched his extra activities and his parents made sure they were free for the afternoon. For once they'd be kind of extravagant. They'd go to a nice restaurant, then return home and watch some interesting documentary. They'd play Fun Facts, a game in which you picked a card with the start of a fact and the actual end, but everyone came up with their own end to it. Then they'd all guess which one was correct.
All his life he'd been working to please his parents. Every contest, every challenge had been for them. Even now, as he practiced battle moves as much as he could on his own, it was for them. Then why'd he scrapped their relationship in the progress of everything?
They'd be happy eventually. They'd see their son, the superhero, and beam with pride. Then again, would they ever find out it was him? Would they ever be able to gloat to their neighbours and colleges that that was their boy?
He messed up the sequence he'd been trying to achieve and fell onto the padded ground. He let out a frustrated noise, then pushed himself up again. He needed to perfect this so that he could beat everyone. Some of the others were incredible fighters and so far he'd been held back because he didn't have powers. That would change today.
He froze when Esmeralda Giulia Fiore entered. She had a swing coat on and a pair of plain black leggings with a pair of ankle boots. She'd clearly only just returned from her absence while filming. It was a reminder of her privilege.
"Aw, our little movie star's back. When can I expect the next tween obsession to come out?"
"Actually, it was a fairly bleak adult film. I only got a minor role because of my reputation for teen movies, but my understanding is I'll be considered for more major roles in future," Esmeralda corrected him, flattening her coat slightly.
"Sure sure, while we all have to forego our family. Seems fair," he scoffed.
Esmeralda sighed. "Have you eaten?"
"Not yet." Alec had been planning on doing so but it had been pretty lonely in the kitchen. Victor and Andre were off on a date or something, Asha and Hunter had been obsessing over something or other and Ethan had swallowed his meal down in seconds. Meanwhile Koi and Kaze were somehow friends now and the prospect of eating alone on his birthday had depressed Alec.
"Good. Mrs. Ablington said that provided we both hadn't eaten, they could give us our powers now," she informed him. As an afterthought she added, "How is everyone? Have they already got their powers?"
"Yup. Victor's fire, Asha's ice, Hunter's illusions, Andre's got bruise protection or something, Kaze's can see through walls, Koi is fast, Ethan has light manipulation and Harlow's just weird."
Esmeralda frowned. "What do you mean weird?"
"I don't know, she grew wings. She's been hiding since."
"Oh." Something flashed in Esmeralda's eyes. Alec dismissed the idea of sympathy and labelled it as relief.
Alec smirked as an idea dawned on him. "You know, I hear her life's been ruined. She's in permenant pain. Imagine, it could be either of us next."
"I know."
Her calmness irritated Alec. "Doesn't that scare you?"
"I think you forget that I work in an industry that's full of risks. Every role I take requires me to attempt to predict the reception the film will get, lest I want to ruin my career. Not to mention the caution required in my private life," pointed out Esmeralda.
Alec frowned, he'd never thought of it like that. Still, that wasn't about to change his mind on Esmeralda. She'd never known anything other than the privilege she'd grown up in. Her father was a successful director, Alec knew that much, and from the age of eight she'd been in the spotlight 24/7.
"Let's go then," he grumbled, heading out.
They walked through the facility and reached Mrs. Ablington's office. There he was handed a pen and his contract at long last.
"Best birthday present in a long time," Alec joked, as he jotted his name down in perfect letters. "Well, I guess its a two-sided coin. The superpowers part is definitely a great gift, but the rest of the contract not so much."
"How old are you?" Esmeralda asked.
"Eighteen," he told her, "And I still can't fucking drink."
"Maybe not, but hey, you're doing pretty well. Straight out of school and you're already employed."
"You're one to talk," he retorted.
From there on, they proceeded into the lab. It wasn't exactly a pleasant room, but Alec wasn't fazed. Esmeralda seemingly didn't care either and continued strutting around as if she owned the place.
"Now, this may hurt," said one of the scientists.
Another one rolled her eyes. "Don't bother sugarcoating things, if they're going to be heroes, they should be able to take it. This will hurt a lot from what we've seen, but it will be over quickly and nobody's had any side effects so far so you should then be able to go about your day."
"Dr. Enwar! That's Miss Fiore," hissed somebody.
Alec watched Esmeralda in the hopes of a hissyfit, but she remained calm. "Thank you for warning us, doctor. May I ask what our powers will be?"
"Teleportation for him and will manipulation for you. We have however had-"
"That's enough," said Mr. Lambert, "Let's just get on with this."
Without further ado, the procedure commenced. The young scientist hadn't been lying - it hurt like hell. Alec gritted his teeth, willing himself not to cry out. He peered over at Esmeralda and found her doing the same. It was disappointing. He'd been hoping she'd start bawling like a baby. Soon though, they were done.
"Right, could you quickly test your powers?" requested Mr. Lambert.
"Since you're all waiting on Miss Fiore, how do we know if it's her power or your admiration for her speaking?" Alec mocked them all.
"Alec, say you're my number one fan."
Her voice rang in his head, clouding all thoughts of self-restraint. It filled him with desire to fulfil her every whim.
"I'm your number one fan."
As quickly as the feeling had come over him, it left. He contorted his face in disgust. "Don't quote me on that."
She smiled and headed out.
"Happy birthday, Alec."
He watched her go a bit longer than he would have liked. She was still a diva, definitely, but she did at least have a brain and some grit. He sighed and decided to go about celebrating his birthday. His cake wouldn't eat itself but he didn't trust the others not to eat it.
¤ ¤ ¤
Alec had better like chocolate. Andre's hands rested on the edges of the plain white box. Inside was the most sickly chocolate cake he and Victor had ever seen. It consisted of three layers, each glued together by a hazlenut cocoa spread. The outside was slathered in chocolate icing overwhich edible gold glitter and white chocolate stars had been sprinkled. Upon seeing it, Andre hadn't been sure whether the feeling in his stomach was hunger or nausea.
"We'd better hide this when we enter. I wouldn't put it past Mrs. Ablington to put us on a diet," commented Andre.
"Well, as far as they know, we were on a lovely jog. Maybe we should shake the cake a bit? Make it seem more authentic."
Andre laughed, jerking away as Victor made a move towards it. The accompanying sound very much sounded like the cake had hit the side of the box. "Oops."
Victor tutted. "Andre Seagh-urgh, I would never."
"Seaghach."
"Sea-gag."
Andre considered for a moment, then decided, "It's getting better. You've got all the vowels down."
"Nobody says it anymore. It's all Turtleman."
Andre went slightly red. "Well, they said it's a sort of shield. Also, they tried it out on a terrapin."
"What on Earth is that?"
"A turtle-y tortoise-y creature," explained Andre, "They're rather underrated, really."
"Just like you."
Andre found himself smiling and looking at his feet — well, he would have if the box hadn't been in the way. That kind of thing happened a lot with Victor. He'd heard many a time that one should find people who bring out the best in you and light up your world. Maybe he was being forward, but he was starting to think he'd finally found one such person.
They walked side by side in their own little peaceful world. Birds sang, heat pulsed in the air. Trees stood in the distance. For a while, Andre could fantasise that he'd fled to the country and met Victor there. No SPAI, no saving the world. He pretended they were normal people, even though it had been Andre's own choice to change that. But he liked to think he would have decided differently if he'd read the contract.
The reality he built for them was a pretty one but shattered sooner than expected. The daze he'd been in was interrupted by the smell of smoke and radiating heat. His eyes widened and Victor panicked beside him. Both of their eyes landed on the burning house beside them.
"Oh no."
His heart grew heavy. The house had been a pretty pale pink, but most of it was engulfed by a crackling fire. There were outsiders watching fearfully. A tall man was frantically babbling into a phone and a little girl was wailing into her older brother's body. She was saying something but it was hard to understand. Cinnyisnide. Cindisinide. Cindy is inside.
It must have dawned on both of them at the same time. Andre froze, a lump in his throat. But Victor ran.
"Victor!" Andre screamed as the tall boy disappeared into the burning building. He felt observers stares burning into his body, all of them in more of a state of shock than he was. No, no, no. This was all wrong. This had not been supposed to happen.
He couldn't think, his mind was turbulent. Victor would be alright, wouldn't he? He had fire powers. But as he stared at the building in horror, he remembered that fire wouldn't be the only obstacle. Even Victor couldn't handle the smoke.
"Take this." He pressed Alec's cake into a stunned woman's hand and closed his eyes. Fists clenched in an attempt to gather courage, he took a deep breath and ran. Around him bystanders gasped and yelped that he should turn back. Andre let their voices blur together and forced his way through the doorway.
Already the flames were licking at his clothes. A picture fell of the wall, disintegrating at his feet. The wallpaper curled off the wall, revealing the wall beneath. Everything was burning, everything was falling apart.
"Victor!" Andre cried out.
Smoke flooded his lungs and he choked on it. His body was screaming at him, don't do this. But he needed to make sure Victor was okay. The question was, where had Victor gone?
The moment Andre saw the stairs, he was tempted to go up. Something about stairs just called they were the way to go. Maybe he was being stupid, but if Victor had felt the same impulse, he would have probably just rolled with it. So why shouldn't Andre?
He took a deep breath and immediately regretted it. He felt woozy, all the smoke was going to his head. Clearly his invulnerability did not extend as far as his internal organs. Thankfully though, his power eased his body's response to the flames, his clothes getting the worst of it. Regardless, he readied himself and dashed up the stairs.
Flames licked at the banister like kittens lapping up milk. Sirens were faintly audible in the distance. It was reassuring; if they lost consciousness, people were on their way. That knowledge pushed Andre forward.
Something fell from the ceiling, it was impossible to know what it had once been. Now it was just charcoal. Andre gulped, the action hurting his sore throat. He could do this.
One by one, he checked each room. Each was in a similar state of desertion and destruction. That was until Andre found a bedroom. Piles of ash made it clear it had fallen victim to the fire as well, but burning had ceased. Instead, a coughing Victor was collapsed on the floor with a small child. The moment he saw Andre, his eyes widened with fear.
"No. No way. You shouldn't be here," ranted Victor hoarsely.
"I couldn't leave you," responded Andre. He met Victor's eyes with a firm and steady stare. "We need to get out of here."
Victor tried to speak but just coughed. He looked like hell and obviously felt like it too. This was down to Andre. He needed a way out before the smoke caused irreversible damage. That's when he realised. The fire didn't pose an issue. He could take curtains, duvets, blankets, anything. They were damaged, but still useable.
Swiftly, he collected each item, occasionally being interrupted by a cough. His lungs were still burning, but his body was strong. Maybe it was his power speaking. He didn't have time to think about that, he need to get to work.
He emptied the duvet out of the duvet cover. It was hard to know if any of these objects would hold. They had all been victim to the fire until Victor had come. He had to pray they were durable enough, he didn't know what else he could try. If he was lucky, they'd carry them to victory. If not, well, he wouldn't be alive to know.
One by one, he tied the ends together. They were simple knots, but felt firm. Even though there was little time to waste, he made sure to tug each end to ensure it would hold. Naturally there was a difference between a yank and the weight of a body, but it was a bit of comfort.
He staggered towards the window. Maybe he could just take a moment to lie down. Rest a little. His chest ached—
No. That was precisely why he had to go on.
Cautiously, he tied it to the rod the curtain had been hanging from. He needed to get the others out first. But both the girl and Victor were barely conscious and what if it didn't work? He'd be killing them both.
"Hey, Victor." His voice was weak when he shook the wheezing boy on the floor. Victor didn't respond and his head lolled to one side. With a sense of horror, Andre noticed the flames engulfing parts of the room.
"No, no, no. Don't leave me. Don't... Don't make me leave you."
The tears burned in his eyes. His entire body burned. He couldn't do this. He'd failed. He had to give up. He had to... Carry on. He couldn't quit now. Victor and the girl depended on him. He had to.
He gathered all his strength and hoisted the girl over his shoulder. She was small, not much of a burden. Victor, on the other hand... He couldn't carry both at once.
"I'll be back," he promised. His voice was barely a whisper.
Each step he took, his legs begged to give way. Andre made his way to the rope he'd created and lowered it down. He adjusted the girl's position to be more manageable and swung himself over the window sill. Could he do this? He didn't know but he had to try.
He began his descent, one arm wrapped around the girl. Immediately, the issue was clear. He needed both arms and there was no way of doing this with only one. Before he could ponder how to do this, he heard it. The sound of cloth slipping past cloth.
In one fateful moment, he sat the girl back on the window sill, just in time. Less than a second later, the makeshift rope tore apart and Andre fell. His lips parted, but he couldn't scream, his throat was too hoarse for that. He just fell until he slammed against the ground and drifted away.