[ 15 ]

HE LIKED THINGS that went boom. There was a certain satisfaction in watching everything go up in flames, engulfing the problem whole. Sure, it created more problems, but Wildfire really couldn't find it within himself to care very much. Call him bad, call him charming, but whatever he was, he thrived in destruction. Jasper Lee slurped destruction up like grandma's chicken soup - that bring to say, in large gulps, no matter how hot it was. He couldn't help thinking that he was a reverse Elsa; the heat never bothered him anyway. Cold, on the other hand? Ew.

This time, however, watching everything go boom was decidedly not very fun. Not when a throbbing pain in his shoulder told him that a flying brick had collided with him, creating a bruise that hurt like hell. Jasper Lee liked things that went boom, granted that they didn't hurt him. After all, he considered himself a fragile little thing, a mere spark in the fizzing gears that made up Semper City, though his current situation suggested otherwise.

Instead of weeping in a corner as a braver man would've done in his position, Wildfire stood up and dusted himself off, not weeping in a corner, partially because there were no more corners left for him to weep in - the bomb, he supposed it was a bomb, wasn't it? - either way, the bomb had blown the corners of the floor away. They were lucky had the explosion had occurred on one of the top floors, avoiding a crisis as the building almost certainly would've toppled onto them, had they been on a floor closer to the ground.

Instead, they got a lovely look at the smog-filled sky, since the brick had crumbled in spots to reveal Semper's dingy dark skyline, not as high as New York's, but nothing to be scoffed at, if one was an urban enthusiast. Wildfire wasn't, but he didn't have much to compare it to, given that he hadn't really been granted the chance to see the skyline in other cities. Anyway, he liked it.

He silently praised Crux's expensive idea of making the entire building fireproof, which had originally been done to stop him. It was demeaning, but had now proven itself - he knew that if it hadn't been, they'd all be dead. As much as his life was sometimes tragic, such as the time the Grandmaster had taken away his personal toaster after a delivery of 4000 Birthday Cake Poptarts had arrived in the lobby, to the horror of several interns, Jasper didn't particularly want to die.

Leaning against the wall, he sighed, tensing as an idea hit him. Less of an idea, really, than a growing thought, and Wildfire forced himself to his feet, running towards the exit door on the other end of the corridor. He didn't make it very far, however, because it was in that moment that he, as reckless and type-B as he was, was struck with common sense. That didn't happen very often - no, Jasper found that the sensation was actually a pretty foreign one. For a moment, he considered listening to that common sense and sit down, let his injuries be attended to, maybe even have a cup of tea before he did anything rash.

But that was before he saw a pair of gloved hands reach out from the cracked wall, a line of wire, like a tightrope walker might use, in their palm. Wildfire presumed it was tied around a hook of some sort, embedded in the brick outside. Something like that would be a gamble, but if it didn't turn to rubble immediately, it would make a decent hold. This person didn't shy away from a gamble, obviously, given that they were breaking into a room with four superheroes and the director of a vigilante organisation that ruled over an entire (large) city, not to mention the SWAT team.

Also, a supervillain and countless menaces to society, but Wildfire supposed they were on the same side, given the anonymity.

A figure had appeared for a second, wearing a ski mask along with creepy unnatural contacts that turned their eyes into purple cat-slits that caught the light. Jasper readied his hands to send a fireball barrelling into their torso, but that was all it took for them to disappear, zipping down the tightrope as if it were suspended on something other than air over a massively busy road. Wildfire stopped warming his hands, unable to send more than a gust of hot air into the direction that they'd been a mere moment before.

Letting out an aggravated roar, he slumped down, meeting vaguely familiar dark eyes that looked down at him, attached to even brown skin and a coral-and-cream pantsuit. Director Singh had lowered her gun, cursing colourfully under her breath, her arms now folded over her chest.

"I saw them, too," she informed him, giving him a distracted yet still warm smile. "Don't worry. You did the right thing, Mr Lee."

It felt weird to be addressed that way, but he knew that it was right. It felt right. He'd spent all his life longing for a name, and he wouldn't turn his nose up at it - Jasper Lee had a nice ring to it, anyway.

"I know I did. You see, Director, I'm not like," he nodded over at Finn, who was helping one of the officers with a wound on her arm, "him. I don't have a hero complex. I don't have much of any complex, really. Sure, maybe a god one at times, but, like, that makes sense."

"Mr Lee, I must press the relevance of this information. This is a serious matter, after all," Neleesha said wryly, but her sternness didn't quite meet her eyes.

Jasper sighed. "I mean that I wouldn't have chased them just to be a hero." He nodded again at Finn. "He would've jumped out that window without caring. He would've died for nothing. See what I mean?"

Director Singh frowned slightly. "Yes, I wouldn't put it past Mr Johnson to do something like that. Well, once you're all fixed up, I'll have you sent to my office. We need to have a little-" she cleared her throat, "chat."

~•~

THE DIRECTOR'S OFFICE had changed a lot a since he'd last been inside, when stacks of paper and folders had cluttered the desk, along with discarded test tubes, back when the Grandmaster had been Director. Neleesha Singh was now sat in that seat, wearing a new set of clothes, hair now tied into a bun. As she greeted them, she placed official-looking papers in front of them, which Jasper thumbed through half-heartedly as he waited for her to say something important.

"I've called you here to discuss your allegiances."

Jasper sat up, as much as someone who slouched as often as he did, could.

"But first, I'd like you to empty your weapons onto the table. I like a pacifist environment." He couldn't tell whether she was joking about the latter, but her raised eyebrow as he pulled out a single switchblade told him that the former was certainly serious.

"All of it."

He took out a gun, laying it down with a thump. It really was it - when he had fire hands to his disposal, physical weapons were rather pointless.

Sasha only had a small .44, and Jasper held back a laugh as Finn pulled out what looked half an armoury from his belt.

Narcissa didn't move, and Director Singh raised her other eyebrow, causing lines to crease her forehead.

"Miss Corvus."

With a scowl, she made an elaborate show of withdrawing a - wait, what? - machine gun from inside her jacket.

How the hell-

"Narcissa."

A dagger, a rifle, and what looked like a hand grenade.

"Narcissa Regina Corvus."

She shucked off her leather jacket, opening it, and Jasper stifled a mixture of a gasp and a howl of laughter as he caught sight of hundreds of blades lining the inside, at least a dozen guns around her waist.

"Jesus," Finn murmured, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Is that it?" Director Singh asked, rubbing her face with her palm in exasperation.

In response, Narcissa took off her shoes, lifting the soles to reveal switchblades in the heels.

"Let's get going, finally," Neleesha sighed.

Holding up a finger, the black-haired girl took a meat cleaver out from a holster around her waist, a smug smirk on her face as she looked at Director Singh's frustration.

"You know, if there's more, I don't even care. How do you even hide-" the Director cut herself off, standing up. "It doesn't matter. We're here to discuss your recent actions, not your supplies. Miss Corvus, this concerns you the most. If I may speak to you privately?"

"Later. We're on a pretty tight schedule here, Director," Finn said in his perfect, charming voice, and Neleesha studied him for a moment before frowning.

"Corvus, I'll have you back up here later. We need to address your loyalties."

With a shrug, Narcissa sat back in her seat, seemingly not caring about whatever Director Singh had to say - fair enough, given she'd only met the woman and had no idea what she was capable of. Had it been anyone else in that seat, they'd have been out a long time ago. The Scarlet Serpent was a difficult case, as always. 

Too clever. Too valuable. Too slippery.

Crux needed her.

"Now that I have your attention," the Director began, pressing her hands down on the top of her desk, still standing, "there are a few rules we need to go over before we start anything. One, you only leave the premises if I directly allow you to, face to face. There's a Starbucks on the seventh floor, I'm sure you'll be comfortable. Your quarters are as you left them, including Miss Corvus's. The Grandmaster was always holding out hope for you to return," she told Narcissa with a slight smile. "Make the most of it."

Director Singh took a pen from the pot on her desk, fiddling with it as she spoke.

"Two, you swear unconditional loyalty to the control of Crux. I understand low-ranking officers haven't been the best, but I'm striving towards fixing that. That is why I only request unconditional loyal to a select few, which are named on the document I've given you. Read through all of it. Fully. 

"Three, you follow every command that team gives you with your life."

She didn't elaborate, making it clear that the conversation was over and done with.

"Do you understand me?"

Jasper nodded, straightening his back. "Yes, ma'am," he gave a mock salute, rising from his seat as Sasha gripped his shirt to pull herself up, a blush creeping over her cheeks as she realised what she had done.

"To yonder, then. That means, leave," Neleesha told Sasha.

Unable to tell whether she was joking or not, Jasper started towards the door, the document under his arm. He wasn't yet sure whether he planned on reading it, but it was the thought that counted - meaning, he would probably just end up listening to Finn's garbled summary and hope for the best. 

As soon as they were out of the door, Narcissa reached down the collar of her shirt and brought out a slim switchblade, flicking it between her fingers almost playfully. Though Jasper couldn't say that he was surprised, it took all his might not to take it from her and slash the air with it, like he'd wanted to many times in his life. Crux didn't supply weapons like that - they preferred the real deals, which he supposed was a good idea, though not as fun as things purchased illegally were bound to be.

He'd missed his calling as a criminal, evidently, but when Narcissa had escaped, he'd made a promise to himself. Finn, despite being his best friend and the first person he'd call if Jasper had a body to hide, didn't need him, no. The golden boy would seize the day, as he always did, and be perfectly fine. But his other best friend, the girl with the sad eyes and beautiful face, the girl who cried alone in her bedroom when she thought nobody was watching - he couldn't leave her.

Wildfire squared his shoulders, banishing those thoughts for a moment.

"To yonder," he announced in his heroic voice.

The sound of Sasha's laugh echoed around the hallway.

[ end ]