Electricity and Flames (Vox x OC)

Chapter 8: The Tabloid

The first day back to work came early that Monday morning, street lights started turning off as some light came through the Border Zone. The hum of the garage door opening in Phoenix house could be heard as they got on their bike and sped off, their jacket flapping in the wind and wings tucked together.

A few weeks had gone by since they returned to the V Tower, but after time spent alone and hanging out with Vox, they finally returned to restart the drug making. Phoenix was prepared for the months of work ahead, especially now that they'll be doing it by themselves.

A smile was plastered on her face as they saw the V Tower a few blocks away, the neon lights around it outshining everything around them. Spotting an available spot, they aim towards the parking spot just as a reporter jumps out infront of them, Phoenix swerving and slamming on their brakes to avoid the guy.

"Watch where you're going!" she yelled angrily, "Are you trying to get run over?"

"Please a moment of your time, ma'am," the reporter said, running over to them, "I just need to get a statement from you for my paper. Who exactly are you? What is your relation with Vox? Are you going to be the fourth V?"

"I don't have time for this," she said, turning away from the reporter and walking towards the entrance, "I need to start my work."

By now, some reporters from the main entrance starting looking over at the noise. Seeing Phoenix there, they started migrating over to her, cornering her and hoping for a fresh story. They piled microphones in front of her face and shouted different questions over each other, cameras flashing from the back of the crowd. Smoke started to come from their body, frustration growing as they were blocked in.

"Hey! I'm not done talking to you!" the reporter yelled, grabbing their tail.

Feeling the grip on their tail, she snapped and went into her half demon form, sucker punched the guy in the face with a fist engulfed in flames. The reporters nearby backed off a bit out of fear as Phoenix glared at them. With a flick of the wrist, she summoned a powerful wind to knock them back, clearing a path to the front.

Getting inside, she took a deep breathe to calm down, feeling herself shrink back to normal. She goes over to the elevator and steps on, pressing the 7 button to begin her ascent.

Going into the lab, everything was clean and sparkling, new equipment was laid out on the counters and a box full of chemicals. Sitting down at the table, a vanilla folder was on the side with a small note reading 'These were all the notes my team was able to recover'. Phoenix opened the folder, finding only one fully intact paper along with some torn off pieces that survived. She wrote down everything she could make out before starting the mixing again.

Some hours have flown by, Phoenix still in the same spot as before, an half eaten can of bean put to the side as she ate through lunch. Lasered focused into their work, Phoenix carefully counted each drop going into the beaker. One final drop was being added right as their phone went off, scaring her and squeezing all the liquid in, a small explosion erupted in their face once again. Coughing from all the smoke, they got up and got their phone from their jacket pocket, seeing it was Meria calling.

"Hello?"

"What are you doing right now?" Meria questioned.

"Stuff," Phoenix answered, looking back at the new crater on the counter.

"You were suppose to be at The Nest thirty minutes ago,"

"Yeah, I'm on the way right now," he said, rushing to put on his jacket and put away everything.

"Really?" Meria said unconvinced.

"Yeah, I'm right outside the building, you don't see me?" Phoenix said, cramping supplies into cabinets.