Purple Phoenix

Chapter Thirteen

"Phoenix, what does the paper say?" Windrider spoke calmly.

I took the paper out and turned it around, finding a cursive message.

"It says meet me tomorrow at Leominster's Hall at 9. Wear your suit." I read off the paper. I heard a groan in response. "What, what's wrong?"

Spectre answered. "He's going to plan something at the annual banquet. There's a bunch of politicians and important people there, and since there's a bunch of VIPs, there's going to be a lot of news coverage."

"Politicians like Steve the PM?" I asked. PM was a shortcut for Prime Minister.

Spectre said, "He went last year, but this year, no. Hm. I wonder if this is in any way linked."

I heard Poseidon snort. "Of course it's related. It can't just be a coincidence. Especially with all the cameras around, they're planning to do something big."

"Shadow probably wants me to burn it all down," I murmured.

They paused when I said that.

After a moment, Spectre asked, "Would you be able to do that? That's a lot of fire."

I shrugged, even though they couldn't really see me. "Yeah, pretty easy. If I find something that will burn, it'll be a breeze. I don't need to keep control of it. Fire is destructive on its own."

Poseidon said, plan already forming in his head, "I could try to keep it at bay, but the banquet is far from any water mass, so it'll be harder. If this is going to happen, I'll need you guys to make sure no one is attempting to kill me so I can focus on the fire."

I looked at the little flame I created in my hand, watching it twirl around its tendrils of heat. "What about me?"

Poseidon responded. "Pretend you need to control the flames to make the most damage, so Shadow can't ask anything more of you. Before you do start burning down the banquet, we will discuss between us if that is the best course to take. It's risky with so many people around."

I rubbed my eyes. "Okay. Can we go home now? I'm hella tired."

Windrider agreed with me. "She's right. We can talk more about this tomorrow. Oh and Phoenix?"

"What's up?"

"We added you to a group chat, so if anything urgent happens, just alert us." I grabbed my phone and texted 'ok' in the group chat in response, and I heard their phones alert them of the new message.

"Bye guys." I took the earpiece in my hand and switched it off. Yawning, I flew home.

~ ~ ~

Since there was no school because it was basically a huge crime scene, I could finally sleep in. Once I woke up, I took my phone and realized with a jolt I had slept until 11 am. Oops. I still had more than enough time, though, to go shopping. I rolled out of bed and prepared myself. Of course, I took my suit with me. Never hurt to be too prepared. I also had a part of my recently acquired money in my wallet. It was more than enough to last me for at least two months of food and other desired accessories.

On the way out, I snagged a cereal bar which I happily munched on my walk to the mall. Because the mall was situated in the more 'clean' and 'richer' part of the city, it was an hour walk. I didn't mind. It had been a while since I walked for more than half an hour.

As it was near noon, many people trickled in and out of the mall.

Someone bumped into me and yelled, "Watch it!" Not even looking back, I flicked my right hand and a small flame landed on his pants. As I entered the mall, I heard shouting, but I didn't bother to turn.

I first purchased a couple new hoodies but became quickly bored. I passed by a store that sold dresses, and my eyes caught one dress on the side of the store. It reminded me of my dress for prom. The purple, strapless one that hugged around my waist, rolling down in volumes around my waist. The one that should've been for the best night of my life, but turned out to become the worst. That dress was the beginning of everything. The first day of when I found about my ability. I couldn't help myself. I walked into the store, my hood covering the top of my face. I took the dress off the hanger. Grabbing the soft, silky material of the dress, I crumpled it into a ball. With one thought, what was once a beautiful, expensive dress, now became ashes in my hands. I rubbed my thumb and my other finger, smearing a piece of ash over my fingerprints before letting them all fall down to the floor.

"May I help you?" A person asked from behind me.

I twisted around and saw a petite woman looking up to me, a polite smile on her face. My voice came out flat. "No." Her smile slowly dropped. Without another look, I exited the store. My mood became sour, and I was angling my way out of the mall. This was a bad idea from the start. I was going home.

I just made it to the first floor of the mall when I spotted a man in a gray suit and mentally groaned. I simply wanted a couple hours alone without any supers. But who was I kidding?

I realized it was Kratos, the villain with super strength. Under his shirt, you could see bulky muscles wrapped around his arms. His suit outlined his abs, and even though he was a villain, he had a fanbase because of his body. He could easily overtake anyone in a fight within two seconds if you would do hand-to-hand combat which I was sure not to do.

People were aware of his strength, so everyone was running in the opposite direction and screaming. I thought that was a great idea because I definitely did not want to get mixed up with him. I was already scheduled for super stuff at 9 pm, and this was supposed to be my time to relax. I decided to turn around and jog away because, with the stitches, running wasn't particularly comfortable. Before I could do so, Kratos' gray eyes landed on me and a side of his mouth quirked up. Cue second mental groan. He definitely picked me for whatever scheme he was planning. Why did it have to be me? There was another girl who ran right next to me who was perfectly fine, too.

He took a step towards me, and I shouted, "Wait." Surprisingly he stopped in his path. "Can't you take someone else? I'm lowkey tired of this." His brows furrowed, and he legitimately looked confused. Unfortunately, the police decided to show up at this exact moment. They ran towards us from both sides and yelled at him to surrender which, in turn, jarred him from his thoughts.

Kratos wiped his confused face off but kept one eyebrow raised. "No?"

This time, I groaned out loud. I knew exactly where this was heading. As the police neared, he took one step- sorry, I mean he took a giant leap- towards me, and grabbed the nape of my neck. What was the purposes of that?

Kratos laughed and smiled at the police ducked behind couches, where many bags had been left behind after Kratos' appearance, all pointing their guns at Kratos. "One move and I will snap her neck." That must be why he put his hand there.

One of the police shook his head. "That's a bad idea, Kratos. She has nothing to do with this. She's innocent." Little did Hunter know I was a villain too. He could have a two-in-one. Get Purple Phoenix killed as well as capture Kratos.

"I don't see how that's a bad idea, Hunter." Kratos drawled out, a smirk on his lips, and apparently, they were on a first-name-basis. Kratos slightly added pressure to my neck, but I simply stood not knowing what to do with my hands. Should I grab onto his arm, or should I cross my arms? He pushed a bit harder, and I was still in conflict with how I was supposed to stand. He whispered to me, "Scream, or I will snap your neck."

I told him what I thought. "Eh, screaming. Makes my voice all hoarse. I don't like it." His head snapped towards me, eyes wide, probably wondering how I could talk back to him. I blinked twice at him, my mouth pressed in a thin line.

Hunter distracted him by coming one step closer. "The SCU will be here soon. If you kill her, they will never stop. They will find you."

"Oh no, please, not the SCU." Kratos wailed in mock terror. "Wait a second, who are they again?" He clearly found this 'game' amusing.

"It stands for Super Combat Unit, created by the Prime Minister himself. And they will be here in." The guy looked at his watch and smiled. "Three minutes."