Because she sealed a pact with Mephisto Pheles, a famous stuntgirl becomes, by night, the armed arm of the prince of evil whose disastrous hegemony is coveted by his own son.
Death-dodger by day, biker vigilante after the sunset, Spitfire will have to fight to save the ones she cares about.
This story takes place in the EGFU:Equestria Girls Fiction Universe
It was a dark room, the only source of light came from the light bubble handing from the ceiling. The walls were dirty like nobody cleaned up this place for a very long time. The room was empty except for a small table where a recording device was, a big mirror that was on the wall, and two chairs, each were positioned at each extremity of the table. Sat on those two chairs, were two people. One was a tall man, not very old but we can see that this person has went through rough shit. He had a dark skin, wore a long dark coat, his face was partially covered with a black eye-patch.
The other person was a woman, she was in her late twenty’s and she had a bored look on her face. She was a beautiful fire-haired woman and she undoubtly turned a few heads in her past. She took her phone from the pocket of her leather jacket and checked the time. She sighed and rolled her eyes when she saw the impatience in the man’s glare.
“Miss Spitfire,” He started, crossing his fingers under his chin, “I know you don’t want to be here, and believe me, me neither. But we were hoping that we’ll get your help, we know you have some information about… Him. This is actually the first time we encountered a threat this big and I know that, under the bad girl persona you wore every day, we know you actually want to help people. We saw it.”
Spitfire rolled her eyes and put her hands in her pockets before leaning more comfortably in the cheap and back-breaking chair. She sighed but still glared at him. She knew he was right, many people were in dangers, that was a fact. But the information she has, they’ll be in a biggest danger if they knew all that. Was it worth it? She didn’t know that man, and the fact that she was taken in the middle of the night don’t make him win some sympathy points, that was for sure.
He told her that he was working for a secret organization that protect our world from evil threat like the Abomination she had heard of, be she never heard of them before. To be honest with herself, she felt like he was telling her shit.
“You know,” She said, straightening up in her chair, imitating his serious posture. “You’ve said that you helped a lot of people in the past, that you’re used to deal with threats like… That. But why did I never hear of you? I mean, if you guys had already saved the world countless time, people must know about this.”
“This is because we don’t want people to know,” The mysterious man replied, “The society I’m representing prefers a… discretely approach.”
“Of course, they do.” Spitfire chuckled. “But why me?”
The man wore an interrogative glare at her question, she rolled her eyes and said, “Why do you need my help? I mean, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one with this kind of… capacity.”
“That is, indeed, true.” He said, “But on the other hand, you’re the only one we know of who had already crossed path with him. We’re watching on you for a very long time.”
She scowled him and snickered, “Why are you annoying me just now then?”
“Because, those are dark times, and we need all the help we can gather.”
Spitfire frowned, she wanted nothing to do with it. It was in her past, and she wanted it to stay that way. She still had nightmare about it, but she didn’t had any crises in the past few months. She believed she could just put that in bag and throw it away. But it seems it’ll always come back, no matter what she does.
“You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Test me.” He said, a grin on his face. “I’ve heard the strangest things you could think of, nothing you’ll say will surprise me.”
Spitfire sighed and looked at the ceiling.
“So, where am I supposed to start?” She said, accepting defeat. He wasn’t’ going to leave her alone that easily, so let’s just get done with it, once and for all. And maybe, for once in her life, she could do something good.
“Well, how about the first time you met him?”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, returning to the memories she had buried away. “It was ten years ago…”
I was eighteen. You probably know who I was back then, I used to be the captain of the Wonderbolts… What? I have to say it for the record anyway? Urgh, okay well, the Wonderbolts were a team of bikers, we used to make big shows at L.A, N.Y, Canterlot… All that kind of stuff. We were like superstars, everyone loved us. We’ve done the biggest and the most spectacular stunts everyone’s ever done. And I was the captain.
I used to be more confident and cockier than I am now, trust me about that. Fame and recognition, daily. It was great, and I loved every part of it.
Everyone used to scream when I entered the stage on my bike. Every little girl wanted to be like me, and every dude wanted to be with me, you get it.
Like this time, we went on a show at Canterlot with the boys, I just became the team captain and everyone cheered when I took the ramp and jumped over thirty cars. Boy, that was the stuff.
I remember when a girl jumped on top of the barricade, outrun the security to run right at me and took me in a tight hug, she said she wanted to be like me, that I was her model.
I forgot her name but I remember that she had rainbow hair, I’ll never forget that moment.
Of course, when everyone loves you, it goes right through your head. When everyone’s saying that you’re the best, well you start thinking it. And back then, I thought I was the best.
But the truth was that… All the money I made was to pay my mother’s medical bills. She had a… lung cancer. That’s what happens when you’ve been smoking a pack a day since the past twenty years.
I was working hard, the more money I made, the more I thought I could save her. I was naïve of course, but I was young, the head full of dreams.
And somedays I… was sick of it. I loved my mother, but I made a lot of money, and believe me, it was a lot of money. But all that went right for her and I couldn’t enjoy the money that I’ve made. Don’t get me wrong, I still had a nice house and impressive collection of bikes, but for an eighteen years old brat who thought that everything belonged to her, it wasn’t enough.
It made me angry… Yeah, I know, I was a dickhead, but come on, you know that being young and having a lot of money doesn’t fit very well together.
But all the things I was feeling back then brutally disappeared when the doctors told me that her cancer had reached the terminal stage…
“I-I’m sorry what?” I asked to the doctor, my hands were shacking and for the first time of my life, I didn’t know what to say.
“Her cancer had developed faster than we thought…” He replied to me, I could see he was sorry in his eyes, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it was just an act you know? After all, he must say that to a bunch of people, every day. “She’s… In her room, if you want to talk to her.”
When he said that I couldn’t help but chuckle, I haven’t spoke to her for months. Yeah, I was paying for her medical bills, but since we were always on tour with the boys, I never found the time to visit her, ever once. It’s a sad thought that all it took to be reunited with her was a cancer.
He took a step on the side to let me pass through the door of my mother’s medical room. Never liked hospitals. Those places smell like… Death. And believe me, I know a lot of things about death.
Anyway, I walked in and saw her, she wasn’t like I remembered her though. She had no hair left, she had lost at least forty pounds, and she was laying in a bed, a bunch of medical devices and stuff surrounding it.
When she saw me, she kept quiet. She just glared at me, waiting for me to make the first step. I walked towards the nearest chair, and fell into it. “Hi mom.” Was all I’ve found to say.
“Hello, Spitfire.” I remember that, when she replied to me, a smile appeared on her face. “How are you doing?”
“Fine, I guess.” I felt guilt at this moment, I was never here for her, and she had dared to smile at me. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner, I-”
“It’s okay, sweetie.” Sweetie… It’s been years since she had called me that for the last time. “I know you’ve been busy, but I watch every show you appear in…” She admitted to me, “It’s almost like you’re with me every day.”
It had broken me. She was a lovely, caring woman, and I was just a brat who was never there for her own mother. Don’t need to tell ya’ that I felt like shit.
The same afternoon, when I came home, my best friend Fleetfoot tried to cheer me up, but I wasn’t in the mood. I told her to fuck off so I could have some time alone.
I spent the whole day alone, in my house. Well, it was more a mansion than a house actually, but let’s not go astray.
I remember that I was working on my baby, and th… What? Oh yeah, my baby is my motorcycle. A Big Dog K9 fully customized by yours truly. It sure wasn’t the best motorcycle I had, but it was the first one I’ve bought with my Wonderbolt’s money, and it was by far my favorite.
Anyway, I was working on it, when I heard footsteps in my garage. I remembered growling at that moment, I thought it was Fleetfoot coming back, or another team member who wanted to cheer me up.
But, oh boy I wasn’t prepared.
“Good evening, miss Spitfire.” It was the strangest voice I’ve ever heard, calm but sending a cold shiver down your spine. When I turned around to see who dared to entered my private property, I saw a man. Standing here with his cane with a skull on top of it. He wore a formal hat, and a smile… Boy, I’ll never forget that smile.
“Who are y- No you know what, I don’t care.” I said, standing up to my feet to face him. “You’ve got five minutes to get the fuck out before I call the police.”
“And not listen what I have to say?” I already hated that smug, haughty tone.
“Yep, I don’t care.” I’ve replied.
“That’s too bad then.” He said, walking towards the exit. “To think I came here to help you heal your poor, poor mother.”
And that’s where, I’ve made the first mistake.
“Wait!” I said, just when he reached the door. He turned to face me, still wearing that fucking smile.
“Yes?”
“I… What do you mean, help me heal my mother?”
His smile grew wider as he walked towards me, I still remember the sound of his cane hitting the ground, resonating through my garage. “Let’s just say that, I maybe, can cure your mother’s cancer.”
“Yeah, sure.” I rolled my eyes to show him I didn’t believed any crap he was telling me.
“Believe me,” He said, “I can do a lot of things.”
“Even if you can heal her, and that’s a big if,” I said, walking in his direction to stand in front of him, and he too, smells like death. “What’ll it cost me?”
“Well, curing a cancer isn’t an easy thing to do. The price is a bit higher than you’ll expect.” He said, still smiling.
“Whatever the cost, if it means healing my mom.” I replied to him with a scowl. “I’m pretty rich you know, whatever your price is, I can pay it.”
He chuckled and his grin grew wider, and sinister. “I’m not exactly interested in your money.”
I raised an eyebrow at his statement. He didn’t want my money? Bullshit, everyone wanted my money. But I decided to play along and I asked him, “What do you want then.”
He glared at me, but I knew he wasn’t watching me. No, he was looking through me, he was looking for the only thing he was interested in. “Your soul.” He stated.
I stood quietly in front of him. Did I hear him right? Did he want my soul? Who’s that freak? I laughed at him and turned around, “Dude you almost got me there. Listen pal, I don’t know what trick you’re-”
But he wasn’t listening, instead he walked towards my workbench and took a curious look at my tools, “Tomorrow, your mother will be better, I swear it to you.” He turned to face me, and this time he had a scroll in his hand. He opened it in front of me and held it to me. “All you have to do, is to sign this.”
I took it curiously and started reading it, but it was in a language I didn’t understand. Hell, I didn’t know if it was a language at all.
“What do you say?” He asked me, handing me a strange pen.
What do I have to lose? That’s what I asked myself, even if he was telling me shit, it was just a piece of paper. There was no way he could actually take my soul, right?
Like I said, I was young, and I was dumb.
“Okay.”
And this, is my second mistake.
His smile couldn’t be more sinister, but I didn’t care at that moment, I took his pen and started to write my name under the ‘contract’ he was holding me, but… “Your pen is broken.” I stated. Indeed, I tried to write my name but the pen didn’t wanted to work.
“That’s because he needs blood.” He said, casually.
A looked at him and raised an eyebrow but he stood still, still smiling.
“Weirdo.” I’ve said, under my breath.
I picked myself with the pen and wrote my name with my own blood…
“…”
“And? What happened next?” The man asked.
Spitfire sighed and avoided his glare, she put her hand in her pocket an let out a pack of smoke. She took one and lightened it up, before putting the pack back in her pocket.
“I would’ve thought that you’d hate cigarettes.” He said, a bit of a grin appearing on his face.
“Do as I say, not as I do.” She said, taking a hit on her smoke.
She knew she shouldn’t do that, but when you’ve went through all that she went through, it's not a cigarette that was going to scare you.
“Well, I don’t really remember what happened next to be honest…” She said, taking another hit, slowly letting the smoke getting out of her mouth. “All I remember was waking up in my bed the next morning, like all this was just a dream.”
“I see.” He nodded.
“You know, you’re a bit strange,” I said, leaning against the edge of the table, “A sane person would think I’m crazy. I mean, a pact with the devil? That’s not shit you hear every day.”
He smiled at her and gets up from his seat, he approached the mirror on the wall, and make a sign to whoever was on the next side of it. Spitfire wasn’t dumb, she knew there was people watching them on the other side of it. She watched TV.
“I’ve seen a lot of things you know,” He said, “A man transforming himself in a green monster, a rich playboy who didn’t know what to do with his money making the most powerful armor that exists, beings from other dimensions…” He walked towards Spitfire as he was speaking, and grinned at her. “So, believe me, you making a pact with the devil is the sanest thing I’ve heard for a very long time.”
She couldn’t help but imitate his smile, this man surely has some story to tell.
Spitfire turned her head when she heard the door being opened, and she saw a man wearing a pair of glasses and a long white coat entering the room, showing her a shy smile. “Hello miss, I’ve heard you’re our new… recruit.” He didn’t know if he had made the right choice of word.
“I guess I am…” She said, looking down at him. “And who the fuck are you?”
“Oh, yes! Forget my manners.” He said as he held out his hand to her. She rolled her eyes but shake it anyway, “I’m the Dr. Bruce Banner, pleasure to meet you.”
She was going to make a snarky remark about his nerdy look, but he turned to face the other man.
“Director Fury…” He said, “It seems we have found it… Mr. Stark is heading there as we speak.”
The mysterious man nodded and looked at Spitfire, “I’m sorry miss, but I have to go, I leave you in the most capable hand of Doctor Banner.”
“Great.” She replied.
She watched him go and closed the door behind him, then she glared at Bruce who took the chair Fury used to seat in.
“What was that?” She asked him.
“So…” He started, “You said that you woke up in your bed the next morning?”
She frowned when she saw that he wasn’t going to answer her questions, so she just shrugged and took another cigarette. If she was going to tell the whole story, she needed it.
“Yeah…”
I woke up in a burst, my sheets were wet because of my sweat, and my head hurt like hell. I slowly sat on the edge of my king-sized bed, and took my head in my head.
Was it a dream? Or did it really happen? I didn’t have to think twice that my phone started to ring on my nightstand, I took it, not bothering to see who was calling and I answered the call. “Yep?”
“Miss Spitfire! Good morning!” I instantly recognized the voice of my mom’s doctor.
“Oh, doctor. Hi.” I replied, my headache was still hurting me like hell.
“I don’t know where to start,” He quickly added, “So I’ll get straight to the point.”
What the fuck was he talking about?
“Your mother, her cancer is… Cured!”
I almost fall from where I was sitting, I jumped on my feet, in total disbelief. “No shit.”
“We have no idea how it happens but, after the morning scans, we found out that, it was totally gone!” He said, with a cheerful voice.
“How is it even possible…” I asked him.
But truth is, I knew how. It was the pact I made with that man. He told me that he could cure my mother, and he did it. I didn’t care how he did it, he just did it. I didn’t realize I was smiling until I saw my reflection in my bedroom’s mirror.
“C-Can I see her?”
“Of course! We still need to keep her for more tests but, you can come any time you want!”
I immediately ended the call, not bothering to say goodbye or something like that, took my keys on my nightstand, and ran toward my garage. I mounted my baby and started the engine, she purred as well as usual. I put on my helmet and didn’t waste any more time as I drove to the hospital…
“Excuse me to interrupt you but… Can we skip the details and get straight to the point?” Dr Banner asked, still smiling at Spitfire. It seems to bother him to ask her that.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Spitfire asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you wanted to know how it happened.”
“Yes but, we’re running out of time I’m afraid.” He said, checking the time on his watch.
“Urgh, okay then… morron.” She said.
Seeing that he wasn’t going to react at her insult, she took a big inspiration and continued her story.
“Mom!” I screamed when I entered her room.
She was sitting on her bed, and beamed at me when she saw me. She looked a lot better than the day before. “Spitfire!” She jumped from her bed and took me in a tight hug, “Have heard the great news?”
I ended the hug and smiled at her, “Yeah, there’s going have a big discount at my favorite sushi shop!”
She laughed and hit me in the shoulder, “Oh, you.”
“No seriously,” I said, “I’m happy for you mom.”
The smile my mom wore dropped a little as she told me in a hushed voice, “Isn’t it a bit strange? I mean… getting cured just like that?”
I avoided her look and let out a nervous laugh, “Ahah, well, who cares? You’re better now, and that’s the most important thing.”
Her smile returned as she told me, “Yes! And the doctors said that I will be out tomorrow!”
“That soon?”
“Well, if I’m not sick anymore, they’ve got no reason to keep me here, am I right?”
Her laugh was contagious so I laughed with her, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Hey, we’ve got a big show in the city tomorrow, I can get you a ticket in the front row if you want.”
Her smile couldn’t be wider as she took me in another hug and screamed, “I would love to!”
So here I was. My mother was cured and it was the only thing I cared about. When I told the boys, they weren’t believing it. Fleetfoot looked like she was going to cry, Surprise wanted to throw a big party… I swear to god, this gal’ wants to party anytime she can, and Soarin said that we needed to go to the bar to celebrate that, and of course, we did.
And here it comes. The big day, it was the biggest show we’ve ever done in New York. Of course, I didn’t know at that moment that it would be my last but…
Yeah. I woke up early this morning, eat a nice breakfast, did a bit of sports, wanted to keep the shape you know?
When I arrived at the arena, paparazzi and reporters were surrounding me and I was forced to make a few interviews so they can let me in peace…
Okay, okay, straight to the point, sorry, I get it.
I was in the private room, preparing myself for the big show, when I heard someone opening the door, when I looked who it was, I smiled and walked toward her. “Hi mom.”
“Hi sweetie.” She greeted me, looking even better than yesterday. “Ready for the big day? I’ve heard that you’re going to jump over a helicopter!”
I laughed and smiled as I told her, “Just between you and me, it’ll be three helicopters.”
“Aren’t you a reckless girl.” My mom said with a chuckle.
“Aren’t you a bit concerned?” I taunted her.
“Not at all.” She said, “I know you can do it.”
That’s how my mom was, she always believed in me. Always.
We were interrupted by Soarin who knocked on the door before letting his head pass, “Yo, Spit! Get ready, starting in ten minutes!”
“I’m coming!” I told him. I turned to face my mother and kissed her on her cheek, “You better not miss anything!”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
I leaved the room, dodged a few more paparazzi and I joined the boys who were waited for me.
It was actually the greatest moment of my life, as I went down the ramp on my bike with the others, everyone cheering, and as I look to the front row, I saw my mother, smiling at me.
It all went quick. The helicopters landed on the grass of the stadium through the big opening in the roof. I lit up the afterburners, and jumped at an incredible speed.
The thing I was feeling at that moment… man. The energy, the adrenalin, the rush…
I landed perfectly on the other side, the crowd went wild. They were all chanting my name. ‘Spitfire! Spitfire! Spitfire!’
Like I said. I was the best.
“Is… this the day your mother died?” Dr Banner asked her.
Spitfire glared furiously at him, but kept quiet. She sighed and asked to him “Can I have a… coffee or something?”
He smiled and nodded, he made a sign to the mirror, and a minute later, a girl came in with the drink she asked. Spitfire took a sip and smiled. Black, just like she loved it.
“After the show I told her to wait for me outside…” She finally said.
“Yo Spit!” Fleetfoot was calling me just when I was going to leave our private room, “We’re going to have a drink with the boys, wanna come?”
“Sorry Fleet’, I kinda told my mom I was going to spend the day with her.” I said with a apologetic smile.
“No prob’ dude,” She said, “I get it, better make up for the lost time, right?”
I smiled at her and leaved the room. As always, I had to make my way through the paparazzi that was surrounding me, but I was in a such great mood that it didn’t bothered me like always, I even found it funny for once.
I reached the main gate of the stadium and saw her, waving at me. But I saw something behind her. As I narrowed my eyes to see it better, a cold shiver went down my spine. It was him.
The dude I sign a contract with. What was he doing here?
Then, everything went cold around me when I saw what was coming. I ran toward her, but it was too late. A truck had lost control and ran into the sidewalk.
At least ten people were standing on the sidewalk at that moment… including my mother.
I stood there, the world was evaporating around me. All I could hear was the muffled sound of screaming. But I couldn’t even move my leg.
Soarin grabbed me by the arm and screamed something at me. I didn’t understand. Then it was Fleetfoot, she looked horrified, but I didn’t understand what she told me either.
The world was fading. Surrounded by the dark, all I could see was a face… His face…
“…”
“…”
“It… must’ve been awful.” Banner said, looking at the ground.
Spitfire quietly nodded, holding back her tears. She didn’t want to cry in front of him. Besides, it happened ten years ago, she had made her mourning long ago.
“Yeah it was… Have you ever… Lost someone you care about?” Spitfire asked, her head down, looking up to look at him.
“Yes, I have.” He said, looking away.
She sighed, it must’ve been hours she was here and she started to be tired of it.
“Thanks for sharing all of this Miss,” The doctor said, “However, I’d like to-”
“I know what you want.” She stopped him from finishing his sentence, “You want me to tell you about the first time I… Transformed.” She added, no emotions in her voice.
“Yes please, it’ll be very helpful.”
“Well, for that…” She stretched her arms and crossed her legs, “We have to take a little jump in time, three years after that to be exact.”
I was lying on my couch, an empty bottle of tequila on my side, watching the TV. Those three years haven’t been really kind to me. I drank, a lot.
Since, I became more irresponsible, and someone running away from their responsibilities isn’t someone you can rely on. So, to make it short, I was fired from my position of Wonderbolt’s captain.
Yeah, it hit hard, and it resulted in me drinking even more than I already was. But even if I had hit rock bottom, my friends were at least still here.
Speaking of which, I heard my front door open. Not the one of my house, because I had to sell it. All of my bikes too. I just kept my baby, I would never sell it, even if it’s a question of life or death.
I heard her closing the door of my apartment, putting of her shoes of, and heading toward the living room, where I was.
“Spit…” Fleetfoot said, watching me lying completely drunk on my couch.
She sighed and picked up the empty bottle of tequila to throw it. She took a sit on the couch and I moved in a sitting position while my head was spinning.
“Spit,” She repeated, “You can’t go on like this, I mean just look at you.”
I turned my head to look at the mirror handing on my wall and I saw on of the most beautiful young woman I’ve ever saw, and next to her, it was me. Big bags under my eyes, my skin became livid from the lack of sunlight, and my eyes were red.
“Why don’t you come live with me?” She asked me, again.
She already proposed it many times, but I always declined. She was my closest friend and I loved her but, I wanted to be able to ruminate on my fate, I needed it.
I didn’t reply and instead, gets up from the couch, heading toward my kitchen to take a beer from my fridge.
“Ya’ can’t always ran from it you know?” Fleetfoot said, she had followed me to the kitchen.
“It seems I’ve done a great job this far.” I replied to her, taking a sip of my beer.
“Spitfire, stop being an ass and listen to me.”
I sighed but I did as she told me and glared at her, putting my beer on the table.
“This…” She gestured towards me, “Isn’t you! I don’t recognize you anymore! I know it must’ve been hard but… It’s been three fucking years! You have to move on!”
I knew she was right. I was glad she was here for me though, I couldn’t hang out with Soarin and Surprise as much as I wanted to, but Fleetfoot always had time for me. If we weren’t friends for all those years, I maybe could have fall in love with her, who knows.
I sighed as I sat on a chair next to my table, and she did the same thing, “I… I’ve got nothing left Fleet’. Just look around you, I haven’t just lost my mother, I lost everything that I have.”
“And who’s fault is that?”
Of course, Fleetfoot thought it was only my fault, and I couldn’t blame her for that. But when she said that, his face appeared in my head. It was his fault, not mine.
Fleetfoot sighed, getting me out of my thought, “We’re going out tonight, with the others. You’re welcome if you want to. They’re worried about you, you know.”
I just rolled my eyes, “I’m glad they didn’t forget about me.”
It was Fleetfoot’s turn to roll her eyes, “Don’t be like that, you know you’re still our friend. Nothing is going to change that.”
She was right, after all the things I went through with the boys, we were almost like brothers and sisters.
“So, you’ll come?” She asked me.
Feeling like I was trapped, I gave up and shrugged my shoulders, “Sure.”
She beamed at me as she gets up, “I’ll send you the address, I have to go now, still got work to do.”
I winced at that statement but didn’t say a word, I accompanied her at the door, and we hugged each other as a goodbye.
Few hours later she did what she was going to do as she send me the address of the bar they were hanging out.
I tried to fix up my face a bit, makeup to hide the bags under my eyes, I brushed my hair for the first time in weeks and put on my best leather jacket.
“Come on,” I said grabbing the edge of my sink, speaking at my reflection in the mirror, “Get your shit together Spitfire.”
I nodded and tried to smile at myself, but it seemed forced so I quickly gave up. But then, I felt something… strange. I looked at my hands, and for a second, I almost thought they had become red, like they were burning, but it wasn’t the case, they were the same as always.
“You’re imagining things, girl.” I said as I finished preparing myself.
I took my keys and closed the door behind me as I leaved my apartment. I headed towards the underground garage, and opened up the box were my baby was.
“Oh no.”
It wasn’t there.
She wasn’t there.
I looked around, like a huge motorcycle like this one could be hiding anywhere, but I didn’t find it. Instead I heard a laughter resonating through the underground.
I thought I was going crazy until I heard the engine of my motorcycle purring. It came from outside. So, I headed toward the back exit of the garage and arrived in a dark alley, behind the apartment complex I was living in.
She was there, in the middle of the alley. I walked cautiously towards it, and, just when I was going to mount it, approving to myself the fact that I was going crazy, I saw him. Standing a few feet away from me. I frowned, a glare filled with rage as I pointed my finger in his direction. “You.”
“Good evening, Spitfire.” He said to me, smiling like he always was.
I looked away and mounted my bike, I wasn’t in the mood for any of his shit right now.
“I’m here to collect my debt.” He said, walking towards me.
I tried to accelerate, to get away from him as far as I could, but I found myself immobilized. “I don’t think so.” I barked.
“But we made a pact, right? That you signed with your own blood.”
“And you didn’t respect it.”
This time, his smile dropped, and he frowned. “I’m really hurt to hear that, my part of the deal was to cure your mother’s cancer, and I did it.”
Why couldn’t I move?
“You killed her!”
“She was going to stand in our way.” He stated, his smile was back.
I growled, “Why are you here?”
“Oh, Spitfire,” He chuckled, “I’ve always been here, since you’re a child. I always had a… big interest in you.”
He walked in circle around me, and I couldn’t even move.
“Los Angeles, New York, Canterlot… I watched you every time. I’m your greatest fan.”
“Why?” I asked.
“It’s like, watching an investment that keeps growing and growing… Until the day you cash in.” He finished, his smile growing as he walked right next to me. “That day is today Spitfire. Find the one known as Sombra, and destroy him.”
What the fuck was he even talking about? Sombra? To destroy him? “Find him yourself and get the fuck off.”
He chuckled, “It doesn’t work like that, you’re under contract, do you remember? If you succeed, I’ll return your soul.”
I rolled my eyes, “Yeah, I don’t think I’m doing it.”
This time his face deformed itself and his smile grew wider, much wider. “You don’t have a choice.”
He tapped his cane on the back wheel of my bike, and it launched itself way faster that it normally could.
The world was passing by at full speed as I had to squint my eyes, but it was a strange feeling, I was going at a speed normally unattainable with a motorcycle.
I didn’t saw where I was until the bike stopped itself and I flew over the handlebar and landed on the ground.
The fall didn’t hurt me at all, but I felt burning from the inside, and I screamed as loud as I could.
I felt my skin melting because of the fire burning under it. Soon all I could see watching my hands was my skin disappearing, only letting me to see my bones. I screamed for help, for anything. But no one was here as I was burning from the inside.
And suddenly, all the pain I was feeling was gone. Just like that. Instead I felt… good.
I got up on my feet, and saw on the windows at the other side of the warehouse…
I saw a monster. That thing wasn’t me. A skull, coated with flames. Staring right at me.
And the worst of it was that… I enjoyed it. And the only thing that was on my mind at that moment was to find this Sombra. And destroy him.
Spitfire opened her eyes and quickly sat on her bed. She was sweating and breathing loudly, looking everywhere around her in total panic. She calmed down, put her hand on her chest and she started breathing exercises to regain her calm.
“That nightmare again…” She said, sighing.
She was sleeping in a room given to her by Bruce Banner, in a secret complex in the middle of nowhere. After she told him her story, he said that they needed her to stick around, to do some test or some things like that. She didn’t mind, in fact she was happy to help, but it was hard to remember… In fact, she didn’t want to remember. It happened seven years ago and she wanted it to stay in the past.
“Stop running away from your problems, Spitfire.” She said to herself, remembering the words from one of her friends, sitting on the edge of her bed.
She checked her phone and saw it was only five in the morning. She rolled her eyes, but she knew she couldn’t go to sleep right now, so she gets up, stretched a bit, and walked toward the door.
She actually had no idea where she was, she didn’t have any window in her room, so she thought that maybe she was underground or something like that. When she walked towards the door, she grumbled when it opened itself.
“Everyone could have entered with no problem… That’s great, I’m not into privacy that much.” She said to herself, not forgetting her pack of smoke before leaving her room.
She walked silently in a blank corridor, every step she makes did a sound echoing through the empty halls. When she arrived at the end of the corridor, she entered a small room where a woman was sat in a big black office chair, behind a desk.
“Miss Spitfire, good mornin’.” She said smiling at her with a strong country accent. “Can Ah ask where ya’ goin’?”
Spitfire didn’t reply, she just shows to the woman her pack of smoke and the woman nodded, pushing a button on her desk, calling the elevator.
“Be quick though,” She said, “Ah’m not supposed to let ya’ out right now.”
“Yeah, thanks I suppose.” Spitfire replied, entering the elevator.
She didn’t have to do anything that the elevator starts climbing to an unknown floor. Spitfire frowned, sure she was happy to help them, but they could at least tell her where she was and what she was supposed to do. She almost felt like she was in prison. At least they weren’t keeping her against her will, she agreed to it but… What if she said no? Would they have forced her?
“Meh, if that was the case, I could’ve whooped their asses in an instant.” She said to herself, hopping it was true.
Just before complaining it was taking too long, the elevator stopped and opened directly outside, in some sort of balcony. The sun wasn’t out yet, but she could see clearly in the night in front of her. The building where she was, was surrounded by trees. A lot of trees.
“Great, so we’re in a forest in the middle of nowhere that’s right?” Of course, no one replied.
She took a cigarette from her pack and light it up, before walking towards the fence, laying her arms on it.
She took a hit and slowly lets out the smoke from her mouth.
She shivered and was glad she took her jacket, the wind was cold and Spitfire remembered it was almost Christmas. She wasn’t the type of person who liked Christmas, she had nobody to celebrate with anyway…
She remembered when she was young, she used to spend Christmas with her mother and her uncle. She never knew her father, but her uncle used to always be there for her, but he died when she was ten and since, it was just her and her mother. Christmas never was the same without him, and every year, it became more and more sad until she dropped it and didn’t celebrate Christmas anymore.
Who knows, maybe she’ll spend Christmas here this year. That thought made her sigh.
She took another hit on her cigarette and started to think about her situation.
Even if it wasn’t a five stars hotel, Spitfire wasn’t complaining that much. She heard interesting things last night before going to sleep. She heard some ‘agents’, because that was how they were called, talking about some stuff. At first, Spitfire didn’t care much of what they were talking about, but when she started to listen closely, she found it to be… Surprising. She heard them talk about a girl starting to play super hero, calling herself Spider-girl, and they were watching her very closely.
Spitfire laughed at that, it seems she was still a kid, and she hopped she wasn’t going to let herself killed.
She looked up at the empty, star-less sky and sighed, taking another hit on her smoke. Maybe she could have done that rather than staying in her home, drinking beer and smoking weed. Welp, she quit smoking weed two years ago, but she still wasn’t proud of that part of her life.
With her capacity she could’ve help a lot of people. But she didn’t, she kept it hidden. The truth was that she was afraid of it. Not that she couldn’t control it, she learned that, but she didn’t want to hurt people. Not anymore. Not with the power he gave to her. She already lost so much because of that power…
And to be honest, Spitfire couldn’t see a world where she was a hero. Not after what happened.
She turned her head when she heard the elevator opening, she blew smoke from her nose and turned her gaze away, when she saw who it was.
“Ah, Spitfire, I was told I could find you here. I’m surprised you’re already awake.” Dr Bruce Banner said, walking toward her with two cups of coffee, his messy hair showing he was just getting out of bed. He was wearing his pair of glasses and a long white bathrobe.
She didn’t waste any more time and asked, scowling at him, “Where are we exactly?”
He chuckled and took place next to her, mimicking her position, “Straight to the point uh?”
Seeing she was glaring at him he smiled and held out to her a cup of coffee. She took it but didn’t thanks him for it.
“We’re in one of the SHIELD headquarters, not too far away from Canterlot City. In fact, we’re at the edge of a forest called the Everfree Forest.”
She raised an eyebrow, taking a sip from her coffee. “The SHIELD?”
“The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.” He nodded.
“And I’m supposed to know that?” She asked.
He grinned and said, “Nope, not at all.”
“And what you guys are doing here?” She asked, if she was going to stay here a while, she could at least know what they were going to do.
“We’re a special law enforcement and counter terrorism agency…” He sighed, “But now we mostly deal with paranormal and superhuman threats to international security.”
“Am I a threat?” Spitfire asked, looking in front of her.
“We don’t think you are,” He said, “Are you?”
She looked at him, and for the first time, snickered. “Maybe.”
“It’ll be a shame,” He said, taking a sip from his drink, “I was starting to like you.”
It almost made Spitfire blush, almost, “Eh, that’s because you don’t know me very well.”
“I think I know more about you that you’ll probably think.” He replied, an amusing glare on his face. “After all, I know everything about you, you told me your story remember?”
Spitfire sighed and looked away, finishing her coffee, “I didn’t tell you… everything.”
“Is that so?” He asked, not surprised a bit. “So, what about you told me a bit more then?”
“I…”
“Off the record,” He quickly added, “Just you and me.”
Spitfire took a look at him and saw a sincere smile on his face. Maybe, just for once, she could drop her guard. “Well…”
Like I told you, I had a mission engraved in my mind. I had to ‘destroy’ that Sombra dude. I had no clue who it was and where I could find him. But of course, thanks to my powers, I easily did.
After driving on my baby for a few miles… Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you, I wasn’t the only one who had a transformation. It seemed I was linked to my baby, because it changed too. It was a more aggressive look, with bones on the side, and fire escaping from the wheels. It suited well the monster I had become, quite frankly.
I arrived in what seemed to be an old graveyard but I could feel the evil forces here. I drove towards the entrance of the old dilapidated church in the center of the graveyard, not too far away from the city, I stopped my bike and walked towards the entrance, and without thinking twice, I entered.
I saw three men, standing at the other side of the church, they turned immediately when they heard me, and I could see them clearly even in the dark.
The man standing at the left was the smallest one, he had long dark hair that seemed to be wet, dark eyes and a half smile showing his rotten teeth.
The one standing on the right was bald, he was the one who looked the more human of the three. He had a scared look when he saw me.
And, there was the man standing in the middle, I could feel he was much powerful that the two others, when he saw me, he raised an eyebrow, a neutral expression on his face.
He had a dark skin, dark eyes, and dark long hair. He was the tallest of the three, and just looking at him made me feel uneasy. Well, it made Spitfire uneasy, the thing I had become didn’t care less.
I didn’t have to think much to know what those three were. They were demons.
“Look what my father brought us.” The demon in the middle said with a chuckle, looking down on me. “His own watchdog.”
“Sombra!” The bald one said in a hush tone, “It’s… It’s the Ghostrider! We should leave!”
It made Sombra laugh, a dark creepy laugh. “Don’t be afraid.” He said, looking at the bald demon. “Just looking at it made me realize Mephisto must be desperate.”
“What should we do?” The one with the wet hair asked when he saw me walking toward them.
Sombra stepped in, “Welcome, Ghostrider!” He greeted me with a wide smirk, “I know what my father told you, but listen to me before doing something you might regret.”
I didn’t know why, but I stopped. He smiled when he saw that I was listening to him.
“It is a shame really, so much power at your disposal, and yet, you’re doing my father’s dirty work.” He walked slowly towards me, “I have a more interesting offer for you. Your power can be a great help for us. What do you say, wanna drop the old man and join us? You won’t regret it, I promise.” He asked to me, with the exact same smile his father used to wear.
He was standing just a few feet away from me.
I could feel the energy emanating from him. I was standing in front of pure evil. I didn’t know why, but I raised my finger, pointing in his direction. And I said the first thing that came on my mind.
“You,” I said, with a voice that wasn’t mine. “Guilty.”
Sombra frowned and sighed, looking at his feet. “What a shame, really… I guess we’ll show you what we did to your predecessor then.”
I was going to walk toward him, to do what? I don’t know. But I couldn’t, my feet wouldn’t move. I looked at them and saw a pair of hands gripping my feet from a puddle of water that wasn’t here before. Then I saw a face in the water, the face of the demon with rotten teeth, smiling at me.
I felt something wrong and looked in front of me. The bald one was standing there, and punched me with so much strength that it should have killed me in an instant.
I flew toward the church and landed in the giant crucifix that was standing on the altar. It dropped on the ground with a deafening noise coming from the chains that used to hold it dropping on the ground.
“Wallow, Gressil, get rid of him… Or her, whatever.” Sombra said with a gesture of his hand, watching from the entrance of the church.
“Should be easy.” Gressil -the bald one- said, having his confidence back.
He walked toward me and grabbed me by the collar. He tried to punch me in the face… In the skull. But I grabbed his hand just when it was going to reach me, and I punched him in the gust, sending him right in the wall.
He gets up not without difficulties and stood next to Wallow, the one with long hair.
Wallow disappeared in a puddle and Gressil ran toward me trying to punch me, but I easily dodge every hit and send him backward with a stroke of my forearm. I felt the other one in my back and I turned around to grab his face with my skinless hand and slammed him on the ground. That coward went back to hide himself in that little pathetic puddle of his.
Wasn’t gonna get screwed twice by the same trick.
Something hit me on my back and made me stumble, I turned my gaze in that direction and saw Gressil who punched me right in the face. I made a step back, right in the puddle of water where Wallow was hidden and he grabbed my foot once again.
Gressil used that opportunity to run into me and send me a few meters away. I landed in a heap of chains with so much noise it could’ve awakened the dead, and in the meantime, I didn’t feel something falling from my pocket.
I wasn’t hurt badly but if I wanted to defeat those two, I’ll have to be smarter than them, not just rush straight in. Then, as I stood up, I saw a long metallic chain right next to me. It gave me an idea. If I couldn’t take them both in hand-to-hand combat, I’ll have to keep them at distance.
I quickly grabbed it when I saw Gressil heading in my way and lunched it in his direction. He dodged it with a side step and laughed, “What was that?”
I didn’t reply, instead, I concentrated and, just thinking about it, my chain caught fire instantly. If a skeleton could smirk, I would’ve, seeing that goofball head of his. As he watched with astonishment, he said “She’s way more powerful than the previous one.”
I launched it upon my head and I started to swirl it above us. It made a vortex of flame that started to grow more and more as I swirled it, the temperature in the church heating up.
Gressil didn’t move, he just watched with stupefaction, but lucky for him his friend jumped in his way and helped him dodge the attack as I slammed the chain on the ground, resulting in a deafening earthquake. The wall of the church started to fall down and everything was caught on fire.
I was standing in the middle of all that, glaring at those two. At that moment, I remember asking myself if maybe, I was more a demon than them.
I walked towards them as Gressil was getting up. I launched my all fired up chain in his direction and immobilized him with it, the chain was around him from head to toe.
He screamed in pain as he was burning alive, and I just watched it quietly. I was killing someone, and I didn’t care.
In fact, I enjoyed it.
I was such enjoying his screams of pain that I didn’t felt Wallow hit me in the back with a demonic strength.
But I didn’t move. I just turned my gaze in his direction and he looked at me with big eyes. I kicked him in the guts sending him backward, still holding on my chain that was burning his little friend.
Then, I launched Gressil right on top of Wallow. It resulted in a flame explosion, heating up a bit more the temperature.
The walls still standing were melting, and a normal human being should be dead just from the heat emitting from me.
As I watched in their direction, I realized that half of Gressil’s body had turned into dust. I killed him without realizing it.
I put the chain around me, dissipating the fire on it. I walked slowly toward the remaining demon. He screamed in terror when he saw me walking toward him and he tried to crawl away.
I grabbed him by the throat and lift him up.
“Look at me.” I said while he was trying to get away from my grip.
“No please, no!” He screamed and begged in fear, “Sombra please!”
I didn’t have to look behind me to know that Sombra was long gone.
“Look at me in the eyes.” I repeated myself.
Then, when I looked in his eyes, I saw… Everything. Every bad thing he had done in his entire life. I was reading his soul. I saw all the people he had hurt, all the pain he caused. And I turned it against him. I continued until I felt the life slowly leaving his glare, until I dropped him on the ground, dead.
“Woaw,” Bruce said, “What was that?”
“With time, I called it the penance stare,” Spitfire replied, taking a hit from the cigarette she had, “When I lock my eyes with an opponent, I’m imposing him every negative actions, sensation and behavior, from sins to the pain of others that they have ever committed in their lifetime. It’s my most powerful capacity.” She explained.
“It’s… a bit scary.” Dr Banner admitted.
“Yeah… I know.” Spitfire replied, not daring to look at him in the eyes.
“And what happened after that?”
“I don’t really remember… Sombra was gone… I left the church and… The next thing I remembered was me waking up in my bed.”
Spitfire got a fake chuckle, “I killed this son of a bitch not long after that.”
“I see…”
They both stood quietly, laying their arms on the fence. Spitfire couldn’t tell why she was telling him all of this, he wasn’t her friend but… She could sense he was genuinely here to help her. He wasn’t judging her and he was understanding. With that thought in mind, something tilted her.
“Who are you?” She asked.
He raised his eyebrow at the sudden question, “I’m Doctor Bruce Banner, I already told you th-”
“Not that.” She shakes her head, “I don’t think anyone might be able to understand me. Yet, you are, so it seems to me that you went through something… Similar?”
It seemed she hit the nail on the head because he frowned at that statement, and sighed. “Yeah… Similar isn’t the right term though, I’ve never faced a demon in my life.” He finished in a chuckle.
“That’s what I thought.” She said, turning herself so she could rest her back on the fence, “So, care to explain to me?”
He stayed quiet for a moment, then, when Spitfire was going to tell him to forget it, he spoke, “When I’m angry I…” He turned away his gaze, “Transform myself into that… monster.”
Spitfire grinned at that remark, “So, it seems pretty similar to me.”
“Not really, because you’ve said that you have learned how to control it.” He stated, “I don’t. Even after all these years, when the monster comes out, I…” He didn’t finish his sentence, instead he greeted his teeth.
Spitfire put her hand on his shoulder, taking him aback by the sudden display of affection, “I know the feeling dude. But I’m sure one day, you will.”
He raised his head to look at her and asked, “You really think so?”
“I’m pretty sure.” She said, a grin on her face.
They stood there, looking at each other for a minute before they both turned their head away, she tried to hide away her blush, and he tried to hide his. But he smiled nonetheless and said, “Thank you.”
“Meh, don’t mention it.”
They got interrupted by Bruce’s phone ringing, he excused himself with a gesture of his hand and took the call. “Yes?”
Spitfire tried to listen to the conversation but she couldn’t hear clearly what was said on the other end of the line.
“Really?” Banner asked, a surprised look on his face, getting Spitfire’s attention. “Yes I… I’ll tell her right away… Thanks miss Hill.” He finished, hanging up the phone.
“What was that.”
He swallowed slowly, before looking into Spitfire’s eyes. “So, it’s true…” He just said.
“What?”
“He’s back.” He said calmly, closing his eyes.
She known all too well of who he was talking of, but she asked anyway, “W-who?”
“Mephisto.” He said, Spitfire felt suddenly very cold. “You have to come with me.” He said, starting to walk toward the elevator.
She followed him quietly, and they both entered the elevator. It automatically started to going downstairs, a much lower floor from where Spitfire’s room was. When the elevator opened, they were in some sort of computer room, with a lot of agents working there.
‘So, no one here knows what sleeping is uh?’ She asked herself.
Bruce resumed his walk, Spitfire following him closely. “Where are we?” She asked.
“This is where our agents work on finding any anomaly that has, or will, happen.” He explains, still walking.
She followed him until he stopped next to a girl working on her computer, she smiled when she saw Doctor Banner arrived and greeted hil. “Doctor Banner! Good morning.”
“Good morning,” He greeted calmly, “Maria Hill told me you’ve got something for us.”
“Yes,” She looked at her screen and clicked on her mouse, a map of the country appeared on the screen with a small area highlighted in red. “Magic has been felt in this particular area, we asked Strange about it, and he said it definitely was demonic magic.”
“So, nothing to do with the magic we’ve found in Canterlot?” Banner asked.
“No, the magic felt in Canterlot was a light magic, not dark like this one.” She explained, with another click on her mouse, a window opened with some graphs Spitfire had a hard time to understand. “See? The graphs here show us that whatever was the magic used in Canterlot a few months ago, it isn’t as bad as this one.”
“And what about this guy who like to use magic whenever he feels like it?”
“That guy in Canterlot with a scary mask? Yeah, I thought it was him at first but Strange said he wasn’t a threat to us, and after some calculations, the magic he used is way more different than this one.”
“Hmmm, I see.” Bruce banner seemed to think for a moment, before turning to look at Spitfire. “We should go there to see by ourselves.”
“Wait, what?” Spitfire wasn’t sure if this was a great idea. “Wait, have you any idea what this guy is capable of?”
She realized her hands started to shiver, and she hide them behind her back, it didn’t go unnoticed by Bruce, “Don’t worry, if it’s getting out of control, we’ll get the hell out of there.”
“Poor choice of words, and I still think it’s a bad idea.” She said.
“Listen,” Bruce started, “I know you must be afraid of him, but here we think that, if you could do good things for other people, you had a moral obligation to do those things.”
She sighed, she knew he was right. “Okay then, let’s go.”
He smiled in approval and gesture her to follow him to the elevator.
“Where are we going now?” She asked.
“To the Quinjet.” He replied.
“The what now?”
After a quick shower and getting dressed up, Spitfire followed Bruce in a hangar adjacent to the building they were in.
He leaded her to a huge and sophisticated jet right in the middle of the hangar.
“Okay that’s bad-ass.” Spitfire admitted, crossing her arms, when she saw the jet he talked about.
“It possesses two large, angle-adjustable rotors, one housed in each wing, which grants the aircraft its vertical take-off and landing capabilities. It also has adjustable wingtips that can be angled down to intensify the lift of the wing rotors and modify the movement of the ship.” Banner showed and explained to her as they stood in front of it. “And of course, it is heavily armed.” He added.
Spitfire frowned and said, “I see you guys can afford some shit.”
Banner chuckled while scratching the back of his head, “Yes we do.”
He gestured her to follow him inside and she did. The inside was more spacious that it looked from the outside. There were two pilots on the cockpit who greeted them with a sign of their hands, and a red head woman sitting on one of the seats. She was looking at something on a tablet, she didn’t raise her head to look who arrived as she spoke, “You take your time.” She said sharply.
“Good morning you too, Natasha.” Banner replied, sighing and rolling his eyes.
The obvious animosity between the two of them was obvious to Spitfire.
Natasha raised her head and glared at him, “It’s agent Romanoff for you.” Then she only noticed Spitfire and got up to shake her hand. “Hi, you must be our devil’s favorite.”
Spitfire frowned but shake her hand nonetheless, “Yeah I am.”
“Perfect, we should get going then.” She turned around and called the pilots, “Boys, we’re off.”
“Wait, she’s coming with us?” Spitfire asked.
“Believe me, it’ll be a mistake to not take her with us.”
Spitfire frowned got deeper, she didn’t like this woman, she can already tell.
“You can transform yourself into some kind of demon, that’s right?” Natasha asked, looking back at her tablet.
“Yeah, something like that.” Spitfire said, taking a sit next to Bruce Banner, at the other side of where Natasha was sitting. She crossed her arms and scowled her, “And what can you do?”
Natasha raised her eyes to look at her as she spoke, “Keep you both alive.” She said before returning to whatever was on her tablet.
‘It’s going to be a fun ride.’
The bridge of the Quinjet closed and it started to take off through the opening on the roof. Spitfire quickly puts her seatbelt on, she always hated flying.
“So, maybe we can use this time wisely and take advantage of the ride to talk a bit more about you?” Banner asked to Spitfire.
Spitfire pouted but asked, “What do you want to know?”
“Well, you said that you killed Sombra, but how did it happen?”
“You see…”
A few days after I killed those two morrons, Mephisto came to me. He explained to me why he wanted me to kill him.
I owe you this. He had dared to say to me.
He said that his son wanted to wake up an ancient demonic entity of some sort, more powerful than Mephisto himself. Honestly, I still don’t know what it is, and he told me that Sombra wanted to control it to take over the world. He didn’t want that to happen because he said, and I quote:
I love this world, I don’t want it to be destroyed.
Even today, I can’t tell if it was a joke or not. If you want my opinion, I just think that Mephisto was scared of his son, even if he wasn’t showing it. Anyway, as the days goes by, I learned how to control my transformation.
First of all, I cannot transform in the daylight. I must be in a dark place or it must be night if I want to be able to transform myself. It seemed that the sunlight was canceling my powers.
I also learned how to transform on command, but when I’m surrounded by evil, I automatically transform myself, I can’t help it.
I was beginning to control it fully, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. And I also was beginning to… Like it.
I was in my apartment, on my couch. I raised my hand in front of me and concentrate myself. I imagined myself with fire in my hand, and slowly, a small flame appeared.
“Yes!” I shouted.
But a knock on my door distracted me and I sent the flame right on my couch. I jumped in fear and started to panic. I heard another knock on the door.
“Spitfire? It’s me.” I heard Fleetfoot’s voice through the door, coming from the hall. “Can you let me in?”
“In a minute!” I shouted as my couch was on fire.
I concentrate myself and raised both of my hand, and slowly, I drawn the flame in my hands before they disappeared, leaving only a burned couch.
“Spitfire?” I heard Fleefoot who was getting more and more impatient.
“I said I was coming!” I yelled. Breathing slowly, I walked toward the door, and opened it a bit just enough so she can see my face. “Hi.”
“Hi?” She said, angry. “That’s all you’ve got to say? You didn’t come at the bar when you said you will, and I haven’t heard from you in days, and all you got to say to me is, hi?”
“Humm, yes?” I tried.
“Let me in.” She demands.
“Listen, now is not the right t-”
She didn’t care of what I had to say, she pushed the door open and walked past me. I closed the door and followed her into the living room. “Why does it smell like something had burned here?” She asked on her way in.
“I have no idea what you’re talking-”
“What the fuck happened here?”
“-about.” I finished.
She stood in front of my couch with big eyes, before looking at me with a worried look. “Spitfire…” She started, “What is happening to you?”
I wanted to say nothing but she knows when I’m lying, so I just turned my gaze away and bit my lower lip.
“You wouldn’t believe me…” I said.
“Try me.” She said, dropping herself in the nearest chair, crossing her legs.
“Okay…” I took a deep breath and let it all out, “I couldn’t come because I… made a pact.”
“A pact?”
“A pact, a deal, call it like you want.”
She nodded slowly with a questionable glare, “Go on.”
“I sold my soul… To the devil.”
“You… Sold your soul?” She asked, in a way that proved me that she didn’t believed me at all.
“Yeah, to the devil… I work for him.” I continued, even if I knew it was pointless.
She nodded and gestured me to continue.
“So, when the night came I… transform myself into that… Monster.”
“What kind of monster?” She asked me.
“Well, a sort of skeleton but my skull is…” I sighed, “My skull is on fire.”
“So,” She said, “You’re telling me that, you couldn’t come because, you made a pact with the devil of all people, and when it’s the night, you transform yourself into a monster skeleton… on fire?”
I rolled my eyes and turned away, “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this, you’re obviously don’t believe me.”
“No, I… I believe you.” She said, getting up to face me.
I raised my eyebrow as I asked her, “You do?”
“Well, I believe that you’re believing that.” She said, her worried look back on her face.
I frowned and coldly asked to her, “And what is that supposed to mean?”
She sighed and put her hand on my shoulder, “You need help Spitfire. Your drinking is getting worse and…”
I pushed away her hand and yelled at her, “See? That’s why I didn’t tell you!”
She frowned back, “And you were expecting me to believe all of this?”
“You wanted the truth? There it is, it’s your call to decide if you’re believing it or not!”
Fleetfoot sighed and grabbed her purse, “You know what, I quit.” She said, calmly, “You obviously don’t want my help, and to be honest with you… I’m tired of this. Come back to me if you want help, until then, I’ll leave you to your… fabulations.” She said walking toward the door.
“Yeah, get the fuck out.” I said coldly, “I don’t need you anyway!”
She didn’t reply as I heard the door close behind her.
I was alone again. The only friend who was worried about me… And I pushed her away. Like I always do.
The next day I woke up with a hangover, like I often do. I slowly sat on my half-burned couch, and grumbled at the vision of it.
“Ugh, I guess I’ll have to buy another one.” I said, rubbing the edges of my head. “Perfect, exactly what I needed... Fuck me.”
No need to explain that I was starting to getting low on money, and if I still wanted to have a roof upon my head, I’ll have to quickly find a…
“Job.” I grumbled with a frown.
Just thinking about it wasn’t putting me in a great mood. I got up and forgot my phone was on me, so it fell on my foot. I didn’t hurt much but it irritates me more than I already was, “Ugh!”
It wasn’t going to be a good day, that was for sure.
I entered my bathroom and took a quick shower before heading to my kitchen, pouring myself a cup of coffee. I took my phone and checked out any notification and saw I missed a call from Fleetfoot.
“Hum? She didn’t leave any message? That’s strange.” I said to myself, it was strange, whenever I missed a call from her, she always leaves a message.
I just shrugged and put my phone back in my pocket. I was pretty sure that she tried to call me to say that I should accept her help or something like that, even if her departure last night was pretty rough, I was certain that she wasn’t going to let it go just like that, I knew her and she was almost as stubborn as I was.
I took the remote laying on the ground next to my couch and just when I was going to start the television, I heard a rough knock on my door. “Miss Spitfire? Open up, NYPD!” Said someone on the other end of the door.
“The police?” I asked myself walking toward the door. “The fuck do they want?”
I opened the door and wore my greatest innocent smile, “Hello officers, what can I do for you?”
I didn’t have any time to react that one of the four policemen standing in front of my apartment door tackled me on the wall. “Ouch! What the f-”
I could’ve easily pushed him away, but I was smarter than attacking police officers.
“Miss Spitfire,” Started one of them while the other two handcuffed me, “You are under arrest, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to-”
It went by so quickly. I got arrested, got forced to get inside the police car, and I was taken to the police station. The policemen totally ignoring my questions the whole ride.
So here I was, sitting on a chair inside the interrogation room. Infront of me was two cops standing there, one was sitting in front of me, the other one was standing next to him, arms crossed, his gaze glaring daggers at me.
So, it was going to be good cop bad cop uh?
The one who was sit took something from his pocket and let out a pack of smoke, he took one and handed one to me with the lighter. I took it but didn’t thanks him for it.
I lit it up and took a puff, then he started, “Miss Spitfire, do you know why you’re here?”
“Are you fucking serious? I’m asking this since I got dragged out of my home.”
“You’re suspected of murder.” He said calmly to me.
“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Guys I…”
“Cut the shit Spitfire!” Barked the other policeman, “We’ve found this next to two burned unidentified bodies!” He said, throwing something on the table.
My eyes went wide in horror when I saw my wallet laying on the table. Dumb as I was, I didn’t even notice it fell from my pocket during the fight.
Seeing my look, the officer who was sitting in front of me sighed, “Just seeing your look tells us everything, Spitfire.” He said calmly.
“I-”
Once again, I got interrupted. But this time, it was from someone who had opened the door and entered calmly in the interrogation room.
It was a tall woman, dark skin, red nice hair. She was wearing an expensive suit, and seeing she was wearing a pair of sunglasses with a white cane, I presumed she was blind.
She walked slowly toward the table and the officer standing barked at her, “And who are you miss?”
She didn’t reply to him, instead she stood next to me and said, “Miss Spitfire, don’t say another word.” She then took something out from her pocket and gave it to me, “My name is Tempest Shadow, and I am your lawyer.”
Reading the card she gave to me, I could read,
‘Nelson & Shadow, Attorneys at law.’
“Tempest Shadow?” Bruce Banner asked, raising an eyebrow, “Why aren’t I surprised.”
“You know her?” Spitfire asked.
She heard a chuckled coming frow Natasha’s direction, she turned her gaze to face her, “It seems that every time we’re working on a meta case, she’s somewhere in the equation.” She said while smiling, finding this situation funny.
“Yes,” Banner said, replying to Spitfire’s question, “We… know her. She helped us a few times.”
“I knew that she knew more than she was telling me.” Spitfire said in hush, frowning.
“So, what happened next?” Natasha asked, getting an interrogating glare from Banner and an annoyed one from Spitfire. “What? I want to know, it’s a nice distraction, besides, we still have an hour of flying.”
Spitfire ignored her and drew her attention back to Bruce Banner, “She helped me buy some time, she said that it didn’t mean anything that my wallet was on the crime scene, that I could have been there before it happened. Of course, they didn’t believe her, but in the meantime, they had to release me, fault of proof. More fear than pain it seemed.”
“So, they just let you go like that?” Natasha asked, “Isn’t that strange?”
“Well yeah, they let me go, but I was under surveillance and interdiction to leave the city.”
First thing while I got out of the police station was to call Fleetfoot. But she wasn’t picking up, so I tried again, and again but every time I ended up on her voicemail.
“Hi it’s Fleetfoot! I’m not here right now but leave a message after the bip!”
“Hi Fleet’, it’s me, I need to talk to you right now, I’m heading to your place. If you hear this, call me back.” I said after the famous bip, ending up the call.
I took a taxi there, I didn’t have the courage to go home, take my bike and then cross half the city to her place.
As I arrived to her place, a nice white house in the suburb of the city, I knock on the door and waited for a response that never came.
“Fleetfoot! It’s me, Spitfire!” I called, knocking harder on the door. “Please let me in, we have to talk and I don’t have much time.” It was true, it was a matter of hours before I’ll be arrested for good this time, because you know… I actually killed those two guys, even if they weren’t human. “I’m losing patience Fleet’!”
But no one came. I tried to call her again, and of course she didn’t reply, it was only then, a strange feeling was filling my guts.
I pushed the door handle and gently opened the door. “I’m coming in okay?” I called.
It was strange, all the blinds were closed, the atmosphere was heavy, and the smell…
“Fleet’?” I called, walking slowly in her house, I walked toward the kitchen and checked out if someone was here but it was empty, same for the living room. So, I walked toward the stairs and climbed them up, every step I make, more and more worry I became.
I headed to her bathroom, and quietly open the door, just letting my head in. “Fleety?” No one.
I walked toward the only room left. I put my hand on the handle and breathed slowly. Just by putting my hand on it, I could feel that I wasn’t going to like what I will find there.
Concerned about my friend, I opened it calling her, “Fleetfoot?”
But it was so dark I couldn’t see anything, so I reached the light switch and pushed it, “Okay that’s bett-”
That’s where I saw it.
No Fleetfoot wasn’t there. Nobody was there.
I couldn’t describe what I felt at this moment. It was a mix of being worry, being angry, and the urge to kill anyone who dared to touch a single hair of my friend. I turned my back to this room that I wanted to leave as soon as possible and started to run.
I needed to quickly find and save her as a realized that the clock was ticking.
As I run out of her house, I closed my eyes and saw it again, her room… Her bed covered in blood, and written on the walls with that same blood was,
‘She’ll die if you try.’
Now it was personal. It wasn’t just a mission that the devil needed me to do.
And I’ll show that Sombra that he messed up with the wrong girl.
