Point-of-View: Luna Castillo/Astra
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"Ahhhhh, wh-whyyyy!?!?!?" He screamed in agony, writhing on the wooden stage floor as I burnt him alive, his screams fading in a matter of seconds.
Woah, hold up, what is this...this feeling? It feels so good, I'm getting chills...a slight shudder of pleasure went through my body, as I willed more flames to burst out all around me, screams of terror and pain ringing out from the audience in a delightful symphony.
Heh...hehehe, what the hell? Why do I feel so good right now? I don't get it...their applause and cheers never made me feel this good, not the way their cries of anguish are currently making me feel. This is...this is the fucking best! Oh, wow, something's definitely wrong with me right?
I mean, that just has to be the case! I doubt a normal person would be enjoying this as much as I am right now...but then again, I'm not a normal person, I'm a fucking star...and I'm gonna burn more brightly than any star in the goddamn sky!
A slight chuckle escaped my lips as waves of pleasure and catharsis washed over over me, and before I knew it, I was breaking out into uncontrollable laughter, my entire body tingling as I threw back my head and let it all out. I bet if someone heard me right now, they'd think I was totally insane.
But I'm not...and that's why I have the common sense to get out of here before the whole place comes crashing down. And besides, now that the screams have stopped, there's probably no one else alive in here, the thrill of it is starting to subside.
It's a little tricky, but I can control these flames, not just produce them...heh, alright, then, I'll open up a path for myself and head out through the back exit. If anyone sees me, I'll burn them dead. Let's see, I have to go through the costume room to get to that exit...perfect, maybe I grab myself a disguise or something on the way out.
As I jogged through the burning building, I felt the sense of an unrecognizable sense of calm confidence. Even as I went past several burnt bodies, I didn't so much as flinch or bat an eye. I wonder, am I a sociopath?
Sure, I've torn the wings and legs off of insects and stuff when I was a kid, but come on, everyone's done that at some point, right? To see how much you can tear off before they die, watching them squirm in futility, surely it wasn't just me who was fascinated by that, right?
Oh, well, whatever. I'm almost to the exit now, I should focus. The flames have only just started to spread to this area, I guess me clearing a path for myself inadvertently slowed down the growth of the fire, cool.
I quickly glanced around, before grabbing a wig and a coat off a couple of nearby racks. I put the wig on, making sure it was secure, and then slipped into the coat. There, my hair and outfit are hidden, I'll just make sure that the wig hides my star tattoo and I doubt anyone will recognize me.
I then ran out through the exit as a wave of flames roared into this area, the blaze rapidly spreading. As I pushed the door open and emerged from the building, I looked around to see absolute chaos. Panicked people rushing about in terror, the blaring of ambulances and firetrucks approaching in the distance, and billowing black clouds of smoke rising up from the building.
Fortunately, in the utter mayhem, no one noticed me come out. Good, this is my chance. I glanced around, spotting some of the staff and crew from my tour team, before quickly blending in with the crowd and leaving the area, heading for a cluster of apartment buildings.
After making sure that no one was looking, I quietly snuck into an alleyway between two buildings that were under construction and headed into it, keeping a watchful eye out as I walked through it. These buildings look like they're still a long way from being completed, so there probably isn't anyone around, but I can't rule out the possibility of some random homeless people being in here.
Normally, I wouldn't dare going into a creepy place like this, but things are different now. If anyone tries anything, I'll simply just turn them into piles of ash. Suddenly, I stopped as I heard footsteps approaching from up ahead, taking a wary step back...wait, what am I scared of? I can create my own fucking flames, after all!
Oh, I know, maybe I'll pretend to be all scared and stuff at first, and then suddenly attack whoever it is that's coming! Yeah, I like the sound of that...
"Who's there?" I called out in a timid, nervous voice.
"No need to panic, young lady. I'm an agent of Harmony, an organization of people who, like you, possess special powers. Now, come with me, we'll protect you," Came the reply, as a young woman emerged from the shadows.
Wait, what? Oh, well that's disappointing...guess I'm not the only one with superpowers, huh? Oh, yeah, come to think of it, there've been a lot of weird viral posts lately, of people with super powers and stuff...I just dismissed them as some elaborate, high-budget CGI prank or something, so it never even occurred to me that my newly acquired power would be related to those.
"And what if I say no? After all, I have no idea what you people might do to me," I responded, dropping the scared act, "I mean, come on, you show up out of nowhere and tell me to come with you, without any real explanation or even introducing yourself."
She's being all nice and friendly, but I can tell that she's faking it...is she playing nice to try and convince me to go with her without any resistance?
"Oh, how rude of me...my name is Pamela Forrest, a Category 2 ranked member of Har-...actually, that doesn't matter right now. I promise to explain more, just come with me. We'll teach you how to properly use and control your powers," She replied, as she held her hand out towards me.
Hm? Now that interests me...from the way she said that, I can safely infer that I'm not using my powers to their full potential right now. Alright, then, I think I'll humor this woman and take her up on her offer. I mean, it's not like I have any idea on what to do next. I definitely don't want to continue my stupid tour.
I mean, it's not like I can just go back to my music career like nothing happened, that bridge is probably burned...heh, pun intended. But also, I'm really tempted to agree to go along with her and then just blast her with flames when she turns her back on me...but I should refrain, I don't really have any other options right niw.
"Alright, fine, lead the way," I remarked, deciding to see where this goes.
"Okay, follow me...you'll be safe soon enough," She replied with a smile, before turning around and heading forward.
As I began to follow after her, she took out a phone and dialed a number, calling someone.
"Hello? Yes, hi, this is Pamela Forrest, requesting to be connected to Richard Walsh," She stated as soon as her call was answered, before continuing after a brief pause, "Hi, Mr Walsh...I could use some backup, an Outlier appeared here. My location is near that new concert hall in Melbourne, the one that just burned down-...it will definitely be all over social media, or rather, it almost definitely already is. I'm currently with the Outlier, we're heading for a crowded spot to keep any enemies from attacking us...but I doubt I can fend off too many enemies on my own. Thank you, sir, and how long will you-...twenty minutes? Okay, I'll manage till then, you'll be able to find us easily once you detect her Aura."
And with that, she hung up. Outlier? Is she referring to me? And I wonder what enemies she's talking about? Huh, but more importantly...
"Hey, how did you find me so quickly?" I inquired suspiciously.
"Oh, well, actually...I'm a big fan of your music, Miss Astra. I was in the concert hall, and quite surprised when I sensed an Aura from you. You came across a large translucent orb recently, didn't you?" She replied with a smile.
Huh, I think I'm starting to get it now.
"I see...wait, were you following me after I ended up setting fire to the place?" I asked her.
"No, not quite. I kept track of your Aura and went around after exiting the concert hall through the main entrance. It was quite fascinating, despite the lack of control, pressure and intensity in your Aura, it can still be felt from quite a distance away...I can only imagine how far it'll reach and how intense the pressure will be when fully under control," She mused, seeming to be mostly talking to herself towards the end.
We were almost at the end of the alleyway, and I just had a whole lot more questions. Like what exactly is an 'Aura'?
"Hey, what did you mean by enemies, earlier?" I inquired curiously.
"Oh, I'll explain later, it's a long story. That said, all Meta-Humans avoid displaying their powers in front of normal humans. That street up ahead isn't exactly crowded, but there are several apartment buildings around, it'll be impossible to attack us out there without any witness-...," She explained, before abruptly cutting off...as someone suddenly appeared right in front of her, seemingly out of nowhere, and with a wide smirk on his face, slashed her head off with a sword.
Her body collapsed onto the ground as blood poured out of her neck stump, her severed head hitting the ground with a loud thud and rolling towards me, bumping against my foot as the puddle of blood continued to grow, a beautiful crimson washing over the filthy ground below and sending chills down my spine...
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