Anisa waited in the desert heat alongside the others, her binds tactically placed to limit her ability to act. Even if she could, she knew she couldn't get these people out of the desert in this heat safely and she was almost certain she couldn't take this woman in a direct fight while protecting them. Anisa began to test her binds for any means to release only to get a firm and determined side eye from her captor. The woman gave a toothy grin and taunted, "Oh, please do. I would love to roast you alive as an example to the rest." She didn't show the woman a hint of weakness, but did stop her escape efforts for the moment. Clearly she was on high alert and seemed almost excited.
Anisa asked, "So, how did you-"
The woman cut her off with glee, "Oh, it wasn't too hard. The pyrosapien believed he could manipulate my flames but he was mistaken. Same for his girlfriend who thought she could drown them. Upon realizing how strong I was, the last four attempted to coordinate a combined strike against me. A flash of light to my eyes followed by a dome of shadows to blind me. The metal one tried to become a pronged object that the last one tried to turn into some kind of sonic cannon. What the stratolocked fools didn't understand was that I didn't need to see them to kill them. Three city blocks fried from about three feet off the ground and up. Wanted to make their bodies Identifiable. The resulting damage to the infrastructure paired with the definitive win over your most celebrated champions was all the theatrics I needed for my debut.” Anisa realized what she was after and the woman tossed her hair back with a laugh. “That’s right. I’m going to make another example here. I heard your friend claims to be fire proof. Let’s stress test that for the world to see.”
Anisa was beginning to realize what kind of person she was. She had seen plenty from behind Sculptura’s manipulations. Looking to the other captives before taking a deep breath, Anisa spoke firmly, “You want someone to make an example out of, so instead of killing them until he gets here, just punish me. It will show them your power and give you-”
”No.” Anisa was annoyed by the sudden interruption but the sinister smile on her face chilled her to the bone. “In fact, I’m going to kill each of them one by one in front of you right now. Just to kill the boredom and punish you for thinking you can manipulate me.”
The purple flames shining in her eyes did nothing to hide the hunger she scanned the crowd with. Trails of purple flames began to snake through the sands, leaving a trail of glass behind each one as it passed, twisting and meandering as if deciding if their target was worthy of its hunger. Just as one began to twist around a young boy’s ankle, filling the air with screams and the smell of burning flesh, the voice of the guest of the hour rang out. “The Champion of the People arrives! His majesty as undeniable as the very skies above. El Magnifico!”
Lady Unicorn’s attention was drawn to him and while she smiled at first, it turned into genuine humor when she fully processed his appearance. “Oh my! Such a glorious entrance for a man of such underwhelming stature. Do I need to fetch you a ladder so we may speak eye to eye?” Her derisive laughter made clear to Anisa how empty the offer was. Regardless, when he approached, the humor left and the cruelty returned. With movements not unlike a conductor, she began to create rings of purple fire, “Some hoops for you to jump through on your last great performance.” He ran past them without paying any mind, but this was a mistake. Her smirk vanished as the rings flew towards him in a blink, encircling his wrists, ankles, and neck. The force of them drove him into the sand. He tried to stand up, but was forced back down. She sneered, “Now now, that won’t do at all. You need to entertain before you die.” She motioned and a flying drone closed in, a studio light mounted to it. “Greetings from the Falos Empire. This is a man who calls himself El Magnifico. A hero to these locals and one who has assaulted an officer of the Falos Empire, breaking his arm. As promised, we will eliminate anyone who threatens peaceful transition.” She held out her finger, a small flame forming on it and placed it to his chest, seemingly surprised when the flame went out with a puff of smoke. Creating a brighter purple flame, she pressed it harder into his chest, amazed as she could smell the sizzle of cooking flesh but she seemingly made no headway.
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He flexed his mighty muscles, breaking her concentration and her flames for just a moment. He grabbed her leg and twirled effortlessly, throwing her against the sand. The soft and shifting earth buried her body relatively deep, face down. Doing a front flip, he dove feet first with arms crossed in hopes of landing on her spine. She vanished in purple flames, the sand turning to glass from the process. As he landed with enough force to shatter the layer, sending shards upwards that sliced his skin like a blender. Still, he remained resolute. She reappeared, her flaming shackles forming on him again. He coughed out, "Your flames are nothing but the embers of a dying fire."
She froze again before beginning to laugh once more, seemingly growing in excitement. "Yes! Of course! They are the flame of your life as it dwindles to nothing." She giggled with glee, clearly beginning to get invested in this confrontation. Seeing how her attention had shifted and even the officers growing more invested in the fight, Anisa saw her chance. Maybe this was what he had intended. Either way, this was the only opportunity she would get to free the others. Quickly freeing herself, she ran to the other captives and quickly unlocked their binds with her talents as well. Maybe there was a chance they could all leave here alive. He was buying them time. Time to escape. A shot at hope.
She turned to watch the battle, every attempt at restraining him broken by what seemed like raw refusal and every decisive strike avoided by her becoming flames and striking him anew from various angles. She felt again like she was watching the battles in the city from up on the hill alongside Shawn. A hero versus a villain, nothing more and nothing less. Feeling her childhood ideals burning bright in her once more, she prepared to free herself only to hear a mournful voice echoing in its armor. “They say a true hero knows their own grave. Your mentor is a noble man.” She watched as Prince Gram stepped past her, whispering something to the Cosmic Patrol officers.
It was only as her concentration was broken that she realized the truth. Magnifico could not keep this up. The silver haired warrior wasn’t just younger than him but also seemed to spend very little energy in the use of her flames. Between his burns and the lacerations, he was starting to waver. Lady Unicorn’s laugh echoed across the dunes until Prince Gram stepped between them, blocking her flames effortlessly. He turned to the cameras as Magnifico began to size up his new foe. “Every one of you, I ask that you do not let the last moments of this man be wasted. A truly great man gave his life today to temper your fire. Please, respect his sacrifice and do not throw your lives away. For if this man cannot best us, then neither can you. But remember his fire.” Magnifico smiled a dark smile and beat his burned chest a few times with his left hand before leaping at the Prince.
To everyone else, it was a fraction of a second, not even a blur and the head of El Magnifico was sent sailing through the air, and his corpse rolled across the dunes. But to Anisa’s eyes, she saw the exacting precision. The nobleman made sure it was without pain. A dignified death. Still, her blood ran cold. She felt her anger boiling just under the surface. Glancing to the rolling head and seeing a peaceful smile on the face of her mentor drove the death deeper. The Officers walked over to them and released them as they explained loud enough for the cameras, “You have been pardoned out of respect for the champion who died on your behalf. You may return to your homes.”
The loss was clear on all their faces. All of them were clearly in mourning. Anisa felt differently. Something familiar and dark. She freed herself from her binds and ran into the dunes. Her mind demanding an answer. Is her mask the face of a coward? A monster?