"Follow your most intense obsession mercilessly."

-Frank Kafka

********

The fire was beautiful.

Only the size of her head, its edges burned a vivid orange, but at its core was a blinding white, so intense to look at, it would render a mortal blind.

Pure.

That's what this fire was.

It was pure.

Untainted.

Not good. Not bad. Just pure.

All Melina could feel was rage when she looked at this flame.

So much madness. So much death. So much pain.

With her new senses, Melina could feel this fire. Feel its past.

Psychometry.

That was the word Medea used—a lesser-known psychic ability. A byproduct of being the Phoenix Host. Melina could see, feel, and experience its past by looking at or touching something. It came in flashes, in uncontrolled waves. And only from items conceptually related to fire.

Maybe a better host for the Phoenix Force would get clearer images or not be so limited.

But Melina was not a host. She was a vessel. A carrier. An aid. She merely held the force of nature until its true host was ready to take it up.

... Until Mikael decided he wanted it, Melina corrected in her mind.

That was the danger of the Phoenix Force.

It didn't speak to her. It was not a devil on her shoulder, whispering temptation or its agenda to her. There was no clear separation between the Phoenix and herself while they were joined. Her thoughts were the Phoenix's, and its thoughts were hers. They bled into each other imperfectly, not like oil and water, but like two different types of paint. Some colours blended, but others were distinct and clearly their own.

It empowered her. Melina had never felt stronger, felt more useful. All these new abilities and senses weren't as overwhelming as the Phoenix had been. She was still learning, practicing and gaining control, but they fit her well.

Too well.

That was the trap.

With power, there was nothing to stop her. Without boundaries, Melina could do as she wished with the world. If she let the Phoenix flare unchecked, her slightest whim could change the very fabric of reality.

Like all its hosts, Melina had the possibility of becoming the Dark Phoenix.

Because the Dark Phoenix was not a separate entity. It was simply a mass of power with a purpose so vast that it didn't care about the little details.

The Dark Phoenix was the psychic entity being influenced by its host and going along for the ride to devastating consequences.

Melina could not allow that.

The Phoenix Force could not allow it either. Not this time.

It never wanted to become the Dark Phoenix. It simply wanted to fulfill its purpose. But to do that, it needed a host. A host held emotion, risking distortion of desire. Yet the Phoenix wanted to feel emotion as well.

A vicious cycle. A catch-22.

Until it could find a perfect host.

It had found one in Jean Grey, Melina now understood. She had been the perfect host. But the Phoenix had already chosen a host that it thought was perfect and, more importantly, wanted.

Even if it was rejected.

Thoughts of Mikael helped center Melina. The Phoenix's obsession with him matched well with Melina's love for him, which was tempered by her decades with him. Melina knew him better than anyone else, and the Phoenix now understood that. It helped give the pair a common ground.

If their goals diverged, if ever Melina really became the Dark Phoenix, Mikael would tear the Phoenix from Melina and leave this reality to burn.

Neither wanted that.

So they worked together to control their impulses, keeping each other in check so their power would not warp the world. Allies of convenience.

Most of the time, the Phoenix did not care enough about what was going on to have its own thoughts on subjects and let Melina take the reins without influence. Mikael had been the sole exception before today.

Then they had entered this accursed place, and their opinions diverged.

Only by focusing on this flame, this fiery soul, could Melina stop herself from burning this place from existence.

It only slightly helped.

Melina could see it in the fire.

Its first discovery within a world of grey crags.

The... man who would claim it and use it to build civilization and become a god. He would bring light to the world. Through war, he brought hope to his people. Under his hand, his family grew and flourished.

Yet even the White God's might was not unending. His soul was but one of four, and they were but tiny sparks from the First Fire.

Fuel was needed to keep the Fire burning, to keep his people safe, and to save his Age.

And so he committed the First Sin.

Purity is not good or bad. It is simply untainted.

For the many, he fed the few to the pyre. To buy a few more years, a few more minutes of light as darkness crept in. He searched desperately for other solutions.

None came.

When even the bones and souls of so many proved too weak to keep the flame burning, he fed himself to the blaze.

A martyr burned on his own pyre.

He bought his kingdom thousands of years ago with his soul and flesh.

He bought his order hundreds of thousands of years of light with the souls and flesh of the hundreds that came after.

But it was not the paradise that came before.

It was a flickering flame, rising and falling. Every time it was rekindled, it slowly died, fading to embers with each new vessel.

Mikael claimed there was no way to know if things would have been better or worse if Gwyn hadn't become the first Lord of Cinder.

Melina found it hard to imagine a world worse than the one she saw in the White Soul.

It had been born in the First Flame and existed till a man came along to finally extinguish its embers.

Melina could see it in Gwyn's soul.

The first mortal to inherit the soul of the King of the Gods. The man who took up a burden that drove a god mad.

The second, one hundred thirty-ninth, and last, Lord of Cinder.

Staring at the Soul of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, Melina could see the entire Age of Fire.

Yet this was only one aspect of the First Flame.

This was the Soul of Light. It represented order, civilization, and permanence. It was an aspect of fire Melina could respect, even if she saw what was committed in the name of those beliefs. It drove her to rage, not because she didn't understand but because she did. She had done the same as Gwyn.

It was all visible to her in the flickering flames. Just as the other aspects present were visible in the nearby flames.

Three more souls floated within glass cases nearby. The enchanted glass protected all four from interference and protected the world from their influence, but Melina could feel them.

Two of them, the Soul of Death and the Soul of Life looked the same as Gwyn's. Three small bonfires. Pure white cores that flickered in red-orange flames that radiated heat. Staring at these two was also better than paying attention to her location. These, unlike the Soul of Light, just made her sad.

Melina knew the necessity of death. Knew of the warmth of life. Fire brought both, and she could stare at them without pain but with a deep weariness.

The last soul was also a flame floating in a glass case, but it was black and radiated nothing. It was a viscous, lukewarm lump of gentle humanity.

The Dark Soul.

Melina could not look at it.

It was too deep, too welcoming and threatened to pull both her and the Phoenix into its dark depths.

Still, she would rather fall into that murky pool than pay attention to what her psychometry told her.

This wasn't even the real Kiln. That had been lost with its world.

This was just Mikael's recreation based on his soul, and it was still enough to overcome Melina. Every second threatened tears.

"Are you going to stare at them all day, or are you going to help me," Medea asked from behind the Kindling Maiden. She could not feel what Melina did. All she knew was the joy of learning. "I think I have it this time."

"That is what you said last time," Melina answered, not taking her eyes from Gwyn's soul.

"It was the fans," Medea explained animatedly, always happy to talk about magic and her experiments. "While the Desert Sorceresses of Jugo were pyromancers, their fans and armour are enchanted with illusion magic. A lust spell! It helped lure people in. A pure pyromancy seed should avoid the magical and conceptual pollution problem. According to Mikael, they are passed from master to apprentice, all the way back to Witch of Izalith's own Lord Soul."

"It won't work."

"Not with that attitude," Medea denied. "And even if it doesn't, I will learn something new, which is a net win. Now, come on. This is the last experiment for the day. Then you can leave."

Only Melina's all-consuming wish to leave this forsaken place had her turn from the Lord Souls.

As soon as she was not focusing on the images of light and civilization, she could feel it.

The Fire.

She could feel it in the ash under her feet. She could see it in the melted frame of the giant Kiln. She could smell the long-dead flames in the air.

And she could hear the screams as he burned.

Melina could hear them all, every single one. Men and women. Old and young. Human. Giant. Pygmy. So many races, so many lives. So many souls. Trillions of souls.

And they all burned here.

This fire, for all the pain and suffering it caused, had been hope. The hope of people. Around its warmth, they were safe. With the light it provided, they spread and discovered a world.

Without fire, without light, life could not flourish.

Melina could sympathize with them all. She, too, had burned. She, too, had been consumed by flame to build a world upon her ashes. That was why she could look upon Gwyn's soul without fear. In it, she saw the sacrifices, but she also saw what it bought.

But here? All she could hear were the screams.

She burned for a minute.

They burned for years.

Some did it out of duty, ignorance, or pride. Some did it to prolong their Age nobly, to save those they left behind. Family. Love. Honour. Duty. Some entered the flames willingly with reverent hearts.

They all begged for it to end.

Others had it imposed upon them. Sacrifices to keep the pyre going. Yet, with everybody consumed by the flames, every desperate attempt to keep the dark at bay, the Fire dwindled just a little quicker.

She could trace it all back. From the last moment to the first

Mikael's smallest of grunts as he extinguished a usurped an ember, transforming it into something new.

The Soul of Cinder throwing body after body upon the tiny flame to give it enough fuel to last just another day.

Before then, the last Lord of Cinder had burned for months. Before that, years. Decades. Centuries.

And, the first mortal to inherit the flame from the hollow body of a god had burned for millennia.

"Melina!"

"Pardon," the Kindling Maiden said, snapping her attention from the echoing screams of her Lord. Medea was right before her, with a hint of worry on her face. "What do you need me to do?"

"Is it the Phoenix," the witch asked worriedly instead of answering. "Is it reacting to the Kiln?"

The Phoenix was quiet. It had been since Melina had entered this place. It never directly talked to her; they were the same person at the moment, but its influence had receded.

Melina took a moment to examine the boundary separating her mind from the Phoenix Force.

Typically, it was hard to tell where one mind ended and the other began. Melina was no psychic, after all. And most often, the Phoenix didn't care.

Here, it was easy to tell them apart.

Melina, since arriving, had been overcome by pain, rage, sympathy, and a visceral need to find her lover and assure herself that he was okay.

The Phoenix Force was... in awe.

Its power was calm, almost unnaturally so, as it spread around her. It mixed with every particle of ash. It saturated the charred remains of the buildings. It left Melina with every exhale and returned with every inhale.

It looked at the world around Melina with the same senses but saw something completely different.

It, which had seen greater atrocities, more pain, and more extraordinary waves of death, was not consumed by the tragedy of the Kiln.

The Phoenix Force saw the Kiln of the First Flame; it felt the echo of the once great fire, and everything burned within it, and it knew awe.

This feeling was new to it. It knew others felt awe when they looked upon the Phoenix Force, but this was the first time the cosmic entity felt it for itself.

The Phoenix Force was almost reverent as it basked in the presence of the only Flame it ever knew that eclipsed it in any way.

The Phoenix Force was Life. Past, present, and future. For this universe and all others it touched.

The First Flame had been Life, Death, Light, and Dark. Its universe might have been smaller, and it might have been weaker, but it had been more complete.

The Phoenix Force was reverent as it basked in the presence of the only Flame it knew that eclipsed it in scope, if not in power.

No wonder she was so susceptible to the psychic echoes here. The Phoenix was actively pulling it in.

"It is calm," Melina said, rather than go into depth about what the force of nature was feeling. "What do you wish me to do?"

"The same as last time," Medea said after giving the other woman a long look. "Just light the Bonfire."

Melina nodded and crouched beside the circle of stone. All four pillars and their corresponding Lord Souls were placed around. It was only a few feet around, designed more as a ritual circle than an actual fire pit. Within its center was a pile of human bones, and through that pile of ashed bones was pierced a coiled sword.

Calling up the Phoenix Fire, barely a spark upon her finger, Melina set the Bonfire alight.

The tiny flame passed through the bones, sparking fires along their edge. It burned bone as easily as tinder.

Then it hit the coiled sword, and the metal glowed red hot. The heat travelled down its winding length and touched the Pyromancy seed at its base.

The Bonfire exploded.

Fire, bone and ash rained down around them in a loud conflagration.

"Gah," Medea grunted more in consternation than pain or surprise. She had been protected by a shielding spell and didn't feel the heat or impact as bone shards bounced away from her.

Melina didn't even bother, letting the flames wash over her without ruffling her clothes.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Yoruichi asked as she appeared within the Kiln, standing atop the hilt of the still red coiled sword. It hadn't budged from the explosion.

"No," Medea sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "It wasn't. You here for Melina?"

"Yep," the shinigami said casually as she looked around the area. The remnants of previous experiments still littered the area. "Why are you even doing this?"

"Why am I trying to discover more about one of the fundamental forces of another world? One that fueled the power of an entire pantheon of gods was the power source of civilizations for thousands of years and spawned half a dozen different forms of magic?" Medea deadpanned. "Take a guess, cat."

"Hey," Yoruichi grinned as she hopped down from the sword. "Curiosity is one thing, but you are working pretty hard for a casual experiment."

"Even ignoring all the other reasons to run these experiments," Medea grumbled as she started to clean up. "If I can recreate the First Flame, I might be able to replicate its form of immortality without the pesky undead curse. I won't even need a sacrifice to keep it alight. It didn't before it started to fade, and Gwyn tried to prolong it. There is no natural order to push against it, no Age of Darkness to follow. We won't need to worry about power with Mikael. Those who use it won't need to worry about going hollow."

"We're already immortal with Warranty Plan," Yoruichi pointed out.

"We think we are," Medea corrected. "And only so long as the Company doesn't fuck us over again. And Mikael isn't immortal. He's nearly impossible to kill, but not completely. I was already experimenting with the material from that world, but I had the idea based on the lie he told during that interview. If we can get an actual source of immortality, one fueled by his unending power, he won't need to be as cautious anymore. If we die, or his true body is destroyed, we can return at the Bonfire. And we could turn it off if we wanted to pass on. It would solve almost all our issues. If I could just recreate the damn thing."

Melina blinked in surprise. Was that the reason? All Medea had told her was she needed her help lighting the fires, and it would be good practice for her.

Melina sometimes wished the witch wouldn't be so vague about what they were doing or why.

The irony was completely lost on her.

"I know how to keep it going," Medea grumbled as she put away the four Lord Souls. "I just don't know how it first came to be. I even watched the first scene in the game it was based on, but it's left so vague as to be unhelpful."

"Tell me if you discover anything," Yorucihi said casually. "I, for one, am getting out of here. This place is hell on my spiritual senses. Too many souls."

"Really," Medea asked eagerly, pen and paper suddenly in her hand. "Can you see them? Are they recognizable? Are they all Lords of Cinder, or are there others? Is it just humans? Do you see gods? Is Gwyn here? Can you ask him what it was like in the beginning?" The Caster spoke at incredible speeds as if afraid Yoruichi would leave before she got it all out.

"There are no ghosts," the dark-skinned woman said with fond exasperation as she hopped down from the sword's hilt. "It's just a feeling that some places have. When enough power is located in one place long enough, the landscape becomes significant. Like the Juureichi."

"Fascinating," Medea murmured, scribbling furiously on her notepad. "We had similar places in my world, usually along leylines or places of conceptual significance. You'll have to tell me about it later."

"Maybe," Yoruichi shrugged and looked at Melina. "Are you prepared?"

Melina took a deep breath.

A part of her, the Phoenix part, was reluctant to leave. It wanted to continue to bask in the echoes of flames.

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More than that, Melina was nervous, which also carried to the Phoenix.

This would be her first time off the Island since merging with the Phoenix. She'd be around people who didn't have the Defences and couldn't protect their minds. Emma had cautioned it would be disorienting at first, but being thrown into the deep end was the best way to train with Psychic Talent.

Mikael had wanted to push it back, insisting on giving her more time to practice, but Melina refused. She had been on the sidelines for too long already. Even if nothing happened today, which was likely, she wanted to be there in case something did go wrong.

And Melina being there, and clearly the new host of the Phoenix, gave them another source of bait.

They were taking precautions, but it was still nerve-racking. Priscilla must be feeling something similar.

"I'm ready," Melina said lowly.

"Gotcha," Yoruicihi said.

Then she threw Melina over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"What are you doing," Melina deadpanned down at the shorter woman. "I can fly now."

"This is quicker," Yoruichi said with a mischievous smile.

"Then why are we not teleporting? Medea is right there."

"This is also funnier."

Melina didn't have time to protest further, as they disappeared from the Kiln of the First Fame in a burst of speed.

In less time than it took to blink, the pair were outside the Kiln and hovering over the Island. In another blink, they were over the continental US. In less than five seconds from their departure, Yoruichi was hovering over the convention center in New York, Melina still slung over her shoulder.

The sound hit her.

The honking of cars, the clamour of noises, the bustle of a city of millions of people clustered together. It was loud. It was clamorous. It was distracting.

The life hit her.

There was this myth humans told themselves about destroying natural life when they laid down roads and buildings.

They were wrong. They changed the environment, usually to their own demerit, but life thrived everywhere. Yes, humans destroyed, but they also built. They built up, and they built down.

For every tree cut down, a thousand rats. For every animal that lost its home, a billion little bugs crawled through buildings. For every patch of dirt turned into concrete, a quadrillion tiny fungal spores of mould, rot, and other microorganisms flourished.

Melina sensed it all and ignored it as she did the noise. A backdrop that was acknowledged and forgotten about in day-to-day life.

The Fires hit her harder.

The smell of exhaust from a trillion tiny sparks within engines. The heat of wires thrummed with power as electricity flowed through. Humanity's very existence was tied to fire and its boons, and nowhere was that more apparent than within the confines of one of humanity's greatest cities. There was fire, or the potential for fire, all around, and people forgot about it.

Melina didn't. She couldn't. Unlike Life, her ties to Fire did not let her ignore its presence. It did allow her to control it, so it didn't debilitate her.

Not so the minds. Those could not be controlled or ignored.

A million minds hit her.

'She's hot.''I'm late.''Not my colour.''I need this. I need it.''Does this cape make my butt look fat?''Oh Elden Lord, Dragon of the Heavens.''Yeah, you like that bitch? Suck it. Choke on it.''Please no. Stop. It hurts. I don't want to die.''I could just... end it. Jump.''He's cheating. He has to be. I bet it's Samantha, the skank.''MOVE OVER ASSHOLE!''Go go Godzilla, yeah. Oh no, there goes Tokyo.''Wooo, beat my record.''The same thing we do every day. Try and take over the world.'"Melina."'Three million. Where am I going to get that kind of money?''Don't kill her. Don't kill her. Don't kill her. It's just a sandwich. Don't kill her.''A left of fourth, then a right on twenty second. Or was that also a left?''I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna ask him out.''Blood. I need more blood. There has to be more.''What do I have to do to feel that again? He's already got twelve. Thirteen isn't much more. It could be me.'"Melina!"'I'll kill them all.''I should have gone with the Captain Marvel costume. I don't have the muscles for this one.''Mm, lunch.''One times one is one. One times two is two. One times three is three.''Where's mommy? Why isn't she here? I want mommy!''This is going to be great.''I should quit. Become a writer.'"MELINA!!"'Man. If I was a Super, it'd be awesome. I'd get all the girls.''Help me. Please. Anyone. Please.''Hmmmhhmmmmhhhhmmmm.''Heathens. All these heathens.''Is that the super rare, limited edition, pre-Metropolise Superman card? Score!''Carry the five, subtract expenses for food and... hmm that can't be right.''One two three. One two three. One two three.''I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.''So. Damn. Tired.''His dick isn't dirty this time.''Damn, this Sanguine shit is the real deal. I can go all day.'

Silence.

It took a long moment for Melina to realize her eyes were closed, and she was still on Yoruichi's shoulder.

"Where are we," Melina asked. She could still sense life below them, but it wasn't sapient and spread wider. Difused.

"Over the ocean," Yourichi answered, and there was worry in her voice. "Do you want to go home? I'll tell Mikael you're not ready. We don't have to do this today. Nobody really thinks this is going to work."

"No," Melina said, opening her eyes to see the vast expanse of the sea below her. "I didn't have time to prepare. Let's try again."

"I'll bring you back after a few seconds," Yoruichi said. "Training is only effective if it is not debilitating."

Melina simply nodded and closed her eyes again.

She was prepared when the sensations hit her, yet could not do anything more than try and weather the tide of sounds and feelings.

Another failure.

Then another.

And another.

Over and over again, Melina failed. She froze, held fast as her mind was battered into inactivity by a bombardment of psychic noise.

"You know," the shinigami said casually as they reappeared over the ocean, and Melina caught her breath. "There's this theory Mikael once asked me about. He asked me if newer recruits to the squads were quicker learners than the older ones. I told him no. They learn at the same rate. Then he asked me if I had trained anyone while in the human world. I hadn't."

Melina knew the general gist of Yoruichi's past. Mikael was good at keeping others' secrets, but over the years, she had plucked certain stories from him. She had been curious about the women he knew and spoke to sometimes.

Yoruichi was an immortal spirit, a guardian of the dead for centuries. She had been a leader before being framed and cast to the mortal world for a century. Melina thought she knew what theory Yoruichi was talking about, but that was not her focus.

She was going to do this.

"Again," Melina said instead of answering.

Still flung over the dark-skinned woman's shoulder, the pair appeared in the sky above New York.

Melina tried to focus on one thing, staying centred, but the tide of distractions paralyzed her once more.

They reappeared above the ocean again.

"The basic idea is simple," Yorucihi continued as if Melina wasn't dealing with the worst headache of her life. "If humans haven't changed in hundreds of thousands of years, how come the modern man is able to accumulate knowledge so quickly. Previous generations learned math and writing and other subjects, but they spent years on subjects that are taught in months now. Why? They obviously weren't dumber. I spent three decades learning all I needed to know to become a noble head of the house, and I was a genius. The same amount of time to learn to be a Shinigami. Yet a brat of fifteen learns almost everything in a few years? I never even thought about it, though Kisuke probably did."

"Again."

This time, Melina gave up trying to focus on herself. She focused entirely on keeping the voices out. Her defences, even when exposed to the Phoenix, should protect her from foreign influences.

She failed. These were not foreign entities trying to control her or influence her. This was her power, reaching out. She could no more shut it off than she could stop breathing.

... That was a bad example. Melina didn't actually need to breathe.

"The theory goes like this," Yoruichi continued to talk. Melina appreciated it. Hearing the other woman talk gave Melina something to focus on, her voice guiding Melina back to her own thoughts. "Past generations aren't dumber, and new generations aren't smarter. But new generations are used to handling large volumes of information from the moment they are born. Visual, auditory, and olfactory. The average child in this day and age experiences so much more than the average child only a century ago. While they are young, their brains adapt. By the time they are fully grown, the differences are clear."

"Again."

Melina tried to give it all to the Phoenix. She tried to foist all these new sensations on the being that was responsible for these new senses.

She failed again. She was the Phoenix, and the Phoenix was her. What she felt, it felt. Just because there was the slightest distinction in their minds, the thinnest veil separating them and marking her as an imperfect host, didn't mean they did not share the same senses.

"It's a simple difference in speed," Yoruichi concluded. "They both have the same body. But one trains for sprints, and the other trains for marathons. Neither is better or worse."

"You are saying I am too slow," Melina finally said, opening her eyes to stare at the woman. "My Lord explained this theory to me before. Because my world moved at a slower pace, I learned slower. That is not the case now. I, like you, have Psychic Talent. It should not be this difficult."

"Just as I am sure he explained the reverse," Yoruichi poked Melina in the forehead. "The same people who learn quickly struggle with attention retention. The constant need for stimulation means they have a loss of focus. A sprinter cannot run a marathon."

"I have to do this quickly. We have already missed the opening because of me," Melina insisted.

"We're not late. I told you. You don't have to do anything. You could go back to the Island. You can train with Emma when she becomes available again. We can bait out Odin later. And nobody expects anything but the lightest move from the 'Oppressor.' It's too cautious. You are in no rush." Yoruich, in her own way, was trying to be considerate.

"I refuse." Melina had not stubbornly insisted on coming today only to go home with her tail feathers between her legs. "I chose to become the Phoenix Host. Mikael is trusting to me to handle it. To make it useful. So I will handle it."

"Then stop trying to sprint," Yoruichi sighed, giving up on trying to talk her back. "You learning how to use the power is not the problem. Your method of learning is."

"What do you mean? I am doing as Emma suggested. She's the psychic."

"Exactly. I have Psychic Talent like you. Unlike you, I've had it for a year. Why am I not peeking at everyone's naughty thoughts?"

"Because you can't. You have talent but no ability to exploit the talent."

"That is my point," Yoruichi said. "You are trying to learn to use psychic powers like a psychic. No matter the talent one has that doesn't change the fact that people are different. In Hakuda, it is a difference in size, weight, reach, or spiritual power. All that needs to be taken into account when I train my squad. That theory I just told you about? I didn't care or grasp it until Mikael used the running metaphor. I don't care about neuroplasticity or whatever. I'm not Mayuri. I'm Yoruichi Shihouin, the Flash Goddess. I care about speed. So, instead of learning to use the Phoenix like Emma, learn to use it like Melina. Do not be consumed by other people's shadows."

Melina didn't say anything; she just closed her eyes again.

Yoruichi sighed and brought them back over to the city.

A few seconds later, they were back over the ocean.

Melina slumped against Yoruichi's shoulder.

Another failure to block out the minds around her.

It wasn't that she didn't want to take Yoruichi's advice. She just didn't know how.

Who was Melina? Not the woman who burned pointlessly or the one who didn't know her purpose. Who was she now?

It took ten more tries for her to get the idea.

In the end, Yoruichi had given her the answer.

Of course, the Shinigami cared about speed. She was a Dragon of Speed.

And Melina was a Dragon of Fire.

"Again."

This time, when the sounds, the life, and the minds hit Melina, she did not try to block them out or shunt them to the side.

She fed them to the flames.

That crackling core, that bundle of warmth and power within her.

She took all she received from the world, every overwhelming bit of information, and turned it into coal.

When Melina opened her eyes above New York, all she could hear was the crackling of the fire.

Which was a problem because Yoruichi was trying to talk to her.

It took a few seconds for Melina to release the tight grip she had on her senses to let actual sounds pass.

She didn't need to filter out sound, just her mind's interpretation of psychic waves as sound waves.

"-eaf are you?" Yoruichi asked worriedly. "Because I am not getting my collar if Mikael finds out I broke you."

"I can hear you," Melina said, the whoosh of flames echoing in her mind.

It was... odd. Like she was drowning and was getting lightheaded. Like her mind was working at full speed but wading through mud simultaneously.

The world was approaching her from the other side of a glass wall. She could see it, but they were separate.

"At least you're talking," Yoruichi said as she looked Melina over. "We'll need to work on that later."

"Work on what?"

"Your hair is on fire," the shinigami said, lifting a strand between her fingers. This wasn't the vague heat haze that followed her everywhere. It looked like Yoruichi was holding a thread of liquid flame. "Not a concern for today since you're going to be bait when we're not hidden, but any time you aren't in spiritual form, it will be really obvious. You'd make a terrible member of my squad."

Melina felt a bit affronted at that. She was great at hiding... most of the time.

"I'm going to bring us closer to the ground," the Shinigami said. "If it becomes overwhelming, let me know, and I'll bring us back."

"I have it now," Melina said. Despite her words, she closed her eyes to focus on the flame within once more as they appeared in an alleyway only a few blocks from the convention center.

The press of minds against hers quintupled. The fire blazed brighter.

Yet she was okay.

"Good job," Yoruichi said, looking genuinely impressed when Melina opened her eyes to give her a nod. "I honestly didn't expect you to get it under control today. Can you read their minds from here?"

"I can't read anyone's minds," Melina said plainly. She was feeding everything to the fire in her mind. "I am not overwhelmed anymore, but I do not have full control."

"Something to work on," Yoruichi hummed as she finally set the Kindling Maiden down beside her. Melina adjusted her clothes and nodded at the other woman. "We're going in now, but I will pull you out again if it becomes too much."

"It won't." It would be a while before Melina could fully control her power, but at least it wouldn't paralyze her anymore.

"We'll see."

They both shifted from the material plane to the spiritual.

It was odd for both of them. They'd done it before, of course. But how it operated in this reality differed from their home worlds.

Both of them could pass through walls or even people, but anything with enough power, magic, or spiritual mass would be able to touch them. Some entities could still see them since they weren't invisible. They were just living on a different layer of reality. Mikael, for example, could see them because of the abilities he received from being patronized by Death.

Most could not. They were undetectable and untouchable to the masses except for the slightest hint of heat haze where Melina passed.

Either way, both women passed from the alley and onto the street.

The river of people was unending and wholly inconsequential to the pair as both women flowed through the crowd like air. Thousands stood in line to enter the Stark Convention Center, which covered three city blocks. A fortune of money had been paid for this location.

As Melina's spectral form passed through people, her abilities flared. From small murmurs of psychic sound to shouts that demanded attention, their minds became visible to her.

She fed it all to fire, growing the blaze brighter and brighter.

Yorucihi stayed with her, ready to evacuate the pair if something went wrong, but they passed through the entrance without issue.

Then they were in.

It was set up like a convention, for the most part. Stalls, booths, and various attractions hawked wares and superhero-themed products. Hundreds of people flowed by in groups, some in colourful costumes or intricate clothes.

Melina saw three women and one man, all dressed up like Wonder Woman, congregate around a table filled with Greek-themed paraphernalia. An overweight Superman posed for a picture with a female Thor. A group of uncostumed people sat around a table, playing some sort of card game to the cheers and jeers of a gathered crowd.

All around the venue, robots bustled to and fro, cleaning up messes and preventing people from entering locations they weren't supposed to access. They were each painted in Iron Man's distinctive red and gold colours.

"Check it out," Yoruichi grinned as she pointed at one booth.

Melina froze as she caught sight of one woman in a long green cloak. She was shorter than Melina and had painted a fake scar over her left eye. Most egregious, the woman had taken a very... liberal hand at recreating Melina's clothes.

"The costume is well done," Yoruichi teased. "I can tell it's genuine leather.

"It is terrible," Melina denied. "That much skin exposure would not work at all. She is asking to be disembowelled."

"At least she's dressed," Yoruichi chuckled. "Some of these other costumes are only underwear at best. "

Melina blinked in surprise at the shorter woman.

"I did not expect you to be concerned for modesty."

"Modesty," Yoruichi's grin turned salacious. "I was just impressed. I wonder where I can get some of these. They'll drive Mikael wild. Like that one." Yoruichi pointed to a woman on one of the stages. A redhead with well-defined muscles and posing for pictures with a longsword. She was only wearing a chainmail bikini. "That is completely impracticable. I love it."

"That is a real blade," Melina frowned as she looked over the woman. "It is sharp."

"Yep," Yoruichi grinned. "That's not a costume. That's Red Sonja. A spirit possessing a human. Her host is a model. She can see us if she tries. I ran into her a few weeks ago. She's great fun."

"A spirit?" Melina asked. "Should you not exorcise her?"

"Nah," Yoruichi shrugged, leading Melina further into the convention. "The spirit and the host get along pretty well, and they work as on-and-off heroes. Without hollows or a need to keep the balance, there is no reason to make a benevolent soul pass on. Now, come on, I want to see something before we meet up with the others, and I might not get the chance later."

They passed through the central area, filled with booths and stages, and entered one of the side buildings.

Statues lined this hall, large and imposing. This building was much quieter, though no less packed than the others, as people congregated around the base of the statues and looked up at them. It wasn't silent, but there was an almost holy quiet to the area as people toured the statuary.

To Melina's left, a giant lizard-like creature was depicted. Humanoid in appearance, its body was a metallic gray that glistened under a fountain of water. It was stretched out, its neck and tail caught in loops of rope that held it taught as a familiar spear pierced its chest.

To her right, a statue of Superman held a fake Tohu by the neck, ready to throw it at Eidolon. In the hero's hand was a hologram display made to look like a swirling green portal.

Other statues lined the hall, depicting the various forms of the known Endbringers and their killers.

Yoruichi led Melina to a depiction of a massive, fat, snarling form surrounded by holographic grey circles. Half of its round chest was carved out by the claws of a cat-like dragon. The dragon was also lit in holographic light, shaped like crackling black lightning. Like all the other statues, a large plaque was at its base describing Khonsu, its abilities, attack targets, and notable victims, and how it died.

"I look good," Yoruichi said with pride, hands on her hips as she looked up at the statue of her dragon form. "I had to pose for it, you know? I was worried they wouldn't get the lightning right."

"Is this not too," Melina searched for the right words as she stared at the depiction of Tsunade, in her Female Titan form, throwing punches at Behemoth as a massive spear fell from the sky. "Disrespectful? Inappropriate?"

"Nah," Yoruichi denied as she circled the statue, then paused, looking up at a spot of her figure where her tail met her body. "Man, I have a great ass. They're like... trophies. Points of triumph. Yes, they killed a lot of people, but we beat them in the end. We're still here. And it's not just these statues. There was a whole contest for art submissions from the public. 'Rebuilding: Commemorate Heartbreak.' Those are in another building, as there were too many good ones they wanted to display. We can see it later if we have the time."

"I do not understand it," Melina admired. "Memorializing momentous events with statuary is understandable. Celebrating such tragedy is not."

"They're not really celebrating," Yoruichi hedged. "It's more like a reminder. This is not our world. In this world, apocalypses happen regularly. People die to villains daily. The Endbringers were kind of a representation of that. The monsters that would always come back, no matter what the heroes did. People have had to adapt. They've learned to try and find joy where they can. They celebrate the triumphs rather than dwell on the loss. It's the only way civilization has survived so long."

Melina held her tongue. She still did not understand this world and its people well. She had Grail Knowledge, which taught her what to know to live in a modern world, but it did not give her insights into societies. For all that Yoruichi was a playful cat, most of the time, the woman was also wise and well-traveled. She had spent the last few months amidst this world's people while Melina mainly had kept to the Island.

"There is also a memorial hall here," Yoruichi continued. "A place dedicated to remembering the people who died to the Endbringers and the damages they caused. Everything there, plus these statues, will eventually be moved to a museum dedicated to the subject. They aren't trying to forget the cost of victory. They simply celebrate their heroes."

In Melina's home, the 'heroes' had led the Sundering War. A hero was someone who climbed the mountain of corpses to claim the peak.

Often, they went unrewarded and met tragic ends.

The fire in her mind crackled. She remembered the Kiln and the 'Heroes' it claimed.

"Let's go," Melina said, turning from the statues and making her way outside the hall of statues.

"Do you even know where you are going," Yoruichi asked with a chuckle as she quickly caught up.

Melina didn't but felt no need to mention that as they ghosted through the crowd toward another building. This one was larger, and there were several organized lines of people waiting to get in. Signs indicating what they were for.

Finding their destination was easy, even through the throng of people. Melina just had to find the appropriate sign.

'11 a.m. Live Interviews. Special Guest: Priscilla.'

From there, it was easy to follow the long line of people to the large room with the stage. It was huge, one of two major venues usually reserved for large shows. The type of place reserved for concerts or famous performances.

Frost had spared no expense on getting this set up.

By the time Yoruichi and Melina arrived, over a thousand seats were filled, even as more people trickled in, getting their tickets checked by the robot guards at the door. The stage crew bustled, setting up the production. A desk was wheeled out with a chair behind it. Three couches were also brought onto the stage, facing the crowd and the desk. Massive screens and speakers covered the area so those further away could still see and hear everything.

Melina ignored the activity around her, even as more people walked through her. The flame in her mind rose and fell as people touched her, and she felt their minds.

Her focus, as well as the Phoenix's, was searching the crowd for their Family.

"There's Robin," Yoruichi nodded toward one corner of the room. The section was dimly lit, and the former pirate was almost completely hidden.

Both women flowed through the seats and the people in them as they approached the woman.

They returned to the material realm, dropping into the seats beside her and startling a couple of young men in front of them. The pair started whispering furiously, recognizing both of them. Robin didn't flinch, eyes closed and head bowed as she greeted them.

"What happened?" She asked.

"A bit of a delay for practice," Yoruichi shrugged.

"I have it under control," Melina said, still searching the room. She didn't want to remain in the physical realm for long. Just showing up once was enough to bait the hook. Her eyes and hair were attracting attention since they glowed with fiery power. "Where are the others?"

"Backstage," Robin answered. "Priscilla's nervous. They're giving her some last-minute encouragement. And dealing with Frost. She is... intense."

The fire crackled in Melina's mind again, and her hold on the flame wavered.

That... hadn't been her. That had been the Phoenix.

"Melina?" Yoruichi asked, and even Robin opened her eyes to look at the Phoenix Host.

"Apologies," Melina said, taking a deep breath. "The Phoenix didn't like that. Something to do with Frost. It's... uneasy about her. Maybe jealous."

"Hmmm," Robin hummed in thought.

"Best you stay here for now," Yoruichi cautioned. "This thing will start soon, and we don't need an incident."

Melina wanted to protest. She wanted to be near Mikael right away. She hadn't seen him in hours, and now he was near that... skank. Asking Melina to stay away now was stupid. They belonged together.

Melina took a deep breath.

That was the Phoenix's influence. Melina was patient. Melina had waited for a Tarnished she could work with for centuries. She could wait an hour.

"All right," she said and faded into spiritual form again. The two men before her gasped, and their whispering resumed with renewed vigour.

"Anything of note," Yoruichi asked Robin lowly, looking around the room.

"Batman's here," Robin said simply as she nodded down the aisle.

It took Melina and Yoruichi a long moment to identify who she was talking about.

There, not at the front but near it and on the isle, was the man himself.

With a long black cape, glistening body armour and a bat-shaped cowl, it was a passable costume.

But that was all it was. Passable.

One of the bat ears on the cowl was half torn and showed its threads. The body armour gleamed like metal but bent like plastic when the man moved. His 'utility belt' had a prominent logo of a bat but also a small plastic tag displaying a costume shop logo poking out.

Batman was dressed like Batman.

And he wasn't even the best-dressed Batman.

Melina could see a half dozen other people dressed like the caped crusader in the room, and at least two had a better costume.

Without Robin pointing him out, she never would have noticed.

"Heh," Yoruichi chuckled. "He's good. Without powers of his own, I would have missed his spirit ribbon. How'd you tag him?"

"I saw him come in," Robin explained. "He was careful not to let anyone touch anything but his cloak. And as soon as you showed up, he noticed. He didn't blink the entire time Melina was here."

"Going to be a problem?" Yoruichi asked.

"Maybe," Robin said but nodded in a different direction. "I'm more worried about him."

"Who's that?" Yoruichi asked as she looked at the man sitting right by the entrance everyone was walking through. Melina couldn't get a good look at his costume, but it was black and white with a long cape.

"That's Giovanni Zatara," Robin explained as the doors were finally closed. "A powerful magician. There are a few other heroes around, too. Nobody else from the League, but a few street-level types. I saw a handful of X-men. The entire Teen Titan team is here. You can see their glow sticks."

Yoruichi clicked her tongue in displeasure. More heroes meant more potential foes if things got dangerous. Diana would be happy to check on the local version of her sister, and Glynda would handle the young heroes if they became a problem.

"What's the pool at?" Robin asked casually.

"If the interview ends without a fight, Tsunade gets a date day," Yoruichi answered. "That's the lowest level buy-in. I win if fighting starts but ends without any death. I get a whole day's threesome with her and Mikael. Glynda has odds on the show being completely shut down. She's only betting with Diana. The loser is the other's slave for a day. Scathach is all in for a complete breakdown. If she wins, she gets the first rejection on any fight for a month. If she loses, whoever has the closest prediction can get her to use her Primordial Runes as much as they want for a week."

"Hmmm," Robin hummed as staff calmed the crowd till they quieted. "I'm in."

"What are you putting forward?"

"A spa day."

"Damn," Yoruichi gave a low whistle. Even Melina felt tempted. With her Devil Fruit and Haki, Robin could was only beaten by Mikael when it came to getting someone to relax. And he cheated with Sticky Fingers. "And if you win?"

"I get peaking rights for the month."

By now, the cameras were rolling, and the pair talked in low whispers. A woman came out on stage and addressed the crowd with a friendly energy. Sally... something. Melina didn't care.

"No skin off my back," Yoruichi grinned. Melina was sure some might have issues with their private time with Mikael being... observed by the pirate, but they were the ones betting, not her. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing will happen," Robin said confidently. "A bit of panic initially, but nobody will take the bait. But, and here is the real bet: Frost will say or do something completely unexpected."

"Deal," Yoruichi smirked as she shook hands with the pirate. "You gotta tell the others, though. I have to stay with Spicy-hot here."

"I will," Robin shook with a smirk of her own.

Melina chaffed a bit at needing a babysitter but didn't deny that Yoruichi had been helpful today, so she kept silent.

Instead, she focused on the stage, where the Sally woman was going through some greeting spiel about her show or something.

Melina felt the Phoenix React as Emma Frost was called to the stage to the crowd's cheers. The secret mutant wore a white dress that sparkled in the spotlights. She looked good, and the Phoenix hated her for it.

Frost greeted the host with a friendly, if professional, attitude before sitting on one of the couches. The second one from the desk, not the closest.

The crowd stilled as the next guest showed up.

Completely unshrunk, Priscilla towered over everyone in the room by six feet, at least, as she walked on stage.

Her head almost brushed the ceiling, and her tail swished behind her in nervous energy as she walked. She had forgone her usual outfit of layered furs in place of a tailored silver dress Medea had made that accentuated her figure subtly while also being modest. Her scythe was nowhere to be found.

"Greeting," Priscilla gave a courtly curtsy towards the host and the crowd. "I am Priscilla. It is a pleasure to meet you all."

The crowd exploded.

People cheered, hollered and screamed as the crossbreed rose again, face slightly flush at the reception.

One man held up a white flag with her image and waived it frantically. Melina saw Beast Boy and Winman stand to cheer Priscilla's name, to the embarrassment of their teammates.

The host kindly led her to the first couch. The dragon girl took up the entire seat, and Melina realized it had been placed further back than the others so that, from the angle of the audience and the cameras, everyone could see her and the rest of the stage without issue.

"Finally," the woman said to the crowd once they quieted. It took a few minutes. "Our final guests are a surprise. They are part of Priscilla's band, the drummer and the backup singer, respectively. I urge everyone to remain calm. Nobody is in danger. We have been very thorough in ensuring there is no risk and even received League approval for this."

The crowd murmured to each other, tensions rising despite the hosts' insistence.

Melina, Yoruichi, and Robin all tensed as well. If the 'Oppressor' took the bait, it would be soon. They didn't think it would happen, but better to be ready just in case.

"Please remain seated as we welcome Ciara and Cyrus Gold."

Nobody commented on the quaver in the host's voice.

They were too busy staring at the pair of Spirit Ashes that walked up to the stage.

"Better known as Solomon Grundy and... the Faerie Queen."

The screaming started instantly.