BottledChaos

A short interlude with a bit of a different style. Let me know what you think about it!

Flare was always a bright child. Always smiling, laughing. Always full of energy. For some adults, it was annoying. But for the others, a refreshing sight in the bleak world they lived in.

She had a friend, Chris. They first met in kindergarten. Her friend was similarly bright. Less energetic, but very smart. She considered Chris to be somewhat of a little sister to her. But adults always said Chris was a boy, which felt odd at first. Chris always played with other girls rather than the boys. But adults were smarter, they knew what they were talking about. So little Flare didn't argue with them.

The longer the two spent together, the closer they grew. Hiding in the shelters from starstorms always brought them together just a little more. From a young age, Flare knew what these starstorms did. Even though they were pretty and sparkly, they did bad things. Big scary monsters appeared because of them. Chris would always hold the scared Flare inside the shelter. She felt like the younger sister in these moments. "It will be okay." her friend said. And it usually was. Sometimes she could feel the tremors from outside. From monsters destroying everything, and the heroes trying to stop them. But other than that, it was okay, just like Chris said.

Around the time they both entered elementary school, Flare was used to the reality of starstorms. No longer would she shiver in her friend's embrace whenever one would come. It was alright now. She could be bright and energetic even when stuck down in a shelter.

As the two were growing up though, Chris began to be bothered by something. Flare always told her friend it was okay to befriend more girls than boys, nothing strange about that. But it seemed that Chris was bothered by something else, though Chris would never say what. It certainly didn't help when boys made fun of Chris for being girly. At those times though, she would defend her friend. Unfortunately, that never helped, and only made them make fun of Chris even more. She was torn on what to do.

Over time, Chris began to be less 'girly' as others put it. But on the other hand, never really crossed into the 'manly' or even 'boyish' territory. Something in between. It was a little odd. Almost as if Chris couldn't go either way and thus stayed in the middle. But Flare noticed. How Chris always secretly eyed pretty dresses and skirts. How he never really cared about anything typically boyish. Chris wanted to be a girl, that was clear, but he would never admit it.

She could never forget the horror on his face when the call happened. They were both on their way home from the shelter under the school. When Chris's phone rang, they both thought it was just his parents checking up on him to make sure he was alright. But not this time.

It was his dad, calling about something serious. He sounded distraught. Something happened to Chris's mom. And it didn't seem to be pretty. Flare followed Chris as he rushed back home to his dad. The man in question looked nothing like he usually did. Red eyes, disheveled hair, slumped and defeated. As the two teenagers entered, the man looked at Chris in despair. He had to deliver news he didn't want to.

"Chris. Your mom. She's. She's dead."

Time seemed to stop for both of them.

Apparently, a hybrid attacked her workplace. The entire building turned into magma. Hundreds of people died. And one of them was Chris's mother.

Utter disbelief. Shock. That day, Chris lost something important. Something other than his mother. Oddly enough though, he never cried over her death. He just seemed empty inside. Even as the funeral happened, he simply stared into space. Sure, Chris has long lost the energy he had as a kid, but he was still living. That day, it felt like an important part of him died, along with his mother. And as if that wasn't enough, his dad began to come home less and less. Always at work, always having some sort of excuse. Rarely there to support his broken child.

So Flare had to step in for him. As kids, Chris would protect her from the looming dangers of starstorms. But now it was time for her to finally be the big sister. Flare did her best, but it seemed like her friend was drifting further and further into darkness. She had no idea what to do.

It was as if someone flicked a switch. Chris went from a gloomy empty shell of a person to the brightly smiling kid she knew from oh so long ago. It was a bit ironic. Other people would look and see the literal darkness spreading around her, but in actuality, she was so much brighter than she had been in ages. And all it took was becoming a girl. A girl, she had always been, as Flare suspected. After all, adults weren't always right. In the end, little four-year-old Flare was smarter than the adults of her time.

The happiness was contagious. Despite always acting all bright and happy, Flare was struggling to keep up that image for Chris lately. But she didn't have to act anymore. She was happy for her friend. Though Chris still seemed quite apprehensive about being a girl, so Flare did what she did best, and encouraged her. Talked about being heroes, took her shopping, hugged her when she shed tears of happiness. It was like they were kids again. Playing around, just being happy to be alive.

And when it came to being heroes, to Flare's surprise, Chris was already ahead of her. Already on her way to becoming a hero. The same Chris who always avoided the spotlight like the plague. Though if she thought about it, it wasn't all that surprising. The kid Chris she knew would jump at the chance of becoming a hero, and in a way, the current Chris went back to being that kid.

It was great. They would go on adventures like they did as children. But this time, they would actually help people. Be real heroes, instead of imaginary ones.

She watched as the bullet hit her friend in the head. Chris lied there face down on the ground unmoving, blood pooled around her.

"IIIINK!"

The scream came from within her soul. Her friend, one who suffered so much, struggled so hard, and finally found some happiness in her life. Dead. Just like that.

"Fucking creepy-ass bitch."

Her face was covered in sweat despite being resistant to heat. She was hyperventilating. The only thing in her mind was the picture of her friend's corpse. She wanted the world to burn. And luckily, she had just the right tools to make it happen.

"Stop that right fucking now, or you'll get the same treatment!" A shout resounded.

But that was not the way to do it. She had to keep her powers in check for now. Otherwise, she will get blown up and those fuckers will get away. Just wait for the right opportunity and then turn them into charcoal.

Things happened. The heroine with the broken jaw tried to threaten them. Tell them they were crossing the line. But she only got a kick into the head for her troubles. Then the two remaining villains began to argue. One wanted to book it, and the other one insisted on staying. If they ran, she would chase them down and shove molten ash down their throats. If they stayed, she would do the same, with a bit less chasing.

At some point, the sound went out again. But those two were still bickering. She was biding her time, waiting for her chance to melt them alive. But she should have been more subtle about it. Apparently, they didn't like her glaring and the bald-headed man decided to punch her square in the face. However, that only reinforced the girl's will to fill their every orifice with burning ash.

Prism finally returned, and immediately realized what was going on. He didn't even try to do anything before surrendering to them. They herded him near the other three heroes and reminded him of what will happen if he acted out.

And then finally, her chance came. The bomber decided to come closer. The moment he came within the punching distance, she would turn on maximum heat, envelop him with her field and stuff his face full of ash. If he died, good. If he didn't, that would be fine too. At least he would suffer.

But he didn't come close to her. No, he decided to piss her off even more and went to her dead friend. He looked at her fallen body like it was a piece of trash. She wanted to get up and murder him right then and there. If only there weren't all those bombs around.

And it didn't stop there. He kicked her friend. Her limp, lifeless body. No respect whatsoever. That was it. She didn't even care anymore if everyone got blown up. She would kill that man. Pure anger seeped out of her and she readied herself to get up and eviscerate him.

But she didn't have to. Chris, Ink, her best friend came back from the dead. She suddenly opened her eyes, flicked them from one villain to the other, and then shot up like a rocket. Flare has never seen a sight more satisfying than her friend's fist nearly gouging a hole through that man. Before she could even voice her surprise, the other enemy has been taken care of as well. It was over. Her friend stood there, triumphant. She didn't need Flare's help. She avenged herself.

"I-ink?! Ink! You're alive! Oh my god!"

And then the dam broke. Her best friend who got shot was alive and well. That was all that mattered to Flare at that moment.

"I thought you were dead! Don't do this to me ever again!"

She was both happy and angry. Her emotions were a mess.

"Just playing dead. It turned out okay, didn't it?"

"I was about to burn everything down! Please don't make me think you are dead anymore!"

"Yeah. I. Sorry. I won't."

She cried for quite a while. Letting these emotions out. But she couldn't keep on crying. As Chris said, it turned out okay, she needed to get a hold of herself. Go back to being her usual cheery self.

At some point, Prism complimented Chris for doing a good job. That was nice, her friend deserved the praise, even though she almost made Flare burn everything down in the process.

But then, the heroes appeared and attacked both of them out of the blue. Prism quickly explained that it was a misunderstanding, but Flare was annoyed. Of course, she didn't cuss out loud but still made a little grumble.

Rook engaged in a conversation with Ink while she worked on getting herself together again. No more tears, no anger at the world. Just her cheery, happy self. As usual. Once she did that, she took over the conversation.

"No problem! Well, Ink did most of the work, really."

On one hand, she was happy her friend could stand on her own now. That she didn't really need her support anymore. But on the other, it made her anxious. What if Chris decided she didn't need her at all anymore? They had been friends since forever, but what if she decided to move on to other things?

Flare had been shaken by the event despite not wanting to show it. But Chris? She acted as if it just another day. Nothing special. Like she didn't even care she nearly died. Flare had doubts about whether she could keep being a hero if things like this kept happening. One day, her friend might get shot and not get up again, after all. Flare worried about the possible future.

And then Chris broke down as soon as they walked out of the alleyway.

Flare realized they were all too similar. Hiding what they truly felt. Pretending to be strong to mask their insecurities and anxiety. Chris still needed her. Just as she needed Chris. Even if they broke off their hero team, they would stay as friends. She had no doubt about that anymore.

As the two moved away from the hug and Chris stood up on her shaky legs, Flare gave her friend an encouraging smile. They walked back to her place in silence. Both had a lot on their mind. They didn't talk much at all on their way. Simply supporting each other, feeling each other's presence.

When they did get home, Flare assumed the role of the older sister once again. To her great surprise, Chris loudly insisted on continuing their heroic ventures. And so she agreed, despite her new doubts. She couldn't leave her friend on her own, after all.

To her credit, Chris recovered pretty quickly from what should have been a near-death experience. A lunch and a visit to the hero HQ later, she was already analyzing the entire experience at the bank. Listing off everything they could improve on and what they needed to look out for next time. It was as if she didn't go through a horrifying experience at all. Flare admired this strength.

Later on, she got to meet her online friends from New Madison. The promised Saturday gaming night. That promise seemed like it was made a decade ago, with how much has happened since.

After some greetings and showing off, it was time to play the game. If one ignored some of the bugs, it was as cool as the trailers showed. Though, what impressed Flare the most was how smoothly Chris lead the group. She always had a plan for every situation. A strategy for every boss monster. And even backup plans in case something didn't work out. Flare finally understood what Chris meant when she said they could learn strategies for their heroing from the game. More so than the specific tactics, the general mindset she showed would definitely help them as heroes.

As they played, Flare's confidence grew back. One bad fight wasn't the end of the world. Heck, they won, and that was what mattered in the end. They would continue to be heroes. Learn from their mistakes. And eventually, they would be the greatest heroes Neoarx has ever seen.