13.04

Chapter 13.04 Summary (872 words)

Burnscar, with Mannequin lurking behind her, faced Skitter, Grue, Bitch, and their dogs in a burning alley. Walls of flame blocked any escape, rain falling uselessly on the flooded street. Burnscar’s sudden appearance had thrown Skitter off balance; unlike Mannequin’s calculated tactics, Burnscar was a pyrokinetic with teleportation, a whole different threat.

“Happy now?” Burnscar’s voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

“Not so much,” Grue replied.

Burnscar, following Jack’s rules, announced Bitch’s test: to destroy her greatest fear with violence. Skitter, searching for options, considered her limited arsenal: pepper spray, knife, baton, Grue’s darkness, the dogs, and her bugs. None seemed effective against fire.

“You’re going to have to face your greatest fear,” Burnscar declared, “Destroy any hold it has on you with violence, blood, and death.”

Bitch, instead of claiming fearlessness, narrowed her eyes, refusing to harm her dogs. Burnscar clarified – the dogs weren’t her true fear. It was the loss of her human connections, Grue and Skitter. This makeshift family, though flawed, was the best Bitch could hope for, and according to Cherish, it was falling apart.

“Rip off the band-aid,” Burnscar urged, “Finish off these losers… Do it, and I let you and your dogs walk away.”

Bitch, torn, considered the offer. She could fight for her found family or sacrifice them for her own and her dogs’ safety. Skitter, realizing Bitch might choose the latter, decided to act.

Grue, buying time, argued that Burnscar was deviating from Jack’s rules. Skitter prepared her capsaicin-laced bugs, her last resort. Mannequin, unable to speak, warned Burnscar. Too late, Skitter launched her attack. Bugs swarmed Burnscar, biting and stinging. Mannequin shoved her into a burning pile of trash, and she vanished.

“Run!” Grue yelled.

Bitch, on Sirius, charged through the flames, followed by Grue and Skitter. The heat intensified, but they couldn’t outpace the fire. They fell, burning. Grue used his darkness to smother the flames, patting Skitter down with his jacket and water. Pain and panic surged through Skitter as her senses were blocked.

They ran, stumbling, Grue leading, to the shattered Boardwalk and down to the beach. Skitter’s territory was ablaze. Grief and guilt washed over Skitter. She’d failed her people, her plans in ruins.

“We need to go find Genesis,” Skitter said, “She had it sent to my lair.”

Grue, after a moment’s thought, agreed, but warned that her lair might be on fire.

They reached the storm drain and Skitter’s lair. It wasn’t burning, but the flicker of flames was visible. Inside, they found Charlotte and a group of children, survivors of Mannequin’s attack. Genesis, in her sleeping form, lay on a bunk.

Charlotte explained that she’d gathered the children after Mannequin’s rampage. Skitter, numb, instructed her to take them to the storm drain for safety. Genesis, they realized, was vulnerable. Waking her could disrupt her fight.

Skitter, using her power, located Genesis, now a flying pufferfish form, battling Burnscar. Genesis vanished into a burning building. Skitter, trapped in a mental state akin to when she got her powers, felt overwhelmed.

“We can’t do this,” she said to Grue, “We can’t endure this… They’re going to ruin everything while they do it!”

Grue tried to calm her, but Skitter, fueled by anger, was determined to fight back. Grue physically stopped her, urging her to rest and plan. Genesis, in her wheelchair, appeared. She’d been unable to stop Burnscar, who’d forfeited. Genesis agreed to try to fight the fires, her reserves low.

Later, Grue found Skitter, distraught. Bitch wasn’t answering her phone. They decided to look for her.

“We’ll get through this,” Grue said, hugging her.

“No,” Skitter pulled away, “Not like this… We go on the offensive.”

“Offensive? Dinah said that a direct attack would be suicide.”

“So we go for the indirect attack. They want to play dirty? Let’s play dirty back.”