Chapter 5: Fire and Ice

More advance chapters in P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.

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(Unknown Warehouse)

(Angel's ACTUAL P. O. V)

FUCK.

I can't move my body. Everything hurts and I'm lying in a puddle of my own blood and waste.

Father left a while ago.

I know there's someone else in the warehouse with me. I can sense the heat they put out. But the presence is dim.

My hand is broken at the elbow and trying to move it feels wrong.

Breathing sends waves of agony through my ribs and it's a wonder that I haven't lost consciousness. Again.

Through swollen eyes, I can see moonlight streaming through the ceiling above. The light is a balm on my broken body.

That bastard kept beating me up until I passed out. When the pain woke me up, I was alone.

'I underestimated you Father. I underestimated your cruelty.'

But I've always known you were a sadistic bastard. To do this to your son though...

I thought the FALSE front I've always projected would keep me safe from you.

I've had my memories ever since I was a day old and saw him mercilessly cut down my birth mother like an animal.

He thought I didn't know...but I did.

Hence the mask I put on was necessary.

It made me appear to be exactly what he wanted me to be:- A desperate child looking for guidance and approval after having lost the single stabilizing force in his life.

But you made a gross miscalculation Father, I'm not one of your lackeys. Maybe it's an effect of being your son, but I won't let you use me.

And I swear...for the hell you put me through, I'll grow stronger than you, tougher than you, even more cruel than you could ever be...

Just so I can make your death as painful as I can.

(Angel's P.O.V)

I dragged my body up to a single knee, cradling my right hand under my chest.

The entire forearm was encased in Ice at least until the broken bone could heal.

Though I wasn't entirely sure about that.

Previously my burnt skin had regenerated but that could have easily been a feature of my pyrokinesis.

This would need time to investigate.

In the meantime, I couldn't stay here. My vision was starting to swim again.

"I know y-you're there."

I addressed the shadows in the corner, through my swollen and split lips.

My tongue felt heavy and tasted of blood.

"Take me back...to my room."

I barely managed to grunt out.

(2 months later)

Fire and ice. Opposites in almost every way.

The question of what was more powerful was an exercise in futility. Yes, yes, I know Fire can melt ice.

But water can also put out fire to some degree.

In any case, I'm not talking about their traditional forms.

I'm talking about the actual Fire and Ice.

Two superheroines from South America (I think) with the same abilities I did.

The only difference was that Fire was a pyrokinetic. And Ice was a Cryokinetic.

And the two of them were going to be my teachers.

Yay.

Yeah. You heard that right.

Two superheros affiliated with the Justice League were going to be instructing the son of one of the worst villains in DC on how to use his powers.

To give context, this is how our first meeting went,

-0-

The location was the same Warehouse Father had used when he broke my hand a couple months ago.

We hadn't seen each other since then but I later found out from Mordecai the butler, that ownership of the Warehouse was handed over to me.

He said and I quote, 'your father is eager to see your development.'

Fake smile and all.

Despite the seemingly innocent present, I knew what placing the Warehouse under me meant.

It was a reminder.

One that was unneeded as my broken hand, which had only just recently healed up- served as a much better one.

Turns out I only had enhanced healing as a result of my abilities. Which meant that while injuries caused by my powers would heal pretty fast, ( I recovered from second degree burns in a single night) that wasn't the case when I sustained damage from outside influences.

My broken hand took the last two months to heal. On another note, I had also turned 5.

"We can't let him threaten us Fire!"

Said Ice, a white haired beautiful woman who I would classify as being in the prime of her womanhood.(seriously, almost every person I had seen in this world was a solid six and above)

"Its not about threats Ice."

Replied her green haired counterpart.

With a brown latina complexion, provocative green costume, Fire looked like she was ripped straight out of a porno.

Her outfit hugged her crazy curves to the point even a kid like me was left salivating at what lay underneath.

The fact I was a virgin in both lifes didn't help matters.

Fortunately, I had built up a tolerance to beautiful women from the regular baths with my maids.

That said, the situation unfolding before me was...weird to say the least.

"Maybe we should contact the League."

Ice proposed, biting her nails in worry.

"They can help us."

She beseeched her friend.

"What's the worst he can do to us if we refuse?"

I almost interrupted from where I sat cross-legged, hidden by Shade's powers.

Defying Father was a monumentally stupid idea.

Fire beat me to it.

"Think Tora."

She told Ice.

"He kidnapped us from our homes. He knows where we live and our identities. If we go to the League, there's no guarantee Savage won't go after us or our families. Let's just do what he wants. It's only teaching a brat."

Tora or Ice rather, scoffed, crossing her hands over her bountiful chest.

"I don't understand why we're trusting a villain. This is bound to bite us in the ass some day."

The Cryokinetic growled.

That's true Ice. That's oh so very true.

Taking that as a cue to reveal myself, I flared my flames a little, dispelling the darkness and undoing the very basic shadow veil above my body-courtesy of my retainer- Shade.

He was a supervillain that worked for my father but just like the Warehouse, had been placed under my purview for a few months now.

With the veil gone, to Fire and Ice I seemingly appeared before them from the darkness, seated ontop of one of the crates at the back of the building.

Immediately, they were on guard- Ice freezing the floor under her into ice while Fire ignited with green flames.

"Shade, get ready to swallow me into a shadow at the first sign of attack."

I whispered to the teleporter.

"Copy that young Master Savage."

The teleporter responded in his whispery voice.

Outwardly, I adopted a small smirk on my face.

"Please, don't be afraid. My name is Angel Savage. And if I'm correct, I'm your new student."

The two of then stared at me in surprise before sharing a look.

"You're...just a child."

Ice muttered, staring at me up and down.

"Yes, 'HIS' child to be exact."

I clarified with a raise of my eyebrows.

"If that's a deal breaker, I'll warn you right now that I'm your only way to surviving this."

Father would not hesitate to tie up loose ends.

And if he could manage to kill Olympia through me, (I was convinced he had the capability to mess with my mind or control me. And as much as I HATED that, there was nothing I could without more information) he wouldn't balk at doing the same to Fire and Ice.

"This is sick."

Fire spat with a disgusted expression.

"How does he expect us to teach a 3 year old how to fight?"

"5 years old."

I corrected, instantly, igniting the right side of my body, further surprising them both.

Maybe showing them what I could do would speed up the process.

I jumped off the crate, releasing a burst of flames through my sole to slow my descent..

"My father is a man of his word."

I told them, molding the flames to form a compressed ball of fire above my palm that looked like a miniature sun.

It was so hot that it visibly warped the air.

Fire and Ice took a wary step back.

"If he promised to let you go after you've taught me what you can- and as you can see, I am very talented- then he will naturally let you go."

I lied straight to their faces.

He would definitely kill them after they had outlived their usefulness.

"And the sooner we get started, the sooner that will be."

The miniature sun infront of me flared up in a long tongue of yellow-reddish flame before disappearing.

The two of them shared another look, seeming to come to an agreement.

"Is that all you can do?"

Ice tentatively asked. And while out of context it would have be taken as rude, I could tell they were actually curious.

Without a word, I created an ice spike on my left palm.

(5 years later)

(The Watchtower)

"Tora Olafsdotter and Beatriz de Cruz, also known as Fire and Ice, not respectively."

Batman begun.

"They were part of the Justice League outreach program. And have been incredibly useful in helping with League matters."

Above the long table that the League sat around, two inafes were projected, showing Fire and Ice in costume fighting against Killer Croc. Flames and Ice were assaulting the lizard man from opposite sides.

The reel changed, this time displaying the two superheroines standing shoulddd to shoulder with Black Canary and Wonder-Woman.

The next reel showed Fire and the Flash holding hands while eating ice cream in a park.

The Flash turned away with a sad look. Wonder-Woman, sitting next to him patted his hand in comfort.

"5 years ago,"

Batman continued briefing the full room.

"Both of them dissappeared without a trace."

The Dark Knight slid his fingers over the wrist computer on his wrist.

A new image took center stage on the projected display.

There was a sharp intake of breath along with a few curses.

"Yesterday,"

Batman continued without interruption.

"I came across their remains in an abandoned Warehouse. Fire's entire body was frozen to temperatures close to absolute Zero..."

And sure enough, one of the images showed a woman whose body was frozen stiff, eyes wide and face twisted in an expression of surprise.

"And Ice was burned to a crisp."

A hard note entered his voice.

The second image showed a blackened corpse- the flesh roasted above cracked bones.

"Both suffered greatly during their last moments."

Batman explained, eyes narrowed.

"And I have a lead on their killer."