Chapter 14- Revenge is Hungry Work

POV- Jessie LaCroix

Okay, the last few weeks had been weird. Awakening the X-gene, and thus a second-class citizen in my own country, thanks to the new mutant laws that come in 8 years ago as Sentinel Services became a minor part of the nation's law enforcement. A fact that most people seem to ignore, perhaps too distracted by the arrival of Iron Man and the Avengers. While they were lauded for being heroes, saving people with powers, all of them artificial, with the exception of Thor, a literal God who lives on another planet, mutants like me have been hiding.

I shouldn't complain really. No one knew of my powers so I was still living at home with Mom and Dad, my powers triggering during the threat of Ultron, my shock and fear watching it happen live causing me to set fire to the living room. Something I had blamed on a knocked-over candlestick.

But being spotted by Leviathan while I was practising with my emerald flames, and offered the opportunity to join a group of young heroes, was definitely the weirdest part. The guy has fucking TENTACLES, well sort of. Not like an octopus but close enough. And if he hadn't been so glad to see my powers, even after finding out I was a mutant, I would have refused, even with the payment offer. And so Firestar joined Vaught, the newly recognised name for the young hero team.

POV- Peter Parker

Seeing Nate walk through the door with yet another girl with him, I began to question his choices in teammates. "Seriously, another one? What is this, your own personal harem?"

"No, but that sounds entertaining. Maybe I should kick you out?" Nate teased, then addressed Kate, ignoring me as I stood stumped by the ease that he accepted the idea as fun. IN FRONT OF HIS FEMALE TEAMMATES. "This is Jessie, a mutant who will be joining us from now on. Mid to long-range combatant with pyrokinetic abilities, so far at least. Kate would you mind taking her and showing her to her overnight room and locker?" Admittedly, I hadn't seen the need for the overnight rooms, but as it turned out Nathan was actually spending most nights in his, almost like an apartment, and he reasoned that others may prefer the room to their situation, whether due to circumstances or simply travel time.

When I asked him, he looked at me and asked whether I "Expect Princess Shuri, sister of the King of Wakanda, to travel all the way to and from the Tower every time she is called." I may be better than Nate at a lot of things, science, maths, and strength, but beating him in an argument is not one of them.

Hopefully, she doesn't burn down anything important, and if she destroys the coffee machine, he may end up killing her himself.

POV- Nathan Cross.

While Jessie was an excellent addition to the team, pretty enough to build support for, before it comes to light that she is herself a mutant, the green flame eye-catching enough that her flames will be noticed, she's green, not just in flame but experience. She needs training though, we all do.

Two days later-

The morning coffee was burnt somehow, I assume because some idiot ignored the sign saying not to touch this specific coffee pot. Then finding out that my meat stores are empty, and had a test this afternoon, I could honestly say that today sucked.

As I stew over my coffee, whining about how terrible the day was going to be, Kate sat down at the table, having stayed at the Tower last night under the pretence of a sleepover that was actually coordinating team practice. The addition of fire into a combat zone was super helpful, unless you're trying to shoot somebody on the other side of it. So Kate had stayed behind, shooting arrow after arrow, trying to learn how to lead a shot so that she could predict where the target would be, even if she lost sight of them for a moment.

"We need to talk."

"Good, because you've been avoiding me since the voice recording incident." She shuddered at the mention of the event, no doubt remembering the man's terrified pleas for help.

"Well that's what this is about, when you mean normal food makes you sick, what did you mean? Like how bad?"

Thinking on what is explained in Tokyo Ghoul I respond, "I can force myself to eat normal food…but I would need to throw it up immediately after, because if my body breaks down the food, it would poison me, like salmonella on steroids. I don't particularly like having to eat people, it's degrading, embarrassing, forces me to eat separately or do a tonne of meal prep to hide what it is, and the worst part? I can't stop." Sipping at my cup with a sigh I wait for Kate to respond.

"How did you become what you are?"

"To be honest, I don't know the specifics. I got hit in the head, had a concussion, and woke up like this. Similar to a mutant awakening."

"Mutants don't eat people."

"Mutants can be given wings, extra limbs and skin stronger than steel. I think they can alter what the body accepts as food."

"Why is everyone okay with this? You're not even human, and you're the leader of our team."

"I'm the leader because I'm rational and can make good decisions, like stopping a fight from breaking out between the Avengers or persuading the ancient sorcerer who was here last night to change her preconceived notion of fate."

"Sorcerer?"

"Oh yeah, magic exists. Ask Wanda."

"And the Avengers aren't happy about it, but I don't hurt good people, and I try to help people, which won their trust. Tony was known as the Merchant of Death, making weapons that were responsible for millions of deaths, Bucky was an assassin brainwashed by Nazis to hunt and kill people. Natasha was a spy and assassin; Clint has killed hundreds of people himself. It's a fact of the job, so far, the only difference is that they do it because it's a job, but I would still HAVE to kill in order to survive."

With clenched fists and glassy eyes, she looks down at the floor, unable to retort. After almost 5 minutes of an awkward silence, she looks up at me and nods, accepting the logic. "I hope we can continue working together Nathan, I just…needed time I guess."

"That's fine. Anytime you need to talk feel free to come to me, or if you'd prefer, Clint and Nat are pretty much always available for a chat."

2 weeks later-

"How the hell did it take the old bat that long to mark our essays?"

"Nathan, shut up. Everyone else was stressed the whole time, you were just anxious to get your score back so you can annoy Peter.

"And? My reason for being shitty is as good as yours." 'Though my mood is low for another reason. The increase in alien weapons has escalated recently, and the pushback of gang crime after Wilson Fisk's imprisonment. Dealing with the vulture is secondary, and I should push Pete to do that himself, while the team can deal with the gang wars. Lots of stupid people with money to steal and limbs to break. Sounds like a plan.

Posting Peter on birdwatching duty, using his suit and assistant, now unlocked at my behest, to track down deals, I left with Jessie and Kate for Hell's Kitchen. 'Though in recent months it may as well have been called the Ghoul's Meatlocker, with so many of the people I've been consuming being taken from here.'

"Okay, after Kingpin was arrested, gangs have been fighting for control, and not just nationals, so we are going to move as a team, identify a hideout, and crush them. Jessie, can you limit your flames to short bursts, I don't want to burn down the buildings or lose any of their money in the fight."

Firestar was shocked, "You're going to take their money?"

"Well yeah, most of it will go to charity groups but yes some of it we will take, why? Was the breaking and entering, assault and potential murder where you drew the line? Mutants have weird morals."

"Aren't you a mutant?"

"Sort of, and coming from a cannibal that helps save people, you're not helping your argument."

"Can we focus? Kate said exasperated.

It took only 11 minutes to find a drug dealer, whom Kate immobilised and Jade threatened. Apparently being torched from foot to face was a scary enough image, as the sweaty git told us who he got his merchandise from. Finding her, however, seemed impossible, and watching the girls eat got me starving, my eye now red as I held myself back from attacking the nearest person.

"Fuck this." With a leap, I jump towards the dingy apartment across the street. While I'd heard sounds that made me curious, I couldn't prove anything so I had held back, but not now. Not when the thought of biting through Jessie's pale skin was so damn tempting.

Luckily for me, I was right with my hearing, 2 men had been hog-tied, attached to a radiator, then gagged, leaving them completely helpless. The woman on the bed, dressed comfortably with a gun in hand was average-looking, nothing interesting about her except for the fury held on her face. "So a hero comes to save THEM, but not my son. Why didn't you save my son when they killed him?"

"Ma'am, when did they kill your son?"

"6 months ago, I was waiting for the police to progress in their investigation, but they couldn't prove they did it, but I know it. I KNOW THEY KILLED MY BOY." Now sobbing the woman sits back on the bed.

Calming her with my pheromones, my control back temporarily due to the promise of food. "Well I have only been around a few months so I couldn't have helped, and I'm more than happy to interrogate them."

"Then what? They go to prison for 10 years, while my son remains dead?"

Whispering to her, I deny her words, "I was planning to kill them if they indeed had done it. Though if you would like to kill them after they confess that's fine too. Justice is subjective, and I have no issues with you taking revenge."

Looming over the two men, my Kakuja forms, and I rake the sharp-edged tail across the floor around them, telling of it's sharpness. The addition of my Fear toxin, a much better name than Fear pheromone, was hardly necessary, the two desperately confessing to the crime after I promised to let them go if they confessed, so long as they didn't tell anyone that I killed the woman who kidnapped them. 'Even if they didn't kill the boy, they just accepted a deal to sacrifice a woman for their own skin.' "So which one of you killed her son?"

"It was an accident I swear, we were drunk and we got into an argument over some girl at the club. We fought, and his head smacked into the floor, dead. I didn't mean to kill him." 'Sweet.' Knocking the other one unconscious, I point out the killer, and after a few brutal seconds of self-conflict, she shoots him, 1 bullet, 2, 3, 4. Collapsed to the floor she begins mumbling to her dead son about revenge. Taking the corpse to the bathroom and locking the door, I rip into the body, unable to control the urge. Leaving with one unconscious idiot and blood all over my face I hand him to Kate, informing her of what had happened and asking her to hand him to the cops for concealing information on an ongoing murder investigation.

No gang hideouts were found that night, but with 3 drug dealers busted, and a young girl saved from a group of crippled men, all with crushed pelvises and an appendage missing, burnt off, our trio was definitely working better.