Chapter Text
Lio had been the leader of the Mad Burnish for all of a month when he hears the rumors. The rumors of a rogue Burnish.
“Have you met him? The rogue?” Lio asks Meis and Gueira one day after overhearing some of the other Mad Burnish talking about him.
“Ugh, that guy,” Gueira groans, leaning back dramatically in the creaky old chair he’s plopped himself down in.
“He comes out of fuckin’ nowhere! And then tries to wreck our shit!” Gueira gesticulates wildly, his flames flickering along his fingertips as he gets worked up.
Lio listens silently.
“He usually rode in when we were lighting fires randomly,” Meis elaborates as Gueira fumes, “before you were our leader and we didn’t care as much who got hurt.”
They both have the decency to look slightly bad about that.
“He’d ride in and try to stop our fire from spreading, it was so annoying!” Gueira bounces back from his shame with as much spark as before, “talking like he’s better than us or some shit.”
Meis rolls his eyes as Gueira pouts, reaching out to pat him on the head. The condescending touch immediately has Gueira spitting fire and Lio knows this conversation is over as the two start rough housing.
Still, it’s interesting. A Burnish that is neither in hiding among the people of Promepolis but hasn’t joined the Mad Burnish? Lio rests his head on his hand and looks out over the desert. He has to wonder what that person would be like.
But Lio doesn’t have to wonder for long. The need, the itch, to burn becomes too much for them to resist and the Mad Burnish ride out once again to set something alight a few days later.
Lio never gets comfortable with the screams as homes go up in flames, he never wants to. It just drives home how necessary it is for them to have their own home, away from all this. Where they can burn in peace.
Lio sits upon his throne, watching the chaos play out and making sure the rest of the Mad Burnish don’t get too into it when he hears it. He knows the rev every Mad Burnish’s engine, but this one is different.
Lifting his head to the source of the noise Lio spots it, a deep blue streak speeding towards them. Once it enters the town limits a wave of blue crashes against their flames, preventing it from spreading further.
It pierces through a wall of Mad Burnish flame, parting mint and magenta with dark blue.
“Look who decided to join the party,” Lio hears Gueira’s voice over the crackling flames.
“You call wrecking people’s homes a party!?” Comes a loud retort and Lio is finally able to spot the figure of the rogue Burnish.
He certainly stands out against the rest of the Mad Burnish, instead of sharp obsidian armor he’s clad in sleek silver. A light blue visor hides his face but by far the most striking thing about the newcomer is the mohawk of flame. Burning bright and snapping behind him like a flag in the wind, it's hard to ignore.
Gueira advances on the silver Burnish, flexing his claws and staring him down in his bulky armor. By comparison, the rogue isn’t as tall but he isn’t as sleek as Meis or himself.
A flare rears up from their Burnish fire, hissing and coiling before lashing out at an unburned home.
“Oh no you don’t!” Lio watches as the rogue turns away from Gueira to leap at the flare and full-body tackle it to the ground, a shining spear-like weapon skewering the flare. It squirms before disappearing in a shower of embers.
“DON’T IGNORE ME!” Gueira howls before grabbing the rogue by the arm and hucking the poor Burnish across the street.
The rogue goes bouncing down the pavement before colliding with a burning building. Even Lio has to wince at that, even if nobody can see it behind his toothy visor. Just because their flames heal them quickly, doesn’t mean they can’t still feel pain.
“Hey, Gueira I think you...” Meis rides up next to him and watches as the building collapses, “went a little rough on him.”
After a few tense seconds the rubble starts to move, before the rogue bursts out and shakes some of the rubble from his head and shoulders.
“See? He’s fine!” Gueira motions to the rogue only to turn and see that he’s gone, “wh--again!?” Gueira stomps his foot and snarls, summoning his ATV: Miami.
Lio stands from his throne, even more curious about this nuisance than he was before. Clearly, he’s not completely focused on fighting the Mad Burnish. So what exactly is he trying to do?
“Keep an eye out for the Freeze Force,” Lio calls down, “I’m going to see where he went.”
Once he gets two enthusiastic replies Lio leaps from roof to roof, hoping to get a bird’s eye view. It doesn’t take long to spot the rogue, not with that blue clashing with the usual Burnish flames. He perches on the ridge of a roof and quietly watches, taking in the odd scene in front of him.
“It’s okay, I’ll get you out,” the rogue calls as he dashes into a burning building, minutes go by before he crashes out of the second-storey window, arms curled protectively around two figures.
It’s two people, a mother and daughter by Lio’s guess, the rogue places them gently on the street even though the mother tugs her daughter away.
“Follow the blue fire and you’ll be outta here in no time,” he motions them down the street, lined with rippling blue fire.
The mother doesn’t stop and say thank you, simply scooping up her child and running. But, the little girl looking over her shoulder waves to the rogue. Lio watches as the rogue gives a tentative wave back, almost shy.
Lio jumps from the building and lands nearby, “why did you do that?” He asks curiously.
Apparently the rogue didn’t hear him, or was lost in thought, because he flails and whips around when Lio speaks, his blue flame flowing with his movements.
“Do what?” The rogue tilts his head.
“Save them,” Lio nods his head to the empty street, where that mother and child once were.
“Why wouldn’t I…?” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Like the idea that helping someone, someone who would be happy to see him thrown in an icy prison with no remorse, is inconceivable.
The Mad Burnish aren’t murderers, but they’re not heroes either. They’re just people, trying to survive.
“What’s your name?” Lio asks instead.
“I’m Galo Thymos! Remember me and my burning soul, big boss!” The rogue, Galo Thymos, strikes a pose and holds it.
Is...is he an idiot? Who actually does that?
“What about you? It’s only polite to give your name when you’re introducing yourself,” Galo crosses his arms and stares Lio down.
“Lio. Lio Fotia.”
“Boss!” Meis roars down the street on his dual-sport bike: Dallas. “We’ve got company,” he points behind them where red-and-blue flashing lights can be seen. Looks like the Burning Rescue is already on their way.
Next to him, he hears the tell-tale signs of a bike being summoned and he turns around just in time to see Galo Thymos summoning a silver and blue street speed bike.
“See you later Big Boss, bug guy!”
“B-bug…?” Meis sounds utterly confused as they watch the rogue Burnish tear away down the street and out of sight, blue flames fading the farther he goes.
“Tell everyone to move out,” Lio snaps Meis out of his stupor and his second-in command nods as Lio summons his chopper: Detroit.
“What did you two even talk about?” Meis asks as they’re riding out of the little town, Gueira hovering nearby, just as curious.
“Not much, we just introduced ourselves.”