Prompt: Cauterize

Focus Agent: Phoenix
Featured Agents: Killjoy and Brimstone

Timeline: Phoenix is the most recently joined agent at number 9.

Summary: When his partner is injured, Phoenix must use his fire ability in a way he never imagined.

What Must Be Done

It was supposed to be a stealth mission. Get in, get KJ's files, get out.

Easy. No problem. No sweat.

"Phoenix, you... you have to. Please."

She was begging him to do it. Between labored breaths, through the sweat and tears, she begged him to do something he considered unthinkable.

Phoenix choked back the bile rising in his throat and looked away. He closed his eyes and tears leaked from the corners.

This was never supposed to happen.

Although he's been on a handful of missions for the VALORANT Protocol, the newest agent was eager to impress. Brimstone needed two agents to infiltrate Kingdom to get Killjoy's designs and projects. Killjoy was the obvious choice and Brim thought Phoenix could use some more experience. However, he hesitated sending the two youngest members of his team into Kingdom's territory, one of them being a former employee and the other a Radiant.

KJ was just as insistent as Phoenix on Brimstone letting them take the mission, eager to prove and to get her stuff back. Unable to resist their pleas and puppy eyes, Brimstone sent them in.

Phoenix was more of a dive in headfirst, guns blazing sort of chap rather than sneaking around under the radar. Still, a stealth mission should be easy.

It was at first.

Using her Kingdom protocol knowledge, a disguised Killjoy and Phoenix slipped right in and downloaded her files off a terminal. Then she wiped everything she had created off of Kingdom's database.

It was on the way out, a former colleague recognized Killjoy beneath the disguise and raised the alarm.

K/SEC soldiers were upon them, forcing the duo to run. When bullets began whizzing after them, Phoenix summoned a wall of fire to shield them. That didn't stop the blind spray, and Phoenix grabbed his partner's arm to yank her around the corner out of the line of fire.

"Come on, KJ! Hurry!" he called urgently behind him to the faltering agent. His fire wall won't last long.

Peckham born and raised, Phoenix was unfamiliar with the streets of Tokyo, Japan. Killjoy wasn't taking the lead like he hoped, so he just kept on running, praying he was headed the right direction.

In a shift as sudden as his flash ability, the sleek, pristine Kingdom property transformed into native architecture, crumbling and abandoned due to Kingdom resistance.

Noticing the split, Phoenix spared a glance over his shoulder, checking for pursuit. Instead of an armed private military, he only spotted Killjoy, nearly breathless and forehead shiny with perspiration.

The fire Radiant slowed to a stop, bracing his hands on his knees as he gasped for air.

"I think... I think we lost 'em," he panted once he caught some of his breath. There was no reply from his friend. "KJ?"

Phoenix turned and his blood ran cold. The German scientist was bracing herself with one hand against the wall while staring at her other hand, slick with blood. At her left shoulder, the grey hoodie was quickly turning dark red.

Brown eyes behind wide-rimmed glasses gazed at him with fear and shock. Phoenix was frozen in place, his own mind numb. Only when Killjoy's legs betrayed her and she collapsed did Phoenix break free and surge towards her.

He caught her on the way down and gently propped her back against the wall.

"I got you," he murmured, rubbing her uninjured shoulder soothingly. "You're going to be all right. Does it hurt?"

"Not at first, but it's starting to," Killjoy gasped, squeezing his hand tightly as the pain settled in. "I think the shock is wearing off."

Phoenix removed his flame jacket and pressed it against her shoulder to stem the bleeding. The red stain spread quickly to the white fabric. Luckily, he had more at home.

"The bullet hit me from behind, so that means there's an entry wound and an exit wound," Killjoy assessed, remembering what Sage taught them about battle injuries. "That's... that's good."

Despite Killjoy's mental clarity, Phoenix could tell she was frightened and in pain by her stuttering and shaking. Her porcelain face was ghostly pale and her long brown hair was damp and clinging to her skin. Her hand was cold in his and her face was clammy.

As slowly and carefully as he could, Phoenix leaned his friend forward so he could get a glimpse of her back. As she described, there was another wound bleeding as profusely as the front, leaving a gruesome stain on the wall. Phoenix folded his jacket around her shoulder to cover both sides and eased her back into place.

"Just hold on, KJ." He bit his lip as he noticed the girl's eyelids beginning to droop and her head starting to sag. "I'll contact Brim and he'll send an evac."

"That'll take awhile," the techie slurred. "I think I'm losing a lot of blood. I'm... starting to feel faint."

"No. You got this, mate." He gripped her non-injured shoulder strongly, raising her chin so that her eyes met his. They were hazy, unfocused, and brimming with pain-filled tears. Phoenix's heart wretched at the sight of them. "We'll get you home and Sage'll patch you up. No sweat, yeah?"

This earned him a shaky smile. Phoenix returned it while his panic brewed beneath. It should have been him. He should have let KJ go before him; cover her from behind. If he had been hit, he could heal himself. Killjoy was only human.

"Come on. I'll carry you to the Vulture."

He made to scoop the scientist into his arms, but a hand on his chest stopped him.

"Wait, Phoenix. I... I've lost too much blood already." Her crimson-stained fingers curled around the collar of his t-shirt. "You need to... stop the bleeding."

"I don't know how," replied the fire Radiant helplessly.

Killjoy inhaled a shaky breath and looked at him with more sympathy than she ought given her current circumstance. It was a look that made Phoenix's heart sink, though he didn't yet know why.

"I'm sorry. I need you to cauterize it."

He stumbled back from her. Tongue unable to form words, he stared at her in a confusing mixture of horror, shock, and despair.

"You... you need me to what?"

"Phoenix, I'm sorry. It's the only way."

He gazed down at his hands. Fire had not always been a part of him, but he couldn't remember life without it. Fire was warm, comforting, and lively to his soul. Yet he was constantly reminded of the dangerous side of fire. Thankfully, no one died in the accident that burned down his preforming arts school, yet Phoenix still swore he would never hurt anyone with his flames. Since joining the Protocol, that promise had to be altered a bit, but he would never harm a friend.

And now a friend was asking him to burn her injuries to save her life.

"Phoenix, you... you have to. Please."

She was begging him to do it. Between labored breaths, through the sweat and tears, she begged him to do the unthinkable.

Phoenix choked back the bile rising in his throat and looked away. He closed his eyes and tears leaked from the corners.

This was never supposed to happen.

He lit both hands on fire. The flames were warm on his palms. He will do both at the same time. He would not torture his friend by prolonging her agony.

The jacket slipped off her shoulder and Killjoy leaned forwards so that he could touch both wounds.

Before he came close, Phoenix paused and looked into her eyes, silently asking. Her resolve was clear and she smiled encouragingly.

As gently as he could, Phoenix touched the bloody holes with his fingertips and let his flames roar.

With the clean fabric of Phoenix's jacket in her mouth, Killjoy's scream was only partially muffled. The Radiant fought the urge to close his eyes and shut out everything. He had to watch, had to listen to his friend's anguish, had to smell the burnt flesh.

After what felt like a lifetime, Phoenix drew his hands back and snuffed out the flames. With cooled hands, he caught his unconscious friend and lowered her to the ground. Then he rolled away from her and vomited into the grass.

Phoenix chewed his thumbnail as he watched Sage look Killjoy over. She had expertly bandaged the injuries and used some of her power to speed up the healing process. The young agent slept on the medical cot, looking refreshed and at peace.

The boss sat at her bedside, stroking her black hair away from her face. Killjoy explained that Brim was her friend and mentor since their Kingdom days, but everyone on the VP knew their relationship was a little deeper than that.

The commander finally broke away from his own little world when he noticed the fire Radiant standing in the doorway. Planting a kiss on the sleeping girl's forehead, Brimstone rose to his feet and approached him.

Phoenix lowered his hand from his lips and braced himself. Instead of the angry lecture he expected, he felt a heavy yet grounding clasp on his shoulder.

"You did good, kid. Thank you."

Eyes wide in disbelief, the young man shook his head. "It shouldn't have gone like this. I should have been more careful."

"Soldiers get hurt, son. I'm just glad you were able to do what you needed to do."

"I hurt her."

"You saved her. She would be in much worse condition if not–" He cut himself off, unable to utter the thought of losing the one he considered a daughter.

Phoenix again glanced down at his hands. Certain Brimstone was not in danger of it, he allowed flames to coat his skin, giving him a warm and tingling sensation.

Fire is a part of him. It can create and give life, but it can also burn, destroy, and hurt. Fire is dangerous and it can hurt the people he loves if he can't control it.

His hands shook and he quickly smothered the flames.

Brimstone held him as he wept.