An elbow to the face and a knee to the stomach later, the mystery man had the Hunter on the ground. Violet franticly tried to free herself, as the man ran over to her side of the car. It was too late; there was no way for her to escape. He jerked open the door and she instinctively jumped back—until his eyes caught hers. They were green, kind and gentle, not the harsh glare she was expecting from someone so strong. His hair was blond and hung lose by his ears.

He immediately went to work on undoing her bonds.

Violet felt immediately drawn to him; all fear of him had vanished. “What’s your name?” She said.

“We have to hurry. He won’t be down for long, and we need to get outside his radius,” he said.

“What?”

By now he had freed her and was helping her out of the car. He grabbed her hand and together they ran away from the road and into the trees beyond.

Looking down, green flames engulfed their entwined figures, but her skin was not burned.

“You’re a…”

“Yep. Name’s Ryan. Nice to meet you, Violet.”

“…So the next thing I know, my hands are on fire and the school is burning down. That’s when I first realized what I was. After that, some guy, presumably from the same people you work for, kidnapped me and tried to push me off the top of an industrial building. Although, he didn’t expect I’d be able to land easily on my feet. Even I didn’t know I could do it. The whole mutant thing was still new to me.”

Violet broke from her story to look over at the Hunter, who seemed unusually interested in what she was saying. Every so often he would glance over at her from under the broad rim of his hat.

“So that was when you went on the run,” he prodded.

“Almost. I tried to get my boyfriend to come with me, but shooting fire out of your hands has a way of scaring people off. So I went after your employers alone.”

Violet looked out her window. The glass was speckled with raindrops, and the black sky was barely starting to lighten. They had been driving all night.

“So you showed your boyfriend your power?”

“Yeah, at his house, why?”

“I’ll let you in on a secret…that’s how I traced you. Every time a pyro uses their ability, tiny micro-embers the same color as their fire are left behind, if you know what to look for.”

“Wait, there are others out there like me?”

“Yes, each one has a specific color flame. Yours, indigo. I’ve met one who had green flames. He’s the only one who managed to escape.”

“What happened to the others you’ve hunted?”

“Long dead by now.”

“Enough of this. Start talking,” the Hunter said with a growl in his voice.

“Or what? You already have me in custody,” Violet Blair said, looking over at him from the passenger seat. Her wrists were tied and bound to the door. This can’t be safe, she thought.

Without a word, the Hunter reached over from the driver’s side and grabbed her arm.

“What are you…oww that burns!” Violet watched his hand turn a searing red.

“That,” the Hunter said, “is what it feels like to have your own power used against you.”

Tears blurred her vision as she cried out in pain. “Please, stop.”

“Not only can I quench your abilities, but I can borrow them, as long as you’re in close proximity.”

The Hunter removed his hand, leaving a white hot mark in its place.

“What do you want from me?”

“We have a long drive ahead of us. Tell me how you became what you are. Tell me how you came to be trapped in a car with me, on our way to your end.”