Set Alight

Chapter 6

Okay, I know this is short but I posted a lot today so... fight me.

I wake up with a jolt. The fire is gone, I realize immediately. The only pain is in my throat, scraped raw, but it feels as though it has healed at least by half. I feel fine, I realize next. My strength is back, so I flex my hand to test functionality. It responds, moving back and forth. Next, I open my eyes.

I'm in some kind of room, tech along the wall. My peripheral vision is just gone, and I panic for a second before realizing I have some kind of oxygen helmet on. I feel it, confused, and realize I'm in some sort of suspended tube.

I glance down. I'm wearing a kind of flowy white dress. My shoes are gone and my hair is probably tied up on my head, as I can't see it but can feel its weight.

Confused at the change of clothing and the very thorough way my hair is set up, I decide that I need answers. Soon. And it starts with getting out of this tube, or whatever it is.

I'm reaching to see if I can somehow dislodge the helmet and get out of this tank, but the door suddenly slides open, allowing waaay too many people to rush inside.

I only recognize Lindsey, Ashton and Benedict. "Benedict?" I ask. My voice is raspy, and I clear my throat. "Why are..." My voice is worse. I clear it again. "What is... Who is?" I wait for someone to answer my poorly formed questions.

There's a woman in a dress similar to mine, hair gold and flowing like a fire down her back, a red metal circlet adorning her hair. "You were unable to control your flames, Wildfire." She says the name as a term of endearment. Confused, I tilt my head. "This substance absorbs your flame and uses it to power this place. As a result, your energy levels have returned to normal."

"What?" I look around at the other occupants in the room. An obvious ghost with white hair and turquoise eyes floats in the air. I notice he's unnaturally close to Lindsey. "Jack?" He looks up from the floor where he was staring in surprise. I'm moving on. A woman, black hair and clothes. She's standing next to another official-looking ghost, who looks insanely familiar. "Lindsey's obsession?"

"What?" he asks, looking over at Lindsey, who blushes fiercely and sends the most venomous look at me.

"I mean... Danny Phantom." I have a hint of a smile pulling at my lips. Having identified everyone I could, I address my next problem. "Where are my clothes? Why am I wearing a dress?"

"Because no one ever takes my suggestions," Ashton mutters vehemently at the lady with fire for hair. I catch the hidden meaning, and I blush all the way to the roots of my hair.

"Your clothes caught on fire," Jack supplies. "We had to get something else for you."

"We didn't have to," Ashton growls, folding his arms. My face seems to catch on fire with embarrassment. As soon as heat collects, it's pulled back by whatever I'm floating in.

The ghost woman floats a little higher. "The material cannot burn. It is ideal for those with a fire core." Fire core? What's a core? I file it under my list of questions, but ask the one that's burning (excuse the pun) on my tongue.

"What happened?"

Danny Phantom speaks up. "It appears that your fire core was being suppressed, and when it suddenly wasn't, your body didn't know how to handle the heat. Jack was able to bring you to me, and we were able to locate the only other fire cored ghost, who had a stabilizer for whenever she lost control."

Jack continues. "I'm a halfa, just like my dad-" He pauses to gesture at Danny Phantom. I nod my head once. I can freak out about that later. "And my core is a healing core. It searches out pain and death, but... When I met you, I didn't really feel anything to heal, which is why I was so surprised when you said you had cancer. So I dug deeper, and I found that it isn't cancer that was killing you, but something artificial, something... like this." He withdraws my medicine. I gasp, loudly. "Calm down. I ran some tests on them and they were the thing hurting you. They were suppressing something. So... we-my Uncle Tucker and I- reversed their effects and switched them out."

"I thought it was best," Lindsey put in. "Please know we had no idea the effect it would have on you. Benedict called me and said that you were heartbroken or something, but when I got there, you were on the ground steaming." My tears... they must have evaporated. "So I called Jack. We took you to his dad. He put you in a frozen bed, thinking you would cool down... but..."

"It burned."

She nods. "He found another ghost with a core like yours and we were able to get you in here in time. The sound you made..." She shudders. I ignore most of this information, more concerned with the words "Another" and "like yours" to think about much else.

"Let me out." I can't very well have a conversation when I can barely hear myself. And I just know I can't keep floating here on display. I need some maneuverability in case I need to seriously throttle someone. Like Ashton. The way he's acting right now...

The fire woman touched something on a panel and the substance drained. The oxygen mask hissed and opened, and I dropped less than a foot to the ground as the glass around me retracted up. "Thank you," I tell her earnestly as I step off the platform. "Okay... Ghost? Core? What are you talking about?"

Ashton's head pops up. "Did you see your hair?"

What about it...?

My hand shoots up and grasps my hair, which is tied securely up on my head in some kind of braid. Withdrawing several bobby-pin-like items from my hair, it falls freely around me. I grasp hold of the bulk of it and pull it around. White. Pure white. My eyes widen. "I'm... I'm a GHOST?!"