Her knuckles were raw and bloody. Maybe she'd broken her hand, too. She didn't know, and didn't care. She grit her teeth against the pain, glared at the door, then held up her hand for a just a moment to inspect it.

Both fists blazed with writhing green fire, sparking and swirling, fueled endlessly by the energy that slumbered within her.

She'd been pounding on the door for...hours? It felt like hours. The guards outside didn't bother telling her to shut up and quit banging, and she certainly didn't plan to stop trying any time soon.

The Hero Squad. Her friends. All of them were gone.

Pretending that the door was the Ender Lord helped a little. She had to get out of here, had to go find them. She didn't have time to waste waiting around.

Toxic set herself upon the door again, slamming into it, the green flames sparking and billowing out with every hit. They hadn't done any damage at all in the hours she'd been trying to break it open. She'd even tried using her shadow spikes - tried impaling the walls and the door, and once even tried using it to pry the door open. Useless. None of her magic had any effect.

Eventually she would tire, and have to stop. Have to rest, and replenish her energy.

Maybe that's what they were waiting for.

But she had to get the door open. It was an almost mindless need. Break down the door. Kill the guards. Find her friends. And if she had to do unspeakable things to find out information on where they'd been sent, she wouldn't hesitate this time.

"You're not gonna get through, you know," a quiet voice said. Toxic halted, fists still raised, straining to hear it. "I've tried. There's protective wards set up all over. Magic can't break 'em, and neither can brute strength."

It was faint, but Toxic knew where it had come from. She moved over to a side wall, finding that a tiny crack in the otherwise secure cell allowed another prisoner to talk to her from the other side. "Who are you?" She asked.

Soft rustling. "I'd say that doesn't matter much, since I'm gonna die in here."

Toxic vaguely pieced together that the voice was a female one, and that she was probably middle-aged. She then revised her question. "Why are you here, then?"

"Spoke out against Notch. Caused enough of a commotion that he chucked me down here so I'd shut my mouth and stop making trouble."

After a few moments of silence, Toxic let herself rest, propped against the wall. The concrete blocks that made up the wall were rough, so she tried to avoid scratching herself on them. Heaven knows what other things have been in that cell.

She gazed at the door. There was no way to see outside - it was thick, solid metal, and there were no windows or bars. Entirely dark except for the flames on her hands, which cast a green light throughout the cell. "Do you have any magic?" She asked quietly.

A snort. "Nothing. The only thing I seem to have is bad luck. You?"

"Mhm. Not like it makes much difference." Toxic held a still-flaming hand up to the concrete wall. "Not even a scorch mark."

"So how'd a teenager like you end up down here?" The woman said, and Toxic realized that just as she'd been silently making assessments as to the sort of person she was talking to, the owner of the voice had been doing the same to her. "Thought you could play the hero?"

It was stupid of Toxic to think that she could be a hero with the rest of them, especially after what she'd done. Stupid of her to think that maybe she'd gotten out of it without consequences. She should have known better than to get her hopes up. She wasn't a hero.

But maybe the world didn't need another hero. The Hero Squad was gone.

Maybe what Toxic needed to be - what she'd tried not to be - was a monster.

"I guess so." Toxic replied, the flames dissipating. "But I have to get out of here. I don't have any other choice."

The voice didn't show up again for almost a full minute. Toxic had tensed up, tapping her foot on the floor to get rid of some of the excess energy. So when the woman did say something, Toxic jumped a little. "I hope you do." She stopped tapping.

"Get out, I mean. You'd be better off than me. I know the kind of determination you have. I know that it comes from a sort of hatred. So..." she trailed off. Toxic didn't fill the silence.

"You're a part of the Hero Squad, yes?" The woman asked suddenly. Toxic nodded, then remembered that she couldn't see it.

"I am," she said. "How'd you know?"

The woman fell quiet again. Toxic shifted closer to the crack and repeated, "How did you know?"

"I heard the guards mention it." The woman responded at last. "Can I ask your name?"

Toxic huffed. "Mine for yours."

"Fair enough."

"I'm Toxic."

"Kylie. Honored to be imprisoned next to you." After scratching her elbow on the concrete for the fifth time, Toxic gave up and sat cross-legged on the floor.

The stone floor was painfully cold - she winced, debated taking off her tux and putting it down, and then decided that she'd just have to deal with it because she refused to mess up another suit. Kylie continued. "I asked because I was wondering what happened to get someone like you stuck down here. Last I heard, you were loyal to Notch. His personal soldiers."

"Not anymore." Toxic said simply. "Seeing as I'm locked up in this godforsaken place, same as you." For emphasis, and because just saying that out loud made her blood boil, Toxic slammed a fist into the wall. It jarred her entire arm, and her hand bled a bit more. She swore under her breath. The door was a lot smoother than the wall. She made a note not to punch the walls.

More silence as the woman formulated a reply. "Why are you in here?" She asked. "What happened?"

"You don't get much news down here, do you?"

Another quiet rustling sound from the other side of the concrete wall. "Only what the guards let slip, and what newcomers have time to tell about." Kylie replied.

"Tragic. Allow me to enlighten you: everything's gone to hell." Toxic muttered. "My friends got teleported somewhere while I'm stuck in this stupid cell, the rebel camp was attacked, our apprentices might be captured, hurt, or worse; Dave is-" Toxic paused, her eyes wandering to the door as she blinked several times, composing herself, speaking when she was sure her voice wouldn't shake. "Dave is dead, Wraith is a backstabbing liar, Notch is allied with the Ender Lord..."

"My god." Kylie whispered. "I didn't think it could get worse, but somehow it did."