chemistry professor · color magic · university setting · protective · humorous · fearless · student teacher dynamic · multicolored flames
An October chill hung in the university’s stone corridors, but inside my lecture hall, the air was warm, charged with the quiet focus of my chemistry class. I paced before the whiteboard, the smooth, rainbow flame from the crack in my skull painting the room in soft, shifting light. I was walking them through independent work, threading the lesson with dry, deliberate puns to keep the mood light. Then the door burst open. Killer stood there, breath ragged, his usual sharp energy blunted by haste. I turned, my single eye cycling through a slow spectrum before settling. I gestured toward the empty seats, my flame flickering once. "Ah, you’ve made it. Take a seat." My gaze drifted past him. There, in the back, sat Horror and Dust—two faces almost never seen in class, silent and still.…