#and a gratuitous Shingo Yabuki cameo right near the beginning

[maliwarm]

Early Winter

A monster drabble and huge thanks to @shellalana for donating to my Ko-Fi! ♡ 

A cacophony of sound floated through the streets of the Detritus Ring; streets once drab, but now lined with bright lanterns and strings of lights of all colours, giving them an abundance of vibrancy and colour. Yet more colour flowed through the streets like trickles from a river in the form of dancers clad in exotic finery. They glided through the crowd, movements a mixture of elegance and the typical raunchiness many associated with the Ring’s denizens; clothes flowing where they weren’t form fitting, and jewellery jangling with every gesture. Chatter from many mouths and upbeat, drum-heavy, music blended into a singular murmuring din. It was loud, but the exciting, infectious sort of loudness that one couldn’t help but be swept up in. A myriad of scents swept from the marketplace, carried by the wind. Meats and spices of all varieties, sweetness and floral fragrances, gunpowder and animal musk. The people living here celebrated loud and proud, temporarily stripping away their constant worries regarding the fate of the universe to simply have fun and revel in the fact that they were still here, still alive.

Three figures observed the festivities from a distant rooftop, the din and brightness dulled to far more bearable levels from their position. The elder pair stood tall and solemn, each with a rapier by their side. The hilt of that belonging to the woman in blue was carved into an ornate butterfly, matching the tattoo above her hip. The hilt of the woman in red’s sported a more simple, but no less elegant, design of twin curled protrusions akin to a bumblebee’s antennae. Accompanying them sat a young girl on the very edge of the roof, contentedly sucking on the lollipop lodged in her mouth, kicking her legs to and fro above the yawning void between her and the ground without a care in the world. She harboured a passing curiosity for the bustle below, having never seen such a lively place before. Compared to the base, this looked, heard, and smelled much nicer. 

“Everything looks so small from here,” she exclaimed, beaming around her treat. “The people look like little ants! Don’t you think, Foxy? Diana?”

“Focus,” Foxy - the woman in red - said, voice soft but tone firm. She obeyed, wide eyes swivelling away from the marketplace and onto the pair to give them her undivided attention. She received a brief smile and praise before Foxy’s expression and tone both became sober again. “Good girl. You have two targets tonight.”

“Two?”

The other woman who could only be Diana nodded, taking the reigns of the briefing. Her open skirt swished quietly as she turned to address the girl, arms folding across her chest.

 “Both of them are massive thorns in our organisation’s side, severely disrupting our plans to bring a new order to what remains of the universe. The first is Reyna Valeria, otherwise known as the Valkyrie. While her efforts to make this lawless cesspit a more liveable space are admirable and have borne some fruit, the people within - herself included - are dangerous. If left unchecked, the combined might of those living on the surrounding asteroids may rally under her call and very well make an attempt to kill everyone in our organisation.” 

As of right now, the Valkyrie had only managed to hit a few of their more minor bases. But it was still too much damage for their liking. Even without accounting for her ability to gather a sizeable army, she knew far too much and needed to be silenced. NESTS wasn’t ready to be dragged completely into the light just yet. When they were, it would be on their own terms, not on the whim of some nosy pirate.

“The second is the traitor, K’.” The girl’s obliviously happy sucking of the candy in her mouth ceased, her magenta gaze sharpening. That name was one she knew almost as well as her own. Any lingering interest in the marketplace was now lost entirely. All of her focus was trained solely on Diana and her words. “The one you were created to nullify.” 

Foxy nodded. “That’s right, We’ve finally tracked him down. And as luck would have it, he and the Valkyrie have been sighted together numerous times. In fact, we’re led to believe that they’re working together closely.”

“Which brings us to the reason we’re here in the first place. Look over there.” The girl’s eyes followed the direction of a blue gloved finger, eventually homing in on a rather unique pair, even amongst the odd characters that comprised the Ring’s denizens. There was a short woman with a spike-studded jacket and bright red crest of hair that reminded her of a chicken, carrying herself with an air of complete confidence. And there was a boy by her side; much taller, and wrapped in all black leather, with hair the colour of snow. He tilted his head, responding to something the woman said, lips ticked up into a lopsided smirk as his shoulder was given a playful slap. His was a visage she recognised. It was one that stirred the beginnings of anger. Hate. “Can you see them?”

She nodded once, eyes still trained on the pair, drinking in every gesture and movement of their lips.

“Good. Your orders are simple: kill them both.”

The lollipop crunched audibly. 

The girl stood, dragging the now bare plastic stick between her teeth. It slipped from loose fingers and tumbled over the edge of the roof, quickly lost to darkness. A puff of frigid air rolled off of her slender body, hair gusting outwards with it. Blue swept through it in a wave, erasing and replacing all traces of the natural strawberry blonde. 

“Understood,” the Anti-K intoned, voice and eyes now emotionless.

-

“Hey,” Reyna whispered, nudging K’ in the ribs. A massive grin was slowly stretching across her face. “The boy at the art booth’s eyeballing you.”

He paused, the greasy, bacon covered, meat on a stick he’d been gnawing on hovering near his lips for another bite, to frown back at her. “What? He looking to fight or something?”

She noticed his shoulders squaring. His jaw clench. Uh oh. 

The necklace she’d been admiring was dropped back into the stall owner’s waiting hands. With her own now free, a hasty palm snagged K’ by the arm before he could move, a disbelieving little laugh escaping her. Jesus, her son was either way too dense or just itching for a fistfight. Probably both. She should have grown used to it by now, but it was honestly unbelievable how stunted he was in terms of human interaction in general, let alone romance. She and Maxi would have to sit him down and educate him properly sometime; finally acclimate him towards living and acting like a normal freaking teenager instead of continually indulging in this prickly recluse nonsense. 

“No, musclehead! He’s looking at you like a lovesick puppy.”

A silver brow arched. K’ twisted his head, eyes sweeping the booths until he found the one in question. Amongst the haphazardly placed array of sketches and paintings decorating the booth proper was a pair of warm brown eyes framed between a shock of messy hair barely kept back by a sweatband. There was a large sketch pad held up to the other boy’s nose, one arm moving with hasty pencil strokes. When he glanced up, realising K’ had caught on to the fact he’d been staring, he visibly jolted. He stopped sketching to pull the pad up higher, shielding his face. It didn’t hide how red his ears were. K’ blinked. Huh.

Shaking to his shoulder pulled his attention towards Reyna once more. That grin was back in place. “He’s cute. Why don’t you try talking to him?”

“Mmn,” was the halfhearted mumble of a response as he went back to tearing through the last of his skewer, seemingly disinterested in the prospect. She was right, that guy was kind of cute... but it would be too weird to try hitting it off when he knew his damned mother would be watching, drinking up every moment. Plus, he was still awful at flirting; he’d botch things for sure.

She must have sensed his train of thought. Or at least the first part. The hand around his arm slackened, falling back to rest on her hip. Brows were raised in question. “I could leave you on your own for a while if you want?”

K’ shook his head, walking in the opposite direction of the art booth. Reyna fell into step after a couple of beats, sighing her disappointment. She glanced over her shoulder at the boy at the art booth. He’d lowered the sketch pad shield to reveal his distraught. She offered him a pitying look and a helpless little hand gesture before turning back to focus on what was in front of her. 

“Maybe later. I wanna look around some more first.”

Her lip twisted wryly. “You mean find that jerky booth Pendles mentioned?” 

“... Maybe.”

“Figures.” Orange eyes rolled towards the heavens. This boy and his stomach...

“Whatever.” He gave her an eye roll of his own, licking his now meatless skewer clean. It then found a home in a nearby trashcan with one of those trademark lazy wrist flicks he usually employed when throwing his shades at people. His tongue went to work at his fingers next, lapping up whatever grease had dripped onto them. “Why are you so insistent on playing matchmaker all of a sudden anyway? Biological clock screaming for you to get grandkids already or something?” 

He sniggered when her fist found his shoulder, smirking down at her. She actually looked somewhat miffed by his words. It felt nice to be the one doing the playful needling to get a rise rather than the one on the receiving end for a change.

“Hilarious. But no. Figured it might do you some good to talk to someone not living on the Favour for a change; maybe even make some friends that aren’t a walking tank twenty years your senior.”

“Closer to ten, actually,” K’ corrected, swiping his grubby fingers on his chaps. From the corner of his eye he could see her jaw unhinge with disbelief, mouthing what the fuck. The corner of his lips twitched upwards. The big guy sitting right on the cusp of being thirty must not have been a topic these two discussed during all their gossiping. “He’s not actually as old as he looks and acts; ask him when we get back if you don’t believe me.”

Reyna shook off her astonishment, brows furrowing further. She made a mental note to interrogate Maxima sometime; unravel some of the secrets of this enigma of a man who said much but gave away little. “Ten years then. Whatever. Point is, you really need to get out and talk to more people your age.” 

That garnered an abrupt mood change. His nostrils flared with a loud sigh. 

“That’s a nice sentiment and all, mom, but what would I even talk about? I don’t know shit about whatever’s popular, or trendy, or whatever; I can’t connect with them on that level. I could talk about how to kill someone with just your fists, but that’s more liable to scare them off.” K’ scoffed, turning his head to the side to spit disdainfully after his mini tirade, temper flaring as it usually did whenever he brushed upon the subject of his years in NESTS’ clutches. “Just forget it. I’m not normal, I can’t-“ 

A sudden sense of danger made his flames rankle beneath his skin. His head jolted up in time to witness something glistening slicing through the air straight towards them.

Acting on pure instinct, his gauntleted hand snapped out, snagging the projectile midair with some slight aid from translocation’s syrupy blanket settling over him. His grip shuddered at the moment of impact; a testament to the strength and speed behind whoever had thrown it. Unease stirred at the sight of an icicle - long and wickedly pointed - clenched between his red plated fingers, stopped mere inches from spearing through the lens of Reyna’s eyepatch. 

It didn’t snow on this chunk. 

Reyna went cross-eyed looking at that pointed tip until K’ crushed the icicle to fragments with a harsh squeeze. A shiver ran through her body, unbidden, at the near death experience. If he had been a fraction of a second too slow, she would’ve had a sizeable hole in her eye and brain right now...

“Th’ fuck was...” she trailed off, eye sliding to peer at something - someone - approaching beyond K’s shoulder. His own eyes followed suit.

Both of them could see a lone girl, young and beautiful in a doll like way, brushing past the now panicking festival goers. There was something downright ethereal about her appearance. Slender, with skin that was alabaster pale. Eyes wide and magenta, childlike, yet distinctly lacking emotion. And her hair... It was a soft, light blue and seemed to be moving of its own volition, fanning out then settling across her back at regular intervals. Tiny diamonds with no known source glittered around her body at random, winking in and out of existence. 

No, not diamonds, Reyna realised. Ice crystals.

There was no time to puzzle over the phenomena, nor the girl herself, when she slammed a platformed heel against the ground. In the same instant, that strange blue hair snapped out like peacock feathers. A sudden gust of sheer cold air swept through the marketplace, forcing mother and son to shield their faces from the gale or else become blinded. Ice bloomed in the wake of it, swallowing everything in a crystalline coat. Buildings, stalls, people... it didn’t discriminate, encasing everything it touched. The only ones spared such a fate were the two of them and the girl. Slowly, they both lowered their arms, taking in the sudden winterised landscape, peppered with people-shaped sculptures.

“Jilted girlfriend?” Reyna quipped, already sliding her pistol from its holster.

K’ shook his head, straightening into his fighting stance. “Never seen her before in my life.” Her appearance did make him frown, however. Dismissing the colours, the girl’s choice in clothing seemed somewhat similar to his own. That struck him as odd. It also fed a little more into his general unease, though he couldn’t place why he was feeling as such. “But with powers like that, I don’t doubt she’s one of NESTS’ lackeys.”

“Heh. I was wondering when they’d finally take the fight to us.” Reyna’s grin was all teeth. The pistol was loud in the suddenly dead quiet space when she primed it, aiming it at the girl. Finally it seemed like her efforts in rooting the bastards out were paying off. If she kept it up maybe the head of it all would finally reveal themselves and she could cut it off; finally give her son some piece of mind and the chance to move on with his life. Her voice raised and hardened to address their new foe. “Your organisation picked the wrong person to fuck with, kiddo. I don’t take kindly to anyone who thinks it’s fun to mess with my home or my people.”

Her words weren’t acknowledged. Instead, the girl took several long, quick strides forward. Her gait gradually evolved with every step, becoming longer and smoother until a gentle shushing noise reached the pair’s ears. Skating, they realised, now noticing the blades that had appeared beneath her boots, helping her to glide along the frozen ground, straight for them. It seemed she was intent on a fight. 

K’ clicked his tongue, taking three long strides of his own forward. Pitting ice against fire was stupid; the winner here was pretty clear cut in his eyes. Had NESTS lost the plot, or was there more to this girl than met the eye? Never mind that; there would be time to puzzle it later. For the meantime, his right fist rose in a sharp upwards motion, brilliant burning scarlet bursting to life around it in a thick coat. Briefly, the flames hung in the air when he removed his hand, packed together densely, before a spinning kick sent them careening towards the girl like some dangerous sort of football. 

In an unprecedented turn of events, rather than dodge, her skates left the icy ground in a jump. Arms raised, she twirled with all the grace of a professional figure skater, long hair swirling. The blades at her feet sliced K’s flames to harmless ribbons. She landed perfectly, matching his shocked expression with that same blank one she’d sported since her appearance. Not a single hair on her head was singed. 

One leg snapped up high in a kick of her own as she allowed her own momentum to continue pushing her forward. A jagged hunk of ice bloomed at the apex of the kick and was sent hurtling towards K’. Swearing, he threw up his right arm protectively, bidding more flames into existence. They adopted the form of a messy sort of shield. Most of the ice melted upon contact with it. His cheek, however, was sheared by one of the outermost spiky protrusions before it, too, melted into water and steam. 

Unnoticed until now, Reyna had crept towards the side of the clashing kids, waiting for the best opportunity to strike. While the girl was rebalancing after that kick was as good an opening as any, she figured; it’d be stupid not to seize it. Gunfire rang out, the pistol’s familiar thrumming jolting her arm straight to the bone with each successive shot. Powers or no, this kid was sure to bleed like any other when hit by a bullet - K’ had unintentionally proven that to her on a few past missions gone awry. And the faster they took her down, the faster they could interrogate her about the people she worked for. With that in mind, most of her shots were aimed at her limbs and mostly non-vital spots around the torso.

The girl hadn’t fully set her other foot back on the ground again when she raised a palm in Reyna’s direction the moment she heard the gunfire. A thin, translucent pane of ice materialised moments before the bullets’ impact. Every single one hit it with a dull click and fell, ends flattened notably, then bounced across the ground, useless. She let the shield dissipate to twinkling powder, putting on a fresh burst of speed to avoid the continuing onslaught of bullets, still making a direct beeline towards K’. He stopped thumbing at the gash on his cheek and widened his stance, arms up, intent on meeting her head on. Except she turned sharply at the last possible second, skates screeching and flinging shredded ice into his eyes. While she left him in the dust cursing and clearing his vision, she kept her new target firmly within her sights. The bullets were slalomed past, or another of those thin ice shields created to take the blow when she miscalculated where one was being fired next. 

There wasn’t a spare moment for Reyna to reload her now empty clip. The girl cruised by her harmlessly after she dived to the side to avoid an icy dagger to the chest. One of the frozen festival goers was on the receiving end instead, audibly shattering into bloody shards upon impact of the weapon. Reyna grit her teeth. The first unnecessary casualty... She rolled upon landing with a grunt but couldn’t get up, instead slipping and sliding uncontrollably along the ice until her back hit one of the stalls. 

She’d barely found her feet and was planning on reloading when the girl was in the midst of skating over for round two. Reyna sucked in a harsh breath, leaning backwards to avoid a high upwards kick that went above the girl’s head - flexible little shit; just like her son - and was tipped with those wicked looking skates. The blades were as clear blue as the surroundings and sharp as all hell. One of the collar flaps of her jacket split cleanly in the wake of their path, the rent in the leather a sizeable one. That leg came down again like a slender axe and Reyna was only barely successful at dodging it, too. She was all too aware of her uncertain footing; that one misstep would mean her doom. Evidently, so was the girl, as her assault didn’t stop for even a moment. A hand stretched for Reyna’s face, clad in a yellow copy of K’s own gauntlet, but far less scuffed. Biting cold billowed out from the palm, the magnifier within her eyepatch picking up tiny snowflakes forming within it. She didn’t have enough room or time to dodge this attack

“Shi-!“ Something dark blurred by, snarling, and the girl yelped, high and shrill; the first noise she’d uttered since this encounter. Reyna only barely caught sight of black leather smearing by before the girl was violently hurtled to the side.

She and K’ tumbled gracelessly, shoulders and hips smacking the ice hard enough to bruise as they struggled against one another. Their hands grappled at each other, squeezing hard when they connected and clawing wildly at faces when they didn’t. Using his weight to his advantage, K’ kept her firmly pinned beneath him. Though she struggled valiantly, she couldn’t gain an inch of freedom. Her movements became increasingly more panicked when he started shoving their connected hands closer towards her face, his flaring to life with flame. In another first, there was now emotion in the girl’s eyes, the dancing tongues of his powers reflected in their magenta depths: fear. She inhaled sharply. Then exhaled a cloud of frigid air directly into his face. K’ yelled out in surprise, flames sputtering. He released her hand to palm blindly at his face. His eyelashes felt frosted shut; he couldn’t fight like this! 

Capitalising on his weakness, the girl grabbed him by the shoulders and in a surprising show of strength, managed to flip him over so now he was the one pinned. Her knees squeezed against his ribs to keep herself in place. Crackling filled the air as a fresh icicle formed in her hands, as wickedly long and sharp as the one she’d thrown to announce her presence. She raised it above her head, eyes locked onto her target: the open front of his jacket.

Hands of flesh and steel clapped just above the tip. K’ grunted, squinting through barely open eyes and straining to keep the construct from closing those final few inches to pierce his chest. The girl strained back, shoving down harder. There was a determined knit between her blue brows. The tip wavered between them, but ultimately kept inching downwards. It prodded his pectoral. A tiny bead of red swelled up to kiss it. His heart hammered wildly beneath his breastbone, blue eyes widening at this turn of events. Unprecedented as it was, he was losing this battle of strength. 

Desperate, K’ clamped down harder and shoved the icicle sideways. Caught off guard, the girl’s grip around it fumbled. As did her knees at his ribs. K’ bucked until she was dislodged, squeaking in pain at the collision of her chin against the hard ground. He planted a boot against her side to shove her fully off, rolling onto his stomach to try and crawl back onto his feet. He could see Reyna aiming an evidently reloaded pistol and increased his efforts to rise so he could be out of the way, giving her a clear shot. He’d managed to tentatively find his knees when a hand snagged him by the belt. His teeth clicked together painfully as he was yanked back down, grunting and sprawling flat on his stomach across the icy ground. He looked over his shoulder in time to see an icy dagger sink into his ribs from the side.

At first there was just the sharp pain from the initial moment of impact. But then she shoved the weapon in deeper, until her fist touched his jacketed side. That was when the coldness began to invade his body, sudden and biting, as she used the ice dagger as a conduit to channel her powers directly into his bloodstream. He couldn’t even fight back, too startled and too overwhelmed by just how freezing it was to gather his own powers to counter hers. All he could manage was a few thin gasps and wounded noises as his vision darkened and body slackened. A full body shiver swept through him. He didn’t like it. So cold. Too cold. Like being shot with several dozen overdoses worth of the suppressant in his gauntlet. The blood seeping through his jacket exacerbated it; less frigid, but still a source of cold. Still bad. Had to move. Had to get away. 

A gargantuan effort was expended trying to drag himself forward, hoping to get close enough for his mother to assist him. But he couldn’t get a decent grasp on the smooth ground, and the girl still latched onto him was extra weight dragging him down, so he ultimately went nowhere. Gauntleted fingers twitched weakly. Things were slowing - thoughts, breaths, heartbeat - and the surrounds were darkening. A gunshot sounded, duller then it should have been, followed by the harsh ping of metal hitting metal. The girl yelped and the hand at his side left. Her weight keeping him pinned followed suit as more bullets tracked her. No more ice slithered into his body, but the damage was done. He tried to focus on that bobbing crest of red growing larger with Reyna’s hasty approach. But in the end he gave in to the dark and the cold, eyes flickering shut as she slid towards him on her knees.

The girl skipped across the ice to avoid Reyna’s bullets, somewhat less graceful than before. Clearly, she’d been caught off guard, but she spared no gloating thoughts for that detail, and only stopped firing when Little Miss Frost was a decent distance away. Teeth found one of the fingers of her glove, yanking it off with one swift motion. Her hand shook as pressed her fingers against K’s neck, eyes straying from the girl - dangerous as that was - to gauge his condition. His pallor was off, pale with hints of blue at the lips. The usual elevated temperature of his skin was completely absent, more akin to a cooling campfire than the living heater she’d come to know over this past year. She couldn’t feel anything but that cold radiating off him. Already it was starting to numb her own fingers, making her question if there had been a faint flutter of a heartbeat just now or if it was a mere product of wishful thinking. Teeth found her lip, biting down just shy of being hard enough to break the skin and draw blood. 

“Come on, starburst...” she hissed, words wavering. “Don’t do this to me.”

Blue in her peripheral grabbed her attention in an instant; jolting the gun up, eyes moving for a clearer view. She fired. Frozen shards and diamond dust exploded in the air a few feet away. Already, more was gathering in the girl’s hands. Reyna grit her teeth, removing her hand from K’s neck and pushing to her feet. Damn this fucking kid... damn the people she worked for! She tugged her glove back on then palmed blindly at her communicator, already on the move. Her current location flashed on-screen, the coordinates pinged to her Rogues with no other message. They’d all come running to her aid in a heartbeat, it was simply a matter of fending off the ice doll long enough for the arrival of whoever was closest at hand. Whoever it was, she hoped they were fast; there might still be enough time to save her son. 

Using that thought as fuel to keep her going, Reyna widened her steps, pushing them outwards and allowing her boots to slide along the ice rather than go against it, in such a manner it mimicked roller skating. It was awkward initially and probably made her look a right fool, but using this bastardised skating method, she was able to move along the ice with considerable more ease and speed than before. She was already bearing down on Miss Frosty, her scowl letting the brat know that any scrap of kiddie gloves she’d been wearing up until now were well and truly off. She meant business. Small and broken as it was nobody - nobody - was allowed to mess with her family again!

That same blank stare matched her glare. Yellow-clad hands slammed against the ground. A few feet away, a jagged lance burst from the icy ground. More followed in a line, erupting upwards in much the same manner. Reyna dropped low, a gloved palm smacking the ground to help make a hasty turning manoeuvre to avoid them. Frigid air kissed her cheek in passing. Sharp tips bloomed to life from the corner of her eye, growing to stretch for her face, but falling short as she slid off to the side and out of reach. The pillars didn’t track her progress, instead marching on in a straight path. 

She wobbled back to her feet, leaning in with her momentum and to the side to speed back up again and go for a wide, gradual turn. Once the brat was back in line with her sights, she resumed her improvised skating gait. The next time those gauntleted hands rose, the pistol did too. A bullet pinged off the planting of the glove harmlessly, but it made the girl flinch all the same, the concentration for whatever attack she’d been planning broken. She actually began to retreat when Reyna’s assault didn’t stop, more bullets ringing against the metal protecting her hands. The plan was to hit something vital in those gauntlets and see if her powers went haywire like K’s did without that (assumed) suppression method in pristine working order. But it was difficult when the more vulnerable parts of it - the black, ribbed underglove peeking through all the yellow segments to allow joint movement - were so small. And moving targets to boot.

The second empty clip of this encounter was ejected. She didn’t have many left on her person, having not expected what was supposed to be a peaceful night turn out this terribly. Her expectation of things going awry during this festival was a gang war or something similar; a cryokinetic had never factored into the equation. She was overwhelmingly ill equipped to deal with this situation, especially with her son - her best bet at keeping the playing ground even - reduced to a bleeding, maybe even dead, popsicle.

Rather than reload, Reyna reeled her hand back during the final stretch of her approach. She lashed out, pistol whipping, the moment she was within arms’ reach of the ice doll. Swears tumbled from her mouth, grip on the gun almost lost, when it jarred against one of those protective thin panes rather than that pretty skull. For something so flimsy looking it was durable as all hell. She slid on by, rubbing the soreness from her arm. When no retaliatory attack occurred, she twisted awkwardly and was met by the sight of the girl’s retreating back. Brows furrowed. Why would she leave now? Even with her gun, they both knew Reyna’s chances of prevailing in this battle were slim to none; she was the slower, weaker one in this tussle, it made no sense to...

K’ was still laying prone in the middle of the plaza.

Sure enough, he seemed to be her target, every glided stride towards him long and full of purpose. Was he the true target of this assault then?

“Sonnova...!” Out of habitual reflex Reyna raised her left arm, going to fire off a protective shield of purple to cover him. 

Except nothing happened. She hadn’t brought her shield booster along, figuring the pistol and her walking blowtorch son would be enough protection. Stupid! Frantic hands fumbled around her jacket for another clip. Only two left... And her Rogues were still no shows. Shit.

After a few jittery attempts that failed miserably, the gun was reloaded. She spun in place and lined it up, using the tech in her eyepatch to focus on her target. Inhale. Focus. Aim steady...

The girl fell flat on her face, crying out. One of her skates burst into twinkling shards, leaving a useless, jagged protrusion sticking out from the sole of her boot. She hadn’t expected it to actually be made of ice too... but the end result was still good, regardless; she’d fallen short of K’, tumbling gracelessly, and was turning back in her direction, rubbing her nose. A thin trickle of red oozed a slow path to her upper lip.

“That’s right,” Reyna growled. “Eyes on me, you damn squirt. Gotta finish your dinner before you get dessert; you ain’t done with me yet by half.”

Irritation drew the ice doll’s brows down. Her cheeks puffed. The useless skate crumbled to twinkling powder and a fresh one took its place, ice slipping through a previously unseen slit in the bottom of the boot and taking shape, equally as sharp as its predecessor. She took a moment to swipe away the tears that had gathered at her eyes as a result of her fall, and smear the bloody nose onto her sleeve, pushing back into a stand. Reyna readied herself as the gentle shushing of skates filled the air once again. In her pocket, the comm device continued its intermittent flashing. She turned, intent on leading the ice doll further away. Orange eyes darted about the frigid surrounds. The only people shapes she could pick out were sculptures frozen mid movement; all blue, without a trace of steel or orange to be found. Time... she needed to buy more of it.

-

Awareness bled in slowly for K’. With it came the cold, making him shiver and moan. Pins and needles popped beneath his skin, flames sluggish, but not snuffed. A bloom of heat was amassing in his core, gradually melting away the lingering ice in his system and bringing an iota more strength with every second that passed. It felt like he was full of lead, every breath shallow and laboured. His left pinkie twitched. Feeling was returning, though the numbness persisted around his chest and one cheek. 

Bad. Don’t like that. 

Greedily, he clung to the spreading heat - that felt nicer; good.... better... - relishing in it even as he continued to be wracked by shivers. He drifted in and out to the sounds of gunfire and some strange cracking that made his hackles raise, even while in this semi-conscious state. The cold lingered, but it didn’t seem as biting with every new stirring of awareness. With its retreat, more feeling returned, and with sensation came pain; various dull aches and one particularly sharp, insistent spot on his torso that throbbed steadily. Silver brows furrowed, mouth twisting into a grimace. It was annoying, making it harder to indulge in the comforting darkness creeping back in.

A scream made him grapple harder for consciousness rather than fight it. It was a voice he knew but couldn’t place right this second, thoughts still too hazy in regards to anything that wasn’t pain or cold. 

With a monumental effort, he eventually managed to force his eyes open. Clear blue. Red. Fuzzy. Swimming in and out of focus. The red moved when he forced his fingers to curl. Darken... Blink, sharpen. Steam drifted from his lips in time with every breath. His eyes, half lidded, rolled up. More blue. More shapes. People? Blink, sharpen. Red on the blue, faraway streaks and dribbles in nonsensical patterns. More blue, brighter and opaque, chasing brown with a tiny beacon of red on top. Blink, blink, sharpen, chasing away another wave of darkness. A harsh bark of gunfire, silver muzzle flashing in time with it. Bullets and ice, clashing in a deadly dance, the ricocheting harsh in the otherwise still air. Blink, sharpen. A crest of dyed hair, bedraggled from sweat and combat. That trademark jacket sporting sizeable tears, red seeping through the largest gash in the front. 

His head swam, everything shifting dizzily as he forced himself to move; to push up onto trembling hands and knees with growing urgency. His side continued its angry throbbing, pulsing in time with every heartbeat. His teeth wouldn’t stop clicking together. Continual shivers made it difficult to move. 

This is nothing. You’ve been through worse. Move. 

He planted a foot against the ice. Then a second. The dizziness heightened. He swayed but didn’t fall. Every heavy step was more of a stagger that threatened to devolve into a fall. He didn’t. Somehow. But even if he did, he would have forced himself up again. His eyes remained trained on the blood trails, doggedly following their path to their source.

-

Reyna couldn’t move any further. There was a wall at her back and the alley entrance blocked, preventing any plans of escape. From this distance, the girl looked like little more than a strange tendril-heavy shadow blocking the light every time her hair did that eerie fanning out movement. She kept a hand pressed against her chest, stemming the flow from a sizeable cut as she tracked her adversary’s slow approach. There were more, but smaller, welts, and what felt like developing bruises all over her body. For such a skinny thing, Miss Frost certainly packed a mean punch. 

Skates grinding echoed through the small passage, the lithe little grim reaper clearly eager to finish her off. Reyna didn’t raise her gun. Why bother? It was useless now, the last of her bullets lost trying to cover her retreat into this unfortunate dead end. It hadn’t exactly helped her much to begin with, anyways, the only thing to show for her efforts a few minor dents in those yellow metal gloves. No perforations nor blood, save her own, unfortunately.

Twin icy daggers materialised in the girl’s hands, frost crackling as they took shape. Those magenta eyes weren’t so blank now. Reyna felt some small sense of accomplishment at having cracked that cold exterior, making irritation bleed through, even if she still wasn’t certain which, exactly, of her words or actions had prompted it. Her grip on the pistol tightened, coolly holding the girl’s gaze. She wondered if she could get one last hit in before she bit the dust... Maybe break that pretty little nose... Hopefully her Rogues would have more luck. Assuming they arrived on the scene in time. Reyna’s arm tensed, drawing back in preparation to strike for what may just be the final time in her life...

And then K’ blurred into view a few feet in front of her. 

Joy at seeing him alive and moving switched to worry when he stumbled. He still looked worse for wear, panting raggedly, skin pale, and shivering noticeably. Yet he managed to catch himself before his face could kiss the concrete. Boots planted stubbornly, pivoting him in place to face the still encroaching threat. He thrust his right hand up, palm extended. The left grasped his forearm bracingly. His shoulders tensed, orange wisps flickering between his fingers. Those magenta eyes widened, the girl attempting to backpedal. They both knew the attempt would be futile. K’ reached deep inside himself, gathering every scrap of energy he had left, forcing the twisting warm presence within him together into one large mass and then diverting it all towards his arm. It began to tremble as the pressure within mounted. The red metal encompassing his hand turned redder still, the air around it warping. 

A scream tore from his throat - not so much one of his fierce battle cries as it was of pain - as flame roared out in a rolling blanket, large and blistering hot as a dragon’s breath. He caught a brief flash of blue-white before the alley was completely filled with his fire, ice rapidly growing into a thick protective dome over the girl mere milliseconds before the flames’ impact. He’d also seen her manage to finally skid to a stop and crouch, arms protectively thrown over her head, before the ice swallowed her up. A second scream filled the air, competing with his own and the deafening crackled snarls of his flames; high with terror and slightly echoed.

Steam billowed, filling the alley and spilling outwards in a dense cloud, as fire and ice struggled against one another. Reyna shielded her face, squinting through the cracks of the protective barrier of her arms. It was difficult to see anything beyond the steam and the living wall of angry roiling crimson. But peering between the gap of K’s arms, looking right at the centre of where the fire was being directed, she could catch slivers of blue amongst all the red and orange. It was some sort of ice cocoon or dome, she thought. At least from what little of its form she could make out. It shifted as much as the fire, rapidly melting in on itself under the heat, then hastily growing another thick sheet to patch the area over for fortification. Frankly, it was impressive that it was holding up at all, and it spoke volumes of just how extensive the ice doll’s strength and control over her abilities must be. But Reyna had to wonder just how long she could keep it up. She wasn’t even in the line of fire - was in the coolest, safest possible spot in the alley - and the heat was still oppressive as all hell. Holed up in an igloo or not, that girl was sure to cook.

A small eternity passed - seconds? Minutes? - before the impasse came to an end. 

Flames ceased pouring from K’s hand, as abruptly as if a tap had been turned off. The thick collection of tongues still in the air lingered for a few seconds before eventually wisping away, leaving only lingering heat and a sparse handful of tiny, but stubborn, fires licking at the cement and brickwork. The ice dome, now fully in view through the thinning steam, was still intact. But only barely; it was a misshapen mess, sagging in places and melting heavily. Slowly, Reyna lowered her arms. The girl, if she was still alive, didn’t emerge from her crumpling shelter at all. K’ also didn’t move from where he was standing, still keeping his hand outstretched and braced by the other. Though another tremble ran through his entire body and he began to list to one side the longer she watched, his knees buckling.

Reyna was by his side in a heartbeat, jamming her useless gun into its holster on the way there, barely managing to catch him around the waist before he fell. His lanky body leaned against her heavily, barely able to support itself. The gash on her chest complained but she ignored it; compartmentalised it to deal with later. “Jesus, Kay!” 

She fussed, swiping his sweaty fringe away and cupping his face to assess his state. A tiny noise that could have been a protest croaked from his mouth between uneven gasps but he didn’t shove her away; couldn’t, rather. He grit his teeth, eyes squeezing shut. Trembling fingers rose, attempting to claw at his chest but fell short, dropping weakly by his side. She wasn’t too sure what was wrong, but he’d obviously messed himself up seriously pulling a strenuous stunt like that after being severely hypothermic and out of commission only minutes earlier. 

“You idiot fucking kid... Hey. Hey, look at me.” She had to tilt his head to grab his attention, and even then his focus was skewed. When he forced his eyes open the pupils were dilated, his stare hazy. “Just hang on okay? Stay awake; that’s an order.” She knew he hated those with a passion; with any luck his temper would help him stay conscious.

Reyna readjusted her grip, slinging one of his jacketed arms across her shoulders. He bit out a small moan as his injured side was pressed against her, the blood-tacky leather sticking unpleasantly. Gentle assurances were murmured, the arm at his waist pushing forward insistently to get him to move alongside her, even as her own injured chest shrieked its grievances. Every one of his steps was heavy and uncoordinated, threatening to send them both crashing into the pavement if she wasn’t vigilant. They began to edge around the sweating ice dome to exit the alley, Reyna sparing a nervous peek over her shoulder once it was behind them.

The girl was alive. Unburnt. But she remained curled up and trembling, hands wrapped protectively over her head with her back to them. Her shoulders hitched with sobs, just loud enough to be echoed in her dilapidated shelter and carry to Reyna’s ears. Her chest twisted hearing it. Jesus... for all that power, she really was just a kid in the end. Not for the first time, she couldn’t believe just how messed up NESTS was. Child freaking soldiers... Her grip on K’ tightened. 

Reyna marched on, resolute, leaving the girl to cower.

-

Spurred into action by the screaming, Diana and Foxy had ceased surveying immediately and charged into action. Rooftops were vaulted without so much as a pause in their stride until they dropped into the alley the noises originated from, boots thumping against the cement. They were quick to rise, taking hasty strides towards the sweating lump of ice. The pinching in their expressions relaxed some when the body within was still very much alive. Though the state of her was worrying. Blue skirts and red cape pooled around their ankles when the pair crouched by the open mouth of the ice construct.

“Kula,” Diana called out softly. There was a brief pause in the shaking shoulders. “It’s okay. We’re here now.”

Slowly, hands were lowered from head. A pale cheek peeked over a shoulder. Tears freely ran from the girl’s eyes, leaving tracks on her skin that began to frost over during their downward journey. She choked out a sob. The ice around her crumbled, shards of all sizes clattering against the cement. On hands and knees she scrambled over, hurling herself into outstretched arms and burying her face into the crook of the woman’s neck. Diana murmured gently, rubbing soothing circles against her back. Kula’s trembling began anew, more and louder sobs ripping from her throat.

“He,” she choked out, fingers fisting the back of Diana’s top. Snot joined the tears, wetting her shoulder, though she didn’t complain, still holding Kula close. “Sc-scary. He was so scary! It was so hot! I-“

“Ssh. I’ve got you.” Diana pressed a kiss into the soft blue locks, pressing the girl closer against her. She continued to snivel, trembling and whimpering. “You’re safe now.”

Foxy chewed her lip, eyes shifting from Kula’s trembling frame to catch her fellow’s. “Shall I catch them?” she inquired softly. At Diana’s nod, she rose. Two steps and she was by the huddled pair’s sides. She stooped, pressing a kiss of her own into Kula’s hair. “Good girl... You did very well.”

A fresh sob made her heart squeeze. By her side, her fists clenched, watching those slender shoulder shake harder. She was going to make that pair pay for every single one of those tears being shed. Foxy’s coat flared with her abrupt rise and turn. 

“I’m off,” she announced brusquely, jaw squared.

“See you at the rendezvous.” Diana watched her departure through lidded eyes. Come back safe they seemed to say.

Gloved fingers dragged across her bare shoulder in parting and promise. Then Foxy was gone, blurring away to begin her pursuit.