Morning light shafted between the mountainous peaks that surrounded Arendelle, striking towers of steel and glass that reached for the sky. The coastal city was a peculiar place. Nested in the craggy north of Europe, it would have been nothing more than a small fishing town had it not been for the abundance of resources surrounding it. Drawing deeply from nature, the once minute city-state was now a key hub of activity in trade, production and research alike. A glittering jewel in dark and mysterious lands that still retained much of its primal allure.
Far above the waking streets, hidden behind a pane of mirrored glass that reduced the rising sun to nothing more than a pale dot, lay the private office of FrostByte Dynamics' CEO. The strong, refreshing aroma of premium black coffee permeated the room. Elsa breathed deep of the wonderful smell, letting its energy fill her. She never drank coffee if she could help it - tea was infinitely better. The bitter, black liquid left an aftertaste she simply couldn't come to terms with, no matter the amount of milk and sugar poured into it. But the fragrance of freshly brewed coffee was another thing altogether. The apparent wastefulness of this setup was far from the truth; her assistants and managers were more than welcome to sample the quality brew. A benefit they often made use of.
Elsa tapped at the tilted glass panel before her, eliciting an affirming beep from her computer. She scanned through fresh reports as they flashed by. Among the myriad of documents, few were worthy of her full attention. Anything financial had already passed through both her legion of accountants and Kai, reducing her work to mostly signatures. If they hadn't found anything wrong, the problem usually didn't exist. Project reports and requests from across the vast company comprised the bulk of her work.
Then there were the other reports over encrypted channels that now and then jingled her phone. For now, it remained quiet.
30 under 30.
Thus read a plaque on the office wall engraved with sharp letters. A reminder of who she was to the world; one of the youngest CEO's and spearhead of one of the biggest tech conglomerates in the world. A massive responsibility. Something that Elsa had been groomed for since birth.
Iron discipline held her well into the afternoon, with just a short break for lunch. Her routines had her pouring tea when her desk chimed in notification. An aged woman's voice spoke across the intercom. "Ma'am, Kai is here to see you."
Elsa picked an armchair to rest in. "Send him in, Gerda."
On the far end of the vast room, Kai entered through opaque glass doors. "Good afternoon, Ma'am. How have you been?" he asked, ever polite. The slightly rotund man had served her father for gods know how long.
"I'm fine, thank you," replied Elsa, tucking back a stray strand of chestnut hair. "Just the usual morning lineup."
Kai nodded at the comment and proffered a slight tablet. "Only two points of interest today, Ma'am." Elsa took the device, flicking through text and diagrams as he continued. "The Blackstone project has hit a snag. The details are in the report, but the long and short of it is that we lost one of the hardware deliveries and our main supplier is demanding out of contract payments for the replacements. I already have our legal team on it but–"
"I'll talk to them myself," Elsa replied flatly, still focused on the screen in her hands. "I doubt they'll persevere." There was a trace of calculating belligerence in her voice. She wasn't a cold-hearted person per say, but the years of tutoring and training at her father's behest had left its mark when it came to business.
Kai cleared his throat. "The second point, Ma'am… I just received word that Anna came in on a flight this morning."
Elsa's thumb stopped mid-stroke. "… The Greenoaks investment director?" she tried, fearing the worst.
"Your sister, Ma'am."
My sister. She let out a slow breath, partly to calm herself, partly in relief that she didn't swear at the development. "Did she…"
"Nothing yet, Ma'am." A pause. Silence. Then Kai spoke again. "Shall I let you know as soon as something new pops up?" Seeing Elsa's nod, he left. When the door shut behind him, Elsa sank into the folds of the armchair, abandoning her air of control. She rolled her head over the back and closed her eyes.
She couldn't recall how long it had been since she spoke to Anna, more than just a few words of greeting at least. A decade, perhaps more. Come any financial crisis or internal dispute, hell and high water. She could deal with that. She knew how to deal with that. But dealing with Anna? If Elsa had even a smidge of luck on her side, she hoped that that smidge would go towards not having to at all.
Night reigned, but not darkness despite the late autumn. Arendelle's core glowed a bright orange. On the topmost edge of a skyscraper overlooking the city's central plaza stood the Snow Queen. The wind howled, threatening but failing at ruffling her platinum mane frozen in place. She gazed over her city, silently hoping for some fools heist a bank or rob a goldsmith. Anything really.
A foul thought, wishing for the misfortune of others.
She couldn't help it. She needed to let loose and her report system had stayed disappointingly quiet.
The queen sat down on the ledge. She didn't know how those heroes across the Atlantic did it, posing dramatically all the time. It made you feel larger than life, sure, but it was surprisingly tiring to keep up. Ruffling through a small bag, she produced a bar of chocolate to keep her company. Silver and gold wrappings parted, revealing dark deliciousness beneath. She let an edge touch her lips, hinting at what was to come, savoring the calm before the sugary storm. Then her arm beeped.
She listened, hand hovering with chocolate as a burst of static and digital noises marked protocols adjusting for signal clarity followed by a report. "Three suspects fleeing in Grey Land Rover, plate number david-bertil-two-four-eight-two. Armed and dangerous. Currently two patrols in pursuit on the King's Road passing 77th, requesting backup."
For a moment, the treat still lay on her lips. With a sigh, the wrappings returned and the bar was dropped unto the ceiling plates. "Don't think this is over," she said quietly to the chocolate.
The queen shot up. She placed her hand across her face. With a cracking sound ice spread across her features, covering them in a snowflake mask. Frost crept down from her neck, past her shoulders and down all the way to her hips, adding a layer of glittering arctic armor over her black, reinforced bodysuit. Another pose was struck, not intentional this time.
She leapt into the sky and ice shot out from the edge of the building to form a ramp beneath her, spikes of white giving stability. With an experienced surf, she shot down towards the streets. Her speed picked up, making her a black and white blur against the city backdrop. Every now and then, a slashing motion from her hand formed another segment of ice to guide her over and between buildings.
Down the street, nearly at the end of the stretch she saw her target, weaving between cars. The intersection is the safest spot. Cold gathered in her hands and the ice beneath her sent her upwards into the sky again. With a one-two punch, blasts of ice turned the street beneath the grey rover slick, making it spin out of control into a large mound of conjured, compact snow.
The Queen made a flip and landed on the edge of a building, smirking.
The car doors crashed open, spilling out three masked scoundrels. One of them, quick on the uptake, turned towards her. "There! Get her!" he yelled, releasing a burst from his compact weapon.
They struck hard ice that quickly fractured and fell to the streets below as powder, giving way to a volley of icy bolts that exploded into icy fetters that encased the man and his companion. She scanned the scene for the last criminal, catching a blur disappearing into a sideway street.
The Queen slashed the air again and skated down to street level. "You two stay put," she said to the crooks in passing, ignoring their profanities. A few more segments of ice sent her into the alley. It stretched before her, muted and dim compared to the noisy King's Street she left behind.
Steps echoed as a shape darted around another corner. The Queen dashed after it, powers ready to strike.
The man lay in a heap on the ground, out cold. She approached cautiously, hands held high in a guard with ice at the tips, ready for a trap or his unseen assailant.
"Chill out. He's done for the day," called a chipper voice from above.
The Queen spun around.
Leaning out over a fire escape platform stood a masked woman. Another vigilante clad in a red-trimmed suit. There were metallic hints at her wrists, but the backlight made it hard to make out any details.
Frowning, the Queen spoke, still guarding. "Who are you?"
"Arendelle's newest superhero, at your service!"
"I haven't seen you before."
"That's because I'm new, silly." The young woman nodded towards the man on the ground. "You can keep him. Call it a moving-in gift or something." She drew herself up and grinned at the Queen. "Stay cool." A pulse of light flowed across her suit as the leapt off with startling strength, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Behind, the platform groaned at the sudden strain.
The Queen stared after her and let out a sigh.
A new vigilante.
A new, pun-slinging vigilante.
She sighed again and went to take care of the decked criminal.
A/N: As always, comments and critiques are appreciated and encouraged.
