Elsa looked around herself, feeling a bit intimidated. She was standing in front of an old hangar in the outskirts of the city, and she couldn't hear a sound, except for a few clanks carried by the wind. I'm glad it's still morning. I wouldn't want to be here after dark. She took out her phone and sent Merida a text to let her know that she had arrived.

The red-haired girl soon came out of the hangar and waved at her. Elsa was a bit surprised to see that she wasn't hiding her face. And it seemed she had been right during their first meeting, Merida really did look young, maybe eighteen or nineteen years old. She had some light freckles that reminded her a little of her sister, and she had a wide smile on her face. She was sweaty and Elsa guessed that she had been training.

"Hey, Elsa. Come inside!"

She definitely didn't have the same voice as when they had met on the street for the first time. Elsa followed her and they entered the hangar. Then, the vigilante led her to a corner of the building and opened a hidden trapdoor on the ground. The blonde was surprised to see the basement was well-lit and clean. It actually looked nice, and pretty big too.

"Here we are! Welcome to my hideout!" said the red-haired girl cheerfully. "Well, one of them."

"How many do you have around the city?" asked Elsa, curious.

"Quite a few! But, I'm not gonna tell you all my secrets so soon!"

"Sorry."

"It's ok. If we're going to be partners, we need to trust each other anyways. I'll tell you later."

Partners. With the Red Mane. How strange.

"So... what do I do?" she asked.

"Well, obviously you won't be able to follow me right now. So I'll have to train you. Being a vigilante can be quite dangerous, and I won't let you do it without being sure you can handle it safely."

Elsa had so many questions right now. How could an eighteen year old girl be the vigilante that criminals started to fear so much? She was so young and yet people all over the city were looking up to her. And where did she learn how to fight? Why did she have hideouts? Was she working alone?

"But before we start any of this, we need to find you a good cover."

"Huh... yeah, I guess."

"So... do you have anyone close to you? Who could discover something is going wrong? That your daily life changed?"

"Well, there's my sister. She's the only person of importance in my life."

"Good. It will be easier then. No one else? Friends? A boyfriend?"

"Nope. I haven't got any friends and I never even had a boyfriend." She usually never spoke about this, especially not with someone she had just met, but she felt like she could be completely honest and open with this girl.

"Girlfriend then?" asked Merida with a grin, and Elsa blushed a little. She had never had any girlfriends either, but she had often thought that if she hadn't been cursed with her powers, she would have most likely dated girls. She had a crush on a cute classmate during her high-school years, and it had been way harder to turn her down that any boy who had asked her out.

"Nope."

"Good! I mean, not that I'm happy you're single. But... it helps! You won't have to lie to her, and it will be easier to hide your nocturnal activities."

"So I take it you're single too?"

"Yeah. Haven't got any friends either. And no family left. Maybe we're more alike than you think!"

Elsa nodded but deep down she knew they couldn't be the same. She doesn't have to hide unnatural powers. Although she does have to hide a lot of other things.

"That's nice to be able to say that without receiving pitying looks." the redhead added, as Elsa kept quiet. "And what about your sister? Are you close?"

"Yes. I... I'm still pushing her out sometimes because I don't want her to know about my powers. But we still often see each other."

"Ok. You told me you mostly worked from home?"

"Yes. I'm a translator. I can work as much as I want and I only go to the co-working office twice a week."

"That's great. This way you'll be able to train five days a week without problem."

"I... huh... I still need to work the other days." Why do people always think working from home isn't really working?

"Why? Maybe you don't realize it, but being a vigilante takes a lot of time!"

"I still need money to pay my rent and eat."

"Money won't be a problem."

"Huh?"

"I have plenty of that! I'll give you what you want."

"I... I can't accept that." Money had almost always been a problem. And she wasn't going to accept free money from someone she didn't even really know.

"I have no use for it. I'd prefer having a partner who doesn't have to worry about money and who can rest or practice during the day."

"That's..."

"Never mind, we'll speak about that later. First, I need details about your powers! How does it work?"

Merida gestured towards an old couch and the two girls sat on it.

"Well... it's really not easy to explain."

"Try it!"

"I'm going to try. But it's like trying to explain what seeing is to a blind man. And there aren't any proper words made to describe what I do."

"But how do you launch your ice things? You just have to will it?"

"Not really... first I have to focus and open up. Then there's this... energy around me. It's kinda shiny, except you can't see it. It... feels shiny."

"Huh... ok..."

"And I can tap into it. It's like a huge pool, like the ocean, and I can draw from it. I call it the Source." She had never tried explaining it to people, and it was even harder than what she had thought.

"As much as you want?"

"No, I can only hold onto a fraction of it. I call that channeling."

"Channeling?"

"Yeah, when I'm holding on energy threads."

"And you've always been able to hold the same amount of it?"

"No, it's been growing slightly over the years. I don't often channel, and it's even rarer that I channel as much as I can, so it's not easy to know."

"Do you think you could channel more if you practiced?"

"I guess so..." answered the blonde.

"Damn, if I had your powers I would have been practicing them my whole life!"

"I'm a bit afraid of them. I'm not always in control. I have to stay focused, and sometimes it just goes off by reflex."

"Well, one more reason to learn how to control it."

"Maybe..." Or maybe I'll end up being able to channel ten times more energy, lose control over it and freeze everything and everyone around me.

"And then? What do you do with that energy?"

"I have to... weave things. Spells, I guess."

"Weave? Like wool?"

Elsa chuckled. "Yeah, something like that."

"And what 'spells' do you know?" Merida asked, making inverted commas with her fingers at the word 'spell'.

"Well... I can make ice appear, and then throw it. Oh, and I can coat my hands with ice to cool off plates and stuff." Elsa added with a satisfied smile.

The red vigilante laughed and Elsa looked at her, puzzled.

"So you have magical abilities of maybe unlimited power, and you only use them to cool down your soup?"

"Well... as I said, I'm trying not to use them." And I don't like soup.

"You're unbelievable! Show me something. Make me the biggest chunk of ice you can!"

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea." Elsa answered hesitantly.

"You have to start practicing! Show me!"

Elsa sighed and focused. She soon found the Source and tapped as much as she could into it. Then she weaved the energy into ice as she was used to, and a chunk of ice the size of a basketball appeared above her hand. Merida looked a bit disappointed.

"Not to complain, but it seemed more impressive when you froze that guy's arm."

"Huh…. Yeah… I'm not even sure how I did it."

"And you can control this ice as you want?"

"As long as I haven't bound it, yeah."

"Bound?"

"Yeah, if I stop channeling it will just disappear. But I discovered when I was younger that I could bind my weaves. It allows me to keep it there without costing me energy or having to stay focused on it. I can sense it somewhere, but I can't change it anymore though. Just break it and let it disappear."

"Handy! How did you figure that out if you don't practice?"

"Huh… when I got my powers I tried making a bracelet for my sister, so I wanted it to last forever. It just clicked in my head and I learned that."

"That's cute. How did she like it?"

"Well, once I finished it I figured out I couldn't give it to her. So… I had to destroy it."

"That's a shame… and what about the arm you froze? Did you bind that or the arm just got back to normal?"

Elsa lowered her head. "I don't know." She had been thinking about it a lot since that day. It wasn't something she had ever done before, and she had no idea how she had done it. It was like she had just threw everything she could at him, and she couldn't remember how she had weaved the threads of energy.

"Well, it seems you really do have a lot of training to do."

"I guess so. I just hope I won't end up hurting anyone."

"Oh, I do hope you'll hurt someone! Because there are plenty of people to hurt out there."

"Yeah, well… I mean, the goal is to defend people, right?"

"Of course." The vigilante gave her a weak smile. "It's just that it gets hard sometimes when you realize whoever you stop is back in the streets a few days later. And, that it didn't teach him a lesson. And when you see some horrible stuff… it's not easy to be better than them and refrain from hurting them too much."

"Have you… have you ever killed someone?" asked Elsa, a bit afraid to know the answer.

"I… yes, I did. It was by mistake, but he didn't make it. Not that he didn't deserve it but… I wish it hadn't gone like that."

The young girl seemed sincere and Elsa's heart sank for her.

"Anyway, I'm really happy to see you here. It can get pretty lonely sometimes, and I'm sure we'll make a great team. I'm looking forward to roaming the streets with a partner. And who knows, maybe other people will follow and join us?"

Elsa hadn't thought about that. "Maybe…"

"I can't promise you that we'll find answers about your powers, but I'm sure we'll eventually come upon someone else like you. I already did a few times."

"Any way I could contact them?"

"Well, one has disappeared after I neutralized him. I guess the police hid him somewhere. And the other sometimes helps me out, but she's really, really serious about staying hidden."

"I can understand. Maybe you could tell her about me?" It felt so exhilarating to know she wasn't the only one. "You don't know how good it feels to know I'm not alone. I'm pretty sure she would be interested in talking with me too."

"I'll ask her, but I'm sure she'll want to know you're trustworthy before meeting you."

"Ok. I can understand that. So what do I have to do to prove that?"

"Train and join me!"

"Ok. How do we do that? Do I have to download the Eye of the Tiger soundtrack?"

Merida chuckled. "If you think it could help, knock yourself out! More seriously, I won't be able to help you with your magic, so you'll have to practice that on your own. But we could see each other here every day and I'll help you get some muscle and teach you a few things. Some martial arts, some parkour, how to disarm someone…"

Martial arts? It sounded fun and cool but also weary and hurtful.

"Let's start right now! This way I'll see what you can do. Follow me." Merida didn't wait for Elsa to move and walked toward another room, so Elsa joined her.

They entered what looked like a gym, with plenty of machines around that Elsa had no idea how to use, and she wondered for a second how the girl had dragged them here.

"Change into something more adapted and come back here, I'll show you what to do. You'll find some sport clothes there." she said as she gestured to another door.

Elsa went there and realized it was a small room with a shower and some shelves. She grabbed a few clothes and changed quickly. It didn't really fit her, especially at the chest and hips, but the fabric was stretchy enough that she could wear it. She left her glasses on a shelf and went back to Merida.

"Ok, I guess I'm ready."

The girl eyed her up and whistled. "Hey, you're much more fit than I thought."

Elsa blushed a little and lowered her head. She wasn't used to wear clothes that revealing.

"Ok, let's get to it then!"

When she got back home, Elsa crashed on her couch and whined. She was hurting everywhere. She had gone through what Merida had called a light workout, and she felt like she couldn't move anymore. The worst part was that the young girl had done exactly the same things and it was like she wasn't even short of breath.

She spread out pathetically on the couch and wondered what she could do. It was only one in the afternoon (they had eaten together), but there was no way she could work in this state. She glanced at the TV and sighed. If only she could reach for the remote.

Hey, she told me to practice my powers. She focused to sense the Source around her, and tapped into it. She didn't channel much but used it to weave a chunk of ice around the remote on the coffee table. Can't believe what I'm doing right now. But I'm too tired, and she did instruct me to practice every day, right? Once the remote was stuck inside the ice, she pulled it to her slowly, until it was in arm's reach. Then she dissipated it and smiled victoriously as she grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. I'm sure I can find plenty of creative ways to use my powers. She tried watching a movie, but it wasn't long before she fell asleep, exhausted.

Notes: That's it, Elsa is becoming a vigilante too! :p

MistyWolf322: Thanks!

Anon guest: Ah ca fait plaisir d'avoir une review en français! J'en avais encore jamais eu! :p Merci ^^