"A hero is somebody who is selfless, who is generous in spirit, who just tries to give back as much as possible and help people. A hero to me is someone who saves people and who really deeply cares."
Debi Mazar
~Elsa~
Wide turquoise eyes sparkled with wonder as they watched the snowflakes erupt from her palms and flutter through the air. Elsa giggled delightedly and looked down at baby Anna. The baby had a large toothless grin alight her face as she watched the snowflakes her big sister had created. As Anna clapped her tiny hands and let out a high pitched giggle, the fire behind her crackled. Bright orange sparks flew from the fire and landed uncomfortably close to Anna. The baby didn't notice them and continued to coo as she watched the snowflakes fall to the fluffy rug. Elsa felt a flash of concern and dragged the baby forward. Anna cried in protest when she lost the warmth of the fire. She held the squirming baby against her and made sure she didn't crawl back to the fire place.
The chubby baby was heavy on her lap, but Elsa was used to holding her up.
"You're okay Anna," she soothed her fidgeting sister. "I got you."
The baby only gurgled at her in response before slumping limply against her side. Her head dropped with tiredness on Elsa's arm.
A soft hand fell on Elsa's head ruffling her blonde hair. The toddler tilted her head up and a large smile split her face.
"Daddy," she squealed. She held her free hand up to her farther's smiling face. She pointed to her sister. "Anna's sleepy."
Her father smiled brightly, a smile so warm and full of life that she didn't think she could ever forget it, before kneeling down beside her. He dropped his head down to kiss the mess of orange curls on Anna's head. The baby lifted her head off her sisters arm and smiled happily at her father, babbling affectionately.
Her father touched his nose to the baby's with a large grin. Anna returned that bright smile tenfold.
"How is my little firecracker?" he beamed, nuzzling the giggling babies face. "Are you ready for a nap?"
The baby slumped down on the fur rug in response.
Elsa giggled at her sister before turning her attention back to her father.
"Daddy watch," she whispered. She flexed her palm and a flurry of snowflakes erupted from her hand.
"Elsa," her father chided, pushing her hand back down to her side. "What did I say about using your powers inside?"
Elsa's smile fell and her eyes dropped to the ground.
"To not to," she pouted.
Her father smiled down at his daughter softly. He touched the platinum blonde locks and brushed a strand behind her tiny ear.
"Do you know why you have these powers?"
Elsa looked up at him again with a wide smile, her previous sadness forgotten. "Because I'm a snowflake!"
"That's right," her father laughed joyously, "You are my little snowflake."
The laughter roused Anna from her nap on the floor. The baby realized she wasn't being held any more and so she crawled back to the warmth of the fireplace.
"But Elsa," her father continued. "You have these powers for a reason. You may not know it, but people need a snowflake like you."
Elsa tilted her head in confusion. "Huh?"
Her father only smiled, this one hiding so many secrets in the corner. There was a great weight to his smile that was absent from all his other smiles."I know it doesn't make sense right now," he stated. "But you'll understand, when you're ready."
Elsa frowned in confusion. Her father had said things like this before. He would speak to her in a low voice, his words were always full of such purpose that she knew what he was saying was important, even though she could barely understand him. And his eyes would become distant, taking on a glazed look as he stared at her like he might never see her again. There was such a drift between them in those moments because so many secrets and mysteries were poured between them.
Elsa felt a sudden tiredness come over her when she saw how dark it was outside. All these thoughts made her drowsy. She yawned and lay down on her father's lap, sighing contently when he stroked her head. Elsa's eyes were cracked open just enough for her to see her little sister. Anna was curled up asleep on the fur rug, right next to the fire.
"Anna," she mumbled. She tried to get up and crawl over to her little sister so she could pull her back. But her father held her there. Elsa was too tired to complain.
"She'll be alright," he whispered soothingly. "But you know that she needs you Elsa. Right?"
Elsa's eyelids started to drop slowly. The vision of her sister, sleeping across from her got blurry. She nodded heavily, dropping her head down on the floor.
"Soon many people will need you," her father's soft voice lulled her to sleep. Through the blur of her vision she could see her father's arm reach over and touch Anna's head and then held his hand over the fire. Elsa could swear she saw his hand getting licked by the flames but he didn't flinch as he continued to speak. "And one day you'll understand what that means for you."
News of the Snow Queen spread like wildfire. By the next morning she was all over the newspapers and TV. The pictures that people had taken of her last night had flooded the Internet. When Elsa made her way into the mansion's den, the large flat screen was displaying news reports of her brief sighting. Kai was furious and Anna was over the moon.
"What's this?" Kai snapped, tossing the newspaper on the glass coffee table.
Elsa glanced down at the picture on the front page. A photo of her staring at the crowd with her head held high, declaring her name. The bold writing of the headline read, 'The Snow Queen, Saviour of Insinius.'
She shrugged. "A newspaper," she answered indifferently, walking past him before curling up on the plush couch. "I'm not going apologize for it. In case you haven't noticed, the Snow Queen is actually making things better."
"The Snow Queen?" Kai grunted, taking up the paper again. "You named yourself after a fairytale."
"I like the name," Anna stated from her spot on the chair. She saw that no one really glanced at her. "Not that anyone cares."
Elsa crossed her arms over her chest defensively "It's a better name than most," she replied to Kai. "I would rather be a fairytale tale than some ice pun that the city comes up with."
"That's not the point Elsa," he sighed in aggravation. "This isn't a game. You don't understand how dangerous this is."
"I actually understand exactly how dangerous it is," she argued insistently with a scowl on her face. "I was almost shot in the head yesterday!"
"You what?" Anna and Kai shouted in unison causing Elsa to flinch back slightly. She mentally slapped herself for letting that slip. She would never here the end of this.
"Who shot at you?" Kai demanded angrily.
Elsa shook her head. "I don't know," she answered defensively. "I couldn't really see their faces in the dark."
Kai growled, irritated beyond all reason. "I told you this would happen Elsa!" he yelled. "If you keep putting you're life on the line, you'll get killed."
"What do you expect me to do?" she snapped back. "Watch helplessly from the sidelines as people get hurt. I have these powers for a reason. And I'm not going to keep locking them up while I could be helping people. You can't stop me."
There was a long silence that passed between the two of them. Elsa continued to glare at him, unrelenting. Kai stood up straight and tossed the newspaper back on the table. He straightened out his suit before casting Elsa a disapproving look.
"Fine," he stated callously. "You're grounded."
Elsa's jaw dropped to the floor. She hadn't been grounded since she was ten.
"What?" she exclaimed, standing from the couch. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white. "You're grounding me for saving a guy's life?"
"I'm grounding you for going out and almost getting killed," he responded in disinterest. "When you stupidly risk your life, you should expect some sort of punishment."
Elsa scoffed. "I can't believe this," she grumbled, glaring at the ground petulantly. "This is so stupid."
He gave her a stern look, and she couldn't meet his eyes. He made her feel like she was a misbehaving toddler. "Watch your tone young lady," he warned.
"I don't get you," she continued to protest. "Nothing happened to me. I'm fine."
"Yes," Kai agreed. "For now. But how long will that last. Do you know how many enemies Metro Man made by doing the exact same thing you're doing? Do you realize how much danger you've just put yourself in?"
Elsa clenched her fists tightly at her sides and failed to notice frost crawling up her arms. A memory of her father flashed into her mind, even though it was fuzzy and difficult to remember the details now. But she did remember one thing clearly as if she heard it only yesterday. That was probably because she thought of it all the time since her parents died.
You'll understand, when you're ready.
The things that her father said that night rose up in her mind, filling her with a sense of purpose. She walked up to him, tilting her chin up defiantly.
"I'm not a child anymore," she asserted, her voice breaking with emotion. "I'm not a fragile doll. I know the dangers. I understand that it's crazy and people will probably keep trying to kill me. But I cant hide anymore. People need me. And I understand that now," she whispered, all the rigidness in her voice was gone.
Kai stared at her with sharp dark green eyes. Elsa could see his eyes soften at her words. But in an instant the vulnerability was gone.
"You're going to the Christmas party this weekend," he stated sternly. "But after that you're grounded for the rest of the Christmas break."
With that said, he stormed out of the room, leaving the two sisters in stunned silence. Elsa looked down at her icy hands.
Anna got up from her chair and walked up behind her sister. She placed her hand on Elsa's sisters shoulder. She offered a bright smile.
"I'm proud of you," she beamed. "Kai is too."
Elsa snorted in derision before flopping back down on the couch. "Yeah," she chortled. "He looked very proud when he grounded me for being a vigilante."
Anna bit her lip and shuffled awkwardly on her feet. "Well," she started slowly. "He's just scared of losing you. We're all he has."
Elsa looked up at her with wide blue eyes. Ever since their parents had died, Kai had been their to take care of them. He had taken the responsibility of being the father of two young girls. He fell into the role and was reacting the way any father would act if their child was risking their life like Elsa was. She knew that, but thinking about it made her feel guilty for making him worry.
"I mean, I am too," Anna continued softly. "Kai's right, it's dangerous. But I know that you can do this. I believe you can do this. And I don't know if anyone else can. Or will."
Elsa looked down at her hands. The ice layer was slowly melting away with the help of Anna's warm words. She reached up and her ice cold hand grasped Anna's warm ones. The two sisters smiled at each other and a beat of understanding passed between them. Elsa smiled softly and Anna beamed back.
"Thanks Anna," she said gratefully, squeezing her sister's hand. "I don't think I could do this without you."
Anna grinned in response. "Nope. You sure couldn't."
Without warning, Anna pulled Elsa up from the couch and started to to lead her to estate gardens. Elsa was caught off guard by her sister dragging her out to the centre gallery and then rear foyer, and then even more confused when she was dragged outside to the terrace.
"What are you doing?" Elsa asked as Anna yanked her under the garden gazebo.
"Mom and Dad always said to practice your powers outside right?" Anna stated with a shrug.
Elsa pulled her hand away at that moment, feeling a familiar ache swelling in her chest. It had gotten easier to to talk about them over the years. She had all the long talks and heartfelt moments with Anna and Kai. She had heard over and over how it wasn't an accident and that she shouldn't blame herself. But she still did blame herself, Anna's love and unfailing confidence was what kept her floating.
It had never been easy to deal with the memory of her parents even though she barely remembered them anymore. She remembered her father's voice and warm smile, her mother's big sparkling blue eyes and soft skin. Anna remembered even less about them, since she was so young when they died. But they still lingered in every room and crevice. They left gaping holes in their lives and hearts that were impossible to ignore.
Elsa swallowed her guilt and nodded silently. Anna, understanding the thoughts that were filtering through her sisters mind, placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I think they would have been proud of you too," she said softly, her eyes gleaming with affection and warmth.
Elsa could only smile lovingly in response. She wasn't sure how she could possibly deal with anything without Anna there. She turned towards the open garden. The staff was limited in the castle, and practically no one was there at that point in the morning. So the gardens were just a wide empty space, with the bare bushes and trees, and the slightest bit of snow coating the soil.
"So what am I supposed to do?" Elsa asked, clueless on where to start. She looked down at her hands, ice shards were prickling up from her skin. She flexed her hand so that icicles flew off her palm and turned into a flurry of snowflakes.
"I dunno," Anna shrugged. "Just go with the flow."
Elsa shot her a skeptical look before focusing on her hands. She shot her hand out and watched as the ice that spiralled from her palm created a long path of ice that swirled and spun around the garden.
Anna stared out at the frozen patterns that laced the ground with a look of awe. She looked back up at her sister to see her forming snow sculptures and ice sculptures. Most of them seemed like random sculptures of animals and different famous art pieces. But Anna smiled when she noticed that there was one of her as well.
"That's so cool Elsa," Anna whispered, coming up beside her to get a better view of the art. "Pun intended."
Elsa chuckled to softly. "Thank you," she giggled, before straightening her features and looking down at the art with cold determination. "Now I need to thaw it all."
Anna's head whipped around to look at her with a bewildered stare. "W-what?" she stuttered. "What do you mean?"
"I need to be able to undo everything that I make," Elsa responded, narrowing her eyes on her creations. "Otherwise all the ice paths I use will make it really easy for people to find me. Also I don't want to leave ice spikes all over the city. That would be a little problematic."
Anna pursed her lips and thought that over. It was true that Elsa's ice didn't melt for weeks, sometimes months. But she had never tried thawing it all out on her own before. Anna wasn't exactly sure where or how she was supposed to start.
Elsa held out her hand and focused hard on the ice statue in front of her. Her face twisted in determination as she continued to stare at the statue, willing it to melt in her mind. She stood there with her hand out for a good five minutes.
"It's not working," she stated blankly. Frustration rose in her chest. "Why isn't it working?"
When she threw her arms up in annoyance, a flash of ice shot from her hand and coated the sculpture in another layer of frost.
"Ugh!" Elsa growled, feeling herself shake with anger. She noticed ice prickling up from beneath her feet.
Anna frowned when she looked over the ice sculptures. "You're probably just thinking to much," she answered, trying to be supportive. "And whenever you overthink things, you get stressed and angry. And then you start to worry and feel all insecure. And then you think about all the things that are going wrong. And then you get more frustrated cause you start overthinking things again-"
Elsa shot her a glare. "Does this rant have a point?"
Anna let a small smirk curl at her lips. "You get caught in this cycle of emotions and I don't think that helps with your ice powers," she stayed with a shrug. "If you calm down, and think happy thoughts, maybe you'll get a better grip on it or something. Like I've heard about these people that can knock you out without touching you because of their chi. Well I'm not actually sure what it was but it sounded really cool."
Elsa raised a skeptical brow, a tiny smile gracing her lips. Her sister's little tangents and awkward explanations caused a warmth to raise in her stomach.
"You can do it!" Anna encouraged her as she backed up and gave her a thumbs up with a cheerful smile. "I believe in you!"
Elsa turned back to the ice sculptures, trying not to focus on her frustration and think of something calming. Something that made her happy. Immediately her mind went to Anna. Anna and her endless optimism and unconditional love. She thought of Merida and her fearlessness, her strength and loyalty that could never be challenged. She thought of Hiccup and his kindness, determination, and brilliant ideas. She even thought of Kai and his overbearing nature, his deep and boundless concern for her and Anna.
She held out her hand at stared out at the sculpture, her mind narrowed on the people that she loved in her life. Her friends and her family. She flexed her hand one more time.
At first there was simply an empty silence that seemed to drag on for centuries, only to be broken by the sound of howling winds. Elsa and Anna's eyes widened in shock as small snowflakes started to lift away from the sculpture, starting out in small flurries that slowly became larger. The ice sculpture dissolved away and the snowflakes vanished with a wave of her hand, fading into the sky.
A smile twitched at her lips as she focussed on the other sculptures and started to melt them away. Each time she successfully dissolved a sculpture and made the snowflakes melt away, her smile grew even bigger brighter. A small laugh escaped her throat as the ice path she made, vanished with a wave of her hand, only leaving behind traces of water.
Anna squealed in delight and tackled her sister, trapping her in a suffocating embrace. "You did it!" she giggled. "I knew you could do it!"
Elsa couldn't help the excited laughter that bubbled up from her chest like she was a bottle of shaken champagne. Anna joined in the joyous laughter, twirling her in a circle. Their rejoicing could be heard across the estate, echoing through the garden.
~Unknown~
The blaring of his cell phone ring jolted him out of his state of melancholy. He quickly answered without a beat of hesitation, new exhilaration flooding his mind.
"Is everything ready?" he demanded eagerly.
"Yes," the smoky voice replied on the other end. "And the stickup for the party has been set up too. We made sure to get only the new and useless guys in on it."
"Good," he nodded, a malicious grin twisted his lips. "Make sure to leave no trace of your entry of the lab. We want this to be as quiet as possible."
"Come on boss," the voice laughed. "Sure we may not have Rider anymore, but my men will definitely be able to pull off this heist. Especially with the distraction we set up for the little Ice princess."
"Just don't screw it up," he replied carelessly. "You know that we need those samples."
"Yeah, Yeah," the other man sighed. "No worries. You'll get your precious plant samples."
"Don't sound so disgruntled," he replied with a but amusement soaking his words. "When these experiments are done, I'll be able to make us immortal."
~Hiccup~
The suit was made of one of the finest materials that could be found, though Hiccup couldn't exactly place the name of it. It has been adjusted to fit his lanky frame by the best tailor in the city. It was crisp, well fitting, and soft, but he still felt about as comfortable as he would be being starch naked in public.
Stoic Haddock hated these kind of events just as much Hiccup did. But as the Commissioner, it was expected of him to be at this kind of event. Not only that, but he was almost positive that this Christmas party would be a gold mine for some of the more stupid criminals in Insinius. Even with the new hero in town, there were some thugs who walked around like the city was still theirs. Hiccup wasn't sure if there was any group of criminals stupid enough to try a stunt like crashing an elite party where the cops can show up almost immediately. He didn't have the guts to say it out loud in front of his father though, plus that would probably tempt fate a little too much.
Hiccup strayed away from his father as he started to talk to certain politicians that he was actually comfortable talking to. Of course they would only be talking about the crime rate and probably the Snow Queen, so Hiccup chose that opportunity to disappear into the crowd.
The place was filled to the brim with expensive evening gowns and fine suits. Everybody dressed up to impress and silently judging each other as they glanced about the room.
Hiccup felt out of place in such a crowd. One thing that he took from his father would definitely be his dislike for these extravagant parties. Even though he was dressed like everyone else, he still shuffled awkwardly and shrunk more within himself, trying his hardest not to trip in his dress shoes and knock someone over. He'd never hear the end of it from his father.
As he shuffled through the crowd, he caught sight of a familiar head of flaming red curls. Though now her head looked less like a rats nest and was pulled into a high messy bun. It certainly looked much classier than it normally did. As he started walking towards her, he got close enough to take a good look at her dress. It was an aqua blue strapless dress, that tightly held her torso to about her mid thigh and then flared out to the floor like the tail of a mermaid. The top was bedazzled with sparkling gemstones while the bottom mostly consisted of ruffles and frills.
He couldn't stop himself as guffawed at the sight.
Merida immediately turned to face him, her eyes narrowing as she gave him one of her deadliest glares. He instantly regretted laughing out loud, but he couldn't even contain himself as more laughter started to bubble up to his throat. He bit his lip and rocked back and forth in order to keep from exploding.
"Don't you dare say anything," she warned as she walked up to him. "Or I will castrate you."
He burst, loud and obnoxious laughter spilling from his lips. Merida's face turned beat red and she continued to stare him down. Hiccup knew he was a dead man in that moment and the laughter started to die away.
"Please don't kill me," he begged, out of breath. Another tiny giggle escaped his mouth.
Merida's eyes flared and she looked like she was going to beat him to death with his own arm. But before she could get started, she was interrupted by someone calling out to them.
"Hiccup! Merida!" Elsa's clear voice addressed them as she pushed her way through to meet them. Her dress was much more simple though it was also floor length like many of the dresses there. It was dark turquoise, sleeveless, and flowed freely down from her waist. The only accessory was a silver belt around her waist.
She smiled softly as she walked up beside the two of them. Hiccup could see a twinkle of amusement as she looked over Merida.
"I love your dress," she commented, holding back a smile. "It's...a beautiful colour."
The red head rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Yeah yeah," she groaned. "Yuck it up. But when I die of suffocation, I expect a little more respect from you two jerks."
Elsa sighed and smiled happily. "You really do look beautiful," she said honestly. "Just a little..."
"Like a cupcake," Hiccup finished for her with a slight grin.
"Shove it, stick man," Merida sneered, punching his shoulder.
For such a tiny girl, she could really pack a punch. Hiccup rubbed his bruised shoulder.
"Where's Anna?" He asked curiously.
Elsa motioned over her shoulder. "With her eye candy," she snarked.
Behind her, Anna stood in an emerald cocktail dress coated in black beaded floral designs. She was giggling happily as she spoke to the young man beside her. Hans Westergard was unfairly good looking with his bright smile and straight nose. He actually had the form to properly fill out a suit. He was the same age as Hiccup, Elsa and Merida but he never really socialized with them. He was part of the more popular crowd. Thankfully he wasn't in Jackson Overland's band of jackasses. Anna and Hans had been nearly inseparable ever since they started dating a few months ago. Whenever there was a big event like this, they were constantly side by side. And the media just ate them up. With Hans' family being the owners of the billion dollar biological research company, southern industries, along with Anna's family being the owners of the technological company North Mountain Inc, the two were the perfect couple in the eyes of the press. Even Hiccup had to admit they were kind of adorable.
The three of them turned away from the couple and Merida started to ask them if they wanted to go up to her uncle's ski resort for New Years.
"He's a bit crazy," she admitted with a shrug, "But we can avoid him if stay away from the bar."
Elsa sighed, frustration clear in her expression. "I can't go anywhere after this stupid party," she huffed. "I'm grounded for the rest of Christmas break."
There was a moment of stillness where Merida and Hiccup stared at her in stunned silence. Then suddenly Merida chortled, bending over as far as her dress would allow.
"Grounded?" she wheezed through her snorts. "You?"
Elsa casted a glare at the two of them as they both burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter. The space in between her eyebrows crinkling up like it always did when she was very pissed off. They earned a few glares from people around them as well.
"What did Kai ground you for?" Hiccup gasped.
"What could he ground you for?" Merida laughed. "Are you too polite? Did you apologize too many times?"
"Are your grades too good?" Hiccup chuckled.
"Were you just too much of a goody two shoes today," Merida snickered.
Elsa scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I am not a goody two shoes," she protested with a huff. "I was grounded because..."
She trailed off looking unsure of what to say. Hiccup was going to press her further, but an explosion of gunfire erupted from the halls front entrance.
There were screams of panic rising all around the three of them and people pushing and shoving to get away from gun shots. Elsa looked over at the entrance with a glazed look in her eye before taking off through the swarm of people and disappearing in the chaos. Merida ended up getting pulled off to the side by the burly ox like figure of her father. Hiccup tried to follow them, but someone rammed right into his back, knocking the air out of him and sending him colliding to the ground.
There was more gun fire and everyone in the room huddled in droves as far away from the weapons as they could get. Hiccup was left on his own lying on the ground in the middle of the ball room.
"Well, look at all these pretty pigeons," a strong cockney accent cut through the tension and chaos, causing everyone to fall silent in fear. "You all get decked up for your bloody Christmas party. Spending all your damn riches on a new pair of shoes while your city falls apart. People like you make me sick. You're all a bunch of self indulgent sheep. You let whatever masked vigilante comes along take care of the city for you while you live it up and spit on everyone under you. Clearly, none of you know what you are doing with your money. And we decided to take all that responsibility off your hands."
Hiccup turned his head to look up at the man holding a machine gun. He was standing right over him with four goons with guns at his back. They had their aim trained on the crowd.
The cockney man looked down at Hiccup with frighteningly pale blue eyes. His sharp chin cocked to the side like he was a lizard.
"Alright kid," he addressed Hiccup with a malicious smirk. "Hand over everything you got. Wallet, Rolex watches or anything else that has some sort of monetary value."
Hiccup gritted his teeth as he got off the ground and into a kneeling position. "I don't have anything," he sneered. He was being honest. He never brought any money to these things. Mostly cause his father didn't really trust him with money after that incident where he bought a boat. He never really saw the need for having expensive accessories either.
"You know kid," the man growled. He shoved the barrel of the gun against Hiccup's forehead, causing his breath to hitch in his throat. A cold sweat broke on his forehead as he stared out in terror. "I really don't want to get any attitude from a spoiled rich pussy like you."
"And I really don't want to deal with loudmouth scumbags like you," a crystal clear voice pierced through the tension. A voice that was eerily familiar. Hiccup turned his head as much as he could without moving the gun and stared in shock and awe at the sight of the girl before him. She had her gloved hands planted on her hips and stood boldly before the thugs with a deadly look in her eyes. Even with her face mostly hidden by her mask, Hiccup could just make out a crinkle between her eyebrows, a detail that reminded him of a certain blonde whenever she was pissed off. One would normally brush off seeing something like this, but Hiccup had always had an eye for the details. And he knew this one wasn't going to slide in his mind. The girls eyes darted to him for a moment before flashing back to the thug with the gun at Hiccup's head. Hiccup caught the ice blue colour in her eyes and he felt recognition clutch at his mind.
She flashed the man a mischievous smirk. "But you can't always get what you want."
