A/N: Sorry about the missed update, guys! I'll try to bang out a few shorter ones to make up for it. We'll see how that goes.

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Winter Soldier

Chapter 9


They'd done something to her.

Elsa didn't know what, exactly. She only knew that something was wrong.

The ice felt different. It didn't respond in the familiar ways that Elsa had reluctantly grown used to. It didn't obey the same commands, didn't do as she wanted. (But then, it had never really been that well behaved to begin with.) However, it seemed so much more…volatile. It seemed…

Angry.

Elsa could think of no other way to describe it. She wished there was another way, because referring to it as a separate entity, capable of feelings was disturbing, in itself.

She began to notice the difference during the long trek back to the camp. Anna led the way, Elsa practically draped over her side. She was all but dead weight, really.

But that wasn't really an issue for Anna.

They slogged through the rain-drenched woodlands, hiked over gradual slopes, fallen logs, rocky terrain. Like many of the other soldiers, Elsa often found herself stumbling—a foot caught on a boulder, a misstep over uneven ground. And it was frustrating, certainly, but not enough to make her upset.

And yet she could feel frost forming on her palms.

"How much…farther?" she rasped. Time and distance were blurring together as her exhaustion grew. Anna wore a determined grin.

"We're close."

"You said that…last time."

"I know. We were close then. We're even closer now."

Elsa laughed. It was only slightly manic.

Anna made some sort of joke about sending her behind enemy lines more often, it made her chatty—but she wasn't paying attention. The frost was becoming a problem; she could see it creeping up her shirt sleeve.

"Anna—"

"I see 'em!" Someone shouted. At first, Elsa thought it was one of the men walking alongside them. But then she saw a few figures up ahead, waving their arms, some running towards them, some running away. Tents and crates eventually came into view.

They'd made it.

A veritable swarm of soldiers greeted them as they entered the camp, everyone shouting all at once. Elsa winced, and pulled away from Anna. She swayed only slightly, and managed to stay upright. Anna looked at her, confused, but was promptly yanked into group of cheering, chanting officers. They slapped her on the back, hollered praise.

The frost was plainly visible. Elsa crossed her arms and shot Anna one last, grateful look, before a frown displaced it, and she hurried off towards…well, nowhere in particular. Just away.

Some of the others eyed her curiously as she passed. She had to wonder, did they know? Had they seen?

Hydra certainly knew.

The thought made her stomach churn.

She found a relatively secluded corner of the camp—it wasn't all that difficult, everyone was rushing off to see what the commotion was—and she carefully extended her arms. Flexed her fingers.

The frost looked…strange. It was cloudy and veined, the patterns jagged and harsh.

She attributed both the appearance and the presence of the frost to her exhaustion, her stress.

Conceal. She thought, forcing her emotions to the back of her mind. She breathed raggedly, in and out. Conceal, don't feel.

Eventually, the frost stopped climbing. Her palms lost the faint blue hue, and she patted the sleeves of her shirt. Damp spots remained where some of the offending ice had melted, but that could be explained away.

She sighed heavily, and took a few more deep breaths, in the hopes that it would steady her, and she'd be ready to go back, join the others.

She closed her eyes.

Something sharp and painful flared deep in her skull. Her eyes snapped open, and she gasped as the frost sprang to her palms once more.

"What…"

Just as before, the frost was wrong. It was thicker. Colder. The geometric spirals were replaced with a web of branching tendrils. She clenched her fists, repeated the mantra. Willed it to stop.

It didn't.

Desperate, she looked around, eyes frantically darting from tent to tent. What could she do? Ask for help?

Say, I happen to have secret ice powers that are on the fritz. Mind helping me out?

Her gaze fell on a group of crates and barrels. One sat open, empty save for the rain water that had filled it.

She rushed over, frost all the way up to her elbows.

She plunged her hands into the water. The frost quickly melted; the water was warmer than the ice, after all. She yanked her hands out before the water in the barrel could freeze.

She stared at her hands, terrified the frost would come back.

It didn't, thankfully. But her palms were still faintly blue. She shoved them into her pockets, a new kind of fear settling like a heavy weight on her shoulders.

What had they done to her?


Well that's troubling.

As always, review or not, it's cool! (I will say that reviews are very much appreciated though, and provide excellent motivation.) But! Either way, hope you've enjoyed/are enjoying the story so far. :D