Episode XX

Winter Winds

Her phone buzzed once, but Alex rolled over and ignored it. It was Saturday, she didn't have anywhere to be, and she'd be damned if she would get up this early.

But it buzzed again, and again, and again, for a grand total of 17 times. It finally stopped, but it wasn't a complete thirty seconds before her phone began to buzz again, in the carefully spaced rhythm that signaled a phone call.

She rolled over with a drawn out groan, grabbing for the device. She smacked the screen, grumbling, "What?"

"You're still in bed," Jaime drawled with realization, and Alex huffed, "Yes, because it's the first Saturday in a bazillion years that I haven't had to do something, or we haven't had to save the world. So yes, Jaime, dammit, I'm still in bed!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about the saving the world part," Jaime sighed, and Alex smacked her forehead, "Fuck me."

"I'd rather not," Jaime replied dryly, "but you should look outside. Oh, and I'd grab some warmer clothes, too."

"Why in the hell do I need warmer clothes?" Alex asked as she flung her covers back, but quickly discovered what he meant. The normally warm, balmy nights and early mornings were instead very chilly. She swore loudly, diving toward her closet as she quickly changed into sweatpants and a jacket. She collected her phone from where it had fallen to the floor in her scramble, "What in the holy hell? Did another ice age happen or something?!"

"Have you looked outside yet?" Jaime asked insistently, so Alex pulled her curtains aside, and gasped in awe.

Snow fluttered lightly to the ground, melting upon contact.

"Holy shit..." She breathed, and Jaime spoke, "Wanna pick me up on your way to the big house?"

"Be there in ten."

When Alex parked her car, she could see Ellie cartwheeling and flipping about in the space just outside the front door. Her face was filled with glee, and she flailed wildly as they approached, "Allleeeex, Jaaaaaiiimeeee, loooook!"

"We see, Ellie," Jaime smiled with exasperation, and Alex rolled her eyes. She saw Spike next, as he exited the house, his face a picture of innocent awe. She smiled slightly, at least until Ana sighed, "This can't mean anything good..."

"Maybe it's just a cold front," Del shrugged, ever the optimist. He leaned against one of the columns, and Ana shot him a look. She scoffed, "I love it, I do, but when is it ever just a cold snap?

He shrugged, and Alex stopped at the bottom of the steps, "Do we have any clue what's going on?"

"Well, we're in California, and it's snowing," Ana said slowly, "so we know something's up."

Alex crossed her arms with a scowl, "Do we know anything else?"

"Nope, that's it," Ana grinned, and Alex smacked her forehead for the second time in less than an hour. Del nodded at the door, "Cain's downstairs, trying to figure it out."

"Glad someone's doing something," Alex huffed, heading inside. Jaime, Ana, and Del followed, leaving Ellie and Spike to enjoy the strange weather patterns.

In the living room, Logan and Ian pouted, and Alex paused, "What happened to you two?"

"I thought you were helping downstairs?" Ana narrowed her dark eyes, hands on her hips, and Ian jumped up, instantly on the defensive, "We were! Then we got kicked out!"

"Why?" Ana scolded. "What did you do?"

Logan flushed a red nearly as bright as his sweatshirt, "We almost knocked the computer over..."

"Doing what?" Ana demanded, her tone of finality warning them that they had one last chance. Ian deflated, sitting back down, and Logan mumbled, "Wrestling..."

"And there you have it," Ana sighed, squeezing the bridge of her nose. She shook her head, pointing at them, "Do you two have any idea how expensive and delicate those computers are? How hard they are to replace?! Seriously, boys, you should know better! You do know better!"

"I'll leave them to all that excitement..." Alex muttered, edging out of the room; Del and Jaime eagerly followed.

The light from the monitors spilled light through the otherwise dark room. Machines whirred, and two keyboards clicked in tandem. Cain was on the left bank with the bulk of the monitors, while Dinah sat on the right, with fewer screens.

As the trio descended the stairs, Dinah called out, "Any luck narrowing the power signature down?"

Cain shook his head, "Not yet. It's narrowed down to the state, but I already knew that. The weather, however, seems to be centralized here, in a three mile radius around Angel Grove, so it's likely the owner of the signature is in that vicinity."

Dinah nodded, pushing her chair to his side, "Good work. With any luck, we'll be able to see them coming."

He nodded his agreement, and Alex asked, "So the snow's only here?"

"Seems like," Her mentor agreed, spinning the chair with a slight smile, "Morning, kid. Enjoying the weather?"

"Do I look like I'm enjoying the weather?" Alex snapped, and Dinah reached out the squeeze her arm, "Relax. No point in getting riled before we're even sure what we're dealing with."

"Rich, coming from you," Del muttered, and Dinah bounced a pen cap off his forehead, "No one asked you."

"But this is an attack?" Jaime asked, all concern. "We're sure?"

"It's likely, but we're not sure of anything yet," Dinah said, pointing to Cain, "but you'd have to ask him. I'm just an extra set of eyes."

"It's snow," Cain snorted. "Can you tell me of another, current idiot with designs to take over the planet that can control ice beyond Wintressa? It's California. It does not snow. Is it a true attack, or a warning? I'm trying to figure that out, but I keep getting bothered."

Dinah rolled her eyes as Jaime blinked. Del shook his head, "Why warn us, though? We obviously know something's up, so she gave up the element of surprise."

"Arrogance, maybe," Dinah mused, "or for her own personal amusement. She's a crazy, non-human villain; I'm not sure our concept of logic is the same as hers."

Ana jogged down the stairs, Ellie, Spike, Logan, and Ian just behind her. When they reached the floor, Logan, Ian and Spike stayed well away from the computers, but Ellie and Ana came closer. A few seconds later, Cain growled triumphantly, "Yes."

"I take you found what you were looking for?" Ana said, amused, and Dinah grinned, "He found the power spike."

"Angel Grove park, eastern section," Cain rattled off, "and I've sent the precise coordinates to your communicators. I'll send anymore information I glean as I get it."

"Are we heading out?" Alex asked, looking around, and Ana nodded, "Better go. You can check out everything, make a plan."

"Be careful," Del added, "and if you need help, don't hesitate to call."

"Give 'em hell, kid," Dinah smirked. "Show them we don't back down."

The six teens nodded, and headed back up the stairs.

She hadn't noticed it before, but now, standing beneath it, Alex saw how truly dark the sky actually was. It wasn't the soft, plush gray that usually foretold snow, but something much darker, less benign.

The park here was empty, too far east to be of much interest to most people. There were no playgrounds or picnic shelters, and the lake didn't even reach this far inland. Small mercies.

She could see the surface of the far off lake moving with each gentle gust, the depths murky for lack of sunshine. Jaime stepped up beside her, staring out over the body of water, and echoed her thoughts, "We're lucky no one comes out this far."

Alex nodded, looking at her other comrades. Ellie had resumed her gymnastics, and, for once, Logan and Spike sat near one another without bickering. Alex snorted, jabbing a finger at them, "Forget snow in California. That's the strangest thing I've seen all day."

Jaime grinned, and Ian took up Logan's other side of the boulder, speaking quietly. Spike leaned his head back and closed his eyes, the snowflakes melting moments after touching his pale-skinned face.

All was quiet, until their communicators made their trademark sound, and then everyone jumped to attention.

"I narrowed down the energy signature," Cain said quickly, "and it's headed toward you. Fast."

"It's not Wintressa, though," Ana cut in, and Dinah spoke next, "It had a strange quality to it, so watch out."

"Be careful," Del demanded, once again, "if you need us, call us."

"Got it," Alex nodded, and Jaime inquired, "Can you see us?"

"Satellite feed is locked in," Cain replied. "I'll get everything I can, and see what we can learn from it."

"Okay," Jaime nodded, taking a deep breath, and their mysterious visitor touched down behind them in a cloud of snowflakes and ice crystals.

"I had to see for myself," Their masked intruder drawled, "who it was thwarting my mistress at every turn. I'm rather unimpressed."

Right off, they could tell it was a female. Her voice was clear and bell-like, unaffected by her blank-faced mask, and even her snow white cloak couldn't hide the curves beneath it. Beyond that, she was a mystery.

"Who the hell are you?" Alex demanded, taking a step forward. She couldn't see her face, but somehow knew she was smirking, "Aren't you spunky? It's of no importance who I am."

"You scared?" Ian jeered smirking toothily. Logan mimicked his friend, "Afraid we'll be able to track you?"

"Provided you could track me," The woman in white replied coolly, "you couldn't defeat me. I am beyond your comprehension of power. You're little more than toddlers in a playpen to me."

"I'll show you a toddler!" Ellie huffed, puffing out her cheeks and chest, but Spike reached out and yanked her back, struggling to restrain her. The boy in blue looked rather nervous. Jaime took up Alex's left side, "Then why do this? If you were going to kill us, you would have by now. What's the point?"

"How clever you are," She purred, tapping her toes against the ground. She waved her hand, and a staff appeared. The handle was unremarkable, glistening silver, but the top was unique; it was a thorny crescent of black iron, cradling a faceted, blood red gem. Spike squinted at it; for some reason, it seemed vaguely familiar.

"Perhaps there is no harm..." The woman in white mused, then leaned against her staff. "I will tell you my name, as it makes no difference. Perhaps our next encounter will be more interesting. My mistress calls me Kalina."

"Kalina..." Ian muttered, the strange name tumbling off his tongue.

"Though rest assured," Kalina spoke, "our next meeting will not be so benign, and it will also be our last. Until then."

And, just as she appeared, Kalina vanished in a shower of snow.

"The power signature is unusual," Cain mused, comparing the newest chart to those of the monsters that had come before, "but I can't figure out why. It appears...steadier, than the others, but I can't determine a reason."

Ana could see Cain's mounting frustration, and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Maybe you should take a break, come back to it tomorrow..."

Irritated, Cain shoved away from the desk, stalking up the stairs. Moments later, the rangers returned to the basement. Ana looked them over, running a hand over Ellie and Spike's heads, "Everyone okay?"

"She didn't touch us," Logan shrugged, confused, and Ian scowled, "But she said she'd get us next time."

"So she lured you out to talk?" Del asked incredulously. Alex nodded, face a scowl of concern and irritation, and Jaime sighed, "We didn't really find out anything, though."

"Nothing at all?" Ana questioned, and Spike nodded, "Well, uh, she did tell us her name."

"Yeah!" Ellie chirped, "She said her name was Kalina."

"Not that that does us any good," Alex growled, but Dinah disagreed, "Not necessarily. There's power in a name, after all. If it's true. I'll look into it, see what I can find."

"No one was hurt," Del smiled, "so I call it a win."

"Very true," Ana grinned, "let's go upstairs, take a breath. We won this one."

Leading the march, Ana started up the stairs, Spike and Ellie just behind, and Logan and Ian behind them. Jaime stalled halfway up the stairs, and Del hadn't left the landing. Dinah leaned back in her chair as Alex scowled.

"I don't want to celebrate," She grumbled resolutely, "something about this isn't right."

"We'll be up later," Dinah called to Jaime and Del.

"Suit yourselves," Del sighed, ushering his pupil up the stairs.

Dinah shoved a chair at Alex, "Have a seat. We'll see what we can find."