Disclaimer: I do not own the existing characters that we know and love from Young Justice, although I do take ownership over Carrie and the new characters

A/N: This story takes places after my other Young Justice Story, Heal a Broken Heart, of which followed Carrie Boxham on her journey that lead her to the Justice Hall. So if you have a spare moment, check that out first 😊

Chapter 02 – Brandon Coleman

Brandon Coleman, aged sixteen, ability to produce and manipulate ice, missing for six days

Brandon Coleman had an 'incident' at school a few years ago that resulted in the headmaster being encased in a solid block of ice. In Brandon's defence, he was provoked and tried to get them to stop, but they weren't listening. The metaphorical prodding had persisted until one day when Brandon had had enough and couldn't control himself.

Last week, a similar scenario occurred with a girl that Brandon had been crushing on for the best part of a year. She had interpreted a question in a bad light, aided by the harsh intonation that Brandon used. Embarrassed, he fled after accidentally freezing her hand.

Six days have passed since Brandon disappeared and no one has an inkling of where he might be. Not even the search parties could find anything.

-o-

Carrie glanced outside the chalet window, admiring the snowy conditions outside. With a thick fluffy jumper on, she was keen to stay indoors and enjoy the hot steamy drinks on offer in the café downstairs. The chalet was at the end of the single road in the town, facing the mountain in the distance. It was normally a hub for skiing holidays, only since Brandon went missing, it had been empty and businesses were suffering as a result.

"You're up early…" Garfield sat down beside her. "Did you sleep okay?"

Carrie angled her head towards him. "I couldn't sleep – just being here makes me want to find Brandon and make sure he's okay. He must be so scared and alone, wherever he is."

A warm hand brushed hers gently. "We will find him. We just have to wait for Rocky to wake up from his deep, deep slumber. There's more than one reason we call him Rock, he even sleeps like one."

Carrie laughed at the joke, stiffening when she saw Rocky storming down the stairs towards them. "Morning Rocky."

He glared at her, rubbing his tanned arm. Despite the cold temperatures, he insisted on not wearing a coat or jumpers. "Yes- mornin' Carrie. Garfield." Rocky dipped his head to Garfield with a snooty expression on his face.

The pair just couldn't seem to work together – they were at each other's throats throughout their mission training and Carrie found it immensely difficult to promote the peace between the pair. Rocky's flirtatious nature also did not help the situation as he was always making comments at Carrie and jokes at Garfield's expense.

"So what's the plan?" Carrie asked. "I can stay here and co-ordinate movements and places for you guys to check. Give me time to stay warm." A cheeky smiled pulled at her mouth.

Rocky folded his arms and shook his head. "No. We need you out there, Carrie. If Brandon is hurt, you're more useful than the ability to change into a budgie or a dog."

"Oh come on- you haven't seen puppy Beast Boy, Rocky. It is the cutest thing-" Carrie stopped when she noticed her boyfriend's eyes glaring at her, silencing her. "Then looks like it's me and you again, buddy."

"No, no. Nightwing wants me to report on this operation from the field. He's read my report on Mindy Mason whilst I was on support, but he wants to know my thoughts from the other perspective."

Then it was decided. Nightwing had spoken.

-o-

With Garfield cooped up in one of their rooms at the chalet, Rocky and Carrie left on the second day of investigating the Coleman boy's disappearance. The first day was used to talk to residents and friends that were willing to discuss Brandon. With the background information that Brandon was an ice manipulator, Carrie felt like the ski town was the perfect home for him. Only if people accepted supers.

Clothed in a thick puffy jacket and ski boots, Carrie trudged up the road, putting an ear piece in so that she could converse with Garfield properly. The cold was already nipping at her toes and fingers. Just walking alongside Rocky was enough to make her shiver. He had barely covered up and she could see the fine hairs on his arm standing up on ends already.

"Where to Gar?" Carrie asked quietly, dropping her head to look at her boots crushing the fresh snow that had fallen overnight.

"Head up the forest trail – there's a lot of hubbub online about the last sighting of Brandon being there. Some girl…. Called Sadie said they were chatting and then he ran off up the trail."

"Good work – great place to start."

Carrie and Rocky followed the signs to the forest trail, noting the grey skies overhead that made them feel that more snow or perhaps even a storm was due. The pine trees that lined the path emitting a fresh smell of Christmas that sent their minds into a spiral of memories. A bitter wind blew through the trees, ruffling the furred hood of Carrie's coat. The fibres tickled at her neck and cheeks.

Rocky's pace was slow, much slower than when they left. When Carrie questioned it, he shrugged and glanced away mumbling inaudibly. The older boy's shoulders were hunched in an effort to preserve the heat as he powered past Carrie.

Rolling her eyes at her companion's stubbornness, she called out to him, "Don't you think we should go back for a coat? The temperature is dropping and we are about to go off the beaten track now – we should be really careful."

"It's fine Carrie," Rocky snapped angrily. "Just knock it off, okay? I don't need a babysitter."

"Well I wouldn't be having the same argument with Garfield because he could just transformed into a furry polar bear or a penguin." Carrie hopped over the thick snow, surprised at how thick it had gotten along the trail. "Trouble up ahead."

Further along the trail was a police blockade. There were two officers wearing thick coats with 'Police' printed bands on their right arms. As the pair approached, the older officer stretched out his hand.

"Sorry ma'am…"

Ma'am? Carrie thought as she listened to the pitiful reasoning behind the blocked path. She pulled on Rocky's arm, expecting to go around the barriers by travelling up the hillside. Even as she turned away, she could feel his skin hardening into the texture of a rock.

"No Rocky," Carried squeaked too late, turning to see him knock the officers off their feet.

"Well? Are you coming or what?" Rocky asked begrudgingly, vaulting over the barrier. "Rock's still got it." He bounced about energetically, struggling to move quickly in the snow.

The girl's earpiece crackled. "Carrie- can you- can you hear me? What's - on?"

"Rocky just took out two patrol officers before I could do anything to stop him." Carrie struggled to keep up, listening to the weak signal that transmitted Garfield's response. "We could really do with the bioship to scan the area…" she muttered to herself as she sank lower into the snow.

Tiny flakes of snow started to fall, layering on top of the existing blankets. The grey sky was muting itself into an off white as it dropped snow like a litterbug. Carrie had now chosen to walk completely inside of Rocky's tread to conserve her energy, but the signal on her ear piece was diminishing to almost a non-existent level. Garfield's once calm and clear voice was anything but. The snow was falling heavily and the winds were picking up as the pair lost the trail and were now aimlessly walking along the valley at the base of the mountains.

"Rocky!" Carrie called back, feeling the cold on her cheeks. "We should turn back." She bumped into him, his skin rock hard. "That hurt, Rock…"

"Brandon's counting on us to find him. We have to find him." Rocky quickened his pace, ignoring Carrie entirely. "He clearly wandered too far and this constant snow has covered his tracks and possibly his hiding spot."

"But you're going to freeze Rocky. You can take my jacket, I can't watch you freeze," Carrie whimpered, trying to unzip her coat and fumbling with the zip.

Rocky plastered his hands over her ice cold fingers, squeezing hard. "I don't need your coat. Don't want it either. So stop mothering me."

Carrie looked up at the mountain peak, noticing the impossibility of climbing it. "Wait – when you are scared and you don't want to be found, where is the obvious place to go?"

"Oh I don't know – the island of Al-Resha or somewhere obscure?" Rocky mumbled coldly, trying to hide his shivering and chattering teeth.

"Not quite the thought I was going for…"

"Okay smarty-pants, what idea were you going for?"

"I was going down more of a generic route by saying somewhere people can't get too easily." Carrie indicated the mountain. "The people yesterday said that no one has been able to go up the mountain for ten days. Since the heavy snow and slippery ice."

"Of course! Brandon can manipulate ice!" Rocky picked up Carrie and squeezed her stiff body hard. "I knew you would work it out."

-o-

Rocky and Carrie had been gone for hours, making Garfield incredibly restless and concerned for their wellbeing. Looking around the room, his eyes focused on the suitcase containing their hero suits. Carrie's green and white Stem Cell suit was neatly folded at one side, with Beast Boy's rolled up tightly beside it and Rocky's crumpled in the corner of the case.

"Could I?" Garfield whispered, sliding over to the computer screen and rattling his fingers over the keys as he shifted between systems. "I'm sorry Carrie, but I didn't quite get rid of all the trackers…" He switched on the tracker that he had asked Zatanna to stitch the tracker into the lining of the coat.

By any means necessary which roughly translated to, 'could you quickly use a spell to sew the tracker inside the coat?'

He watched the red dot blinking miles from the town and at a high altitude. The temperatures gave an incredibly weak signal. It was barely moving. Garfield watched it for a solid two minutes to make sure.

"They aren't moving. They aren't moving…" Garfield whispered. "I can't take this."

He stripped off quickly and grabbed his red and white coloured supersuit, ignoring the fact that the curtains weren't pulled across for privacy. Though there was only one young lady in the building directly opposite, she appeared too engrossed in the book she was flicking through. He grabbed a utility belt, tightening it around his hips.

Beast Boy stretched in his suit, wondering what creature to transform into. "Winter hare it is," he whispered when he saw a sketch on the wall.

The green coloured hare bounded up the side of the building, dodging a snow truck and chasing it up towards the forest trail that Carrie and Rocky had gone up. The hare's haunches buckled and kicked over the snow making exhaustion kick in almost immediately.

Time for something faster.

The hare transformed into a wolf, shaking off the snowy crust from its body. It sprinted over the snow, almost cantering like a horse. The thought of Carrie cold and hurt was enough to spur Beast Boy to keep running through the pain. To ignore the taste of blood lingering in its maw.

And Carrie has absolutely no idea where you are… Nice one BB…

-o-

Beast Boy was partly right – Carrie had no idea where he was, but she was in a much trickier situation that forced her to focus on other things. She was now standing on a tiny platform of snow up the mountain path – Rocky was no more than eight feet away from her on the other half of the path.

"Just jump Carrie, I'll catch you!" Rocky shouted over the whistling wind of the brewing blizzard. "There's not far to the summit."

The girl's gaze dropped, which is when she saw a dark circle in the wall of the mountain. "I can't."

"Do it!" Rocky screeched angrily. "Or I'll just jump back and drag you over!"

"Shut up!" Carrie screamed, hearing the echo of her voice in the distance. She froze, barely moving for fear of setting of an avalanche. Her eyes widened as she saw Rocky jump through the air towards her.

His feet missed the ledge and Carrie slammed into the ground, clawing for his arms. "Nice… catch," Rocky grunted, feeling her grip slipping already. "You aren't strong enough to pull me up, Carrie. Let me try and rock climb."

"You can't," Carrie snapped, straining as she felt her arms being pulled down. "I can pull you up."

"Don't be stupid, you'll rip your arms out their sockets."

Carrie's grip slipped and she screamed as Rocky dropped for a moment. Someone was lying beside her, having caught the falling boy.

"Did someone order a pick up line?" Beast Boy grinned.

"You can actually let go of me now…" Rocky mumbled grumpily, looking down to see a staircase of ice slabs protruding out from the wall. "I don't think you're going to believe this, but-"

"Yeah. I found Brandon. What are the chances of that?" Beast Boy laughed, leaning over the edge to call down to Brandon. "Nice one Brandon!"

Carrie knew he was bluffing. "You liar!" she exclaimed, thumping his shoulder playfully. "Follow it quickly Rocky. Brandon might be hurt, and if you could become a massive flying bird that would be great BB."

"What's it worth?" Beast Boy winked.

Carrie quickly pecked his cheek. "I'll live by climbing down the icy steps then,"she replied smugly, only for him to shift into an eagle and hoist her off her feet. "Be careful of the coat, you'll rip it!"

They reached the bottom of the ice slabs with Rocky peering into a dark cave. He put a hand out protectively to stop Carrie from going in, but she swerved the limb agilely.

"Brandon?" Carrie called out into the darkness with a calm and reassuring voice. "Are you in here?"

"Stay away!" a young boy shouted.

Sensing an imminent danger, Rocky slammed Carrie aside and solidified his body into a rock. An ice spike shattered on impact of his hardened skin.

Beast Boy scooped Carrie up and put an arm around her. "We're friends Brandon. We are here to help you. Me and these two are like you. It's going to be okay, you don't have to be afraid and-"

He fell silent, sharply sniffing the air. "You've been bleeding Brandon, and that means we need to get you to a hospital fast."

Rocky lowered his arms. "Or we can use Animal Hospital to sort him out."

Carrie separated herself from the others. "I can honestly help you. But only if you let me."

"You, you can't save me..." the trembling voice called out.

"You have to let me try. There's no way we're leaving you after you saved my friend. I owe you my help."

"I'm not coming back!"

Carrie sense Beast Boy and Rocky were seconds from intervening. "We really are like you. My friends have the ability to take on the form of any animal or turn into a rock..."

Rocky stifled a comment about his ability being more than the way it was described.

Carrie sidled along the wall, using a hand on the cold surface to guide her. "Brandon, I'm coming closer now. Is that okay?"

"I said go away!" Brandon screamed shakily.

Beast Boy jumped when he heard a squelch followed by Carrie gasping. "Carrie? Rocky, let's move in." Without a response, he stormed into the cave, shifting between a multitude of animals, avoiding the javelins of ice that were heading his way.

A shadow in the corner of the cave stirred and a green penguin slid on its belly towards it, spinning agilely as it reverted to Beast Boy's true form.

"That's enough!"

Brandon grunted as he was restrained by Beast Boy. The youngster's arms writhed and circled about, trying to claw at his captor.

Rocky found Carrie with an thin ice shard impaling her shoulder. "What shall I do? Do I take it out? Break it off?" he asked frantically, throwing question after question at Carrie.

Carrie squealed as she pulled the bloodied ice shard from her shoulder, screaming in agony as a dribble of blood left her shoulder, staining the coat. "Is- is... is Brandon okay?" she panted, holding a hand over her shoulder.

Beast Boy dragged a limping Brandon towards them. "He's fine but what about you?"

"I'll be good as new in a minute or two, then I can work on him." Carrie writhed, using the wall to pull herself up. "Brandon. We honestly aren't here to hurt you or take you home if you don't want. All we want to do is offer you a place somewhere safe. Somewhere you can learn to control your ice." If it weren't for her blood on her hands, she'd have offered it to Brandon. "My name is Carrie, Brandon and we've been looking for you."

"You can really get rid of this thing I can do?"

The way Brandon spat out the word 'thing' hurt Carrie to the core. She shook her head, saying, "Your gift makes you who you are." Memories swirled about in Carrie's mind. "I used to think like you, but my new friends taught me that what we have the ability to do is a part of us and not something we can just get rid of. I know it's hard to accept, but there is a place of safety for you. If you want it."

"But what can you do?" Brandon snarled.

Beast Boy dropped him like a hot potato, uttering a pitiful apology. Has he not been watching? He thought to himself as he watched Carrie crouch down beside Brandon.

"Shhh…" Carrie whispered, pressing her hands over Brandon's shin.

The trousers had been shredded – most likely in a fall – and a blood stained wound was beginning to weep as the new cells began to form and regenerate, healing the damaged skin.

"You… You healed me with your hands?" Brandon whispered.

"Try explaining that to the girl who watched me fall out a tree and then re-attached a dislocated shoulder. There wasn't a scratch left on me in the time it took her to find help." Carrie laughed, leaning into the wall in exhaustion. "The choice is yours, but I think you really should come with us. There's a little girl at this safe house who is all alone because we've been trying to find you. Her name is Mindy Mason and she can possessed things. That girl is ten years old and we helped her get out of the crime gang she was trapped in. Brandon, I know you're scared and it's okay to be too. Just come with us and see what we are all about."

-o-

On a commercial plane ride stuck in economy, Carrie slotted the second polaroid shot into a folder that showed herself, Rocky, Garfield and Brandon atop the mountain. She smiled, closing the book and staring out the window at the sea flying past below them.

"Ready for the next one?" Garfield asked, holding out the tablet in one hand.

Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = I do love playing with the dynamics of this little group – what do you think the next kid's ability will be? I'll take suggestions