Chapter 4:
Winter? What kind of place was this, that Winter was evidently enough explanation? Alexandria recognized the tone well, and that was part of the reason she refrained from pressing 'Jenny Greenteeth.' Jenny believed that Winter was sufficient guidance and that was in itself peculiar.
Winter was not a place, obviously, it was a season. Unless this very country in this alien world was called Winter. Or perhaps there was a town nearby called such?
Alexandria rocketed into the air, ascending. The air streaked around her from the force. Once she reached sufficient altitude she stared at the ground below. It had become shrouded in mist, the fog of war, Alexandria thought amusedly to herself.
She cast her gaze towards the sun, before stilling. The sun was not the sun.
Scion?
No, it was a chariot. A golden man drew it across the sky. A lyre and a bow were both strapped to his back. The horses that drew his chariot were gold, and glimmered as if a furnace were lit from within them. Or perhaps they shined with the radiance of stars. The important part was that the chariot was drawn by horses and it was at least a mile in the sky.
Alexandria paused. An explanation intruded upon her thoughts. Jenny Greenteeth was obviously from folklore. This 'man' in the chariot was the perfect image of Apollo Helios, ancient Greek god from myth.
"Am I hallucinating?" Alexandria muttered, taking a moment to rub her face in consternation even though it really did nothing to settle her nerves. She briefly considered the possibility before discarding it, master powers had almost never worked on her unless they were actual external illusions. Furthermore, since she had already discarded the idea that she was in a simulation of sorts there was no need to dwell longer on it.
The golden figure seemed to stare across the valley, one hand on the reins of the chariot, a light seemed to follow in his wake, not exactly part of the chariot but also not separate from it. The go
Alexandria watched for a moment as the chariot and its occupant sped across the sky. As the light of the sun, for what else was the chariot of Apollo if not the sun, receded into the distance Alexandria immediately became aware of the crack of thunder.
A stormfront. Dark clouds gathered, lightning flashing in their midst, snow swirling from them, hail the size of boulders. Nevermind the fact that lightning storms and snow didn't usually mix, it was happening before her eyes.
Crack-thoom!
For a moment, Alexandria could almost see a jagged line of lightning stretching itself across the sky. It brought to mind several parahumans she had fought in the past, such as Himiko in San Diego and Elon 'Tesla the Dynamo.'
Alexandria staggered, a flare of white light filling her eyes for a moment before fading in the next instant. She smelled something burning a moment later and glanced down. A little below her left breast was a starburst shaped burn that went right through her suit jacket and through the dress blouse beneath. She smothered the flames with her hands, letting the scent of burnt cloth subside. No reason to let all her clothes burn off. She idly remembered some of the more brazen costume mishaps from her youth, when she was both inexperienced and working with far less sturdy material than her usual super suit. As her lips began to quirk upwards, her mind flashed to a different moment of costume destruction and the smile faded. It seemed she had precious few fond memories, almost all were tinged with pain or regret.
She drifted back downwards slowly. Well, it was slow only by her standards, to others she probably looked like a blur. She thought about trying to outrun the encroaching storm but there really didn't seem to be a point. Where would she go? The possibility of rescue also still gnawed at her. If she wasn't able to call Cauldron would they instead check her last known location? If she left this area would she never get back?
However, more importantly, why would they look for her? She had served her purpose. She had died for humanity. Given her life, her whole life, so that others could live. It was a stark difference from the choice that she was prepared to make on the hospital bed so many years before. She would have given everything to live just a little longer. Anything.
A flicker of light, down below, for a moment she almost thought it was another will-o'-the-wisp, seeking to lead her astray. She almost snorted when she saw what it really was. Tinkerbell. It was a tiny little fairy, or pixie, to be exact. Alexandria remembered the proper name for the little flying people from a children's book her mother had read to her once.
She floated closer, keeping glacially still, like a statue. This was ironic in itself since she was quite close to a statue, probably as close as one could get without literally being made of statuesque material like marble or bronze. The little pixie didn't seem to notice her. It was a tiny little human with dragonfly wings. She had clothes made from pine needles, bound together with, sap?
She darted in and out of a little hollow in a tree with a little brush, painting the outside with white paint. It was almost absurd for Alexandria to observe this. It was a scene out of a little children's tale. A tiny little blue-haired woman with insect wings, living in a tree hollow, while wearing a dress made of pine needles.
The little thing said something to itself in a voice like ringing bells. Alexandria could almost make out words in its speech. It half-turned then and that's when it spotted Alexandria, its little eyes went huge and it darted for its hollow. However, Alexandria was even faster and to the little pixie's speed of a flying arrow, she was a bullet.
Her hands closed around the creature, grasping one wing mid-beat with a firm hand. Before raising it to her face.
Sparkly dust hit her right on the nose. Ice grew on her fingers, she flexed them just a little and the crystallized water shattered, falling to the gnarled roots below.
"Let go, you meany!" The little pixie said in a comical sounding voice while attempting to stab Alexandria's finger, between nail and flesh, with a tiny sliver of wood. It bent upon impact and the little creature tried to kick her then.
"You're a pixie?" Alexandria said flatly, looking straight at the irate miniature fairy.
"Yes! And you're a human. Now let me go, you meanie!"
Alexandria looked at her for a long moment, assessing something. The little creature was not nearly as threatening as Jenny Greenteeth and it wouldn't be any harm to seek verification…
"Where are we?"
The little pixie looked around, narrowing her eyes at the surrounding trees.
"I dunno."
Alexandria breathed out heavily, shaking her head in annoyance. She shook the little fairy lightly, "What is this place?"
"A grove of trees?" The little pixie responded when she recovered from the abuse.
"Be more specific!"
The fairy adopted a sly smirk, "You wanna make a deal?"
Alexandria pursed her lips, making sure the pixie saw just how unamused she was, "All right, I will let you go if you answer my questions. There, is that good?"
"No~" the pixie responded in a breathless little voice, "You gotta make a proper deal! With a reward!"
The pixie got a dreamy look on her face. What. That kind of deal worked fine with Jenny. Alexandria's hands dug through her pockets, looking for anything small to trade. Her fingers closed around a small butterscotch candy. She didn't even like butterscotch. That brought up another question, when did she last where the suit before visiting her mother? Her perfect memory supplied her with the parting hug she had shared with her mother.
Her mother knew she hated butterscotch. Must've slipped it into her pocket when they embraced. What a cliché. She pulled it out, the little pixie perked up from where it was hanging from her fingers.
"Candy!" it squealed. Alexandria just closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. Was this what her life was reduced too, bargaining with fairy tale creatures and getting smote by what was probably the literal act of a mythological god?
"I agree to give you this candy in exchange for your answers to my questions, which are to be answered immediately," she enunciated clearly.
"Okie!" The pixie grinned like a little shark, grabbing at the candy which was just out of reach of her little hands.
She gave the candy over to the pixie carefully, it pushed the whole into its cheeks, which bulged like a chipmunk for a brief instant before the pixie swallowed.
"Ask!" The pixie crowed, flitting its free wing.
"Where are we?"
"I dunno!"
Alexandria sighed, this was going to be a long day.