Chapter Four: Frozone

Lucius wandered through the streets of Philadelphia, not entirely sure what he should to next. Ever since he left home, it seemed like something had been pulling him north. But now there was nothing guiding him, so he stayed put. He was just starting to get hungry when the strangest thing he and ever seen happened.

As a superhero, Frozone had seen a lot of strange things. The past few days had been even stranger. But nothing was more surprising than seeing two girls appear with no warning in the middle of a busy Philadelphia road.

The girls looked around and screamed in fright as a car came barreling toward them. Instantly, Frozone stuck his hand out, and an ice bridge, covered with snow for traction, appeared over them. The SUV rumbled over it shakily, but otherwise there was no harm done.

"Stay there!" Frozone yelled. "Don't move!"

"Ok!" the younger girl said.

Carefully, he made his way over to them. The older girl, who looked like she was in her late teens, was still panicking. She turned to the other one.

"You're the expert on magic, Peri! What happened?"

"I don't know, this is new." Peri looked around curiously.

"Just stay calm," Frozone said, reaching them. "We're going to that sidewalk over there."

"A what?" the older one asked.

"Follow me."

He created an ice staircase over to the sidewalk on the other side of the street. Shocked, both girls stared at him for a second. Then another vehicle raced over the bridge and they ran up. Frozone followed, melting the car bridge when he was safely up the stairs. He joined the girls where they had collapsed panting on the sidewalk.

"Is it safe here?" the older one asked, wincing every time a car sped by.

"Yes…" Frozone was very confused. It seemed like they had never been in a city or even seen a car before. "I'm Frozone, by the way. I'm a superhero."

"I'm Peri, and this is Elsa," the younger girl said, getting to her feet and pressing her back up against the wall. "What's a superhero?"

"Someone who has special powers, like you."

"Um…"

"You have wings."

Peri winced. "I was trying to hide them."

"Don't worry, I'll help you with that."

"You can control ice?" Elsa asked shakily.

"Yeah. Who do you think protected you with that bridge?" The girls pointed at each other.

"So you both can create ice? Ok, that's new. I've never met anyone else with the same powers as me."

"Neither have we," Peri said. "We just met each other today…wait a minute. It's daylight! It was night awhile ago."

Frozone bit his lip, wondering if she was suffering some sort of amnesia. "Come on, let's get something to eat. That should calm your nerves."

"Is there some place we can go where there aren't any people?" Elsa asked nervously.

"Not in a city," Frozone said with a laugh. "There's a McDonald's a few blocks away. It's crappy food, I know. But I'm a little short on cash and I've still got a long way to go." The feeling he should head north was back.

"What is this place?" Elsa asked.

"You don't know where you are?"

"No," Peri said. "Look, we were just magically pulled from one place to the other. Ice flew out of our hands, then suddenly we were here."

"Wait, ice came out of your hands but you weren't controlling it?"

"Yes, and then we were here, where it's broad daylight and there's so much noise and fast moving…things."

"Let me ask you a question. If you don't have cars where you're from, then how do you get around?"

"I'm a fairy. We fly."

"We walk, or ride horses," Elsa said. "There are these new things called carriages, but I've never seen one before."

"You're telling me you've just been pulled to the future."

"We don't know!" Elsa cried, hugging herself. Despite the cold, windy air, beads of sweat started to form on her brow.

"Elsa, calm down," Peri said softly.

"One last question, are you guys having this strange desire to go north? Like that's where all the answers will be?"

Peri's eyes widened. "Ever since I got here. How did you know? Elsa, are you getting this, too?"

Elsa nodded and Frozone sighed. "Ok then. Let's eat and then get moving. But first, your wings. Can they handle the cold?"

"I'm a Winter Fairy," Peri explained. "I need the cold to survive."

"Then ice them over with a thin layer of ice. Should be enough to disguise them, and to the untrained eye, maybe it'll look like one piece of ice on your back."

"That's still suspicious," Elsa said. "And so am I. I'm in an ice dress."

"Nobody's going to notice a thing. Hopefully." He paused for a minute, spotting a Walmart store nearby. "But maybe we'll get you a cape or something, just in case. How old are you?"

"Three." Elsa and Frozone looked at her in shock. "In human years at least. I'm twelve seasons old."

"Ok…" Frozone shook his head, trying to clear it. "But you like like you're about nine or ten. A very small one, so say whatever size eight year old kids wear. I'll go get you something to wear while you wait here in this alley. I take it you can defend yourselves?"

"Elsa can," Peri said.

"Well, I don't think…" Elsa began.

"Perfect. Stay here." Frozone jogged down the street.

Half an hour later, both Peri and Elsa, dressed in modern clothes, had their very first cheeseburger. The clothes didn't really fit them that well, but Frozone said it was enough to pass them by as normal. Peri wore some baggy grey sweat pants and a thin blue sweater over her frosted leaf dress that perfectly hid her wings. Elsa now had a heavy black coat from Target and some normal looking shoes that still somewhat went with her dress. It was all Frozone could afford.

"I have a feeling we'll need to buy some plane tickets," he said as he brought the food to their table. "We're not nearly as far north as we need to be."

"What's a plane?" Peri asked eagerly.

Just then a passenger plane flew by, evidently landing at the nearby airport, and from their window seat they could see it perfectly. Frozone pointed at it, his mouth full of burger.

"No," Elsa said firmly. "I can't get on one of those."

"You'll be fine," Frozone said. "It's perfectly safe." Elsa tentatively picked up her cheeseburger and bit into it. "Well, what do you think about it?"

"It's very…interesting. I don't love it, but I'll eat it."

"I like these the best," Peri said, holding up a fry. "I want the recipe so I can make them for the other fairies when I get home!"

"Keep your voice down," Frozone warned. "People are going to think we're crazy."

Peri giggled. "We are crazy."

"Well, crazier than we already are," he amended.

"So, what's the plan from here?" Elsa asked, changing the subject.

"Catch a plane and head as far north as possible. So far north it seems insane and without reason."

Incredulous, Elsa raised an eyebrow. "We're going to go to an insane, unknown to us, north location because we feel like it?"

Frozone shrugged. "What else are we supposed to do?"

She pursed her lips. "It could be a trap."

"Quite possibly. But we can take care of ourselves. Don't you think, Peri?"

Peri was staring out the window, deep in thought. "How are we going to catch a plane?" she asked, dead serious.

"It's just an expression," Frozone explained, laughing. "We'll go to an airport, that's a place where a lot of people go to get on a lot of different planes going to a lot of different places."

"I can't do that," Elsa said shortly. "Too many people. It's unsafe."

"Walking or driving isn't going to be fast enough," Frozone insisted.

But Elsa shook her head frantically. "Elsa's still learning to control her powers," Peri explained softly. "I think…maybe she's right. A plane might be too dangerous for everyone."

Anxiously, Frozone bit his lip. "In that case, we need to get a rental car. We can't go on foot."

"Right, then," Elsa said suddenly, getting to her feet. "Let's move. I've been in one place for too long."