Elsa sits on the edge of a rooftop, watching the sun set, thinking about dinner the night before. Her mind races through it, over and over.
From the shower to the mirror...
From her terror to her sorrow...
From her sister's serenade to her phone call with blue...
From Anna's compassion to her tears...
Why can't I stop feeling like I'm disappointing her... Why was I born with this curse...
A cop car whizzes by, sirens blaring.
The third one in ten minutes. The hell is going on?
The streets are crawling with cop cars. Everywhere Elsa turns there is another patrol, keeping the peace. She smiles and laughs at her own joke. She's only a small girl, she's not a threat. She steered clear of them so far, but the cops that did notice her left her alone. As another cop car flies by, she starts to wonder if maybe this has to do with everything that's been going on. She shudders, thinking about talking to anyone else involved in all this. The few she met so far were powerful and, outside of Kristoff, terrifying people. What Blue said the night before still bothers her.
The new Black... Maybe that person is just as lost as I am with this...
Shaking her thoughts away, she stands up and starts towards the fire escape. Her head still stuck on the warning he gave.
Keep in touch with your friends... He's got to be talking about Kristoff. They can't know about Anna if he didn't even know my name when we started.
Grabbing the bandaged wound on her wrist, she starts to freak out.
Why did I tell him my name? Why did I tell him anything? I wasn't listening to myself. Everything he told me to do I just did it... Could that be part of his powers? Does he know who I am now?
She descends the fire escape, her mind still marathoning through all her jumbled thoughts. Walking along, every street she turns down is almost vacant, spare some people rushing to get home before night fully engulfs the town. Her "hide-in-plain-sight" tactic works well as all the cop cars speed right by, not even giving her a second glance. All she needs to do for them to leave her alone is walk at an accelerated pace.
Seriously, why are there so many friggin cops around. This is the shitty part of town, but they are never swarming like this.
She fishes her phone from her pocket and taps in Kristoff's number. Hitting send, she keeps a finger hovering over the 'end call' button, just in case anyone besides him answers.
"Hello?", Kristoff's voice rings through the phone clearly.
Elsa lets out her breath, she sounds noticeably apprehensive, "Hey, Kris".
There is a silence. It's uncomfortable for them both, but it said more than any words could. "They contacted you... didn't they?", Kristoff asks, knowing full well the answer.
"Yeah", Elsa replies dryly. "They called me last night. On my cell. Using your number."
More silence. She hates every second of it. Kristoff breaks through again, "she is using me to get to you".
"It was blue...", Elsa confesses.
"What?", Kristoff voice booms through the phone so loud Elsa holds it away from her ear. "You talked to the Blue Adder? What did he sound like? Who was he? Wha-".
"I don't know", Elsa's answer stops his barrage of questions. "He called me from your phone number, and everything he said was so refined and sophisticated. Something about him though... He asked me questions and even though I didn't want to answer them, I did."
Kristoff didn't allow the quiet to take hold again, "what did you tell him?"
"Anything he asked...", Elsa generalizes, chastising herself. "He kept talking and I just kept listening. I was screaming in my head to hang up, but my body wouldn't listen. He asked me to join them, and I almost said yes."
"Almost?", Kristoff echoes her.
"Yeah... Almost", she looks down at her wrist, "something snapped me out of it. I told them no. That's when he told me... another color just showed up. Black is active again."
Soft humming noises come through the phone as he thinks. "If they are already trying to get black to side with them, then he will become part of this problem. We should...", he hesitates. His voice is full of worry, "Elsa, I need to know... are you in this with me?"
She remains quiet.
"Elsa?", his voice is expectant. He clearly wants someone in his corner. Someone he can trust, can strategize with.
How can I say anything. I don't want to put Anna in danger... Maybe we can just r-
"I already told you, there is no running from this Elsa", Kristoff sighs calmly through the phone.
She shouts back, "why not? Why can't someone else deal with this 'problem'? Why can't I just take Anna and run away? You can run, too! We can let them have this terrible city and all the lowlifes in it."
"We will live the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders", he sounds sure, like this idea is something he's run through his head before. "We would be hunted and no matter where we go, it will only be a matter of time before they find us." She feels the intensity in his voice, "is that the way you want to live? Is that the way you want Anna to live? I know you want to be there for her, but running will only put her in danger."
"She's already in danger", Elsa blurts out. "Blue told me my friends are in danger, that I should keep in better touch with them", her voice rings out. She questions herself, "I can barely protect myself, how can I protect her!"
"By winning this war", Kristoff sounds adamant, "I will give you a show of good faith to prove I'm telling the truth. I have a lead on the next potential color starting to show up."
Elsa gasps, "how?"
Kristoff snickers confidently, "Mal is not the only one with tricks up her sleeve. I'm going to see if I can't get them working to save this city."
"What if it's not enough?", Elsa worries, "they already have four people if black joins them."
Kristoff stops her, "I am going to fight until I physically can't anymore. I don't plan on giving up." His determination overwhelms Elsa, "and I don't think you do either." Before she can speak, Kristoff continues, "I've got to get going on the new orange before they get away."
Elsa lets out a half-smile, "you stay safe out there, okay?"
"You too.", Kristoff replies, "oh, and Elsa?"
"Yeah?"
"You are stronger than you realize Elsa, and one day you will realize that."
The phone disconnects right after, leaving Elsa to her thoughts. She starts walking again and wishes she could have Kristoff's state of mind and resolve in these situations.
Walking passed an alley, she hears hushed talking. After a glance up and down the street, she dons her hood and mask and walks down the narrow path. As she gets closer, the voices stop all at once. There is a small indent into the building next to her. She creeps closer and pulls her hands back ready to attack. A second of steadying her breath later, she jumps out and hears a screaming wail.
"Nooooo, please don't hurt us! We didn't have anything to do with it! We swear!", the voice is familiar.
Another cries out, "We're innocent! We just found him like that. Please just let us go!", the voices are too familiar.
Finally, one last voice just makes sounds. Elsa struggles to figure out if they were laughs or sobs.
The three people drop to the floor in front of her. "What the hell?", Elsa mutters, perplexed.
One of the heads tilts up at Elsa. "Oh, god damn it...", Shenzi hisses in disbelief. The same three people Elsa took on the night before, now lay at her feet, again. Letting her head drop back down, she sighs, "just take our money. Can you at least leave us some to eat tonight?"
The pure desperation in her voice turns Elsa's stomach. She stops moving, contemplating what she did the night before. She didn't attack some rich boy, living off mommy's and daddy's money. She beat up a few criminals, stealing just to survive. "What happened to you three?", Elsa asks, still shocked at how much more broken they look compared to last night.
Banzai looks up now, panic in his eyes before even looking at her. He falls back, "no, no, no. Please just go away. I'd rather the fucking cops find us than you. We don't need anymore problems tonight." He crawls backward till he hits the wall.
The horror in his gaze makes Elsa sick. Her thoughts betray her again.
These three are no different from me. They don't want to live in this hell hole of a city. They are just playing the crappy hand they were dealt.
The last man continues to make his random sounds. He covers his head with his arms trying to protect himself. Through the muffled noise, he clearly sniffles.
He is crying. He is so terrified, he is crying.
None of them have their masks on Elsa notices. They all look petrified. She feels like a bullet hit her in the chest. "It's okay... I'm not going to hurt you", Elsa squeaks out. She is on the verge of throwing up, she's so disgusted with herself.
Shenzi throws herself over Ed to protect him further, "please just take our money and go."
Elsa staggers backward. "But I...", she stammers across her words, her eyes as wide as saucers.
"It's not fair", Banzai spits out, "We have to deal with you after finding..." His hands start to shake and he palms his eyes, as if trying to erase something he saw.
"Get the fuck out of here... please", Shenzi begs.
Elsa looks down at the three of them. Their faces are the same as her's when she was looking at herself in the mirror.
They aren't staring at you... They are staring at the monster you became. The same twisted being that laughed at your fear. Your pain. You.
Elsa looks Shenzi in the eyes, a protective maternal instinct emanates from them. Elsa reaches up, grabs her clothes, and in one swift motion pulls both her hood and mask away. Shenzi narrows her eyes and Elsa reaches into her pockets. She pulls out any money still in her hoodie from the night before. With shame on her face, she tries her best at words. "I...", she chokes, "I don't have any more. I'm sorry." She drops the money, grabs her wrist, and squeezes it tight.
The pain gives her some relief.
She wants to hurt.
She wants to hurt, like she hurt them.
Completely flustered, Shenzi studies her warily. The girl on the floor watches Elsa like an abused animal, too afraid to even move. With a low hanging head, Elsa pivots on her heel and starts to walk away.
She reaches the street and wants to look back.
She wants to know they are okay.
She wants to, but knows she doesn't have the right to.
Repulsed to the core, she starts to run. She runs as fast and as far as she can. Her lungs burn, her legs ache, her wrist seethes.
You did this to them.
She gasps for air.
They were just trying to survive and you preyed on them.
She seeps with frigid remorse.
How many other people have just been trying to live, and you left them beaten and broken?
Her bandage is coming undone, due to her constant grinding.
You belong with Mal. Kristoff should hunt you down like the trash you are.
She slips and slams into the concrete. The sound of ripping fabric almost drowns out the sharp, searing pain on the inside of her forearm.
She welcomes it.
She drinks in the agony.
She repents in the anguish.
Anything to calm the torment in her head. She tries to get up but can't find the strength. She curls into a ball and starts hyperventilating. A blinding light shines on Elsa, closely followed by the unmistakable sound of police sirens. "Miss? Miss, are you okay?"
She wants to scream, "NO! No, I am not okay!", but her voice is lost.
She is bleeding.
She is bruised.
She is the problem...