Passage 5 of a Prologue in 6 Parts

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Is og Ild
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One has to wonder how many times one automobile can get stolen in a single night. True, whether I had actually stolen the Ferrari had been up for debate earlier tonight. But for the purposes of our statistical analysis here, I think it counts. So in this case, that number was two. And while two is not some grand, impressive number, it is two more times than you would like your car to be stolen in one night - in the space of a couple of hours, no less.

"Damn it," Snow hissed.

"Yeah, getting your car swiped sucks."

"What?" She frowned at me, then shook her head. "Oh, no, that's not it. I'm annoyed because my MallowPuffs were still in the back seat."

Her MallowPuffs? Her sweet ride worth close to half a mill was missing, and she was worried about a few measly chocolate-coated marshm-

Oh crap. All of my snacks had been in there too. Now that was just uncool. The bond between a man and his Cheetos is sacred.

Snow turned and began to walk off in, as far as I could tell, a seemingly random direction. I arched an eyebrow at her. "Where are you going?"

She stopped, looking at me over her shoulder. "To get my car back." I quite distinctly heard a "duh" at the end of that sentence. She didn't say it, but she really didn't need to.

"Why? You didn't seem too attached to the thing."

"Because I'm even less attached to the idea of making the entire way back to the academy on foot."

I scratched a spot behind my ear. "Hmph. Fair enough. But how do you even plan on finding it? It's not like the thief left a note."

Now she fully turned back around to face me. There was a slight tilt to her head and a half-smirk on her lips. "I thought you were supposed to be observant."

She pointed to the spot where the Ferrari had once been. My brow furrowed as I looked at the empty space once more. What'd I look like, some kind of bloodhound that could track the damn thing by scent? Then I saw it. Tire tracks in the thin layer of snow covering the road. It seemed no other cars had driven by recently, for they were the only tracks to be found. They left the parking space and went towards the stoplight not a few yards away from us before turning off the main road and down a side street.

"Oh," was all I said at first. Then I looked up from the prints back at her. She looked a touch smug. "Shaddup. Let's go," I grumbled, hurrying to follow the trail.

She snorted as she fell in step beside me. "Whatever you say, Axe."

I didn't correct her. At least it was only one letter off this time. She was getting closer.

You probably think we were being a couple of idiots. Here we were, just a pair of punkass kids going after the big bad car thief. Hell, could be more than one thief. And we had no idea if or what kind of weapons they had on them. But I'm going to tell you right now, didn't really matter what they were packing. It wouldn't hold a candle to what we had up our sleeves, so they could bring it on. We could take it, whatever they had, be it knives, guns, or a grenade launcher.

...okay, maybe a grenade launcher would have been a bit tricky. But I'm sure we still could have handled it.

Anyway, we were lucky in that we didn't have far to go. Twenty minutes and several blocks later brought us into a rougher part of the town that was less frequented. The bandit had made no attempt whatsoever to conceal the car tracks, which turned onto a dimly lit driveway. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who failed to notice the impressions the tires had left in the snow.

The property we walked onto was majorly sketch. There was a large structure that looked like some sort of auto garage. Its walls were covered in chipped paint and graffiti. The tire tracks went right up to that building and under a huge rolling door that was currently shut tight and secured with a padlock. Off to the right was a smaller, rundown building that may have been an office. There were lights coming out of its windows and some sound - a radio or a TV, maybe. If anyone was home, that seemed to be where they were, as the garage was dark and silent.

Snow took a step forward, but I stopped her by holding up a hand. Glancing at her, I pressed a finger to my lips. She blinked at me, then released a sigh through her nose, crossed her arms and said nothing. I then crouched low to the ground.

Stealth mode activated.

There was a stack of crates a few yards into the lot, off to the right. My eyes swept the area for any sentries or snipers, then I dove towards the boxes, tucking myself into a roll and coming up in a squat behind them, using them for cover.

The Double-O-Seven theme may have been playing in my head.

Pressing my back against the crates, I scanned the area once more to make sure I hadn't been detected. Then I waved Snow over. She snorted, rolled her eyes, then just walked casually onto the lot and towards the garage.

And zero fucks were given.

Rolling around in the snow sucked anyways. I shook the bits of cold of out my hair and jogged over to join her at the massive door. She had taken hold of the padlock and was turning it over in her fingers as she quietly studied it.

Both our heads snapped up as a sudden laugh came from inside the office off to the right, shattering the silence. It was loud and braying. Something was apparently hilarious. Luckily, it didn't seem to have anything to do with us.

Snow returned her attention to the lock. She let go of it, but only long enough to to slip one of her gloves off before wrapping her now bare hand around it once more. Almost instantly, frost formed on the metal beneath her fingertips and started spreading. When she released the lock from her grasp a few seconds later, it was completely entombed in solid, crystallized ice.

I gripped the frozen padlock, giving it a twist and a hard yank. The thing crumbled like feta cheese.

Spiffy.

She covered her hand once more and we slid open the heavy door with as little sound as possible. There was no reaction from the office, so we must have been doing something right.

I'll give you one guess as to what we found when we stepped inside the garage. If that guess was your basic illegal chop shop... ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! The place was gigantic inside, with several cars in various stages of being disassembled, one of which was on a lift about six feet in the air. There was no one else in here besides us. Parts were everywhere, from hanging on the walls and in shelves, to being littered all over the floor. Apparently this wasn't a very organized operation. Maybe we had shown up during their ten minute break?

Another laugh could be heard, a little more distant now that we were inside. Same guy. Jesus, it was obnoxious. Sounded like a hyena.

Directly in front of us were the only two cars that seemed to be yet untouched. One of them was a gorgeous, hot red Porsche. The other was Snow's Ferrari.

The windows had been left rolled down on her car and I leaned in through the one on the driver's side. Reaching into the back seat, I retrieved my bag of snacks with a huge grin on my face. It was quickly replaced with a scowl however when I started sorting through it contents and realized something was missing. "Those assholes jacked my Cheetos!"

Sacrilege! Did the sanctity of somebody else's cheese-flavored, cornmeal puffs mean nothing to these heathens?

Ignoring me, Snow put her car in neutral then gestured for me to give her a hand. Grumbling under my breath, I put the bag back on the seat and helped her push the car out of the garage, making as little noise as possible so as not to draw attention to ourselves.

I'd like to take this moment to point out that this was now the third time this vehicle had been stolen tonight, even though it was its owner that was now doing the stealing.

We got several yards away from the building and stopped just short of the road. I straightened up and looked back over my shoulder, surveying the lot once again. There was an enormous, cylindrical tank hooked up with pipes next to the garage, right between it and the nearby office. I rubbed my chin as I eyed it.

Now, I know I said no more hints about my mutant ability. But I think we both know that that was a bold face lie. I already sneakily threw in another one not just a few minutes ago, did you catch it? Don't worry if you didn't, it was subtle. And I'm about to give you another one.

I whispered to Snow, "You might want to take those gloves off."

Here it comes.

She blinked at me, then looked down at her hands. "Why?"

Pay real close attention as it's also gonna be hella subtle.

"Reasons." I pointed, "Hey, does that tank look combustible to you?"

"What?"

I threw my hand up, aimed at the tank, and a gout of roaring flames burst forth from my fingertips. It lit up the night as it streaked through the air in a blazing blur before crashing into the tank. It instantly exploded with a loud boom that tore through the silence. The ground shuddered beneath our feet as a wave of heat hit us.

Snow yelped and ducked behind the car. Peeking over it with wide eyes, she asked, "You control fire?!"

I smirked. "Well, shucks, how'd you ever guess?"

Her eyes darted from the small inferno back to me. Her eyelids drooped as she straightened up. "Did you just set the whole place on fire because they took your bag of Cheetos?"

"Psh. Do you really believe I would be so petty?"

Yes. Hell yes. Mess with my Cheetos and that means war.

The impact of the explosion had torn a small hole in the wall of the garage and half the large building was merrily roasting away. The office seemed to be for the most part intact, though now looking a little worse for wear, windows shattered, covered in soot with burning rubble around it and on top of its roof.

There were shouts and colorful expletives coming from within the small structure. Its door banged open and three figures came stumbling out, coughing and choking on the billowing smoke. One was a tough looking chick with dreadlocks, the other two were a pair of bald dudes that weren't going to be winning beauty pageants anytime soon. They hadn't noticed us yet. Guess they were too busy freaking out over their lack of oxygen. Pfft, pansies.

Snow had moved to stand beside me. Glancing down at her hands out of the corner of my eyes, I asked, "Why are you still wearing those?"

Her eyes shifted from me to her gloves once more. Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, she slowly peeled off the first one. By this point, Baldie Numero Uno had recovered and spotted us. With a snarl, he charged in our direction. Snow hastily freed her other hand, then she looked uncertainly at me. I grinned and nodded towards our new and quickly approaching amigo. Hesitantly, she raised her bare hands before her, aiming at the guy. Her fingers trembled almost imperceptibly.

Come on, girl, you got this. I have faith.

Abruptly she grit her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut, and turned her head away. Her arms angled down and a blast of cool, blue haze shot out of her hands. In the blink of an eye, it struck the ground beneath Baldie's feet, turning the layer of snow there into a glossy smooth surface of ice. With a surprised grunt, Baldie slipped and fell flat on his face.

"Alright!" I punched a fist into the air, then held up my hand in her direction. "High-five." She clasped her hands to her chest and just blinked at me.

Oh, right. No touchie.

Back towards the office, Baldie Numero Dos was still having a hard time breathing, but it no longer had to do with a lungful of smoke. He was clutching his sides, cackling like a madman at the sight of his fellow car thief faceplanting into the ground. Ugh, that laugh again. Guess that'd make him the hyena.

Baldie the First had managed to raise himself up onto his hands and knees, shaking his head, probably trying to clear the stars that were spinning around it. If he thought it was weird that there was a big patch of ice on the ground where there hadn't been a second ago, he was too pissed to care. He sneered an ugly set of teeth at us as his hand shot down to his hip.

"Nu uh," I admonished, flicking my wrist. By the time his hand touched the gun he was reaching for, it was too hot to handle. A soft hiss could be heard as his skin made contact with the metal that was glowing a dull red now. He yelped and flung the weapon away and it skid several feet across the ice. I grinned, "Don't you know those things are dangerous?"

The hyena was still roaring with laughter. Hard to see, but pretty sure he had tears in his eyes. The Amazonian lady with dreads, who had finally managed to stop coughing, smacked his shiny head. "Can it, Ed! You think this is funny?!" she bellowed, gesturing at the burning garage. Ed shook his head rapidly, but his giggle fit continued. With an aggravated sigh, Dreads punched him hard in the shoulder before sprinting towards us as well, breaking to the left to avoid the frozen slip-n-slide that Baldie had fallen victim to.

Snow narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin a centimeter. Hands steadier now, she threw them forward. A frigid gust laced with snow and ice hit Dreads like a Mack truck, knocking her off her feet and onto her butt.

Grunting from the impact, Dreads' eyes flew open wide as she stared up at the two of us. You could practically see the gears begin to turn inside her head. She knew something wasn't right. Meanwhile, her business associates seemed to remain utterly clueless as Ed was now doubled over with his laughter while Baldie was still scrambling across the ice on all fours. Somehow, I got the feeling she was the brains of the operation. I almost felt sorry for her.

Almost.

She leapt to her feet and despite the glare she was shooting our way, it was pretty clear she was no longer all that eager to tangle with us. She took a couple steps back.

"Where do you think you're going?" I snorted, then snapped my fingers.

With a puff of smoke and small, resounding bang, a miniature explosion went off barely inches from Dreads' face. She flinched and spun on her heel to run, but then a second one popped directly in front of her again, bringing her to a screeching halt. Then a third and a fourth tiny explosion followed. Then dozens, hundreds of them, all going off around her head like an endless string of firecrackers on the Fourth of July.

Now I wasn't just doing it to fuck with her. Not saying that's something I wouldn't do. Just saying that wasn't what I was doing at that moment. And I wasn't simply trying to distract her and keep her in one spot, though that definitely was a plus.

Here's the thing about my pretty little light show: it wasn't just pretty. It was burning up oxygen.

Wonder which one would figure it out first. Dreads? Or her lungs?

My munny was on lungs.

A string of muffled obscenities from Baldie drew our attention back down to him. He had managed to wriggle and slip his way across the slick ice closer to his firearm and was now reaching for it. Snow gasped and reflexively sliced her hand up through the air. A small column of ice shot up from the frozen ground directly beneath Baldie's chin and slammed squarely into his jaw with an audible thunk! The dude was knocked out cold.

Pun intended. Heh.

From the sound of it, Dreads wasn't too far behind. She let out a heavy, startled wheeze as she finally realized how hard it was getting to breath. She kept trying to move, but my mini firework display blocked her path at every turn. She was clearly panicking, which was only making the situation worse for her. Her legs wobbling, she looked in our direction once more.

I smirked and gave her a two finger salute.

With that, her knees buckled beneath her and she hit the floor, passed out. I made a dismissive gesture and the rapid explosions came to an abrupt stop. Jogging over to Dreads, I kneeled down next to her and pressed my fingertips to her throat. There was a pulse and she was breathing now. She'd be fine.

Something was missing. A split second later I realized it was that annoying hyena laugh. I looked over at Ed to discover he was now white as a sheet and shaking like a leaf. I guess he didn't find the current predicament he was in so funny anymore. Strange, because I think spontaneously suckerpunching ice and bite-size explosions from nowhere are hilarious. Jeez, the guy looked just about ready to piss himself. I almost took pity on him.

Then I saw it. Crumpled in his left fist, an orange and red plastic bag with Chester Cheetah printed on the front of it, rocking his shades and punkass grin.

I was on my feet faster than you can say 'twisty cheesy obesity puffs' and bull rushing straight at the guy. He let out a squeak and tried to make a break for it.

Fun fact: all that hand waving and wrist flicking us superfreaks do to activate our powers? Totally unnecessary. Newbies commonly do it as a sort of focus to help them get used to wielding their newfound abilities. It's what TV and the movies teach us because those director-types in charge don't know any better. It was obvious with all the hand gestures Snow used that throwing her ice around was unfamiliar territory for her.

So you might be wondering why I had been doing it too. Well, sometimes it just feels badass to snap your fingers and have a nearby car explode. What can I say, I'm a sucker for theatrics. Other times, it goes a long way in just making sure a spectator of those theatrics doesn't realize that they're suddenly the leading lady in your encore performance.

So now you're probably thinking, gee, thanks for the crash course on Superfreaks 101, but what does that have to do with anything? Basically, that was my roundabout way of saying that I had melted the thick soles of Ed's boots to the ground. From the second he had ran outside, I'd been doing it without ever pointing in his direction, without ever looking at him, without him so much as even realizing it was happening.

Thus, when I said he tried to make a break for it, that's all he could do: try. But he quickly discovered it was kind of hard to get anywhere when your feet are practically superglued to the floor.

Confused, he looked down at his boots, then up at me. He gulped, then hastily kneeled down and began unzipping his shoes to free himself. He managed to loosen them both, but by the time he was standing up again, I'd closed the distance.

"You owe me a bag of Cheetos, motherfucker!" I roared, roundhouse kicking him to the face. He went flying out of his boots and kissed the asphalt with a whump! I stood over him, fists ignited with fire, silently daring him to get back up again.

Cheetos are serious business, yo.

Ed stayed down on the ground, limp and drooling. It was a good bet he'd joined his friends off in Dreamland. I watched his prone form for a few more seconds to be on the safe side, then relaxed and extinguished my fists. I crouched down next to him and began digging around in his pockets. I heard the tip-tap of Snow's feet approaching as she walked through the puddle of melted snow that remained around where Ed has previously stood.

"...are you stealing his wallet?"

I retrieved Ed's billfold and held it up. "I want a new bag of Cheetos. His treat." Opening it up, I took all the munny I found inside. "Besides, dude stole your car, so the morality of the situation isn't exactly weighing down my conscience."

She was silent for a moment as she stared down at me, expression blank. Then, "Take his watch too. It looks expensive."

"Ooo, good call."

Yoink.

Author's Note: Curious about this chapter's title? I wanted it to be something along the lines of "Fire and Ice", but if you'll notice the previous chapter titles, the words (excluding "and") are alliterative. I couldn't come up with anything that sounded quite right ("Fire and Freeze"? No. "Ice and Ignite?" Certainly not!), so I went with Is og Ild (alliterative! Excluding "og", which means "and") which is Norwegian for "Ice and Fire". It also happens to be my username!

Special thanks to SoraKairiRikuNamine and Amarxlen for being so generous as to take some time to leave their reviews! Thank you so so sooooo much for reading, I super duper appreciate it! If you have any comments or friendly feedback, please make my day and leave a review! Catch you at the next update, lovelies! Much love, peace out, word to your mothers, and other such phrases that shouldn't be coming out of the likes of lil ol' me!