A/N: Alright, so I've noticed that some of you are a little confused by my story, so let me clarify something. This fanfic is a retelling of Frozen, but not an exact one. My story is based off of that movie. There are obviously some differences, some very big differences, and if that confuses you, well, stop looking at this as just telling the story of Frozen with Young Justice characters. Look at it for what it is, an AU where the villains are ruling the world.
Oliver stared in shock. His penthouse looked like a very violent blizzard had blown in and frozen everything over. Ice and frost covered nearly every surface. On top of all that, many of his more expensive and priceless belongings were thrown across the floor, broken, which told Oliver that it hadn't been a burglar that had broken into his home. If it had been, they would have stolen the goods and then left before they could get caught.
His breath caught in his throat, Oliver cautiously advanced further into the penthouse to get a better idea of what the damage was, and possibly find a clue as to who had done it.
Oliver liked to think that he was light on his feet, but every step he took was accompanied by the crunching of glass and ice. The floor was covered almost completely in the fragile materials, and it was nearly impossible to take a step without stepping on something. When Oliver reached the middle of the room he stopped, his senses on high alert.
Somebody else was here. Olver wasn't sure how he knew, he just did. It wasn't that he heard something, because the room, the whole penthouse, was silent. It was more like he had a gut feeling, or he felt it in the chill in the air. He wasn't alone.
That knowledge caused Oliver to be even more cautious and aware of his surroundings, which is why he noticed when the cold chill of the room dropped to an even cooler temperature. In an instant, Oliver had his bow raised once again. Oliver snapped around and aimed his weapon, only to find himself face to face with the intrude.
Oliver furrowed his brow in confusion. He had been expecting the intruder to be just some regular punk kid. And sure, this guy was a kid, probably no older than eighteen, but he was far from regular. After all, Oliver was pretty sure that most kids weren't covered head to toe in ice.
It took a moment for Oliver Queen to realize that he knew who this kid was. Batman had made a point of making sure that everybody in The Justice League was familiar with all villains and threats, as well as potential ones. Cameron Mahkent was on the list of potential threats, because he had the power to cause some real damage, but so far hadn't shown many signs of wanting to do so.
Some of the league was cautious about Cameron, they felt that, when they least expected it, the boy would show his sadistic side. Other members of the league, such as Oliver, Flash, and even Batman, saw potential goodness in Cameron. They believed that Cameron was only on the side of evil because that was all he had ever known, not because it was what he had chosen.
Facing Cameron right now though, Oliver could see why others would see this kid as a threat, somebody to fear. Cameron's eyes were cold, dark, and ruthless. From his right arm a large, sharp shard of ice had formed, and it looked as if the teenager wouldn't hesitate to impale Oliver with it if provoked.
"Put the bow down." Cameron said slowly and harshly. Oliver did as the boy asked and placed his weapon on the ground. Oliver even went so far as to place his quiver next to it and kick them both away so that they were out of his reach. Normally when facing enemies, letting go of his weapon and giving his opponent the advantage was the last thing that Oliver would do. In this situation though, he felt that putting down his bow was the best option, because Cameron might become more relaxed if he didn't feel threatened.
"It's alright, Cameron. I'm not going to hurt you." Oliver said and he held up his hands to show that he meant no harm. The words and gesture were meant to be calming, but they seemed to have the opposite effect on Cameron. The boy's eyes widened in shock and Oliver caught a brief look of something like fear cross over Cameron's face. Before Oliver could figure out just what he saw, the kid's expression darkened again. Oliver grew concerned. Had he said something wrong?
"Cameron, are you okay?" Oliver took a step toward the boy. Cameron's hard expression fell slightly, which only allowed more of his fear to show through.
"S-stay back!" Cameron shouted, his voice wavering slightly. He raised his right arm, the sharp ice protruding from it sent a clear message. Oliver ignored the threat though and continued trying to approach Cameron. With every step he took though, Cameron retreated back, keeping the distance between them. It wasn't long however before Cameron had backed straight into a wall. The kid's eyes widened and Oliver was reminded of a cornered wild animal.
"Hey, calm down." Oliver began to extend his hand, which only increased Cameron's panic.
"No!" Cameron shouted and raised his arms as if to shield himself. A layer of ice spread under Cameron's feet, freezing Oliver's own feet to the floor. Multiple ice shards grew up from the ground, one of the sharp shards was only a few inches short of piercing Oliver right in the neck.
Oliver wished that he had had the foresight to not abandon his bow. It had been a reckless mistake. He hadn't believed that Cameron would try to do any harm to him. Next time, Oliver would have to keep in mind that cornered animals had a tendency to bite and lash out.
...And he really should stop making that comparison. Cameron was a teenager, not a wild animal. In his experience though, Oliver often had a hard time not seeing similarities between the two.
Fortunately, it didn't look like Cameron would be attacking him with ice again any time soon. Cameron actually looked as shocked about his outburst as Oliver felt. The teenager stared in shock at the ice, then looked at his hands, which were shaking slightly. Cameron frowned and clenched his fists. The ice armor that had covered his body melted away, leaving just plain, normal Cameron Mahkent. The kid brought a hand to his head, leaned against the wall, and slid down to sit on the floor.
"That...wasn't supposed to happen." Cameron muttered.
"That's good to know." Oliver said. "In that case, would you mind helping me out with this?" Oliver gestured at his feet, which were still encased in ice.
"What? Oh, shit, sorry." Cameron got back to his feet. "Uh," he looked around the room. "Any idea on how to get the ice off?" Cameron asked somewhat sheepishly, because, while he could create ice without even trying, he had yet to figure out how to retract it.
Oliver Queen stared at Cameron in a slightly shocked way. While he hadn't thought that the boy had tried to hurt him, Oliver also hadn't expected for the kid to actually be sorry about it either. "Uh, well, in my quiver there should be a trick arrow that'll give off heat. That should work to melt the ice." Cameron nodded and went to retrieve the arrow.
Because of his ice powers, Cameron was very sensitive to heat, so finding the right arrow only took a moment. Cameron didn't immediately take the arrow back to Oliver though, because something about it, and all the others, seemed kinda...off.
First off, only one or two of them were the traditional type of arrow. The rest were different type of 'trick' arrows. What was really weird though was that all of these looked custom made, and Cameron could've sworn that he recognized the design and style of these things, though he couldn't quite remember why.
Cameron didn't dwell on it though, because seriously, this heat arrow thing was getting a little too warm to hold. Yes, the heat was coming from the tip, and he was holding it by the shift, but it was still uncomfortably warm for Cameron. That's one of the downsides to being sensitive to heat, it's easier to burn.
Besides, it would probably be better to get that guys feet de-iced sooner rather than later.
"Here, dude." Cameron handed Oliver the arrow.
"Thank you, Cameron." Oliver began to melt the ice at his feet. He really was quite grateful, and still pleasantly surprised. Cameron seemed to be much nicer than Oliver would have expected him to be.
Cameron frowned slightly and crossed his arms. "How do you know who I am?" He asked cautiously. Oliver's eyes widened with realization. So that was why Cameron had freaked out. Because a total stranger seemed to know exactly who he was. Alright, that made sense.
"It's a long story." Oliver said. It wasn't, really, but what else was he supposed to say?
Cameron tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "Do I know who you are?"
"Well, we have met before, though it has been a few years." Oliver said. Nearly fifteen years. Cameron had been so young, barely three, when Oliver had first met him. Back then, as Green Arrow, he had fought Icicle on a regular basis. Joar Mahkent had been a tough opponent, even more so after he had decided to involve his son in the family business.
Oliver still had a hard time believing that Icicle had brought Cameron on heists with him when the kid was so young. To Joar's credit though, he never put Cameron in any immediate danger. Usually, the kid's job was simply to distract Green Arrow, giving Icicle the chance to get away. This was the safest job Joar could give Cameron to do, because, as the two adults knew perfectly well, Green Arrow could never bring himself to hurt or fight a kid.
It had been...frustrating, and absolutely infuriating. Multiple times he had let Icicle get away with his crimes scot-free, just because a toddler with some impressive ice abilities had stood between his father and the hero.
Oliver, of course, remembered all of this. He was surprised though that Cameron seemed to remember as well, even if it was just vaguely. Maybe Cameron didn't know how, but he did recognize Oliver. And since he had never met Cameron as Oliver Queen, that meant that Cameron recognized him as Green Arrow, even if he didn't realize it.
Cameron, who had been trying to figure out just where he knew Oliver from, turned his attention to the heat arrow that the man was still holding. This type of arrow just felt and looked so familiar to him. In an instant, Cameron realized where he had seen an arrow like this before.
"Hey, uh, where'd you get that?" Cameron gestured to the heat arrow. Oliver glanced down at it.
"Oh, this? I had it made." Oliver said proudly. These were one of a kind arrows, of course he was proud of having it.
"So, only you have arrows like this?" Cameron asked. Oliver frowned at the suspicion in the boy's voice.
"To my knowledge, yes." Oliver narrowed his eyes at Cameron and tried to figure out just what all the questions were for. "Why do you want to know?" Oliver asked cautiously.
"Oh, no reason." Cameron shrugged as if it really wasn't a big deal, but the fact that the cold hard look had returned to Cameron's eyes told a different story. "It's just that my dad used to have an arrow almost exactly like the one you're holding. Said he kept it from one of his fights against the stupid Robin Hood wannabe."
Oh...shit.
"Cameron, I can explain." Before he could even begin though, Cameron shot a blast of ice that only just missed hitting Oliver in the head. Cameron's eyes were calm and cold, never had Oliver seen Cameron resemble Joar so much then at this moment.
"Do I look like I'm in the mood to hear it?" Cameron growled. Ice gathered in the palm of his hands, and he looked just seconds away from shooting another frozen blast, ending it all. Oliver grew tense, but as the seconds passed without Cameron making another attack, he began to relax slightly, even if he was confused.
Cameron looked like he wanted nothing more than to ice Oliver right there, and he was certainly capable of doing so. For some reason though, he hesitated. Something was stopping Cameron from acting.
After more than a minute of staring each other down, Cameron gave a shout of frustration and finally fired a blast of ice...in the complete opposite direction of where Oliver stood. The ice harmlessly hit the wall, freezing it. Cameron glared at the wall as if it had personally offended him. Cameron raised his hand as if to send out another blast of ice, but decided against it.
Cameron sighed in defeat and ran his hands through his hair. "Can't believe I can't do this." He muttered. "Talk about pathetic." he scoffed at himself.
"Pathetic?" Oliver frowned. "Are you talking about not killing me? Because I'm pretty sure sparing my life isn't pathetic."
Cameron scowled and clenched his fists. "It's not just killing. I can barely ever bring myself to even hurt people at all. That's what's pathetic."
"How so?" Oliver asked. Cameron shot a glare in Oliver's direction, as if he thought him an idiot for asking such a stupid question.
"Because that's not what villains are supposed to be like!" Cameron shouted.
Oliver crossed his arms. "So? That doesn't mean that you can't be that way." Cameron gaped at him.
"W-what are you talking about? That's exactly what it means." Cameron said.
"Not if you're not a villain." Oliver said as if it was the simplest thing in the world, which, to him, it kinda was. They both knew that Cameron wasn't cut out for the villain business. The only reason he was in it in the first place was because of his father. But, the thing was, Joar wasn't around anymore to stop Cameron from doing what he wanted.
"Not a...you can't be serious." Cameron's eyes were wide. "What else would I be? There's no way I'm gonna be just an ordinary terrified civilian. And it's not like I can be a-a-" Cameron trailed off.
"A hero? Well, why not?" Oliver asked. Cameron shot him a 'you can't be serious' look. Oliver took a deep breath and tried to figure out just how to phrase what he was about to say. Obviously, Cameron was hesitant to just join the ranks of the good guys, and Oliver didn't really blame him.
Still, he had to at least try to convince Cameron that it would be better this way. And the only way to do that was by explaining everything.
Oliver huffed out a small laugh. This was not how he had expected his night to go. "Make yourself comfortable kid. We've got a lot to talk about."
A/N: It's official. Oliver is one of my new favorite characters to write. I kinda like the interaction I have going on between him and Cameron. I just hope that I made it work fine.
