Chapter 2

I pant as I clench Lios gauntlets to my chest, fear expanding my lungs. After the strange woman nearly killed me, I've felt off... Weird.

The situation plays in my head over and over again, like I'm stuck in a loop. Again and Again I feel her fist plunge through mt gut. Amd again, I relive my fear in that moment.

Who the hell is she? Why did she attack me? Now of all times. Charles is dead. I just found out that Lio died a horrible death, That wasnt quick, but slow and painful. Flare is still at large... And now this...

I dont think I can do it anymore. I collapse againdt a wall in an alleyway, my lungs expanding but not grasping air. I start to choke. I cant breathe. The world around me is so dark. I can hear my heartbeat.

Is this what it feels like to die?

It has to be.... What else is there...

Holy crap.... I'm totally gonna die...

"Hey kid... Are you ok?" A voice asks. But its so far away. I reach out, but a shapr pain in my side ensues.

I cant breathe. So I scream. And in the midst of my screams, In the midst of my darkness, I can see Lios frost covered hands reaching for me once more.

"Hey!! Hey hey hey! Breathe! Its ok!" A soothing voice calls. I feel a comforting hand on my shoulder. Slowly, my breathing gets under control. I look at the person.

Its a female about my age. She has deep gray eyes and dark hair. A scarf wraps around the hollow of her throat, where I can faintly see the shine of a metallic necklace.

Shes wearing all dark clothes that accent her features. Her fragtance reminds me of flowers in the spring.

I sputter, coughing as my heartbeat slows.

"Who are you?" I asked softly. My throat is raw from the screaming.

She smiles a bit.

"I'm Mia. I'm.. Youre neighbor I think. I think i saw you walking to work this afternoon. But I was walking home when I saw you hyperventilating. I called an ambulance... So sit and rest," she informs me. I slide down shakingly.

What was that? Ive never experienced it before... Did I lose my sanity?

In a blink of an eye, an ominous aura gloomed from Lios gauntlets on the ground. The aura took form.

It was Lio... He was glowing. His scars were fresh, and chains tore into his wrosts, leaving lacerations so deep you could see the bone from under the metal. His fingers were wrinkled and discolored, like frostbite had attacked him, just like his toes. And his right eyesocket... It was carved out.

But.... When he showed me.... It was just coveted in ice...

He had frozen it into his eyes... Lyra used her power to reconnect the vitals.... And his ice helped it heal.... Oh god... Her torture was far worse than I had realized.

He smiled at me, and the skin at the corners of his moth split apart. He looked up at me, his eyes glowing.

"Hey Magnus.... Its been a while"

"Hey! Snap out of it!" An abrupt voice snapped me back to reality. I looked at Mia, then back at Lios gauntlets.

Hes gone now.

"The ambulance is here.. Let me help you..." She orders. I struggle to my feet and lean against her. She easily supports my weight. How strange.

She helps me into the ambulance and climbs in. Soon, the ambulance started filling with gas. I looked around as I got lightheaded. Its a sedative!

I cant see anyone through the fog.. Is Mia in here too? Wait... Whos that? I giggle, right before everything goes dark.

I woke up to a bright light above me. I look around, nothing but damp stone walls and a cell door. I take a deep breath in. Its humid... but not a normal humidity. Its not natural heat. I stand from the stone bed I was asleep on and touch the wall.

Its cold. Cold as ice. I look around the room. I'm in a cell.

"Oh good. Youre up," A female voice said. It sounded familiar though. She peeked in through the cell slots. Bright gray eyes shine through.

"Mia?" I asked. She leans back against the wall.

"Thats my name. Dont wear it out," she muttered, picking at her nails.

"What did you do to me?" I demanded. I went to move towards the cell doors, but indtead found a set of locked chains at my wrist. How did I not notice them before.

The drugs... I'm still off guard.

"What do you mean? I stalked you. For days. Kidnapped you and chained you in a mysterious cellar so we can ecperiment on you. Is that what you meant?," She asked. She smirks at me, and never before in my life have I ever wanted to hit a woman near as bad as I desire to hit her now.

"Why?," I asked. She grins.

"Well why not. Ive seen the lengths of your abilities and how youve grown. You can conjure up massove bullets of fire and destroy a whole building. In all reality, we wanted Lio. We still do. But we need you," She says bittersweetly.

Lio? Hes dead... What could they possibly want with him. I gulp, glaring her down.

"I am not doing a damn thing for you," I growled. I felt my wrists heat up. I can melt these chains right now if I wanted.

"Oh.. Yes you are. If you eger want to see Lionel again," She coos. I yank on my chains, gritting my teeth.

"Hes dead you bastard! Leave him out of this!," I scream. She smiles. Then she bursts out laughing.

"Oh you Naiive fool... And you have the audacity to call yourself a detective....," She laughs even harder before stamding up. She grabs Lios gauntlets from beside her.

"Remember these?," She demands.I growl, my jaw grinding.

"Put. Those... Down... NOW!," I scream. She huffs amd slides one on. Lios dominant hand. It starts to hum, and then a bright blue light flashes. Right in the center of the room, a vortex formed. I stared in awe at the quicksands that fold over itself again and again.

"What is that?," I ask.. My gut clenches. I'm scared...

"Its a portal idiot. I remember Lionel used to have this power that he relied on. He would freeze time. He thought it was a part of his ice abilities. But its far greater than that. Lionel Valdez was a masterpiece of science. A miracle. A combination of so many serum... So much Sirens spinal fluid. His genetic disorders.. Every variable added upon itself. Then the perfected vaccines that were released to the public. He had so much piwer at his fingertips, he wouldnt know what to do with it," She rambles. I stare at the portal. What does this have to do with Lio.

"Soon after his time with Lyra, he had Ryan modify his gauntlets. With inspiration from The puppet master, Ryan and Charles developed an idea... Or a theory for Lionel. They knew of the risk that Lionel had become. They took that time world... And they solidified it. The concentrated matter and the extreme amounts of cold and heat and the pressure it created, his time world exploded into another world. Time doesnt exist there. It became a prison world... These gauntlets... Whenever he used his powers to take a life with these gaubtlets, their souls and life energy would be sucked in like a vacuum. So they could live after death,"

"However, they didnt consider the toll it takes on his body even using that power. So they didnt concider oif he ended up killing himself in the process," She finishes. I stare at the portal, my mouth opening.

"That means... Hes still alive," I cut in. She smirked.

"So you do have brains after all," she chirped. I scowled as she went on.

"But, This portal... has a complication," she grabs a kids book and throws it in. Almost instantly, it caught a flame and burnt to dust.

"The vortex is so hot that even the modt fire resistant tools burn. Things that normal fire cant burn, melt like butter." She adds. I stare at it. I could never make heat that intense.

"Hence why you want Lio," I took a guess. She gives me an agitated look.

"No. Thats where we need you. We have an idea.. Another theory we propose," She starts. She turns and grabs a matching pair of gauntlets, except these ones are black, with rings of red in small areas.

"We believe that since Lionels powers were genetic that we can replicate them. However the cost of it is excessive. We're breaking the law of nature... The laws of this world. So for one:" She holds up a finger.

"You lose any and all powers you had before this power. You will forever become Frosty," She holds up a second finger.

"Two... It is likely that if you have kids, You will pass this power down to them. We do not know how it works, so it could potentially be a problem.," She holds up her third finger.

"3rd. You can never get rid of these powers. They will forever course your veins.." She holds up one last finger.

"And finally.... The effect of this power can easily break or destroy your body... It is your choice entirely whether or not you wish to claim this power for your own. But if you do take this burden upon yourself, you may hope to save Lio and all the people he claimed to have murdered. You will get exclusive training from ice manipulators across the globe for free. You will work hard.. And break your body as it is now. If not you are free to go. But you'll never see Lio again. Its up to you," She says. I lean back.

"I'll do it... Just tell me what I have to do,"