A wall of monitors lit the faces of several men who were staring at the moving pictures in front of them. Almost all screens showed shaky video footage filmed by helm-cameras of the patrols sent out to investigate the multiple calls reporting two bio-terrorists fighting it out on the streets. Unfortunately, what the cameras showed was only the aftermath; There was no trace of the perpetrators to be found at all. They were too late, again. That would have never happened if the new bio-terrorist hadn't demolished every single security camera and drone in the district and expelled most of the units stationed there. It only made things so much more complicated.

But that wasn't what bothered one of the men watching the tapes in their monitor-room. What bothered him wasn't the extent of the damage that had been done, but how it had been done. Ice and frost covered the whole place, giving some of the soldiers serious trouble staying upright. Not even the APC had a solid grip while driving over the ice, making it unmanoeuvrable and not fit to enter the danger-zone. And the damage did not cover just one street, the ice had covered a flat - which was now closed off and to be inspected by D.U.P. and Police Officers - the street and made a long track winding it's way through the surrounding area.

'But that would mean...'

The man opened a drawer, looking through some files until he found the three right ones and throwing them on the desk in front of him in a haste. He opened each of the files one after the other, quickly skimming over the content, always taking a moment to look up and compare what was with what was written. Nothing did fit the way it was supposed to.

He quickly put a finger on the device plugged in his ear, calling a pre-programmed number. His call was answered immediately:

"Here is the surveillance-division for Belltown-district. We have a situation here, contact Augustine this instant! No, this cannot wait, she needs to see this footage as soon as possible! We may have discovered an unregistered bio-terrorist in Belltown! Yes, I'll transmit the footage to the conference room immediately. Over and out!"

Even though it was in the middle of the night, Augustine was staring at the scene displayed on a big screen right in front of her not even five minutes after the notification. Her obsession with her work was as admirable as it was frightful. Surprisingly, her face that always had appeared to be carved out of stone now resembled a mirror more than ever, reflecting at least a fraction of her thoughts. During the last days, this commonly rare occurrence had appeared with a concerningly high frequency. These signs of slight anger and high concentration revealed themselves all the more often since this Delsin Rowe had shown up and caused this great havoc in the city. It was rather unnerving, to say the least, for this slip of control would only happen in very special situations. Situations that usually resulted in throw-backs for their organisation. Situations Augustine had not or rather could not predict and use for her advantage.

But even if one could see the gears turning in the woman's head, the frustration buried deep inside this woman's core, it was still almost impossible to predict what she was about to do. Only one who would have been close to her could have deciphered her, but there was no one there at the time, so all were left to wait in suspension. Only when she slightly turned her head towards the other high-ranked officers standing with her in the room could they prepare themselves for the orders the woman in front of them would undoubtedly give now:

"I want every file we have gathered so far on every bio-terrorist with ice-capabilities: the arrested ones, the ones killed in action, the missing ones, and those of our agents; I want them all until this afternoon on my desk. Give the order to transfer more troops to Seattle before the situation here gets out of hand. And finally, contact the officials I left in charge at Curdun Cay. Schedule a video-conference with them at ten o'clock. Dismissed!"

"So, Ella, what's the first thing we are going to do in the name of our new forged alliance?"

She just looked at the man with the beanie as if he was the weirdest odd-ball ever in the whole history of dorks. As far as she had gathered, he was the one in charge in their frail partnership. He came up with all their plans and ideas and probably would be the one to carry them out as well, she would just be there to criticise everything he'd come up with while trying to make sure that he'd not end up killing them both. And to be honest, no one liked to be corrected at every turn and soshe had assumed it would lay in his nature to avoid her opinion at all costs. It was kind of surprising for her that he asked for it so soon already. When he noticed the deadpan look she was giving him, he just looked as mildly confused as he seemed to be amused:

"What? Lady's first, isn't that how the rule goes?"

"I did not take you for a gentleman, to be honest."

"What? I am the perfect example of chivalry!"

Ella just rolled her eyes, holding back a snappy comment. But she wouldn't miss this opportunity to do something logical in -what she was sure of- an upcoming series of moronic plans she would partake in. Not when he offered it so willingly. And she had not to think about it for very long.

A small and tired sigh escaped her lips. She had been so caught up in the most recent events that she had forgotten how exhausted and tired she was. But now, as some tranquillity had returned into her life for a couple of minutes, she clearly felt it. In addition to her normal exhaustion, she was also drained from her ice-powers temporarily which only intensified the feeling of fatigue she was experiencing now.

"Okay, how about finding a place to rest for a while. And don't even suggest sleeping here, because if the D.U.P. won't swoop this place anytime soon, some other shady guys will. Or some wanna-be gangster teens for all I know."

"That's the only thing on your mind? I expected something more exciting! Like showing me some of your tricks and sharing your knowledge with me, sensei. Or at least giving me a conduit-exclusive tour around Seattle."

"Sorry to remind you, but Ella-Sensei is a little bit low on energy because of certain 'bio-terrorist activities'."

He inhaled deeply and was about to argument against her suggestion, but as he opened his mouth, nothing came out. Instead, his whole composure slackened. Not speaking with the loud voice like he had obviously first wanted to, he resorted to some less enthusiastic mumbling:

"Right, Ikind of forgot that part."

But as quick as the guilty feeling had overcome him, as soon it had ebbed away.

"So, let's go to a place for some little winter sleep. But then you'll show me how to use this new asset of abilities, promise?"

"Stop with these awful references. !"

He threw up his arms in mocking protest.

"What, did you forget your sense of humour while being on the run? My puns are hilarious!"

As soon as he had finished that sentence though, he seemed to think about his words, and truly, his boastfulness dissolved, giving away to the humble realization.

"Yeah okay, maybe some of them don't sound as good as they do in my head, but at least I'm trying."

Once again, he was only rewarded with an icy frown. But it did not last long, and she rolled her blues eyes in mild resignation.

"All right, all right, I never said anything. But seriously though, do you know a place I could stay overnight?"

"Oh, I know a place or two."

The sun was just about to rise, it's rays already dyeing the dark sky of the night in warm violet and orange colours on the horizon. The dim light drew ominous silhouettes of the high buildings lining up on the ground, making up new shapes the longer one would look at it. The air was still cold, making Delsin's breath visible every time he exhaled. It was a truly a scenery one couldn't help but admire; Too bad though that Delsin wasn't an early riser and therefore completely unfazed by it, not really aware of his environment. Yawning, he glanced at his phone: a quarter to six. He was standing on the roof of the building they had settled on before they departed this morning – or night, whichever way one liked to look at it.

She had reluctantly stayed the night with him and Reg at the hotel the brothers had chosen to 'live' in while they had business in Seattle. Neither she nor his brother had been really chilled by this decision, but she had no cash with her, her apartment was under D.U.P.-surveillance now and they couldn't really afford to pay for another room or anything. Oh, it had just been such a thrilling experience, being in a room together with his brother and Ella. The room temperature had 'only' dropped so low that water was barely staying in a liquid state – or at least that's what it had felt like; A pleasant experience through and through. Sleep had been a bliss which sadly would only come with great difficulty, considering that it had felt like camping somewhere in the arctic region.

She hadn't even apologized for her battle against the heater, but then again, he wasn't sure if she had even been aware of her effect on the room-temperature. Instead, she had excused herself as they both had been about to head out together to test his new powers. She had been really moody and in a hurry when they had gone their separate ways; Ella probably wasn't a morning person either. And since she had proficiently refused his company to go to wherever it was she had headed off to – not that she had given him a proper explanation – they had decided to agree on a place and time to meet up. It had slightly dampened his anticipation, but it wasn't enough to greatly demotivate him. He was still looking forward to discovering what he could do with his new set of skills. But he wouldn't start without her yet. Well, he was here, where was she?

"I should have know; Girls always take ages to get ready in the morning."

Fortunately for him and his patience, Ella actually decided to grace him with her presence two minutes later. He had only noticed her because of the swirl of cold white and grey crawling up the wall and the sound of crunching snow whispering in his ears. She had obviously regained some of her strength. She did not look as moody as this morning anymore, quite the contrary, actually. Seemingly refreshed and in a good mood, she moved towards him with almost bouncing steps. He could barely believe it. So, naturally, he just stared at her, totally entertained by that display and trying to suppress any chuckles that might escape his lips.

Delsin did not want to destroy her rare lively mood she was displaying now, who knew how long it would last. Therefore, as the gentleman he was, he only gave a subtle hint about her minor delay.

"Two minutes late. Waiting for you was pure torture, I could barely handle the loneliness."

To his surprise, he for once did not receive the death glare from her. Instead, he watched as she fought a small smile trying to fight it's way on her face while raising a brow and rolling her eyes.

"If I'd only known that, I wouldn't have hurried up at all."

Her voice had lost some of its coldness, not enough to sound friendly or even neutral, but still nicer than the night before. It was a pleasant surprise, the second one for Delsin this morning.

"I didn't expect you to be that cruel; I can hardly stomach it."

She just raised her hand clutching a small paper bag. Printed on the brown bag was the logo of a cafe he had walked by several times already. He had never bought anything there since he had been busy – with being the city's hero, of course and not with running for his dear life.

"If your stomach can't handle this, then I am completely fine with it, all the more for me."

"I didn't take you for a greedy type."

'Nor for an overly caring person either'

Of course he kept the last part for himself as he approached her casually. He didn't want to test her tolerance for his jests too much right now. There would always be a later for that.

"Because you could already determine that after the short time we spent together." she retorted dryly.

"I've got a good hand with people."

"I already noticed."

He snatched the bag out of her hand instead of replying. She didn't try to stop him. After a short examination and a quick grab into the bag he handed it back to her, his part of the breakfast in his hands. He was grateful for the food, as he had forgotten about it early on.

It wasn't a surprise then that he was done eating quickly; She finished shortly after. Now came the fun part. No more delays, no interruptions; He was about to become the ice-king of Seattle.

"How is this going to work? Am I going to show you what I do with my ice and you try to copy it?"

Oh right, she didn't know he could absorb...something from Core Relays that made him able to do things.

"Yeah – No that's not how it's going to work. Don't get me wrong, I am sure you would make a splendid teacher and all, but I've got a faster way to learn new things."

Ella looked at with a mixture of dismay and suspicion.

"Oh, really? Then please, enlighten me."

She did not sound convinced at all. Actually, her voice was almost as toxic again as it had in the beginning. And here he thought he could make progress step by step with her.

"The Core Relays."

He hoped she knew what those things were.

"The ones scattered all over the city by the D.U.P.?"

She did not sound intrigued.

"Yes, exactly those."

A indignant snort left her throat.

"You do realize that they are used by the D.U.P. for locating and tracking conduits? What would you do with them, except – I don't know – blow them up?"

"You're getting pretty close. Blowing up is a part of the training program. You see, I think I can use those glowing lightboxes to learn new tricks."

A moment of silence passed between them, filled with awkwardness and doubt. Her stare was calculating, he could see her going through every possible scenario. He had already noticed that specific characteristic about her; She overthought everything she did. And it always took a lot of time to answer or make a decision as a result. Too bad that he wasn't the patient type of person.

"Come on, what could go wrong?"

"Do you really want an answer to that?"

"No, I just want you to tag along, tell me a little bit about the new things I'll be able to do then."

"Wow, I already feel like the typical sidekick by now."

"Oh, don't say that, you're special."

"I always knew I was a special snowflake."

That one had surprised him. He had not expected her to make such a sarcastic, yet somewhat friendly comment nor had he expected her to use the mediocre reference to her natural skills.

"Who is the one using horrible puns now?"

Surprise flashed over her features before realization hit her. She let out a low groan of frustration.

"Oh shut up and just tell me where we have to go."

It was amusing, watching her like that, to say the least. He couldn't contain the playful chuckle anymore; He would have a lot of fun teasing and poking her character like that.

"Why in such a hurry all of a sudden?"

"You're pretty useless right now if you can't control my powers."

"All right, all right, don't want you to say any more of these cold-hearted things."

He had almost missed the icy glare from last night. How lucky he was then to see its return this early on.

"Let's see, my brother marked the positions of the Relays on my phone."

'After a long and tiring argument, by the way.'

He reached into the pocket of his trousers and fished the small device out of it. The time he needed to navigate himself through his phone was spent in cold silence, giving him a slight shiver. They had to improve their group-dynamic if he wanted this to work out the way he had imagined it in the first place.

"Sooo, closest one should be somewhere around third corner fifth avenue, Virginia street. You know where that is?"

She just nodded, not giving him a second glance as she dashed forward, right to the next roof up ahead. It took him a moment to follow her lead, using the only method he could use right now with his ice-abilities. Still, he couldn't catch up with her speed, the gap between them getting bigger and bigger every second. It almost felt like a deja vu. Except this time, she actually was faster than him.

"Hey, I don't know if you forgot, but we are a team now, you don't have to run away anymore!"

Ella, three roof tops ahead of him now, came to a stop, taking in an impatient stance as she somewhat begrudgingly waited for Delsin to catch up.

"When did you get so fast, lady?"

"When did you get so slow?" was her simple response.

Delsin tolerated that, she had only met him yesterday, she was still allowed to be snappish. That didn't make sporadic mood swings on the occasion any less endurable. It was almost as if she tried to stay somewhat grumpy no matter how she actually felt. But all beginnings were difficult, this was just a phase, he was sure of it.

"The pupil humbly begs for a slower pace."

"You take the lead then."

The rest of their short trip to their destination was spent in silence. Ella stared at the occasionally materializing back of Delsin mindlessly. She wasn't quite sure what to make of him. He seemed nice enough, though he acted a bit too familiar with her, as if they had known each other for a long time already. It made her hesitate, unsure of how to behave. So the surest way was to keep him at some distance for now. She had teamed up with him to leave this city as a free woman, not to have some adventures and seek out new friends. But it appeared that he was hellbent to convince her of the opposite. She needed to remind herself to be on guard all the time around him. Unfortunately, she failed to do that only two minutes later when he came to a stop, having reached their destination then. She only barely managed to not waltz into him and practically tackle him to the ground, though she halted way too close to him, and just as she had regained her balance in order to retreat to a safer distance, he turned around.

"So watch and adm – whoa!"

He stumbled back a few feet, obviously caught off-guard by her unintentional close proximity.

"I think you are taking the term 'getting close' too literal."

Ella could already feel the heat rising up her neck and cheeks; This was just weird. Everything with him had been weird so far. But she wouldn't get embarrassed in front of him. What did she care anyway what he might think of her? This wouldn't last long, and they would be on their separate ways soon enough, just like she intended.

"It's the best you're going to get, so appreciate it while it lasts."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that."

'Oh, but I would be. No wait, not would, I am sure of that!'

Ella did not want to continue this small banter, she had better things to do. Not to mention that she didn't want to spend too much time around the device set up by the D.U.P..

"You said you could use these things in a sensible way. Then go ahead and use it."

Delsin's face showed an emotion Ella couldn't quite decipher. He appeared to be annoyed? In thought? Uncertain? Or just mildly irritated? Whatever it was, he tried to mask it with either indifference or humour, as he turned on his heels and walked up to the dark grey box of metal.

"You just watch and be amazed."

Ella just watched with a mixture of doubt and yet anticipation as Delsin released the chain wrapped around his right arm and focused on freezing it. Not a moment later the chain was rigid, with a thick layer of ice engulfing the links, but it didn't stop there; A whole shard manifested around the chain, crawling up to the user's arm and basically turning Delsin's whole right arm from the elbow on into a giant, sharp stinger with a thin, razor-sharp blade.

She had to unwillingly admit, for a beginner he handled her power quite well.

'But he has yet to truly do something noteworthy with them.'

With one fluid motion, he pierced the metal sheathing in the middle, only to cut away the upper part from it with some force. The blade had not shattered. It only crumbled to a fine powder of snow when he was done using it. Maybe he had trained while she had not been paying attention – even if that period of time would be ridiculously low at best. Otherwise she just couldn't really explain his skill with her ice. It had taken her months to master the beast others called her power over ice!

Her spike of jealousy was quickly washed away though by the surprise and even shock of what Delsin did next. The core of the relay was glooming a shrill blue, giving off strange vibes. Delsin though just stretched out his hands and the light went straight into him, just like her ice had gone into him the day before. But instead of just knocking him out or slowly glowing out, it spread through his whole body until it engulfed him entirely. Suddenly, the light burst out of him, staying in a bubble of blue around him and slightly lifting him up from the ground.

Alarmed, Ella took a step back, getting some more distance from him and more specifically, the dangerous light. She proceeded to watch in mild shock as it looked like Delsin was having a seizure right there while floating. His back buckled and his arms and legs twitched in the air; Ella had no clue what to do. There was the strong urge to help him, but it was suppressed by her instinct telling her to stay the heck away from the light, as it clearly was the culprit for Delsin's current state.

'I knew this was a stupid idea!'

But then, as if nothing had ever happened, the light disappeared, quickly dimming out. Delsin stood on his own two feet again, though admittedly somewhat shaky, and let some ice swirl around his arms. Ella was dumbfounded.

"What ju- How?!"

"I told you it would work."

His tone was as smug as it was somewhat childish. He was right, of course, but he could have warned her, and not brush it off so casually. But instead of arguing over that, she was more interested if that – whatever it was he had done – had worked or if he just got himself a free heart attack. She couldn't hide away the angry glare she was firing at him though, which caused him to display one big, goofy grin.

"I only believe you when I see you spouting some new techniques."

A siren could be heard down the street. It was getting louder, approaching quickly. They both knew who was coming. Apparently the D.U.P. was not okay with Delsin blowing up their equipment at all. Who would have thought?

"The lady calls for a demonstration. Who am I to disappoint her?"

He had called her lady again. Why he did that was beyond her; While she noticed, she neither felt provoked nor flattered, showing no reaction to the term. Did he call every woman he knew that way or was it just her? She contemplated about that while she watched from a safe distance atop the roof as Delsin jumped down to confront the six soldiers hopping out of the tank-like vehicle. He better have obtained something mind-blowing, or he would be in for some ass-beating. As it turned out though, he hadn't unlocked the ultimate power of eternal winter or something along the lines. No, what he had just learned to do was shooting ice shards to either stun or freeze and shatter his opponents. A skill that wasn't entirely safe for the one receiving a blow, but not enough to pierce the soldiers' armour fast enough to even out the numbers to his advantage.

'I could just leave right now. They haven't noticed me yet and probably don't expect two conduits at the same place. I could be rid of this silly partnership right now.'

She knew it wasn't that simple, but the thought had its own appeal. Would she really be better off with him than just on her own?

"Hey, a little help would be nice, don't you think, E-"

A huge, white missile came flying from down, crashing into the foes Delsin had been facing until now, hindering Delsin on finishing the sentence. He managed to jump out of the radius just in time. When he stared at the damage she had inflicted with that one shot of hers, she could almost feel the jealousy radiating off of him, even over the distance from street level to roof top. The shot of hers had caused several shards of ice to erupt from the ground, with each soldier trapped inside a solid shard of ice separately. The closer they had been to the point where her shot had connected with the ground, the more ice had them surrounded.

Even seconds after the initial attack, the ice shards were still slowly growing or newly appearing from the ground. From the levitated position of hers, it almost looked like a blooming knapweed. She secretly called that ice flower-missile. Not that she would ever say that while firing it or referring to it; It was a silly name she had come up when she had been 18 or something, and simply stuck with it. When she had thought she could be like some sort of superhero, just like in those comics. He would probably laugh at her if he knew.

She got on the lower level to the street to meet up with him again. Trying not to brag or show off any further, she just remained quiet and fought the confident smile trying to force itself on her lips. She could tell that he wanted to be able to do this, rubbing it in his face wouldn't be of any help in their partnership. But it was tempting.

"That was amazing! Though next time, give me a warning or at least don't try to hit me with it as well. Friendly fire isn't cool."

They left the scene quickly before too many could associate them with 'bio-terrorists'. It didn't interrupt their conversation though as they headed for the next Core Relay.

"You asked for help, I gave it to you. Why you decided to take all six of them on with just basic shooting abilities at your disposal is beyond me."

"So you saw my ice shards? I am a quick learner, am I not?"

She had agree to that, as much as she would have loved to disagree. It had taken her a month back then to form proper shards she could fire with, another three to hit her targets precisely and without any of the shots somehow backfiring to her. He had not even so much as taken a second to learn it. The seizure had really done something. His shots were different though than hers.

"I guess you are."

"Do I hear a hint of envy in your voice?"

"What you are hearing is your livid imagination, bannerman."

'Or just my jealousy. Not that you ever have to know.'

He made a face at the nickname she already knew he disliked.

"That was a low blow and you know it. At least call me Delsin, Del or just smokey."

"I am positive that you have nothing smoking on you right now."

"You are just mean because my smoke could melt your ice."

Ella just glanced at him amusedly. He wasn't easy to provoke, but she had to reluctantly admit: Their casual bickering was amusing, as senseless as it was.

They sought out three more Core Relays, and with each...epiphany her companion got, the attacks he learned became stronger and stronger.

'Maybe a better name for him would have been sponge. It fits perfectly.'

While she could somewhat recognize his techniques and compare them to her own, his form of emitting the ice always stayed different. She found it odd. Having met a few other conduits with the same element, she had a base for comparison. And while none of them had had the exact same powers, their basics had about looked and been the same. Delsin though had it the other way around: While his fighting style resembled hers a lot – or at least the effect the attacks had – the way he handled it was just...different.

"Your powers are odd." she said as they headed to the last Relay mapped on Delsin's phone.

"That's a weird thing to say since they are basically yours."

"That's not what I meant."

He raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"You mean the absorption?"

She thought about it; Maybe it was indeed because he hadn't been born with ice heeding his command, but only adapted and copied it.

"Not directly. Your way of handling ice is...different."

"I thought it was just fine."

Had she just offended him, or was it one of his jests again? Or did she just heard things out of his voice that weren't even there to begin with?

"Don't get me wrong, you are doing well and all, but it differs from mine."

"Did you just compliment me?"

Her eyes slightly widened, not happy with her small slip-up. It wasn't because she didn't want to admit it. Well, maybe it was just a little bit.

"Don't change the subject!"

"You totally did!"

"Not discussing this."

"Okay, okay, I'll remind you later on, okay?"

He paused for a moment, thinking about what she had actually said, beside the small compliment. "Now I know I do not pack a punch yet like you do, but bear with me; I am still getting to know this new arsenal."

"It's not that! When you fire something at the D.U.P. Then the effect is always there in an instant. I guess you could say they are pretty direct. Heck, I don't know, I am horrible at explaining things!"

"Can't argue with that one. Aaaand ice-glare. I get the feeling you really expect me to freeze all over when you look at me like that."

"Not expect, I just hope." she shot back defensively.

It kind of made her even angrier when commented on her 'ice-glare', which was nothing more than her staring at him in silent fury. It was just how she expressed herself, dammit! This was stupid, she shouldn't have brought the matter up in the first place.

"Nevermind, it's not important anyway. Let's just see what you get with your last radioactive stroke and then take a break. It's past midday already."

"I would never dare ague with the lady, especially if she is as demanding as she is right now."

This time, she couldn't hide the smile blossoming across her face. He was just ridiculous.

"I knew I could make you smile! It's just part of my charm."

"It won't happen that often, I tell you."

"It's very hard to keep a straight face when you are with me, I can understand this. Nobody can."

She just continued her horrible attempt at concealing her smile again which rather looked like making stupid faces than regaining a composure. She had more serious matters to think about. How Delsin's powers worked was one of the least of her problems right now, as long as he could use them efficiently. There was something she needed his assistance with, and for that he would have to power up first. Not to mention that the D.U.P. was in an uproar again in this new district they were strolling through right now. Who could have predicted that destroying their precious Core Relays would make them so angry? Everyone, but to be fair, they were in a hurry and using the Relays was faster than her teaching Delsin on her own. And after the second power boost, Delsin had not had to rely on her in combat at all anymore, enabling her to stay as much in the shadows as possible. He would just look at her weirdly, yet remain quiet about it.

The last Core for Delsin to absorb was a setup. It was so plain obvious that even Delsin immediately took notice of it the second he lied eyes on it. The desired object was positioned in the middle of an empty parking lot away from the streets filled with civilians. There was just one high building from which one would have a clear shot at anybody walking towards the Core Relay, the rest was a rather open area with just small obstacles at the rim of the flat area, just high enough to hide an APC or some ground troops.

"Well, I just got one thing to say about this."

Delsin glanced at her expectingly, waiting for some serious counsel he would probably still end up ignoring.

"It's a trap!" she said in a funnily pressed voice.

She wasn't sure if he got the reference from Star Wars while he wasn't sure if she had actually made the reference or if he had just imagined it all by himself. His slightly confused face spoke for itself. It didn't matter to Ella though, she always did that sort of thing when a trap as obvious as this one was laid out before her, whether someone was with her or not. It was an old habit from her old days at school, a friend of her clique had started it whenever a surprise test was near.

"I don't know if they'll wait for you to become shocked by the Relay energy or just shoot at you right away. But I'm sure the sniper from the roof top will get you no matter what. Even if you tried getting to him, out here in the open you'd be an easy target. I am going to take care of him, so you'll wait until I've dealt with him before approaching the Core Relay. Sounds good?"

"How do you even know if there's going to be a sniper?"

"I don't, but it's a good opportunity for one; It's almost a perfect shot from up there."

"Sounds reasonable enough, but what if they do actually attack while I'm in lesson?"

"I think I can make some sort of diversion, should you take too long."

"You would do that?"

He sounded surprised by her willingness to do her part in this 'plan' they were crafting. But he had a point. She would risk openly revealing herself, something she was reluctant to do. But she counted on the fact that it wouldn't come to this, so she just nodded before rounding the area as quietly and unseen as possible.

In the end, she had been right in her assumption of a sniper positioned on top of the building. Taking him out had been a tricky task. She had to make sure that she would take him out in one go lest he would alarm his teammates about another conduit sabotaging their operation. She also had to make sure that she herself wouldn't make too much of a ruckus or the other soldiers would notice too. But it all worked out after all: she came up behind the man laying between the two giant neon letters from a sign which had been planted on top of the building without drawing his attention. Freezing him over from a short distance was all it took to immobilize him entirely. Done with her part, she froze part of the giant neon sign and descended down from her position. Making her way back to Delsin though, she noticed the position he had caught himself in.

He was surrounded by a whole squad of twelve soldiers and two APC in total, all of them pointing their guns at him or already summoning their concrete-powers. Silently cursing her stupidity in underestimating the enemy's numbers so severly, she prepared to launch an attack at the nearest soldier. What slightly irritated her though was the lax manner in which Delsin stood in the middle of attention, taking in no fighting posture and silently chuckling to himself while watching his hands absent-mindedly. He reminded her of a lunatic.

'Is he relying on her coming to his rescue or what?!'

Maybe he had absorbed one too many Relays and finally fried his brain entirely. Either way, it made her angry, pushing her so far that she seriously contemplated to just do nothing. Of course he had to do this just as they figured out their group-dynamic.

Suddenly, he summoned ice from his palms, causing the soldiers to open fire on him, but in vain. In a mixture of awe and shock, Ella watched as the snow literally exploded from his body, engulfing everybody and everything standing too close in a thick cloud of snow and ice, taking away her vision entirely. She stood outside of the thick cloud and stared at the huge, swirling cloud as it slowly shrunk back, some sort of vortex erupting with Delsin at it's centre. The ice shards and thick snowflakes started swirling back to him in an alarming speed, revealing bit after bit of the area initially engulfed by the storm; snow and ice covered the surfaces and froze the soldiers in place.

They were still conscious though, struggling against their cold prison in vain. When every last bit of the cloud had returned to Delsin's chest, who barely looked human anymore, but rather like some creature made out of coldness, entirely floating in the air with thick shards of ice lazily swirling around him, he slightly bent over. Then, in a final outburst, he let all the energy stored up in his chest explode and shoot out like a fan, with light-blue ice missiles flying around him, knocking out every D.U.P.-soldier initially hit by the blast and demolishing the APCs beyond repair. Finally, he slowly ascended down again, the glow disappearing from his skin and quickly regaining his senses. When he spotted her, his grin was practically beaming at her like a proud child showing off in front of their parents.

She still had to process all of this. That had been an entirely different level of power than he had operated up until now. He casually jogged towards her, as she was still busy staring at the completely frozen and with snow covered area, taking in the imposing sight.

"That was awesome! Did you see that?"

She needed a moment to answer his question, and even then her voice threatened to fail her.

"Y-Yeah, I kind of did...Impressive."

"Hey, everything alright with you? I didn't hit you with that, did I?"

"No-no, I just have to take all this in" she waved around with her hand, referring to the demolished area.

His smile returned immediately, very proud of making her speechless and cracking down her facade for once.

"Hehe, not like something you've ever seen before, right?"

In his own excitement, he failed to notice the pure expression of shock and fear plastered across Ella's face.

Oh, she had seen this before, multiple times, to be honest. And it always reminded her of one place. Her father's frozen house.

So this was the latest chapter of Addicted. To be honest, I am not that content with it, rewrote it several times and it still feels a bit...meh. But I thought it would be important to show the dynamic between those two at the beginning,a lil' bit of experimenting. It's hard though to make these two work together, because their approaches to the D.U.P. couldn't be more different, and in the end it is poor Ella who gets dragged along by Delsin on his 'conduit-how-to-throw-ice'-workshop.

I really hope though it was decent enough for you guys.

As always, if you find any mistakes or think something could have been handled better, just leave a review. I appreaciate any criticism and thoughts alike.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!