Chapter 4: Hot Ice/Cold Fire
Joe's Lot is an old junkyard where I do jobs every now and again. It pays decently enough, but what I mostly get out of it is a nice old car that I have been working on for a year. It's a 68 Lodge Antelope that needs a lot of fixing. So far, I only have the funds to buy a new engine, but that is neither here nor there.
Today, I am here to get used to the Frost sisters' powers. Since it is early in the morning, I shouldn't have to worry about people seeing me and more importantly getting injured. Noel warned me that if I act too carelessly with them, I could pose a serious threat not only to myself but to all of Liberty City.
"OK, the first thing you need to do is work on your aiming. It is important for you to actually hit your targets. We will start with Harpers fire as that is easier to control, then we'll move on to my water powers and then finish it off with ice." Noel explained.
"Wait a minute, shouldn't I be practicing fighting or whatever?"
"That's your problem," Harper teased as her eyes twinkled, and wore a mischievous grin on her face.
"I already knew how to fight. Living in the streets you had to be tough or you would find yourself in a tough situation. I was talking about coating my attack with the elements."
"One thing at a time," Noel snapped. "Let's just focus on getting you used to our powers then we can move on to more advanced techniques."
"Alright, jeez. Is she always this much of a buzzkill?" I asked Harper.
"You'll get used to it after a while. And seeing as we're going to be patterns for the foreseeable future, I suggest you do as she says." She tried to kick my shin but phased right on through it.
I started with big targets that won't catch on fire so that means old cars with their inside gutted.
My target for this practice is an old rusted Beatle van that was popular over fifty years ago. Firing a fire takes some concentration, but it isn't all that bad really. I take in oxygen and when I release it, I shoot a fireball. If I had to compare it to something, it would be similar to a bullet entering the barrel of a semi-automatic gun after firing a round.
It has a small kickback that jerks my torso backward, but I found that if I hold on to my arm I can stabilize myself.
"You are doing great! Keep it up, Ken!" Harper cheered.
"Try holding your breath before firing," Noel commanded.
I did as she said and held my breath for five seconds before firing. This one fired a larger fireball and had a stronger kickback that scooted me backward at least fifteen inches.
When the fireball hit the rusted van, it exploded and shot up into the air. That thing must have risen a good twenty feet before crashing down.
"Fucking hell!" I shouted.
"That was only a fraction of my power!" Harper said playfully.
"Now onto the next lesson," Noel began. Walk up to the burning wreckage and stick out one of your hands."
I did what I was told and walked up to the burning van. The heat was so intense that the van started to melt. I can't imagine actually getting hit by this thing at full power. I reached out to the flame and magically it all started going into my hand.
Then my body started to get really hot. I feel like I could combust at any moment.
"Arrrrrgh!" I screamed.
The entire left side of my body erupted in blue flames. Everything in my field of vision started to go up in the blue flame. Smoke started to fill my lungs and get into my eyes. I cough violently to try to get the smoke out of me.
"Help me!" I yell desperately.
Oh Gods, I think I really will burn up to a crisp. I tried doing the old stop, drop, and roll technique, but all I did was spread the fire more. Even the dirt had caught on fire and started to turn into magma.
"I think that's enough," I hear Noel's voice close to me.
My right arm moved on its own and then my body started to cool down. Not just my body, but the entire junkyard started to cool down too. In a matter of seconds, the entire junkyard was covered in thick ice, which ate the flames immediately, leaving puddles in the descregrated land.
At least I won't burn to death, but now I have to worry about freezing to death. I got up from the now-frozen dirt. Frozen birds started to rain down from the sky and barely missed me, thank the gods for that.
"What the hell just happened?"
"That was a taste if you let our power go out of control." Noel snapped her fingers and the ice and the cold disappeared.
"If you don't want anything like that to happen again but worse, I suggest you always maintain a balance of both of our powers. Never neglect one power over the other."
"You don't have to tell me twice."
That was the worst thing I had ever experienced. I never thought that I could be killed by powers that I could control. This experience will forever be seared into my mind as long as I live, I think.
"Wait a minute," I checked my clothes, which were unaffected by the rampant elements. "How the hell are my clothes still in one piece?"
"Who knows? If you want my opinion, your clothes probably have some serious plot armor." Harper said.
"What are you on about now, Harper?" Noel said, slightly annoyed.
"You know the plot? It would be inconvenient for the author if he had to worry about Ken's clothes getting destroyed every time he used his powers. So, to skirt around that, the plot forces Ken's clothes to be indestructible."
Right, so I decided to ignore everything that just came out of Harper's mouth just now and focus on the last power.
"So how do I use your water powers?" I asked Noel.
It's similar to ice, except you actually need physical water to use it. If you practice long enough, you can draw water out of the atmosphere itself."
I look around the junkyard. There is plenty of water around for me to use. Controlling water is a lot harder than shooting fire ice, I found. For the former, all I had to do was use my breathing and my left and right hand. For the former, it was like learning how to swim for the very first time.
It took me thirty minutes just to raise the water from the ground and another hour just to shoot it.
After about two hours of practicing, I was adequate with controlling water. But I am nowhere near mastering it, but luckily for me, I can just get by with fire and ice.
I stayed at that junkyard as long as possible before I had to go home and get ready for work.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone