Gwen and Ben had taken the unconscious Raven to the RV, laying her in the bed and putting blankets around her. She was chilly after all. Gwen had her hands over Raven, using her Manna to heal the girl. "So, you're telling me you can use your magic to do that?" Ben asked, and his cousin nodded. "That could've come in handy years ago..."
"Yeah, it'll be easy to cure her of any ailments. And I have been practicing on it the most." Gwen explained. She didn't need a spellbook to heal the girl.
"She doesn't look like she's from around here. Maybe Weather Wizard attacked her or something with all this snow around here." Ben theorized.
"It's possible..." Gwen replied, continuing to heal her.
"Who do you think she is? She's got grey skin...But I don't recognize her from any reports online." Ben added. Raven certainly wasn't a recorded superhero.
"Yeah...But that jewel on her forehead though..." Gwen focused on the forehead, feeling something coming from it. She couldn't describe it, but she could feel an unusual aura emanating from the girl. "Alright. Give her some time and she'll be up soon." Gwen said, walking away. But as soon as she did, Raven was already starting to wake up.
"Ngh..." She grunted, her eyes slowly opening as the chill around her body would subside. And as she opened her eyes, the first person she saw was Ben, sitting there and looking at her.
"Oh, she's awake!" Ben exclaimed.
"Nnh...Ah!" Right away, Raven was on high alert as she got off the bed, backing away. "Who are you?! Where am I?!" Instinctively, she had her arm out, having magic appear around it as she prepared to blast either Ben and Gwen, her hand aimed at Ben first.
"Ey!" Ben grimaced as jolted a bit. "Easy! Easy! You were knocked out on the road!" He exclaimed. Raven still wasn't going to let her guard down, however, being completely new to this world. To Earth in general.
"It's alright! I healed you! You looked hurt so I restored your strength." Gwen spoke from afar. Raven had her magic linger for a while, looking at her surroundings and breathing heavily. Seeing Ben and Gwen making no advances would calm down.
"Hah..." The Daughter of Trigon sighed as her magic would fizzle out. She allowed herself to relax, lowering her head. And already, she was starting to recall what she was doing here and the last thing she did. But to make sure that she was truly safe, she looked at Ben and Raven once more. And unbeknownst to them, Raven was reading their emotions.
She could feel what the two of them were emanating right now. And much to her relief, they were emanating pure intentions. They were good people, just wanting to help. Feeling that from the two of them, Raven could finally relax. "...Thanks." She said, taking a seat at the side of the bed.
"No problem. But what happened to you? You were just out cold in the cold." Ben asked. "You fought Weather Wizard, didn't you?"
"...Who?" Raven said with a confused face.
"Guy with wand? Ring any bells?" Ben asked once more.
"No...I just passed out in the cold when I thought I had enough stamina." Raven answered. Weather Wizard had nothing to do with that at all. "I...don't even remember how long I've been unconscious for."
"You mean you were just downed for potentially a night or more? No one bothered to get you up?" Gwen gawked.
"I don't think so. Whatever. That doesn't matter right now. What matters is that I get help...I'm here now. On this world called..." Raven looked around, wondering what dimension she was even in.
"Earth." Ben answered it for her. "I'm guessing you're not from around here, eh? Then we're the first humans you've come across, huh? I'm Ben Tennyson, by the way. Maybe you've heard of me?" He let out a proud grin.
But Raven just looked at him with an unimpressed face, seeing that proud grin. And by reading his emotions, Ben was exhibiting his ego and self-inflation. "Who?"
"!" Immediately, Ben's ego was hit like a truck, causing his body to stagger back from that blow. His eyes boggled out and he fell on his bottom, his eyes swirling. Gwen laughed and snickered at her cousin's misfortune. "So much for known across the cosmos." Gwen commented. "My name's Gwen, and as you can tell, we're cousins. Well, maybe not from a first glance.""
"And why are you on Earth?" Ben asked. "An alien or a superhero? Are you even from this world?"
"..." Raven was reluctant to say anything. She didn't want to reveal her secret to anyone. But after saving her, she felt she owed the Tennysons an explanation. She couldn't just lie and deceive them after they had helped her. "I'm...an interdimensional traveller. Looking to find someone who can help me save the dimension I live in. I came here for assistance. From powerful beings who can put a stop to a horrifying demon."
"A demon?!" Ben and Gwen collectively said, not expecting to hear about a demon of all things. They expected aliens which they were very much used to. But demons weren't something they had dealt with before.
"Yeah. A demon." Raven confirmed. "The Demon known as Trigon."
"Trigon?" Gwen repeated, shifting her eyes. "Umm...Certainly can't say I know anything about that. Nothing that the Justice League knows about or any piece of info on the internet."
"No kidding. Demons?" Ben looked to Gwen. "Since when is someone putting stuff about actual demons out there. They'd have to meet one to begin with But how bad of a demon are we talking about? It's gotta be something fierce to have its own name."
"It is fierce." Raven got off the seat before looking through the window of the RV, gazing at the beautiful falling snow around here. "More than you can imagine. My mother and the Azarathians told me about Trigon and all about him. And it looks like I'm on the planet where the concept of him was born.."
"Born here? a demon? No way." Ben shook his head. "Right?"
"He wasn't born here...just the concept. Trigon came into being hundreds upon hundreds of years ago when a group of humans abandoned life on Earth and established a sect of pacifists in the interdimensional world of Azarath. Azarathians are related to you humans, but have achieved a higher form of mental evolution. Embracing the concept of peace, they exorcised the dark passions of their souls from their bodies and cast it beyond the Great Door of Azarath into the nether-realms. But that's how Trigon came to be. This leftover evil energy floated in space for years before finally coalescing into a single physical form."
"And you managed to keep him at bay, right?" Gwen asked.
"I did...But I don't know how. That's why I'm here." She looked back at Ben and Raven. "But...I don't think you two can help me out."
"What? No way, we can totally help out!" Ben found that ridiculous. "You're looking at genuine heroes, here."
"..." Raven observed Ben specifically, eyeing him down as she sensed his emotions. "Seriously?"
"Seriously." Ben grinned while responding, holding his hand out. "I mean, you came here looking for help, so why not let us chime in?"
"I don't think so." Raven walked past Ben, ignoring his handshake. "I need way more than you two for someone like Trigon. Two just won't do it."
"Ah. Hey..." Ben looked back at Raven walking off.
"I have to go." Raven would take her leave, opening the door to the RV and right back out into the cold. "I do appreciate you for saving me anyways."
"Wait! Are you sure we can't help you?!" Gwen asked, stepping out of the vehicle as well, along with Ben. "Maybe you should at least know about the place you're in. If you're not from Earth, then you have to get some help from someone else. Plus, are you really in a hurry to go somewhere else?"
"...I have to go back to Azarath eventually. And I have to figure out a solution to my problem on my own. There's not much you can do for me." Raven responded. "I won't take up your time anymore. Thanks for helping me again, though." She added, and once again, Raven would then take flight, flying away from the duo of heroes.
They watched as she flew off, but right afterwards, something happened. Her head would gain a splitting pain as she lost her momentum, holding her head. "AAAGH!" Raven would scream, her body falling to the ground and landing in the snow. Ben and Gwen would rush over to the fallen girl to see what was wrong.
"Woah, hey?!" Ben said, crouching down. "Are you okay?!"
"I-I..." Raven's breathing was ragged. "I'm fine...It's just that. It's just that..."
"What's wrong?!" Gwen asked.
"...So many...so many emotions." Right now, at this very moment, Raven was feeling an onslaught of emotions. Somewhere nearby, emotions of high intensity were overflowing in the area. The presence of such strong emotion was overwhelming for her and caused her to collapse. "A lot of strong emotions are coming from the same place. I can't block them out." She admitted, struggling to get up. "There's so much of them...I can't move. So many intense feelings in one place. So many voices. So many thoughts. So many people..." she muttered.
"So there's something nearby." Gwen realized. "Ben, we need to check that out. Maybe the Justice League is involved."
"Or we're getting involved." Ben smirked, holding up the Omnitrix. "Probably whoever caused all of this snow to be here randomly is behind this. Especially with it being so hot this early into summer. I'm checking it out. Do you think you could stay here with Raven?"
"If you need help, I'll come to you." Gwen replied.
"I don't...I don't need watching." Raven would stand back up, shaking her head. "I just need to adjust. That's all. I don't want to spend too long on Earth anyways..."
"Seriously? Come on. Chime in here for a second, lady." Ben shrugged, wanting Raven to cooperate somehow. "Look. At least see what we can do. If you don't think we're not capable of helping you in any way...then maybe this'll change your mind!" Propping it up, he was ready to transform once more. "Come on, XLR8!" Requesting for the alien XLR8, Ben slammed down on the Omnitrix at full force, a green light enveloping him.
Raven squinted her eyes a bit as from the green void, Ben would emerge as a new entity. Alas, he did not get XLR8. Instead, for the second time in a row on the same day, he emerged as Heatblast.
"Heatblast? Again?!" Heatblast looked at himself. "This thing never picks the same alien twice in one day that easily!"
"Hm. Must be the summer heat or something." Gwen shrugged while Raven was in awe by what she was seeing. Out of all the things she thought he could do, that was the last thing she expected.
"Whatever. If it's someone who's all about the cold, then Heatblast is the guy for the job. I'm heading off!" Heatblast would use his flames to cut a circle in the ground, making a platform for himself. He then set that platform on fire from beneath, using it as a booster for flight.
"Hey, hold on!" Raven yelled. "What are you even going to-?!" But Heatblast had already taken off, leaving the two girls behind.
"..." Gwen turned to Raven. "Well. He has a point. You'll have to see us in action." she suggested. "He's a little cocky, I admit." She chuckled. "But that doesn't mean that his heart isn't in the right place. We should trust him to make a difference." she added, and Raven looked at her. She could sense Gwen's honesty in her words. She was telling the truth.
"...Alright. Let's see what he can do."
The emotions Raven felt were from an area nearby where people were in peril. And naturally, their emotions were intense when in peril. In this case, being caught up in ice prisons. People ran for their lives as projectiles of ice approached them, striking their bodies and immediately encasing them in ice.
One by one, they were being frozen easily by ice of such magnitude. It was by a nearby town and that town itself already had ice covering parts of its surface. The temperature had dropped and snow was falling. It was almost as cold as the Arctic. And it was all thanks to a particular supervillain.
"Weather Wizard's late...He probably didn't succeed in getting here, did he?" The villain in question was someone that was working with Weather Wizardd but had a hunch he had lost. That villain was known as Killer Frost.
Once a young and bright scientist working for S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin Snow was part of a project to isolate the so-called 'genetic chain' in DNA that was responsible for the development of metahuman powers, in the hopes of replicating superhuman powers in ordinary humans. A freak accident occurred, which galvanized her biological makeup by infusing it with ice and granted her control over ice and snow at the cost of her normal life.
The one known as Killer Frost came from that.
"And this heat..." Killer Frost raised her arm, standing in the middle of an array of frozen people. "This summer heat is wonderful...but it's not hot enough. I need it to be hotter. To overpower this..." She craved heat. Intense heat. Heat powerful enough to outdo the chill she brought.
She craved heat.
And Weather Wizard was to be the one to help her. Alas, she found that he was not here and her ice was just spreading more and more, outdoing the summer heat.
"Do you know how frustrating it is to crave heat constantly?" Killer Frost walked up to one of the people who was on his back, scurrying out of pure fear. "To want to have that warm touch of a human to keep you from turning to ice? Well, that's what it feels like. I've been in the cold for years. Ever since the day I changed. I've never been able to return to how things used to be. I need warmth. But because of my body, I can't even feel the heat that's around me."
"Uhh...Uhhh!" He trembled in fear as Killer Frost would standing before him, her legs on the side of his torso, her hands reaching to hold his face. His eyes were filled with terror. And then, the ice would come into contact with his skin. As her palms pressed onto the man's face, he would begin to turn to ice, his very flesh, his bones, everything about him would slowly start freezing as Killer Frost allowed it to take its time.
"I can't even feel the warmth of fear from you or anyone else when I make contact." Killer Frost's eyes narrowed. "All that I feel is the cold. All I will ever feel is the cold. Unless I can satisfy this craving." Her fingers would dig in deeper, and the ice would spread across the man's skin even faster. "I sometimes think I'll never get that freedom...But, I am hopeful admittedly."
"Hey!" A voice rang from afar.
Killer Frost would turn her head, raising an eyebrow. She could sense a powerful source of heat coming her way, soon seeing Heatblast arrive on his platform of rock.
"Oh, so you're the one responsible for all that snow." Heatblast said. "Makes sense."
"And who might you be? You look...promising. Maybe someone that can satisfy, hm?" Killer Frost grinned.
"Maybe. You're Killer Frost, aren't you? Here I thought Weather Wizard was behind it."
"So you're the reason he's not here. Hmph. You wasted a good chance for intense heat to potentially appear. But you might suffice. Hopefully." Killer Frost's eyes narrowed as Heatblast hopped off of the floating rock he stood on and landing on the street.
"I'll do much better than that. I'm a hero after all." Heatblast responded. "Took down Weather Wizard already. You're next up. Unless you wanna call it quits right now."
"I'll call it quits...if you can prove to be as beneficial as you look. You walking torch." Killer Frost smirked. "But to see it for myself...You'll need encouragement!" With her hand out, she summoned an array of sharp ice pillars that rose from the ground rapidly. Heatblast quickly leaped back, narrowly avoiding the last one that almost reached him.
After jumping back, Heatblast saw that Killer Frost would start to go on the offensive. She swung her arms left and right repeatedly, sending out projectiles of ice that would crash onto Heatblast. However, with a mere swipe of his hand, Heatblast was able to melt all of the ice that was thrown his way, causing it to evaporate in the air, turning it to steam.
"So what's your deal?! Did you really think Weather Wizard would help you out with some heat?!" Heatblast questioned. He then conjured a stream of fire, sending a barrage of fiery attacks at Killer Frost. However, Killer Frost would bring up an icy wall between herself and Heatblast, protecting herself from the onslaught of fiery attacks.
"Very much so. He showed promise. Being able to manipulate the weather extends to the heat itself!" She thrust her arm forward, unleashing a spiral of snow and ice that flew forward. It was fast and relentless, and before long it would strike Heatblast, encasing him in ice. "So cold and yet...it's not enough." Killer Frost's eyes would widen, a sinister grin on her face. "Not nearly enough."
Heatblast was covered in a layer of thick, frosty ice, unable to move. But it wouldn't last forever. Soon, he would break free. His body would start heating up immensely, causing the ice to crack and melt. He soon broke free with an outburst of flames.
"The only benefit is that I can be satisfied by heat for a few weeks or so. But a few weeks is not enough!" Killer Frost ranted, putting her hands together as she manipulated the snow that was around the town. Heatblast looked around, seeing the snow suddenly shift, rising from the ground and forming something. Killer Frost had made a massive snowman. "I want a lifetime of warmth! Of satisfaction! A lifetime of feeling heat in my chest that can make me forget that I am in the cold!"
"That so?!" Heatblast shouted, and he would use his flames to fly forward, heading straight to the snowman. But the snowman would swing its arm at Heatblast, knocking him to the ground.
He groaned, getting back up. The snowman would attempt to smash its foot against Heatblast, but the pyrokinetic alien would quickly evade this, blasting the leg of the snowman to prevent it from smashing him. The leg would then turn to water, causing the snowman to lose balance.
"Then let Heatblast solve that for you!" Leaping through the air, Heatblast pulled his arm back before throwing it forward. unleashing a fierce strike to the snowman's chest. The direct hit onto the snowman was so great that it unleashed a massive burst stream of fire that went straight through the creature.
The snowman's front and back was blown away as the flames continued, approaching Killer Frost. She gasped, seeing this massive burst of fire coming her way as she was far too late to block it or get out of the way.
"Gh...AAAAAGH!" Killer Frost screamed as the fire enveloped her entire body. The flames would burn her, melting the snowman in the process as Heatblast landed on the ground, the flames from his strike dying out soon afterwards.
As the snowman was destroyed, the ice around the people would immediately begin to melt away, freeing them from the prisons they were in. As the ice melted from the flames, it would run off of their bodies in the form of water. They would all be freed, but the intense cold would still remain in their bodies. They were all shivering and were left in a weakened state, but at least they were safe and sound.
Raven had just shown up with Gwen, witnessing it for herself. And Ben very much surpassed her rather low expectations. She thought he wasn't capable of helping her stop Trigon and she still didn't think so. But that display of power certainly showed her something unique that caught her attention.
"Heh. Hot enough for you?" Heatblast landed, snapping his fingers with a light spark coming from it as he looked at Killer Frost.
The Supervillainess groaned as she was reeling from that heat, being on one knee and trying to recover. She had a few burns on her, but otherwise, the heat was effective in stopping her. "That was...more than enough." Killer Frost would look at Heatblast, giving him a glare.
"Well, guess I did my job." Heatblast snickered while shrugging. "But don't think you're gonna get off easy because you're satisfied now."
"Who said anything about that?" Killer Frost panted. "Something like this will last me a good while...but not nearly enough." With her eyes narrowed, she held her hand out, summoning a small tornado of snow around her. Heatblast flinched a bit, expecting another attack.
But it wasn't. It was a getaway attempt.
Once the snow cleared, Killer Frost was gone. No trace of her remained. Heatblast blinked twice, looking around and not finding any sight of the villainess. He would revert back to his human form and would look around. "She got away..."
"You didn't even save some for me, Ben." Gwen walked over. "Or even give everyone here enough heat to warm them up."
"Hey, it's cool. I melted most of the snow, didn't I?" Ben gestured to the melted snow. With all of it being diminished by Heatblast's power, the summer sun was slowly starting to creep back in and warm things up. It wouldn't take too long for the town to return to normal temperatures.
"You did." Raven approached him, looking at him. "You did a good job. That was...surprising."
"So, Grey Lady. What do you think? Think I'm not capable of helping out now?" Ben proudly grinned, turning back to face her. He expected her to rethink it completely and bask in his awesomeness. He even had his eyes closed, expecting a bombastic response. In his mind, he expected Raven to be all chipper and wide-eyed.
"Yeah. You still won't be enough." Only for Raven to immediately stick by what she said, having Ben stagger once more as he could hear his inner thoughts make a glass-breaking sound. "Fire won't do much against Trigon after all, let alone a demon."
"Hah...Yeah that makes sense." Ben lowered his head.
"But...I guess you have some promise...I can see it." Raven added. "Maybe I could use a little bit of your help."
"Really?!" Ben's eyes lit up, his ego returning to him as his pride returned to him. "You really mean it?!"
"Yeah. I do." Raven nodded. "I guess..."
"Hah. I'll take it!" He pumped his fist.
"Wow. Really desperate for validation, aren't you?" Gwen was not amused.
"Well, I can bet Killer Frost is gonna show up again eventually. If a place gains a bunch of ice, we'll know its here. But for our first day doing Hero Work, not too shabby." Ben gave a thumbs-up. "And all before even reaching Metropolis."
"Get me somewhere. Somewhere I can focus." Raven requested. She was still in dire need of focus and time to properly rest. "And I need alone time too."
"Well, we can get you to Metropolis if that's not an issue." Gwen suggested. "Unless, based on your Manna, that might not be the best option."
"How did you know...?" Raven was a bit surprised that Gwen figured that out.
"I could read your Manna pretty well. It's quite massive honestly. You probably want somewhere nice and quiet, don't you?"
"That's...Yeah, that's correct." Raven uttered.
"Nice and quiet? Hmm..." Ben pondered for a moment, looking up for a bit. "Nah...Gotham's too chaotic...And everywhere else is just crowded. The quietest place is the new RV technically."
"But with you around, it's not quiet at all." Gwen gave a quick retort.
"Fair enough. Ah! I got it!" That's when Ben had an idea of where to go. Somewhere to keep Raven focused and let her properly recover.
Washington D.C The Hall of Justice.
The location of the Justice League. The World's Greatest Superheroes. Massive in size and impressive to look at, this very building radiates immense hope all because of the heroes that work hard to defend the planet and the lives that live on it.
And for such acts, it always required a sharp eye, looking out for trouble. Such as right now. Within the Hall of Justice, right in the room known as the High Technology Clean Lab #2. The most advanced laboratory of it's kind. At least in North America.
And currently, standing there were two heroes. One was none other than the Dark Knight himself. Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman.
The other was the Fastest Man Alive. Barry Allen. The Flash.
"I checked both East and West. Snow there and snow here." The Flash spoke to Batman. "All this summer heat's been bringing out the likes of Killer Frost and others a lot more. Maybe they're just trying to beat the heat."
"What of Killer Frost? Her and Weather Wizard's signals were lost." Batman questioned.
"Well, it looks like someone already defeated them both. I was too busy handling the cold elsewhere. Probably Clark or Diana solved that problem." The Flash shrugged.
"Probably not. They're elsewhere too and it isn't anywhere near where all that snow was found." But Batman shook his head. "Probably other heroes taking action."
"Either way, what's their goal? Turn the whole country into a winter wonderland or something?"
"For Killer Frost, no. She'd hate that. Weather Wizard wouldn't even want that." Batman thought for a moment. As he looked at the screen, it wasn't just Weather Wizard and Killer Frost who were up to something. The screen showed that there were others. Others who had the power to influence and interact with the weather.
It wasn't a coincidence that all these weather-based figures were taking action at the same time, and in the same location. "Most likely, they're working together." Batman was already piecing it together.
"Yeah and for what goal?"
"The only one that makes sense is Killer Frost. She'd do anything to crave for the natural heat everyone else feels. But anyone else who can interact with heat on greater levels are on our side. Not hers. Ice is more common with villains." Batman crossed his arms. This didn't sit right with him. To him, if Killer Frost wanted to gain the ultimate heat to satisfy her, why would she team up with mostly cold-related fellows. The only one who stuck out was Weather Wizard, but that's because he can interact with all things weather related, hot or cold.
But that was the point. They were all cold-based. And none of them could satisfy her craving for heat for too long. "They're after something else." Batman believed that they were pursuing something far bigger than just helping Killer Frost out.
"Then that's my cue. I'll go help out Superman and do some investigating in the meanwhile." The Flash was off. He zoomed off right away, leaving the lab. As for Batman, he too was about to do some investigating himself.
The RV was back on the road, leaving the formerly cold area and back into the summer heat. And while moving, Raven was sitting in the back of the RV, currently meditating and recovering her mind, body and soul. Having meditated, she was able to regain her strength and restore it. She had been at it for a while, and she was close to being done.
"...Azarath Metrion Zinthos..." She muttered, floating in the air. Her legs were crossed, and her hands were positioned in a triangular shape. She had her eyes closed, the gem on her forehead glowing brightly.
"A-" A sound was about to escape Ben's mouth, only for Raven to gave him an intense glare, causing him to scrunch his mouth instantly. He was not to say anything while she was focusing. "..."
"...?" Gwen just shrugged while smiling. She knew a thing or two about such meditation tactics.
As for where Ben was driving them too, she figured that if Raven was to get all the focus she needs daily, one place can suffice which will do the trick. It was a place that was relatively close to Metropolis and was the ideal spot for a place to relax.
Mount Marcy, New York
Mount Marcy was a mountain located in the Town of Keene in Essex County. At an elevation of 5,344 feet, it was the highest point in New York. Mount Marcy was a popular peak to visit in the Adirondacks. Mount Marcy was the tallest of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. It is the highest peak in New York State, and the 7th highest peak in the Northeastern United States.
Ben and the rest had made their way to a quiet part of the mountain. There was a small clearing that was surrounded by trees, and the ground was covered in snow and ice. The temperature was low, but not unbearable, and the air was crisp and clean. They had parked their RV in the middle of the clearing, and were preparing to spend the night there.
"Alright! This is it!" Ben said, stretching and yawning as he stepped outside of the RV. Gwen and Raven soon followed.
"Are we going to camp out here?" Gwen asked. "It seems so...cold."
"Don't worry, we've got the RV. We'll be fine. And plus, it's not like it'll be freezing or anything. We're heroes, remember? We can handle the cold." Ben replied. "I've been to places far colder than this. In fact, this is actually really good. Reminds me of that time in the Himalayas, fighting against that Yeti."
"Yeah, but we're not automatically cold resistant like Superman, genius." Gwen replied.
"It'll do." But Raven would accept it as she walked past. "I need some time alone."
"I-"
"A lot of time alone." Raven interrupted Ben, continuing to walk off. She was serious about having time alone. Her entire disposition practically showed and emanated it. Ben didn't say anything else, only scratching his hair.
"Boy, she's something, isn't she?" Ben commented.
"She sure is. I think it's probably best that you don't try to bother her unless she wants to." Gwen advised. "She's already had a tough time from the sounds of it. Whatever she's been through with that Trigon Demon."
"I'll do that." Ben nodded, watching as Raven would depart from them. Gwen would then turn and start heading back to the RV. As for Raven, she had gone to a private and quiet spot of the mountain.
Raven sat down on the edge of the mountain, looking out at the breathtaking views. She could see for miles and miles, the trees stretching out below her in a lush green carpet.
The sunlight glinted off of the leaves, making them shimmer and sparkle. The wind blew gently through the trees, rustling the branches and creating a soothing sound. Raven closed her eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air.
This was a great spot to meditate. To focus on what was important and what needed to be done. And being on Earth, the place her mother originally came from, there was a bit of serenity from it. Perhaps it was the half-human side of her responding to it. Regardless, she could feel herself calming down and getting closer to a proper state of mind.
The sun began to set over the mountains, bathing the valley below in a soft orange light. And soon, as the Golden Sun would start to leave, it would gradually allow the Silver Moon to take control. Much shorter control than usual thanks to Summer.
Raven was at peace once more, having great silence around her. More than ever too. Even in Azarath, there were still people around so noise was still bound to appear here and there, albeit restrained and muffled at times. But here? Here was pure silence. Pure, absolute, unadulterated, tranquility.
Her mind drifted away from the outside world and straight into her mind. She began to chant, her voice low and steady as she focused on her inner self. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos..." She chanted over and over again once more.
She had to be ready for Trigon after just cutting his power in half and holding him back. She had no idea what he was even doing right now and that terrified her truly. But after seeing Ben in action, a tiny bit of hope did come through for Raven.
Granted, she found Ben to be a bit too much. "Mmn..." She grumbled a bit. Compared to everyone she's met in her life, mostly from Azarath, prior to this, no one has been so expressive and bombastic.
It was a bit overwhelming to Raven. Not too much though. Ben was at least controlled energy instead of loose one. But she wasn't sure if she could handle being around that kind of energy, especially if he's going to actually help her stop Trigon. Gwen seemed fine though.
But as Raven continued to mediate, she twitched as she felt something in her mind. Or rather, saw something. Every split-second, flashes of a certain someone kept appearing in her mental vision, causing her to flinch and twitch each time.
Visions of Trigon. Visions of her father would flash in her mind. She could not keep him out of her head, and every time that he flashed before her eyes, she would wince. Her focus was breaking. She couldn't concentrate on her task, and the more that he appeared in her mind, the less likely it was that she would succeed in stopping him.
"Gah!" Raven gasped, taking aback by that. "Why am I seeing him in my visions already? Did he do something to me back there?" She held her head, wondering if Trigon was perhaps trying to get into her head. She couldn't tell. She wondered if Trigon snuck something during their brief clash. Either way, concentrating was going to be harder than she thought.
In fact, Raven didn't really feel like concentrating right now. Her mind just wasn't in it right now. Especially since she was far from home, no longer in Azarath. With her head down and a mind that has yet to recover, Raven would just get up and walk, deciding to mediate another time when she's much clearer. Right now, all she would do was just walk.
Gwen was already in the RV, currently asleep. As for Ben, he was still awake, standing outside in the cold night. He was just standing guard at night since they were all out here in the mountains. A little chilly, but nothing too harsh. Ben was used to things far worse than this. He would occasionally shiver, his arms wrapped around his torso to try and warm himself up, but that was about it.
"Maybe Heatblast for a third time won't hurt." Ben grimaced, looking at his Omnitrix. But as he did, in the distance, he saw someone walking by. He saw Raven. "Hm? Hey, are you done with your meditation?" He called out to her, only to have her ignore him. "Huh? Is she ignoring me or something?"
Ben was a bit confused, and he would eventually decide to follow her. He would eventually catch up to her. Raven was just walking along, not saying anything, and Ben would be following her, trying to figure out what was going on. She didn't look at him or even acknowledge his presence, and he couldn't understand why.
"Hey, Grey Lady? Are you okay?" He asked.
"My name is Raven." She finally revealed her name to her. "And it's none of your business."
"Well, you don't look like you meditate for that long. Something up?" Ben questioned. "Plus, we're working together right now, aren't we? So Gwen and I can kinda get involved in your business. I mean...if you want us to."
"...I couldn't focus, that's all." Raven answered. "Not tonight at least..."
"Really? Even away from so much noise?" Ben looked at her in confusion. "But I picked the best place I could..."
"It's fine. It's a fine place. Nothing wrong with it." Raven looked away. Then there was a bit of silence between them, only broken up by the cold air in the atmosphere.
"Hey. Uh, this is usually Gwen's thing. She's pretty great at reading emotions and all that. But I'm no slouch. Your meditation didn't go well, did it?" Ben guessed. "I can see it in your face. Even if it's hard to read."
"...You're not as slow as you look. I am a bit bothered." Raven stopped in her tracks. "...I couldn't concentrate. Not with Trigon still in the back of my mind. I tried, but he appeared in my head. And I don't know how. He's not speaking to me or anything, but he's there."
"You're probably just stressed out about wanting to defeat him. I've been there."
"Really now?"
"Yeah. Truth be told, I have someone that's a huge problem for me. Haven't seen him in 8 years, but he was something fierce. Vilgax was his name. He was an alien warlord. He was big, strong, and had a massive amount of weapons. Not sure how he compares to this Trigon guy, but he was a handful."
"I can tell." Raven replied, reading his emotions. "Your emotions do the talking. But Trigon is just different. Even if I don't have a clue about this Vilgax character..."
"Well, that's why we're gonna take him down eventually, right? Just like Vilgax, he won't be a problem." Ben smirked.
"You seem awfully optimistic."
"Years of saving lives gives you that confidence." Ben added. "Always gotta have it and some great confidence too. Once you settle in here, you'll know what I mean. Trust me."
"Look. I don't mean to be rude..." Raven turned to face Ben. "But, I only just want to get some help in stopping Trigon. I'm not planning to stay here forever or anything like that. I have a home to get back too...And an apology to make. I left home without even telling mother."
"Oh, dude...seriously?" Ben's expression changed and so did his tone.
"I was so worried and fearful of Trigon that I made my way to the Great Door of Azarath as soon as possible. I didn't want to tell my mother of what I was going to do. She would've stopped me...Probably even never let me leave Azarath at all. But leaving her without a notice, I've probably made her worry so much. I didn't even think of that." Raven spoke, turning her head away. "I just want to defeat Trigon as soon as possible...and then head back to apologize to mother. That's all. You're just the help I need. No offense."
"...Yeah. I understand." But Ben had no complaints, understanding where Raven was coming from. He didn't have a problem with it. But, Ben did feel a little bad.
"It's nothing against you, really...Next thing in the morning. Can you please just get me to somewhere I can find a ton of help?" Raven requested not wanting to get too attached to anything on Earth.
At all.
She saw herself being here temporarily and that was about it. After all was solved, she would be back home in Azarath with her mother. That was the plan and Ben respected her wishes, not saying anything else. He just bid her goodnight. As Ben walked off, heading back to the RV, Raven, while facing away from him, felt something.
A bit guilty for that.
She felt that she came off a bit rude. Maybe even too pushy. She didn't mean to be that way. But that was only because of the power she had dormant within her. Her own emotions.
For that, a bit of sadness appeared on Raven's face. She didn't like having to hide her true feelings but it was a necessity. She couldn't afford to unleash what was hidden beneath as warned by her own mother.
Deep underground, within an area beneath a city, there was an array of crystals across the walls. Crystals of what appeared to be heat. These crystals would light up this dark underground, which was full of other things. Such as a room that had someone enter it.
That someone being none other than Killer Frost. After her escape, this was the one place she went too, unbeknownst to many others. Only she and a few others knew of it and one of them was currently present in here.
"So? How did it go?" A voice said, moving out of the shadows. He was a hooded man with a rather lanky body, mostly hidden by the light yellow cloak he had. His face was shown but it looked creepy and almost skeleton-like. And in his hands, sparks of fire were present, constantly being generated.
Not too bad. Weather Wizard's been defeated and most likely arrested, so that's a waste. But at least I got a good dose of heat from some random hero." Killer Frost replied to the lanky man. "This kind of heat will probably last me a good while, but I still need it to be permanent. With Weather Wizard out of the picture, you can still promise that. Right, Veddeh?"
"Oh, but of course. I promise you, by the end of this, you'll find the perfect heat that will fully satisfy you. And as a bonus, you can still retain the power over ice while being warm. A great balance of the two. We just need more and more cold from as many people as possible. My home planet was always able to handle the cold perfectly after all."
"And yet you can't even generate fire strong enough to satisfy me." Killer Frost rolled her eyes.
"Well excuse me for not being the best of my race." He scoffed at that. "But I will be by the end of it all. Weather Wizard may be unavailable, but you and the others can still suffice. Especially you with all that amazing power of ice."
"It's amazing but it's annoying." Killer Frost sat down, resting her hand on her face. "The sooner I can feel human again, the better. Plus...I wouldn't mind keeping this power while being warm. That does sound like a good tradeoff." She smirked, letting off a tiny glint of ice afterwards.
To her, the possibility of her reaching her end goal might truly come. After all, she had assistance from alien of heat after all. She and the others just had to keep working for it. And that meant all the cold they could bring. From others, of course.
Morning had come at Mount Marcy. In the early morning, Ben and Gwen had awoken, and the trio was preparing to leave. Raven returned to the RV, not saying anything else. Especially after last night, where she still felt how she presented herself to Ben.
"Alright. To get all the help Raven needs, no one does it better than the Justice League. So Washington D.C it is. Metropolis can wait." Ben said, already on the road. They had left Mount Marcy behind, and were on the highway towards the capital. The RV was a bit of a slow drive, and was not the fastest of vehicles, but the journey was long, and the scenery was beautiful.
And so far, no signs of any cold activities nearby thankfully. It was just the nice, yet sometimes harsh, summer heat that was to be enjoyed. Ben was at the wheel of the RV, driving carefully, and Gwen sat in the passenger seat, her feet up on the dashboard, and her eyes on her phone. She was texting with her friends, and occasionally laughing at something they sent her.
Raven was in the back, meditating quietly once more. She was hoping this time, Trigon wouldn't appear her mind again. Hopefully.
"Look at this." As they were moving, Gwen had opened up her laptop, checking stuff online. And something of importance certainly came up. "Over at Maryland. The temperature just dropped out of nowhere! From 25 degrees to 3!"
"Really?" Ben looked back at Gwen.
"Eyes on the road, please!" Gwen bellowed, causing Ben to quickly focus back on the road as she continued speaking. Right now, she was viewing an online map and seeing the weather changes. "And over at Nevada and Texas too. They just dropped just like that!"
"Is it Killer Frost again?"
"It can't be her since she's just one person. And I have Weather Wizard's wand with me, plus he's been arrested. It's probably others using some kind of ice power or external ice force to do this."
"Geez. They must really wanna beat the hat. I mean I know it's super hot but..."
"The closest is Maryland. We can head there and see what's up, Ben."
"The Justice League are probably already on it..." Ben pondered for a moment. "That's not gonna stop me from helping out. But it'll be a good excuse to see Superman!"
"And?"
"And help Raven get the help she needs. That too." Ben grinned as he was about to accelerate.
And as soon as he chose to accelerate, one of the secrets of this custom-made RV would show itself. The back of the RV would suddenly open up, revealing a hidden jet booster that was installed into the vehicle. The wheels would retract, and the booster would ignite, sending the RV rocketing forward at incredible speeds. The trio would feel the acceleration, and Raven would have to grab onto the seat in order to keep herself from flying out the back of the vehicle.
"Mmmrrgh...!" Gwen and Raven grumbled, glaring at Ben while holding on tightly.
"Hehe..." While Ben just had a sheepish yet cheesy grin, not expecting that to happen.
The booster would send the RV zooming through traffic, weaving in and out of cars as they passed by. Gwen had to hold on to her seat as well, while Ben was enjoying the ride. He was grinning widely, and his hands were firmly on the steering wheel. The boost would keep going, and the landscape would start to change rapidly. Soon, they were out of the city and into the countryside. The trees would zip by, and the road would become more winding. But the RV would keep going, its boosters propelling it at breakneck speeds.
Soon, the scenery would change once more, and they would find themselves in the middle of a forest. Soon, the RV would come to a halt at a small clearing in the woods, and the booster would turn off. They had arrived at their destination, and they would step out of the RV. They had reached their goal.
But not before a few moments of respite for Gwen and Raven. Gwen's hair was disheveled and her face was pale. She looked like she had just gone through a tornado. Raven was sitting in the corner, her head in her hands. Her eyes were closed, and she was trying to catch her breath.
"Ooh, Ben...!" Gwen groaned, getting on her knees.
"Sorry about that. Should've probably tested some stuff out first." Ben felt wobbly, almost falling over. "But look...We made it. Check it out." He pointed ahead, showing the snow in the distance. That speed was worth it as they had already gotten to Maryland, where there was the snow to be found.
"Ugh..." Raven groaned, now needing time to recollect herself yet again, much to her annoyance.
"Let's get in the action. Maybe we beat the Justice League here." Ben propped up the Omnitrix, ready to get in there. As he did, he slammed down on it, letting the device's energy envelope him. Out of the light, the alien he needed to reach certain distances emerged.
XLR8.
"Can you move, Gwen?" XLR8 looked at Gwen.
"I'll be fine. Just leave Raven in the RV to let her rest some more without us here. We'll take it from here." Gwen would stand up, having the strength to recollect herself. Once she was up, she would get on XLR8's back, having him piggyback her to the scene.
"You got it." XLR8 replied, taking off and becoming a blue blur immediately. With his speed, it didn't take long to arrive. All while Raven watched them two of them leave.
As for Maryland itself, that temperature drop was very much the cause of a greater force than just nature doing its thing. Someone was involved. But it wasn't exactly someone of high sentience. Rather, it appeared to be a monster. A few of them actually. They were these blue-skinned, four-armed creatures, with the lower two arms being shorter than the top arms. Their bodies were muscular and bulky, and they had a large tail that was wrapped around their body. They had long claws on their fingers and toes, and sharp fangs in their mouths.
They howled and growled, their cries echoing across the snowy landscape. And with their collective power, they brought along a snowstorm to this area. All the people here screaming and running were being frozen by the raging cold winds, trying their best to escape it. One-by-one, they were being caught by the fearsome ice, putting them in icy prisons. They would be freezing in place, unable to move, and the wind would continue to blow around them, covering them in snow and ice.
As these monsters continued to howl, one of them leapt high into the air, approaching a few people with its claws out. The people screamed, unable to run the monster as it was about to grab them.
Only for XLR8 to zoom in, delivering a swift yet heavy tackle to the ice monster, intercepting its attack and saving the civilians. "Get out of here! Quick!" XLR8 instructed. "It'll only take a moment!" The civilians did just that, running away from the danger zone. But there were still many to save and a few monsters to stop.
"What are those things?" Gwen wondered as she got off XLR8's back. Looking around, she was able to get a proper count on the total number of Ice Monsters. "8 of them. Each one of them are doing this. But first Weather Wizard, Killer Frost and now this? What's going on?"
"We'll figure it out eventually. But if these guys are monsters, someone put them here." XLR8 replied before zooming ahead to confront these monsters.
He attacked the one he intercepted before, swinging a punch at its face, only to have it blocked. It tried to retaliate, only for XLR8 to quickly dodge. With his speed, he ran circles around the monster. He would be a blue blur, moving around and around, confusing and dazing the monster. As its vision became blurry, but it was a durable one. It could certainly take some hits.
But not for long. XLR8 would zoom from behind, kicking the monster's back, sending it tumbling to the ground. It didn't take long for the ice monster to get up though, roaring at XLR8, who had his eyes narrowed at it.
Soon, the other monsters turned their attention to XLR8, roaring at him as well. They began charging at XLR8, attempting to surround and overwhelm him. But XLR8 was ready. He sped up, moving faster than ever, and began to strike each of the monsters in turn while becoming a blue and black zig-zag. He would hit one in the chest, then the head, then the legs, and so on.
Nice clean hits in a nice perfect order. And the velocity of such hits certainly made some of the ice chip and fall off of these monsters. But with all of that running, one of the monsters was able to intercept XLR8 finally. By bringing up an array of ice pillars from below, XLR8 would manage to dodge some of them, but a delayed one would catch him off guard, and he would collide right into it.
"Agh!" XLR8 cried out, his momentum being disrupted. As he collided with the pillar, it would shatter into pieces and send him flying backward. But he landed on his feet, skidding to a stop and looking back at the monsters.
They began unloading ice projectiles at him, each sharp enough to easily penetrate him. "Ben, look out!" Gwen cried. But her warnings were unnecessary. XLR8 was able to move fast enough to avoid the projectiles, breaking some of them apart by chopping them apart.
Gwen assisted, using her Manna to form a wall construct that blocked the other projectiles. And as that happened, she opened up a part of her Manna hole, allowing XLR8 to run right through it.
He dashed through the hole, elbow bashing against one of the monsters, sending it flying to the side and crashing onto a nearby car, damaging the vehicle. Its impact would cause a dent to form in its hood, and the car's alarm would sound. But it wasn't done yet. XLR8 decided to at least defeat one of them to see how much punishment they could take.
He rushed to that same monster against the car as Gwen had his back, preventing the other monsters from interrupting him. When attempting to lunge at XLR8, Gwen had expanded the Manna wall, increase the width and size of it. This was enough to block the other ice monsters for a short while. Enough for XLR8 to focus on one of them at a time.
He came in hot, striking hard at the monster against the wall right in the chest. Quite a hard hit too with all that speed being built up, enough to send a shockwave out of its impact. And certainly enough to shatter ice. XLR8 backed up, seeing the ice started crumble all around the monster's body. The ice shattered and broke, and the monster was left exposed.
But what XLR8 saw shocked him.
As all of the ice from the outside was gone, it was revealed that it was a person inside. An unconscious man was seen, having his body lay against the car after the ice was all gone.
"No way! Gwen! They're all people!" XLR8 alerted, making his way to her while dodging more of their attacks.
"They're people?!" Gwen repeated with a shocked expression. That certainly changed everything. "Then...Are they trying to do the same to everyone else here? Turn them into monsters like them?"
"Whoever did this is pretty sick." XLR8 added. "They're not even anywhere here."
"Let me try and free all the people here before they end up turning. Hopefully I'm not too late."
"Nah. I'll handle that." But XLR8 opted to be the one to free the frozen people. He'd be much faster at it. "You can handle the monsters and free those people instead. This won't take long."
"Hm. Fair." Gwen had no complaints as he smiled, leaving it to Ben. Of course, Ben was on a time limit, so he had to really put that speed to good use.
Zipping away from Ben, he already approached the first person in an icy prison, tackling the ice as hard as he could. The impact was enough to break the ice, freeing the trapped individual. As soon as they were free, he zoomed to the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. He was a blur, freeing as many trapped individuals as possible.
All while Gwen had to deal with these monsters at her own pace. They ran at her with terrifying howls, one of them even trying to lunge at Gwen. She promptly swished her hands to the side, forming a Manna energy wall that acted like a gate, blocking the monsters from passing through. And as they crashed into the gate, she pushed her arm forward, having the bars of the gate push back on the monsters, sending them flying to the side and crashing on the street. The ice on their bodies cracked a little bit, but not enough to fully reveal the human beneath the icy shell.
These were durable beings, and they were not going down easily. One of the monsters yelled in anger, slamming its hands into the ground. By doing so, it caused ice to spread across the ground rapidly, freezing it. And from it, it became a problem for both Gwen and XLR8.
For Gwen, she gasped and saw that her feet were frozen and caught up in ice that wrapped around her, keeping her in place. "Ah!" Gwen exclaimed.
"Oh! Woah!" As for XLR8, his momentum was disrupted by the slippery ground beneath him, and he was sent spinning and sliding in a different direction. He had to fight to regain control, but he was able to stop himself and stay on his feet. He quickly looked over to see the frozen victims, seeing that the ice was getting to them. Time was running out.
One of the monsters ran towards XLR8 as he was slipping, leaping towards him. The monster almost slammed its arms down on XLR8, but barely, XLR8 was able to dodge and slip away, narrowly avoiding the monster's grasp.
But two more came right for him, one of which was shooting ice projectiles at him while running. XLR8 was able to dodge the shots, running in a zig-zag pattern. But some of the projectiles managed to strike him due to the ice messing with his natural flow of momentum. He cried out in pain, feeling the impacts of the ice bullets on his body. The force of the blows sent him skidding across the icy road. Soon he was on the icy ground, spinning and moving around it with no control.
"Oh man...!" And it wasn't pleasant moving on the floor at this pace without any control. XLR8 already felt like he was going to be sick.
"Grrh!" Even when restrained, it didn't stop Gwen. She clenched her hands before raising her arms high. She concentrated a huge chunk of Manna from her body and from it, she made some of it erupt from the ground itself. A geyser of Manna emerged, breaking apart parts of the ice ground and disrupting the other monsters, sending them flying to the sides from the sheer pressure and intensity of the magic. The Manna wave also broke the ice that kept her in place, freeing her.
"Nice, Gwen!" XLR8 praised. But he knew that at this rate, the Omnitrix could time him out at any moment. Now was a good time to start freeing all these people from their monster shells. "Don't fail me now, Omnitrix...!" With time on the line, XLR8 would start running once more.
But this time, he targeted all the monsters at the same time, having the best way to do so. As the monsters were still reeling from Gwen blowing them away, it gave XLR8 time to start running around all of them in a circle, forming a ring around the ice monsters. His speed generated heat, which began to melt the ice on the ground. It wasn't long until a lot of the ground ice melted, creating a giant puddle. XLR8 sped up, running faster and faster, and the friction of his feet on the ground created more heat and steam.
"Ben!" Gwen warned, seeing that the Omnitrix symbol on his chest was starting to flash. XLR8 was on borrowed time, but that didn't slow him down at all.
If anything, it only made him go faster. Soon, he generated enough heat and steam to make a massive bubble of water vapor which grew to great heights.
In fact, it was large enough to engulf the monsters, making it much harder to see. And that's where Ben had the advantage here, even with limited time.
The monsters howled and roared, confused and blinded by the steam, and they tried to swing their arms at the rapidly moving Kineceleran, only to miss.
"Here's the finisher!" XLR8 yelled as he used all of that velocity he gained to deal as hard of a hit as he could. He threw his body forward at full force, running past every single one of the remaining monsters, hitting them in the blink of an eye. And afterwards, he stopped in his tracks, pausing there for a while.
And with the pause ending, the bodies of the ice monsters would shatter into a thousand pieces, the ice disappearing from existence. The humans that were hidden underneath would become freed, falling to the ground.
"Whew...That should do it." Right on time too as the Omnitrix timed out, bringing Ben back to normal. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, relieved he managed to finish it off.
"Ough..." The people groaned in pain while passed out on the ground.
"That's all of them." Gwen walked over, looking up to see the snowstorm fizzling out, and the sun's warmth returning. "Another cold problem solved. At least here..."
"Yeah. But no sign of the one who caused this." Ben looked around. Whoever did this probably just got to the first few people here, transforming them and made a run for it. "That's pretty weird though..."
"How weird?"
"I mean, they had to know the Justice League would be nearby. This is Maryland after all. The Justice League could've stopped this much faster than us." Ben scratched his head, wondering who truly was behind this.
"Unless...They're not far away. Is that what you're getting at?"
"I mean, I wasn't really thinking about that, but that could be true, I guess. But I don't think we can find them now." Ben sighed. "I think we should go. The Justice League can handle getting them all back to health."
"Hold on..." One of the people here spoke to Ben and Gwen, grabbing their attention. "You two....first, thanks for saving us. But secondly...The one you're looking for..."
"Yeah?" Ben leaned forward, one of the people knowing who was responsible for this. "Who was it?"
"It was a monster just like all of them." He pointed ahead. "It came from that way. Took a long time to get here, so it's probably still moving slow."
"Slow? Oh, so it's a slow mover, eh? That changes everything." Ben smiled. "Could it at least speak? It would've been here if it was another monster."
"No. It didn't...All it did was pop out of the ground, spreading its ice." The man explained. "But that's all I know..."
"Moving through the ground..." Gwen pondered for a moment. "That means it escaped the same way...And since this is pretty recent and the monster's slow..."
"It's probably heading for its next targets. Probably Washington D.C." Ben looked out in tot he distance. "Well, we're heading off. The Justice League will be here anytime soon, so hang in there. I bet they'll stop that thing before it reaches D.C. Or maybe we can get there first!"
Once again, Ben wanted to try and beat the Justice League to the action, far too eager to get into the action. "Ugh! Ben, wait!" Gwen followed him as they ran right back to the RV.
Raven was still inside, having gained enough peace and quiet to focus. Granted, she did feel the cries of help from the people earlier, but Ben and Gwen have since quelled that by defeating the monsters, allowing Raven to recollect herself once more.
She was actually rather grateful for that. Raven wasn't sure what she'd do without those two tackling the cause of those emotions. But right now, she just wanted to get adjusted to Earth to better take in the emotions and focus on her mind.
But as she kept meditating, something was creeping up on her. Moving the ground itself was a tiny piece of snow. No one could see it or detect it. Not yet. It moved fast and it moved in a very particular pattern, approaching the RV. It was the very monster that caused the trouble in Maryland, having found its way over here.
It was moving towards the rear door of the RV, slipping through the small cracks between the door. And from there, it would begin to spread. Slowly, it would make its way across the floor, the walls and the ceiling, all while staying hidden from Raven's sight. Just like a virus, it was spreading.
Raven's eyes would twitch, sensing the disturbance in her surroundings. Something was wrong, and she could feel it. And right behind her, the snow was slowly starting to rise and grow in size and in mass. Like a snowman, it was coming to life, and taking form and shape.
But that would not come to pass.
As soon as it grew to a certain height, beginning to tower over Raven, her eyes shot open. Before the monster could fully realize its body and mostly its defenses, Raven's magic already got to it. The monster howled as dark magic would suddenly pierce its body via multiple dark tendrils that emerged from Raven's cloak itself.
It was ripped apart viciously by the tendrils, unable to finish its body. The ice shattered and broke apart, the fragments and shards falling on the floor. Raven turned around to witness the defeat of the monster. She was not impressed or even remotely shocked. She wasn't about to let something ruin her meditation.
"Come on! If we hurry we can-" Ben said as he and Gwen had just returned to the RV. But as soon as they entered, they were a bit too late for that. They looked at the interior, seeing ice shards on the floor and Raven standing over it with her cloak's shadowy tendrils reeling back. "Oh..."
"Hm. Looks like she beat you to it." Gwen nudged Ben's back.
"Eh...I guess that's that." Ben shrugged. They could put a pin in this, believing that was the end of the ice monster. At least, the one here. They believed the other ice monsters were across the other areas that suddenly took a deep in temperature. But they could let the other heroes handle that. It was back on the road once more.
But unbeknownst to them, it was bigger than they thought. There was indeed a connection that they had to realize. And that ice monster, certainly wasn't acting on its own.