Coldsnap: Harbinger of Ice

Chapter 4: Aquatic Amazement

Around lunchtime, Cassie and "Kat"---secretly Coldsnap and Firebird---sat together at a table in Moe's Southwest Grill over at the Orange Park Mall, chatting briefly before Firebird got up to buy the food. Although she had spent less time on Earth than Coldsnap, she insisted on paying for  lunch in return for Coldsnap taking her on such a fun day out. She had already watched the humans' interactions observantly whenever she would be sent to Earth for a mission, so she already had a general idea of what to say and do. All she really needed was money, and to that end, Coldsnap briefly lent her a wallet. 

Soon, Firebird returned with a tray of two burritos and a pair of medium-sized Dr. Peppers. 

"This place is honestly so much fun!" the Fire Sect mage exclaimed. "Just like the Grand Terminus back in the Elemental Realms! That one store with the glitter and costumes.....which one was it?" 

"Claire's?" 

"Yes, that one! It looked almost exactly like that store where you and I got the fire and ice bracelets from!" 

"Yeah.....it did, didn't it?" 

"Everything was going perfectly......" Firebird continued. "Until you accidentally...." 

Coldsnap fell silent once more. 

".....Sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up.....it just slipped out." 

"No, it's okay," the ice mage replied. "It's been two years.....I've started to get over it. It was an accident, anyway." She snapped her fingers. "Hey! Speaking of that incident....remember my nearsightedness?" 

"Yep. What about it?" 

"I met someone who fixed it for me!" Coldsnap said. 

"No way! Who?" 

"Dr. Duncan Drevis, the CEO of Lifeline Industries. You probably haven't heard of him yet, though." 

Firebird blinked for a few seconds. ".....Yeah, sorry, I have no idea who that is." 

"He's the head of this massive innovation company based in Mercury Heights, New York," Coldsnap elaborated. "Specializes in fields such as genetic modification, prosthetics design, robotics, and the like. He created this small attachment that fits into my eye and lets me see exactly like any other person would!" 

Her friend's eyes widened with delight. "Wow! Nice, girl! Something tells me your skills are going to improve even more.....now that you don't have that to worry about!" 

"Yeah!" 

Just then, Coldsnap looked over to her right, and what she saw utterly terrified her. A tan-skinned man with dark hair that appeared to be slicked back with gel, denim jeans, an orange inner shirt, and a red outer jacket was eating by himself several feet away from them. 

"Oh, SHOOT!" she whispered urgently, pulling herself and Firebird into a close huddle and using a nearby menu to cover their faces from the right side. 

At first, Firebird was confused. "What? What is it?!" 

"That man over there.....is that who I think it is?!" 

The Fire Sect mage looked in the same direction as Coldsnap, and squinted her eyes. "I don't know....it kind of looks like....." 

"LEO?!" both girls exclaimed at the same time. 

"WHAT?! That cocky, aggressive boy from the Fire Sect?! But.....but I thought he stayed behind in the Elemental Realms!" Firebird protested. 

Coldsnap nodded frantically. "So did I! What the heck is he doing here?!"