Coldsnap: Harbinger of Ice

Chapter 53 (Finale): Frozen Face-Off

---4 Days Later---

On a dark, humid night in downtown Jacksonville, Coldsnap, the Harbinger of Ice, gracefully flew over the streets of the city on the back of her loyal ice dragon---firmly grasping the seat's saddle with one hand and holding her sword with the other---as she vigilantly patrolled the roads for crime. For a few minutes, she didn't see anything of note, until she looked further down the lane to her left into an alleyway and spotted five thugs wearing white inner shirts, unzipped black leather jackets, denim jeans, fingerless gloves, and ski masks---who were also wielding various blunt instruments. They were all positioned near a large, white van with two double doors in the back, and were hard at work loading packages into it. Suspicious, she motioned for the dragon to fly behind a nearby building, out of sight, while she peeked out from behind it and eavesdropped on the criminals' conversation. 

"You sure this is the entire shipment for tonight?" one of them asked. 

"Yep, definitely," another one responded. "This lab sure does turn out high quality products!" 

What are they talking about.....? Coldsnap thought to herself. Then, she realized something else. And what's that smell.....? 

The third grunt looked uneasy. "You sabotaged all the cameras around here, right?" 

"Yeah," said the fourth goon. "And as far as I know, there shouldn't be any superheroes around here to stop us." 

"A lot of them have been popping up lately.....The Viper.....Nightclaw....Powerhouse.....it's made our jobs incredibly difficult...." the fifth thug remarked. "I'm seriously thinking about just going legit." 

The first one sold the fifth a solid backhand across the face. "You know as well as I do that we didn't choose this life. We were forced into it; we had no other choice. Now let's get the last of these drugs loaded and sent off to their buyer," he reprimanded. 

Coldsnap scowled; she had heard enough. Using subtle hand gestures, she ordered the ice dragon to bring her in closer, then she jumped off its back, landed on the sidewalk, and began walking calmly towards the alley. 

The group of five hoodlums were just finishing up on their last batch of boxes when, all of a sudden, a freezing wind enveloped the passageway and caused them to start shivering uncontrollably. 

"Brrrr.....was it supposed to be a cold night tonight?!" the second grunt asked, confused. 

The first one shook his head. "I checked the Weather app before we came; it was only supposed to be 78 degrees at most!" 

The third one's teeth began chattering noisily. "Anyone s-s-see where it's c-c-coming from? Maybe it's an A/C unit gone haywire?!" 

The light-blue icy aura crept closer and closer, with the brick walls and the dirt floor visibly becoming frozen over as Coldsnap continued her approach, the heroine herself still out of sight for now. 

Just then, a sixth foe appeared, frantically attempting to rush into the passageway. His scrawny build, missing teeth, tattered clothes, and overbite left almost nothing to the imagination. 

"What are you doing here?!" the fifth grunt asked urgently. "You were supposed to be keeping watch!" 

"Someone's coming! Someone's----AAAAAAHHHHHH!" the sixth person screamed before the approaching aura instantly froze him solid on contact, much to the others' terror. 

Coldsnap confidently strode into the center of the entrance, officially revealing herself to the criminals. Her light-blue hair and dark-purple suit---decked out with glimmering ice highlights---were completely unmistakable, no matter the distance, and her long, smooth cape flowed elegantly at her back. Her ice sword gleamed brightly in the moonlight, and her light-blue domino mask outlined her eyes perfectly, concealing her identity while also giving off an air of mystery.