The Paragons

Chapter 37: What Happens Next

The following morning was a somber one. 

Carla and Coldsnap sat in the breakfast nook of the heroes' combined headquarters, sipping coffee in almost total silence. 

Soon, though, Coldsnap spoke. 

"I thought you were against the idea of having coffee during the briefing last night?" she snarked. 

Carla sighed. "No.....I just didn't feel comfortable changing forms back then. But after hearing you, Duncan, and The Viper's stories about how you've dealt with insecurity, I feel more at ease with it now." She then stopped for a moment before continuing. "I still can't believe she's gone." 

"Neither can I. There's no doubt that the news will spread quickly.....the country will be in tears for many weeks to come. She had quite the reputation.....even the Mage Aspects from my home dimension have heard of her." 

"To the innocent, she was a protector. A steadfast hero to the end. To the criminals, she was their worst nightmare, swiftly taking them down and stopping their plans within minutes. To us, she was a true friend and ally, always bringing out the best in us. But to me....." Carla sniffled. "She was everything." 

Coldsnap gently pushed aside her coffee cup and gave Carla her full attention. "How so?" 

"I have her to thank for getting me through a good chunk of my childhood. Because.....as I was growing up, times were rough. My mother died of cancer when I was three, and it's still haunted me so many years later. I couldn't focus in school, and fell behind quite a bit, having to rely on my friend, Brian Banks, to teach me. He helped me up when everyone else poked fun at me for my slowness." 

"So what does The Viper have to do with this?" 

"Through it all, the stories of her countless adventures and rescues were what kept me going. They inspired me to never give up and to help people wherever I went.....just like she did. And yet, now.....I couldn't save her." 

"There was nothing you could've done, Carla....." Coldsnap said. "She had already slipped away. Carlisle and his friend couldn't even revive her." 

"You don't know her as well as I do. She made such an impact on me even before we all met." 

"I guess you're right about that. I spent the first fifteen years of my life in the Elemental Realms, anyway. Then I got banished here and stayed for two years.....that's when I first started hearing about The Viper firsthand. Before that, I would also infrequently hear tales about her exploits from my fellow Aspects.....there's even a performing troupe that replicates them using their water-bending abilities." 

Carla held out her hand to stop Coldsnap. "Hold on.....water-bending abilities? "

"Yep! I said before that the Mage Aspects can control the elements, right? There's lots of us back home.....I'm just one of many." But then, the icy heroine doubled back. "Actually.....scratch that. I'm once-in-a-lifetime. No one can control ice as well as me." 

"Well, I'll tell you what.....I've never seen anyone else on an ice dragon before, so I definitely believe it." 

Both of them chuckled, before Carla took a deep breath. 

"Where are the others? Duncan, The Crawler, and Powerhouse?" 

"Duncan and The Crawler are still in their rooms. Powerhouse woke up early and accompanied Carlisle back to the GDC facility to continue decrypting the transmission readings.....you know, the ones they were trying to decipher when Malcorchus and his team attacked?" 

"Oh yes, that.....hopefully they can purge the virus from it. It could probably tell us more about the king's plan." 

Just then, a tired yawn came from the stairwell to their right. Coming down the stairs was Dr. Duncan Drevis, with The Crawler following behind him.