Cold Revenge

PROLOUGE

   When Giselle "Gigi" Shen graduated from college, she expected a world of color and festivities in front of her. With a rich family and ultra good looks, the yacht parties, island vacations, and midnight movie screenings would rush at her the moment she stepped out of the house.
   What she did end up getting was practically a punch in the stomach, if not worse.
   Gigi got a phonecall, not the kind where you are eagerly anticipating good news from it.
   Yes, it was that kind.
   The phone call that marked the death of her brother Gabriel.
   His funeral was an upsetting one. It was silent, dull, and damp. One old friend of his giving one dry eulogy after another. The church was quiet between eulogies. The Shen family shed tears quietly, they always did.
   Gigi sat there at the back row, eyes blank. Of course she loved Gabriel, he was consistently kind and gave her a shoulder to cry on all the time. Gabriel was strong, brave, and compassionate. Pity is the world takes you even if you are all those things.
   She'd shed her tears later. But for now, she focused on holding in all her anger.
   Just a few days ago, the FBI dropped the Shen case. They said that Gabriel's death was to be unsolved. Gigi's mother, Gianna, begged to see the coroner's report to find his cause of death. And for some reason, the coroner claimed that the report was inconclusive.
   How can the FBI drop it so quick? How could coroners be so incompetent? Gigi sat alone, angry questions bubbling in her head when she felt a light hand tap her shoulder.
   "Giselle, let me talk to you for a moment."
   Gigi looked back to see her mother, dress in her pearls and black lace, a stern expression on her oddly young face, standing and breaking the silence. Nobody in the church pews in from of her bothered to look back.
   "Um...sure..." Gigi stood up and followed her mother into the outside of the church, under the shade of a beautiful oak tree.
   Gianna pouted her lips and rubbed her hands together. They were always cold. Always.
   "As you know, your brother was the Shen family supreme," she said in a quiet voice.
   The Shen family seemed like its own normal rich family, with a twist. They had superpowers, uncanny abilities to summon ice and coldness from their fingers alone. Other superheroes had to use amulets, little jewelry pieces that contained essences of their powers. But the Shens had their essences inside of them, making them slightly more special than the others.
   A "supreme" was the person that held the title "Zero Degree". Many of them had powers, but only the best of each generation held the title. In this one, it was Gabriel. His powers outshone everyone else's. Zero Degree, who had once been Gianna Shen, was a powerful super being that was proven to be nearly undefeatable.
   And now he's dead.
   "Yes, mother. I know," Gigi responded quietly.
   "Gabriel was just...you know. Such a good superhero. He's one of the first Zero Degrees to die on the job...This was seriously upsetting. I had to make a decision."
   Gigi perked up. "A decision?"
   "Yes," Gianna sighed. "The title of Zero Degree ends with Gabriel Shen."
   "No..." Gigi's eyes went wide. "You aren't saying that..."
   "I am," she sighed. "As of now, the Shen family is sticking completely to real estate. We are giving up the superhero chain once and for all."
   Gigi felt as if she had been stabbed. Everything she and her family had once stood for fell in front of her. What happened to never giving up? Never falling in the face of failure? The original Shen mantra was suddenly spat on and buried in the dirt.
   "This is not right!" Gigi exclaimed, stepping back. "We can't give it up now!"
Gianna shrugged limply.        Giselle...nobody wants to take it. Your cousins are all cowards, Genevieve is already so contempt with her own life, and there is nobody in the next generation old enough. I think it's time to put the old title to rest."
   "No, no! It isn't!" Gigi felt her throat get hot and itchy. "Mom, there must be some other way. What about Isaaiah and Johnathan? Wouldn't they want to take the title?"
   She shook her head. "I've asked all your cousins. All of them said no."
Gigi didn't catch the next few words that felt out of her mouth. In the heat of the moment, it seemed right. "I'll take the title."
   Her mother's eyes widened. "Giselle, be reasonable. You are definetely capable, but this is a terribly demanding job, you know. I just don't think you're fit for the title..."
   "Yes I am!" She stood her ground, face completely red and feet firmly planted on the ground. "You can't let it die. You can't let him die!"
   "Don't be-"
   Gigi stormed off, hot tears forming in her eyes. She ran down the street, not looking either way or paying attention to how much her feet hurt in her fancy shoes. She pulled open the door to her car and slammed in the key, getting ready to drive to her home.
   The drive lasted five minutes until Gigi ran up the lush lawn of her old house and onto the gigantic front double doors. She bolted up the spiral staircase and onto the third floor, where her brother's room was. The marble floor clicked under her feet.
Gabriel's room was filled with all his stuff, from his graduation gown and clarinet books. It smelled warmly of pine and vanilla, just like him. It was cozy, just like him.
   Gigi went immediately to the closet and forced the doors open, revealing a single suit. A limp but oddly noble latex suit and thick jacket to go along with it, each with beautiful blue and white decals. Thick gloves adorned the sides, and a subtle but covering mask hung above it.
   This was it. Zero Degree's costume.
   It was too large for Gigi, of course. But adjustments could be made. She'd have to make adjustments to her entire life in order for this title to work with her.
   She had to consider if this was a good idea or not. But as she snatched the suit from the closet, she made up her mind rather quickly.