But Love Is Overrated Anyways

Chapter 13: But Mandy Might Not

  "Don't blame yourself," Jordan advised.

They sat outside of the tent, not sure what else to do. Phil was inside with Dan, and it was still too hot to get close to him.

Mandy undid her bun and collected her pecan brown hair together, putting it back in its bun with shaking hands. Her energy was becoming more and more strained from supporting the force field around Dan, and her entire body ached.

"It's not you're fault," Jordan repeated when Mandy didn't respond. "You're doing everything you can to help. This was going to happen no matter what, I promise you."

"I don't blame myself," Mandy said finally. The words came out harsher than she'd intended. "It's fine. I know what you mean."

"It's perfectly natural-"

"I already told you, I don't blame myself. If I blamed myself for things like this then I would've have made it on my own."

They were quiet for a few moments. "What's your story?" Jordan asked, not making eye contact.

"I need to focus."

"Okay. Sorry." Jordan scratched at her fingernails, trying to shorten them a little more. "I get not wanting to talk about things. I don't talk about my powers."

"Oh yeah? And why not?"

"Too much drama behind them. Not everyone has cool powers like those two." She sent a quick nod towards the tent.

Mandy bit her lip. She could feel a small pressure against part of the energy shield; Phil was probably touching it. The shield absorbed his warmth and kept it from hitting Dan, which meant that she absorbed his warmth. "He has fire powers, doesn't he?"

"It's none of your business."

"I've never met someone with fire powers."

"You've met other mutants?"

Mandy winced, and she could feel the force field shudder too. "It's none of your business. I'm sorry, but I really have to focus if I want to keep the field up. And I'm not going to be able to continue it for much longer. Tell Phil to stop mourning already and come up with a plan."

"I'm not mourning," Phil corrected them from inside the tent. "And I'm also not eavesdropping," he added quickly. "I just tuned in when I heard my name."

Mandy rolled her eyes. "Do you have a plan then?"

"Yes. I'm just trying to think up a better one."

——

Mandy leaned against the tent and closed her eyes. There was no way she could fall asleep, not with the intense exertion of keeping the force field up. But slowly, she found that she was able to think of other things and let her mind wander without having to completely focus on the effort.

Her mind drifted, as it always did, to her friends. She pictured a tall boy with dark skin and darker hair. In his hands, he held a bluebird, which sat and chirped right at home. She pictured a smiling girl with stark red lips, stirring up a mug of hot chocolate without having to touch it. She pictured the stacks upon stacks of cans, the horses that didn't like most of them and definitely didn't like carrying the sacks or the riders.

She reminisced, going through the memories like she was going through an old photo album. The highlight reel; the Good Parts(TM); the photogenic moments; the memories worth reliving.

She stayed like that for a long time, long enough for Jordan to bring her a few more snacks and two bottles of water. Long enough for the constant pain to become so dull she almost forgot about it, and in a state of panic almost tore the tent open to make sure the force field hadn't died. Inside, it was a sauna. Phil knelt at Dan's side, looking surprised at the abrupt entrance, and then offered a faint smile. "You doing okay?"

Mandy watched the boy on the ground's form, willing the force field to flicker. It did, and she was reassured of its presence. "I'm fine. Any... updates?"

Phil gnawed on the inside of his cheek. "Just... let me know when Jordan gets back? I sent her looking for something for me."

Mandy agreed, and went back outside of the tent, allowing herself to lean against it once more, exhaling a shaky breath.

—-

Phil pressed the backs of his fingers against Dan's cheek. The purple barrier rippled slightly.

Jordan practically crashed into the tent, partially closing the flap behind her. Phil pulled his hand away from Dan's cheek quickly, though he didn't quite understand why.

"I found one," she said quickly. "I think it'll work. I... was able to sense it's depth. Using my powers. I've never tried it before on anyone but humans, but what with Dan and everything... I thought it sounded right for me to try to expand my powers beyond their depths. Literally." She grinned painfully. "And I got Nora to spill about what she saw, inside Dan's chest. It's literally freezing over."

Phil nodded. He'd expected as much. "Anything in particular?"

She hesitated. "His... lungs. They're frozen. Obviously, he was still managing to breathe, but it was becoming much more difficult. And the rest of his internal organs were beginning to get there too. She said... she said his heart was black."

Phil inhaled sharply, looking down at the figure beneath him. Dan was laying flat. He looked so peaceful, so relaxed. You wouldn't look at him and think that his heart was black.

Phil lifted up Dan's hand a few centimeters. He'd taken off his gloves before he froze over the lake, and Phil rubbed his thumb over the blackened fingers softly.

He looked up when he realized Jordan was staring. "It's frostbite," he explained. "He's had it for... I don't remember. A week? More?"

"Doesn't frostbite cause your fingers to fall off?"

"Yeah." He set Dan's hand down. "We couldn't figure out why it didn't happen with his. It's because of his powers, obviously. But I don't know where his immunity to ice ends."

"When it comes to the ice affecting him in different ways," Jordan suggested without a pause. "Like making it hard to breathe. Your powers are temperature based, right? Not element based?"

"Mine? Yeah."

"That's probably how his work. He's resistant to the immediate effects of the cold, like freezing to death or frostbite. But when it comes to secondary effects..."

"Like his lungs freezing," Phil realized. "He has no way to melt it. And then... he can't breath anymore." He looked down at Dan's sleeping face.

Jordan put her hand on Phil's shoulder. "Hey. It'll be fine. The good news is, that means your plan will probably work. Assuming defrosting his insides will cure him, it'll work perfectly."

Phil nodded. He'd been sure the only way to help Dan would be to warm him up, but it wasn't as easy as that. There were a lot of ways to heat someone, and Phil was guessing that he'd have to heat Dan up pretty rapidly if he wanted him to survive. But it wasn't like he could just set him on fire.

A zipping sound was heard, and PJ poked his head in. "I hope you have a plan."

"We do," Jordan confirmed. "Why?"

"Mandy can't keep her strength for much longer."

Phil looked at Dan quickly. The force field was still intact. Dan would be fine for now.

But Mandy might not.