Icy Swallow closed her eyes and gripped her fists.

She thought of her family, of her parents.

Of her home, her neighborhood.

Of her friends, of Antonio.

Icy Falcon was right. The cartels had run the country for decades. The police couldn’t stop them, the media couldn’t either. The government couldn’t, the army couldn’t. Even the gringos couldn’t get their way when the cartels were involved. And they would cut down anyone who stood in their way.

What was one girl against all that?

But…

She thought of something else.

“Let’s talk to the incredible hero who saved this entire town from a bush fire! Sir, what is your name?”

“...you can call me…Icy Falcon.”

A time when she was young.

“Icy Falcon saves the day once again! He caught and lifted an entire bus when it careened off a bridge!”

A time when she wanted to believe.

“Icy Falcon takes on the cartels! The notorious El Capa has been put behind bars!”

A time when no one would stand up.

“The ILS saves the day! The Necrosaurus and his vile hordes are vanquished! And Icy Falcon was there, paving the way!”

A time when she was helpless and afraid.

“There’s no one left for them to hurt.”

One man, standing up for the country, for the people, for people like her. Leaping into the fire, facing darkness and danger.

Alone.

She opened her eyes.

She made her decision.

She leapt off the building, creating a slide of ice. She ran through the streets, dodging pedestrians and cars.

She didn’t know what she could do against the ones who ruled her country, who did as they pleased in the streets.

But she would not let her hero stand against them alone any longer.

Not while she had the power to fight back.

After this…she would talk with her parents. She would call the ILS. They could help. They had to. And then, once they were safe, she would fight. This was a war, and so she would put aside childish games and happy homes and take up her arms. She would join as a soldier and do her duty.

Because if one person could stand up to all this for all these years.

Then what might they do with two?

A building at the corner of a busy intersection. The front door was swinging open, frost on its hinges. Inside furniture was knocked over, carpets were torn, hanging artwork torn to shreds. All around were ashes and ice, spent casings and piles of snow.

There was a room towards the back, one door leading in from the hallway, a side door leading to the side street, and a far door leading to the back yard. In that room, men groaned and shivered, torsos and limbs encased in blocks of ice. And a shirtless man in a cape stood near the door leading to the side street. One of his hands was encased in an icy spike. The other hand held a man’s neck, holding him to the wall. The man coughed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Señor Falcon. Surely you know we of all people don’t give out free samples.”

Icy Falcon swung his fist. A man on the floor cried as an icicle pierced his thigh. The man in his hand widened his eyes, before he began to chuckle.

“Oh come on now, Señor Falcon, you really should have expected this. It was only a matter of time before we got supers of our own. Did you expect that we would just let you kill us all?”

Icy Falcon held his ice encased fist up to the man’s jaw, poking his chin with the tip.

“I don’t know, will you?”

The man gulped and glanced around the room.

“Ok, ok fine. Let us live, and I’ll give you our supplier.”

The man began to talk. Icy Falcon’s eyes and fist didn’t move a single millimeter until the man was done.

“There, are you satisfied now? Our operation is ruined, and my boss will kill us all.”

The edges of his mouth curled up.

“Unless…”

Click.

Icy Falcon felt cold metal on the back of his skull.

“Goodbye, Señor Falcon.”

And then there was a blast of cold fog.

“Icy Falcon!”

Icy Falcon turned his head to the door leading to the front and his eyes widened. There she stood, gasping for breath and hand extended.

Icy Swallow had arrived.

“Kid, what are you doing here?!”

“I’m not letting you fight this alone!”

“Get out of here! You have no idea what you’re getting into!”

“Yes I do! This is my country, this is my war too! I’m not letting my hero fight by himself!”

“GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!”

BAM!

Time slowed to a crawl.

Icy Swallow stopped.

Her eyes slowly widened.

Icy Falcon’s did too.

Slowly, ever so slowly, their heads moved down.

Icy Swallow’s dress…had a hole in the side.

A hole colored red.

Red that was spreading.

A shell casing hit the floor.

Her hand began to move to her side.

As her body began to fall.

Icy Falcon slowly turned his head.

A man stood in the doorway to the rear.

Wide eyes. Shoulders moving up and down as he took deep breaths.

Hand held out in front of him.

Smoke rising from a metal barrel.

Dust and ash began to stir.

The air began to howl.

The world filled with white.

Along the busy streets, pedestrians went along their way. Cars drove slowly by. Children ran and laughed, adults stopped to chat.

Then they heard the gunshot.

And then the nearby building exploded.

Glass shattered as snowy gales blew from the building. Men cried out in pain. The side door of the building slammed open and a shivering man flew into the center of the street. People began to shout and scream, cars slammed on their brakes and their horns. The man shook his head and groaned.

And then there was a flash of white.

Icy Falcon soared from the entrance and landed directly on top of the man, driving his stomach into the ground. Icy Falcon then knelt onto the man’s chest, a snarl on his face. He lifted his left hand. He brought it down on the man’s face. People around him gasped. He lifted his right hand. He brought it down. Left, right, left, right, left, right, left right. He brought up both hands, snowy winds blowing around them, the center of a white vortex.

A spike of ice formed around his hands.

Icy Swallow groaned as she lay on the floor. She felt something tear within her side. She took her hand, gritting her teeth as she emitted a small gust of cold fog, freezing her insides. She cried in pain as ice filled the wound from the inside out, until after an endless moment, something metal clinked on the floor. She spread the ice over the wound, stopping the bleeding. She reached out, her hand grasping the side of a doorway. She clenched her teeth as pain stabbed her side once more. But she managed to pull herself up, panting as she leaned into the doorway.

And then her eyes widened.

Her stomach churned.

Her heart began to pound.

And she emptied the contents of her stomach.

The room was died in white and red. Snow and ice covered every surface. Leaning against walls and lying on the floors were the men of the cartel.

Red spots where once were heads.

She closed her eyes, tears welling within them. She grasped her nose as the smell of blood sent her stomach boiling once more.

And then she heard the screams and gasps.

She put one foot in front of her, gasping in pain. She closed her eyes tighter and clenched her teeth, and took another step. Left, right. She grasped the edge of a table on its side. Left, right. She took several deep breaths. Left, right.

She was standing in the open doorway to the side.

Her eyes widened.

Her pain was forgotten.

“FALCON! NO!”

Hands covered in an icy spike fell.

A wet thud.

Gasps.

Screams.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands.

He stood, hands covered in blood. He kept his back turned to her.

“F-Falcon…please…stop…”

“We’re done.”

“Falcon…don’t do this…”

“Go home. Stay there. You’re done.”

“Please…Falcon…you’re our hero. My hero. This…this isn’t you…”

A voice filled with ice.

“I told you, I’m not a hero. I never was. This is war. This is what it takes to fight it.”

He extended his cape.

“I will win it, no matter what.”

He flapped his cape down, and flew into the sky.

Constanza dropped to her knees and hugged her sides.

The tears burst forth as she began to wail.