Chapter Five – Old Friends

Pacifica surfed a wave of her own making, chasing a particular villain she saw on the TV. Finally, she saw the girl she was looking for. “Crystal!” she called out. This quickly caught the attention of the cool villain as she turned to face the approaching figure. “Pacifica. How lovely it is to see you. Not.” Crystal snapped, hands balling into fists. “I’m assuming we’re still on bad terms?” Pacifica asked cautiously. She had to duck to avoid the large snowball that was chucked at her head. Sighing, she said, “I’ll take that as a yes…”

Long ago, two friends were walking to their school together. They were very close, and it was hard for anything to separate them. As they sat down, one of the girls, Crystal, stared at a certain boy that sat in front of her. Sighing, she shook her head, her secret crush oblivious to her emotions. Although that wasn’t the same situation of her friend, Pacifica. While the teacher explained long, boring math equations on the board, the observant girl leaned over and whispered, “You like him don’t you?” Eyes widening, she gave her friend a serious look. Then, shyly, she nodded and blushed. Smiling brightly, Pacifica gave her friend a little push. Then, becoming serious, Crystal whispered into her friend’s ear, “Don’t tell ANYONE! Especially him.” Nodding Pacifica made a motion across her heart. “I promise.” she responded.

The battle kicked off as Crystal iced the street they stood on. Attempting to gain traction, Pacifica used her water powers to form water around her feet. Upon touching the cold surface, the water froze, forming what looked like skates. They began to circle, each one reminiscing on their past. Pacifica remembered the good while Crystal remembered the bad. Then they both focused on one event. The time that separated them forever.

As the school bell rang, everyone in the classroom jumped for joy. It was time for winter break! Crystal’s eyes lit up at the prospect. A time to use her powers for sure! As the class filtered out, the two companions found each other and proceeded out. While Pacifica wasn’t overly fond of winter break (summer was more her thing), she still had fun with Crystal. Building snowmen, having snowball wars (with Crystal winning every time), and all the fun every normal kid has. Running down the street, Crystal caught a glimpse of her crush, Cyrus. Pacifica watched her friend stare longingly at her love. She sighed, sad for her friend. Crystal shouldn’t have to hide her feelings for him. Thinking thoughtfully to herself, she whispered, “Maybe I can help her with that…”

Ice sailed past Pacifica’s head as Crystal took the first shot. Pacifica countered by shooting a burst of water towards the villain. Crystal froze it and knocked the now block of ice out of the way. “You can’t beat me. I can counter every one of your moves by freezing them. Give up this hopeless battle Pacifica.” Crystal yelled at her opponent. “While that might be true,” she began summoning a large wave behind her. “I can sure as heck try!” With a mighty crash, the water flowed down towards the duo. Both were quickly drenched, and Pacifica thought of a way to end this.

After her fun day with her pal, Pacifica walked home, still trying to come up with an idea to “assist” her friend’s situation. Looking across the road she saw none other than Cyrus. A plan popped into her mind soon after, and she walked over to where the boy was heading. “Hey!” she said, stepping alongside him. He nodded his head in recognition. “Can you come with Crystal and I to the Starbucks tomorrow?” she asked casually. “Sure.” Cyrus replied nonchalantly. “Cool! See ya then!” the successful female said, turning back towards her route. Cyrus waved goodbye. After he was out of sight, she smiled to herself. Time to give her shy friend a push.

The soaked villain glared angrily at the hero. Without a word, Crystal gained her own idea. Focusing on her opposition, she used the water to her advantage, freezing it. This in turn froze Pacifica. Smirking, she gloated, “Not a very smart move, huh?” Surprisingly, Pacifica smiled as well. “Oh you’ll see. Just wait.” Struggling to break out, Pacifica watched as her once friend advanced toward her, ready to claim victory. Little did Crystal know that she was walking straight into Pacifica’s plan.

While she was never really cold, Crystal still savored at the idea of a hot chocolate. Dashing to the nearby Starbucks, she was surprised to see Cyrus. Pacifica entered behind her shortly after, knowing that she had planned this perfectly. What could go wrong? “Cyrus! You came! Let’s go order.” Pacifica said, walking over to stand in line. “You came? What does she mean?” Crystal asked, confused by her friend’s weird nature. “She asked me to come here with you guys.” he responded. “She asked you…” she repeated to herself before her eyes widened. Then they narrowed. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment.” the now rigid female said, walking towards her friend in a serious mood. Grabbing her arm, Crystal pulled Pacifica out of line and outside. She proceeded to behind the building, where no one could see them, before she let go. “What is wrong with you?! I didn’t tell you my crush so you could try and make it obvious!” Crystal yelled. “But-” Pacifica began before she was cut off. “No! I won’t take that! I don’t want you to interfere with my love life!” she continued until she stopped suddenly. Looking over, she saw none other than Cyrus himself standing right at the entrance of the alleyway. “You like me?” he asked surprised. Her cheeks became bright red and she dashed off down the otherside, angry and embarrassed at the same time. “Crystal, come back!” he called out. But it was too late, she was gone. The crestfallen boy then lowered his head and whispered, “I like you too…”

As Crystal approached, Pacifica continued struggling, stiff as a block. Crystal came to a stop right in front of the hero. Leaning down, she whispered, “You should have known better. What were you thinking? Did you think you were doing me a favor? Well, you didn’t. Now goodbye, old friend.” Pulling back her fist for a punch, Crystal struck down onto her victim. To her surprise, Pacifica had freed herself and jumped out of the way, just in time. Crystal instead hit the telephone pole that was behind Pacifica. Her wet arm collided with the electrically charged object. And what happens when water and electricity are mixed? Fire. Crystal’s sleeve was quickly engulfed in flames, with her shaking it like crazy. It hurt her much more than it would hurt anyone else. While reluctant, Pacifica ran to the endangered villain and doused the flames. Lying shaking on the ground, Crystal just looked up at her savior, nodded her head, and closed her eyes. While she expected to be captured, she blinked open her eyes after a few seconds. Pacifica was tapping her foot impatiently. Cocking her head in confusion, Crystal asked, “You’re not going to arrest me?” Shaking her head, the hero just responded, “Let’s go. You’re going to lead me to Zimmer, which will serve as your jail time. And I think to you,” Pacifica announced, seeing Crystal’s growing grimace, “That’s just as bad.”