THE MOMENT
"Huh," Icesurge grinned to himself. A small crowd of citizens gathered in the library parking lot in front of a wooden stall. It was a pleasant, sunny afternoon. A sign proclaimed it belonged to "The Mad Doctor", but it reminded Icesurge of a child's lemonade stand. That interpretation was helped by the pair of teen girls that seemed to be manning the stall. One was blonde and the other had chestnut curls with pink highlights. "..this'll be easier than I thought." He strode forward with his back straightened in full swagger.
"Which one of you is the Mad Doctor?!" Icesurge raised his voice once he reached the crowd. He plunged the temperature in the area just to make sure he had everyone's attention. Everyone felt a chill and they noticed their breath in the air. He expected the citizens to flee; but, they only scattered around the parking lot without leaving the area.
"That's me," the blonde waved at him with a smile. "If you want some help, you'll have to wait your turn," she said.
"I don't want your help," Icesurge said. "And, they don't deserve it," he gestured at the various citizens standing at a distance.
"Well, that's certainly an opinion," the blonde teen nodded. She did not lose her smile; but, she shrugged. "I'm going to keep helping," she added. She made her point by turning to the closest stranger. "Next?" she asked him. He was a balding, lean man with a silver beard and his arm in a cast. He cast a nervous glance at Icesurge, then at the Mad Doctor. He took a step forward and Icesurge grew annoyed.
"No more!" Icesurge bellowed. He swung his arm in a wide arc and flung an icicle at the blonde. A plume of pink smoke erupted between Icesurge and the Mad Doctor and swallowed the icicle. The other girl with pink highlights stood between them holding the icicle in her hand when the smoke cleared. Once she had Icesurge's attention, a pink flame ignited around her fist and the icicle melted.
"You might want to mind your own business there, pal," the teen said while she stared into his eyes.
"I'm not your pal," he shook his head. "My name is Icesurge, let me show you why," he threw his hands up wildly and half a dozen frozen stalagmites erupted out of the ground around the teen. They came out at odd angles and seemingly crisscrossed through her. Her t-shirt and blue jeans were impaled and hung on the frigid spikes. Icesurge laughed; then, several things happened at once. He felt a sudden, sharp pain on the side of his lower back and he heard the teen's voice in his ear.
"My name's Alis," she said. "I'm sorry about this." Before he could even register surprise his knees buckled and he went slack. He started to fall through Alis' arms, though, she did her best to guide him down gently.
"Nononono, don't die!" the Mad Doctor dashed around the ice cluster and wooden stall to kneel next to him. She put her hands on his stomach and they began to glow with golden light. "Phew," she giggled lightly after a moment. "That was close," she said.
Icesurge was feeling drowsy, but he knew enough to try and stay conscious. He didn't feel any pain anymore and the Mad Doctor's hands felt warm.
"Sorry...," Alis apologized to the Mad Doctor. "I didn't know he'd be that weak."
"It's fine," the doctor shook her head with a smile. "He didn't die and we don't have to start all over. If that happened, I definitely would have demanded an apology," she giggled. Icesurge listened to the conversation as it became easier to breathe. He didn't know what to make of it, nor why they were helping him. It was easier to stay silent.
"So, you healed a dozen citizens and a supervillain. What's next?" Alis asked.
"I still need one more citizen," the doctor shook her head. "Then I need to heal a superhero. After that, I'll need the full team for the last step. I have to heal villains and heroes on the field during a super battle; but, I can only use healing skills. You and the team will have to keep me safe."
"Ohhh, that doesn't seem too bad," Alis nodded. "You made it sound pretty important, so I thought it was going to be a long quest chain."
"It's short," the doctor nodded. "But, it's pretty important. Most pro teams require their Healer to do this quest. Completing the quest lets Healers target opponents. "
"Why would you want to heal the other team?" Alis asked. The doctor shrugged.
"There are niche cases," she replied. "And, I'm done." The golden glow around her hands dimmed and she pulled them away from Icesurge. The pair of girls looked down at him as he looked up.
"You're not going to cause any more trouble, are you?" Alis asked.
Icesurge had heard their conversation and didn't know what to make of it. They helped him and weren't holding a grudge; he didn't know what to make of that either. And, try as he might, he had no idea why he was so upset. The rage he had was gone and left him feeling empty and unsure. At the very least, he trusted they wouldn't harm him if he didn't provoke it. He took a deep breath and sat up slowly.
He was worried about lingering pain; but, there was none. He looked at the girls, then shook his head as he stood up.
"Not today," he said. He began sliding away on an icy path. "Thanks for everything, doc."