"Why would the stars want to look down on such as me?"
~George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow

Lilly

"Hit me with your best shot!" Dylan taunted gleefully. He stood atop a rock in the training room, arms held out wide open. "I believe in you!"

I took a deep breath and reached out for my power, feeling the icy sensation traveling through my body to the tips of my fingers. I launched a perfectly-spherical snowball at Dylan. It soared over his head, landing far behind him.

"Come on, Ice Princess! You can do this!" He continued cheering despite this being my thirtieth attempt to hit him. I had the power to lob the snowballs, it was just my aim that needed working on. "If anything is holding you back, you need to let it go!"

"Did you just-"

"For the first time in forever, we have someone with Cryokinesis powers, so let's show these people what you're made of!"

"Are you really-"

"Don't worry about the cold. It never bothered you anyway."

"Dylan-"

"You're going to rise like the break of dawn, Lilly!" Dylan shouted, closing his eyes before belting out into a full, off-key rendition of 'Let It Go.' I glanced down at the newly formed snowball in my hands and had an epiphany. Dylan only said I needed to hit him with a snowball. He never said how big it had to be.

Grinning, I created a snowball the size of a tank. Dylan remained blissfully unaware until it hit him with such force, he toppled off the rock along with at least ten feet of powdery snow falling on top of him.

"That's what you get for all the Frozen puns! And the singing!" I yelled, walking up to the mound of snow.

His muffled voice came through. "Noted."

"Need any help?"

"I've got this!" I stepped back, feeling the heat radiating from underneath the snow as it melted. Suddenly, Dylan shot upward, engulfed in fire. He didn't stop until he crashed into the ceiling.

"It's a wonder he's still alive," Iris remarked, coming to stand beside me. We stared up at Dylan, who rubbed his head ruefully. "I should probably get him to the infirmary to take care of that concussion."

"How many has he given himself?" I asked.

"Enough that I've lost count."

"That explains a lot."

"I can hear you two!" Dylan said, landing in front of us.

"We don't care," Iris replied. "Come on, Human Torch, let's get your head checked out."

The two of them left, as did I, but I took a different route, heading to Caleb's lab. I'd been training all day with my new powers now that I had them. I kept lifting my hand periodically to make snowflakes appear, unable to comprehend the fact that my powers finally decided to show themselves. I still partially believed this to be some weird fever dream.

I reached Caleb's lab and found him hunched over his microscope. I peered over his shoulder to glimpse what he was studying but couldn't make heads or tails of it. "What are you looking at?"

Caleb jumped violently, nearly knocking his drink over. We both made a wild grab to stop it, but in the panic, ice shot from my hand, encapsulating it and holding it in place. Sheepishly, I melted the ice enough where I could grab the cup before it tipped over. Placing it back in its original spot, I said, "Sorry. I thought you heard me come in."

"I didn't, but that's not your fault. You'd think even when it dings when the doors open, I'd hear, but no," Caleb said, taking a sip of his drink. "I should really learn not to have a drink within reach while studying something under the microscope."

"What are you looking at?"

"Ah, it's nothing." He waved his hand dismissively. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd still be at training?"

"We had to end it. Dylan got a concussion."

Caleb sighed. "How did he do it this time?"

"I dumped a massive snowball on him because he wouldn't stop with the Frozen jokes and singing, and instead of letting me get the snow off him, he flamed on and shot through it and crashed into the ceiling."

"Seriously, I don't know how he's still alive," Caleb said.

I laughed. "That's what Iris said."

"Great minds think alike. But if you think about it, with how many concussions he's given himself, it explains a lot about him."

"That's what I said," I replied with a grin.

"Great minds think alike," Caleb repeated, high-fiving me. "I'm surprised you're down here. I figured you'd continue practicing your powers."

"I can practice them whenever I like," I said with a shrug. "Besides, I'm not going to stop seeing you now just because I got my powers. What person would do that?"

"You'd be surprised."

I frowned. "That's awful."

"It's fine. I'm used to it." He said it so casually that it appeared not to bug him, but it infuriated me. You don't stop hanging out with someone just because you get powers, especially someone who was there for you when you were at your lowest. "Hey, since you're here, could I run some testing on your powers?"

"Yeah, of course. Anything in particular?" I asked, hopping off the stool.

"No. Cryokinesis is one of the rarer elemental powers because it's essentially a mix of air and water powers. There hasn't been a lot of testing done on it. I'm hoping I can learn something about it to help you learn everything you can do with it." Caleb pulled out a bunch of wires and said, "I need to hook these up to you. Do you mind?"

I stuck my arms out for him. "Go for it. I'm just as curious as you are!"

Caleb attached eight different wires to me: two on my head, two on the back of each hand, and two on my chest. "These are going to take pictures of your cells when you're using your power, so we can see what they do and how they activate."

I stared at him in disbelief. "How fast is this thing taking pictures?"

"Your blood travels about fifteen inches a second, so this baby right here-" He patted the machine next to him- "is wicked fast. All right, the machine is good to go, so whenever you're ready."

I shook my arms and rolled my head, feeling slightly pressured to perform well. I know Caleb wouldn't judge me, but I'd judge myself. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, holding my hands out in front of me, facing each other. I imagined a snowball forming between them, feeling the power growing within me.

When I opened my eyes, a perfect snowball rested between me, waiting to be thrown. I grinned proudly, letting it float for a few seconds before allowing it to dissipate. Caleb watched in awe.

"That's amazing!" He breathed. "I've never seen this in person, so this is absolutely awesome. Okay, next test, I want you to hit that target. Ice or snow, it doesn't matter."

A target lowered from the ceiling twenty feet away in a clear section of the lab, thankfully away from all the chemicals. I zeroed in on the center, telling myself that's where I wanted to hit the target, before letting loose five ice daggers. They whistled through the air, embedding themselves dead-center.

Caleb whistled. "Remind me not to piss you off."

"You could never," I said. "What else do you want me to do?"

"Freeze this." Caleb handed me a water bottle, and I did as ordered with no effort. He gave me another one, and once more, it took no effort to freeze it. Caleb nodded, impressed. "So the temperature coming out of your hands is colder than water's freezing point because that second bottle was 190-proof Everclear. Its freezing point is over negative-one-seventy-degrees Fahrenheit."

"Someone's having a party in their lab," I remarked, unscrewing the lid and taking a whiff. The stench of alcohol permeated the air immediately, and I swear one could get drunk just by smelling the stuff. Hastily screwing the lid back on, I set the bottle on the counter and sidled up next to Caleb. "Can I take the wires off now?"

"Oh! Yeah!" He exclaimed, swiftly removing them. Caleb set them down and pulled up two sets of photos on his computer. Pointing to the screen, he said, "This is your cells when you're not using your powers, and the other one is when you are."

"Why are the cells only half blue?"

"That is an excellent question. One I intend to find out."

"Should I be worried?"

"No. Don't worry unless I tell you to." Caleb glanced at his watch. "It's almost dinner. What do you say we skip the dining hall and go to a restaurant instead? Celebrate your powers? We can invite the others?"

I smiled, touched by the thoughtfulness. "I'd like that."

Caleb grabbed his jacket, and we headed towards the doors, but I couldn't help but notice the concerned glance he gave the photos of my cells before we left.