Chapter Text
Another full-body shudder ran over him as he tried to stop the shaking of his limbs. His body felt unbearably hot and unbearably cold at the same time. The thick blanket that the girl had wrapped around him was a comfort, obviously, but the bone-deep ache of the powerful cold still left him shaking in place.
Slowly, he heard footsteps approaching from outside, “How are you doing?” asked the voice of the girl who pulled him out of the cold, “Can I come in? I brought cocoa.”
“Yeah,” He nodded shakily, and she headed in, smiling at him. The red-haired girl gave him a mug, and he leaned in closer, breathing in the comforting steam wafting off of it. Clark took a sip, and let out a deep sigh, “Thanks,” he said.
“What were you doing out there without any winter gear? Did the Red Ribbon steal it and leave you there to freeze?”
“No, I just didn’t bring any with me at all when I came here,” he admitted.
“Came? You mean you’re not from here?”
“No.”
Her eyes widened, “Then you must be from that plane they shot down.”
Clark nodded miserably.
The girl leaned back, considering this, “You have rotten luck, to be flying over us right now. A few days ago, General White and the Red Ribbon arrived and made a big mess in town. Right after, they put up their awful tower and kidnapped the mayor. They’ve been holding him hostage to make all the men in town help them search for something out in the snowfields. I was trying to help out when I happened across you.”
“Thank you, you probably saved my life.”
“You’re welcome,” she said proudly.
“What’s your name?”
“Suno,” she said, grinning, “You?”
“Clark.”
“Good to meet you.”
Clark breathed in more of the steam, and let out a long, more satisfied breath. “Do you have any winter gear you could lend me?” Clark asked, “I need to go back out there, and make it to the tower.”
“What- you’re still half-frozen. You can’t go back out there. Besides, if you get close to the tower, they’ll just shoot you! What do you even need there?”
“I have a friend who’s… sick. And unless I can free the doctor they have stuck in the tower, he’s going to die. While I’m there, I’ll try to help your mayor, too.”
“What are you going to do? You’re just a kid.”
“I’m a teenager,” he corrected, “And anyway, I’m a metahuman stronger than the average person. I’ve fought Red Ribbon soldiers before, and shrugged off bullets. I just… can’t really fight the cold .”
Suno frowned at him, suspicious, “I didn’t drag you all the way back home just for you to run out to get yourself killed just as soon as I’ve thawed you out.”
“I’m not going to get myself killed-”
She rolled her eyes, “The whole village already decided that the best thing would be to just do as they say and not make any trouble. Once they have whatever they came for, they’ll leave, and nobody else will have to get hurt.”
“Somehow, I doubt Red Ribbon is the honorable type,” Clark sighed, “Suno, I can’t stay here. It’s only a matter of time before they realize I didn’t go down with the plane, and they come here looking for me. They didn’t blow up my plane just because it happened to be passing by, they blew it up because they’re trying to kill me.”
The girl’s eyes got wider, “Why are they after you?”
“Do you know what they have Red Ribbon searching for?”
She nodded, “Some kind of valuable gemstone. A meteorite, they said. It would have fallen from the sky somewhere around here a year ago.”
Clark stood up, and shuffled over to where his bag was lying on the ground. Clark reached inside and took out the Dragon Ball.
“This is what they’re looking for.”
“Then- we should give it to them! They’ll leave! Maybe you could trade it for your doctor.”
He shook his head, “Sorry, that wouldn’t work. There are seven of these. One of them fell here, and this one fell somewhere else. Red Ribbon is after all of them. They’re not going to let your village go until they have the one that landed here, too.”
She looked down at the ball, conflicted, “You’re going to go out there whether I help you or not, aren’t you.”
“Yeah.”
She sighed, “Fine. Just wait here, I’ll get you something your size.”
Clark grinned, “Thank you,” He took another gulp of his hot cocoa.