Chapter Text
How nice it was to feel someone holding her again.
It may have been sad, but she felt like this was a good life.
She did what she could for her family, for the cause, for her father.
Was that Ulman playing his balalaika?
They were already waiting for her, she wanted to run forward and greet them.
Her body wouldn’t move, what?
And is that… beeping?
She opened her eyes and saw white.
It was the white of ceiling tiles.
Quietly, FrostNova groaned over feeling the weight of her body return to her, though all she knew was that she must be in some hospital bed somewhere. All around her she could hear machines beeping, chirping and whirring away. She tried to crane her neck up to get a view, but nothing would move. Eventually, the balalaika FrostNova heard playing stopped, and she began to hear someone walk over to her side. That person leaned over the bed to get a view, and FrostNova immediately recognized them. Red eyes, pale, snowy hair, it was one of Rhodes’ Operators that she had fought, why were they here?
“Welcome back,” the Operator said to her. “Do you know who you are?”
“FrostNova,” she answered, though, with her body in whatever shape it was, every word felt like spitting out a lead ball. “Commander of… Yeti Squadron.”
“That’s good,” the Operator said. “Do you remember me?” they asked.
FrostNova blinked until her vision came back into focus, yes, she remembered, there was an Operator at Rhodes who also demonstrated similar powers to her own.
“You’re…” FrostNova had to stop and swallow, every time she spoke she could feel her mouth filling back up. “Frostleaf.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Frostleaf said, and, seeming to understand FrostNova’s predicament, then asked, “Would you like me to lean you up?”
“Please.”
Nodding, Frostleaf gathered a few pillows before gently lifting FrostNova by the back of her head, making a soft cushion against the back of the bed for her to lean against. FrostNova saw Frostleaf wildly shake the hand that had been used to lift her up.
“Still… cold?” she asked.
“You? Yeah,” Frostleaf answered. “Not lethally, anymore, and I can handle a few seconds before it really starts to become a problem.
FrostNova sighed. So, it must have been a dream, or perhaps, a fantasy.
From her new position, she could fully see around the whole room. There were maybe six or seven different machines connected to her by tubes and wires, but otherwise, it seemed like an ordinary hospital room. There was an armchair in the far corner with a balalaika sitting in it, at least she hadn’t imagined that.
“You played?” FrostNova asked, she tried to point at the instrument, but again, nothing moved.
“The balalaika? Yeah, one of your guys was showing me how to play, it’s fun.”
“Then they…” FrostNova paused. “Can you tell me exactly what happened?”
Frostleaf nodded and pulled over a stool to sit down on. “The gist of it was… you lost, sorry.”
“That’s impossible,” FrostNova stated. “I went all out, either you should all be dead, or I should be.”
“Hmm, yeah, about that…” Frostleaf grinned and chuckled as if remembering an amusing memory. “You certainly did go all out, and then you passed out from overexertion pretty much right as the battle started.”
“I fainted?” FrostNova couldn’t believe it. “You must have cheated somehow.” She claimed, looking away from Frostleaf.
“Cheated or not, a loss is still a loss,” Frostleaf said in rebuttal. “And besides, we’ve got twenty-six people here at Rhodes you know personally who can attest to what happened.”
“Twenty-six? They’re still alive?” FrostNova quickly asked.
“Yeah, they were the ones who called for a truce when you conked out, all to save you,” Frostleaf explained. “Ever since then we’ve been working together. I’m sure they’d all like to visit you if you feel up to it.”
“Maybe… later…” FrostNova said. All this was hitting her in waves, and she began to feel rather lightheaded as a result. But, she had one more question to ask. “What about… my father?”
She already had a hunch over what happened, seeing Frostleaf immediately start to frown just confirmed it.
“He passed away, I’m sorry,” Frostleaf stated. “But not before helping us thwart Talulah’s plans to crash the core city of Chernobog into Lungmen.”
Huh, so that was her master plan, how foolish.
“He left you a letter,” Frostleaf said, pulling out an envelope from their jacket pocket. They were about to remove the slip of paper inside, but FrostNova told them to stop.
“I want to… do it myself, with my own two hands,” she declared.
Frostleaf nodded and put the envelope on FrostNova’s tray table. “That might not be possible, your nervous system took a lot of damage, your paralysis might be permanent.”
“How long has it been?”
“Three months, FrostNova.”
She took a minute to process the reality. “I’ll… manage…” FrostNova said. “I just… need to be alone when I read it.”
“I understand, can I get you anything?”
“I’m feeling very tired, I’d just like to get some more sleep.”
“Alright, but I’ll have to stay, someone has to be watching you twenty-four-seven in your current condition. Want me to lean you back down?”
“No, this is fine,” FrostNova stated. “But actually, could you play some more music, Frostleaf?”
“I still don’t think I’m very good, but sure,” Frostleaf walked back over to the armchair and sat down. “But… you can call me Leaf. With you here, we have three Frosts now, it’s a bit confusing.”
“You do not have… a name aside from your operator ID?”
“Forgot it years ago. Leaf works just fine for my friends,” Frostleaf stated.
“I see,” FrostNova paused as Frostleaf began to strum on the balalaika. “Then… call me... Yelena.”
Half an hour later, a rather loud and unexpected visitor burst into the room.
“Is she awake? How is she?” Blaze asked aloud, only to be told to keep it down by Frostleaf.
“She’s asleep! I said so in my text!” Frostleaf whispered back to Blaze as strongly as they could. They both turned to look at FrostNova, who made no sound or attempt to stir, though when Blaze looked back at Frostleaf, she could see they were still pretty frustrated.
“Sorry, I just… thought maybe I could catch her before…”
Frostleaf sighed as they stood up. “Why don’t you take over watching for me? I could use a nap myself.”
Blaze smiled and walked over to the side of FrostNova’s bed. She was about to hold her hand, but Blaze quickly looked back at Frostleaf, who shook her head. Instead, she sat down on the stool Frostleaf had been using.
She’d stay until she had the chance to apologize in person.