In the early days just after the Surge, Apex recorded multiple instances of people who gained abilities also undergoing physical transformations in addition to gaining new abilities, but most of those changes were mild. Some people reported a change in hair color or eye color, a difference in food tastes, or, in a change Ethan strongly desired, an incredible increase in muscle mass.

While those differences were undoubtedly alarming, they were, for the most part, relatively minor cosmetic changes. Hailstone, however, was an extreme case.

Once a brunette, Hailstone’s sienna colored skin had completely drained. Ethan had never seen someone with such pale skin, the color of a winter’s first snow, coupled with raven black hair, accentuated by her gray vest that left her shoulders and arms exposed, apparently immune to the cold, and the icy blue hammer symbol emblazoned across her chest.

That must’ve been her favorite weapon, Ethan thought, because that was exactly what she was pointing towards the woman in front of her.

Ethan scrambled over the ice, slipping his way towards the pair arguing in the center. He could finally make out their conversation, with the woman yelling in Hailstone’s face despite the obvious threat.

“You have no right to block access to the lake,” she said pointedly, an argument Ethan knew might be legally correct, but functionally useless given Hailstone could freeze them both solid way before they could get a lawyer on the phone.

Assuming she could afford one, because Ethan knew he absolutely could not.

Hailstone agreed with the absurdity of the situation, laughing like a giant staring down a barking chihuahua. “You’re welcome to try and stop me, but I don’t think you’ll like the results.”

The woman took a small step forward, keeping some distance but still close enough to appear defiant. She was either overly confident and entirely oblivious to the danger, and Ethan didn’t know which was worse.

“Do you plan on crushing me with that hammer just for asking questions? Is that all Protectors are good for now?”

Hailstone’s eyes narrowed. She twirled the hammer’s icy handle in her hands. “You must not know much about me.”

“Hey, hey,” Ethan slid to a stop between the two and put his hands out, trying to diffuse the situation. “What’s going on out here?”

“Who the hell are you?” Hailstone asked, pointing at him with the jagged end of her hammer. He saw a warped version of his face in the uneven ice, but it didn’t take a perfect reflection for him to realize he looked terrified.

“Ethan,” he kept his hands up, trying to exude more confidence, slowing his breathing. He gestured to the woman in front of him. “And you are?”

“Rainey,” answered the mystery woman, “also, very pissed that someone unilaterally decided to close my favorite lake on one of the last warm days of the year.”

“I’m going to give you a lot more to be pissed about if you don’t get out of here,” Hailstone threatened her.

So she was trying to get to the bottom, Ethan thought. He put on a shaky smile. He needed more information, and Hailstone was the perfect person to get it from.

Among other abilities, Hailstone had the ability to construct simple weapons out of ice. Out of every weapon she could choose, the hammer Hailstone was twirling was her favorite for a reason: it was a blunt and brutal, yet effective, weapon of choice for someone who blazed into every situation. While often successful, the hammer lacks the finesse of a dagger. Ethan took a breath, realizing he could play this to his advantage.

“Look, Rainey, Hailstone’s a professional. She’s great at her job! Look how well frozen this lake is!”

Rainey shifted her glare from Hailstone to Ethan, folding her arms. “Why would anyone freeze the lake?”

“To protect us! And what a great job she’s done!”

Hailstone’s grip on her hammer softened. She nodded, glancing at the ice below them. “Finally, a little respect around here. Do you know how long it took to freeze the entire lake?”

“Hours, for sure, but you’re dedicated,” Ethan emphasized, smiling. “And you wouldn’t do all that work for nothing! You’re a busy person!”

“I have a lot of hobbies outside ice skating,” Hailstone agreed. “I was actually supposed to go to my Pilates class this morning before Apex called and redirected me over here.”

“Well, I’m sure they had a good reason to freeze this lake over, right?”

She shrugged, idly swinging her weapon. “Apex business, or whatever. I’m supposed to keep people out of here, by whatever means necessary.”

“Wow,” Ethan feigned concern. “If they sent you over here, there must be something really dangerous down there, right?”

As if the thought hadn’t actually occurred to her, Hailstone glanced down at the ice, her face approximating what Ethan assumed was the most inquisitive she could be.

“Well, a peek won’t hurt.”

She waved a hand and the ice in front of them crackled and receded just enough for them to peer into the water.

It could’ve been a trick of the light, but Ethan could’ve sworn he saw something glow at the bottom of the lake nearly forty feet down. He was instantly transported back to the last time he was in the mines, the glow in his memory from the ceiling matching the light twinkling at the bottom of the lake. For confirmation, he short his gaze to Rainey. Her eyes went wide, confirming she saw something, too.

It’s down there, he thought, his breath catching in his chest. Just outside of my reach.

Hailstone, however, just sighed.

“Must be poisoned or something,” she said, closing the hole back over. “Chemicals from that wasteland called Stillrock, probably.”

Rainey nearly jumped to dive through the ice, then stopped herself. Hailstone’s eyes darted to her, eyeing her suspiciously.

“Maybe you could open up a small section, just for me?” Rainey asked, trying to act casual. “I came all the way from Ascension.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Hailstone scoffed. “I was ordered to freeze the lake, but of course Apex said if any rando wants to come and swim I should let them.”

Rainey glared at Hailstone, and before she could open her mouth to say something else inflammatory, Ethan cut in.

“Rainey, I also came up here to swim.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Did you now?”

He nodded. “And…I think I know a better place. I could show you, if you wanted.”

“Better than…here?” she asked.

Ethan thought for a moment, then nodded. “Less crowded, at least, but it doesn’t have a lifeguard. I could use someone to watch my back.”

If the breach point ends up being as dangerous as I think, it’s not going to hurt to have someone to call for help, if it comes to that.

“You can’t swim?” Hailstone asked him, laughing derisively. “What, you never learned?”

“I can swim,” Ethan said defensively. “I went to the pool a lot as a kid during the summer.”

“Are you…bragging?”

“No!” Ethan put his hands out. Rainey shot Ethan a confused glance, then held out her hand.

“Give me your phone.”

Ethan handed it to her, happy for the distraction. She put in her number, then texted herself.

“Now that we have a plan, maybe we should get out of here,” Ethan gestured back to the shore. “Let Hailstone get back to her skating and careful guarding of the lake.”

Hailstone sighed, twirling her hammer. “I kind of wanted this to end in a fight,” she admitted, her shoulders slumping. She put the head of her mallet on the ice, leaning over it petulantly. Ethan sighed with relief that the blunt object hadn’t ended up cracking either of them in the head.

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Hailstone pressed a button on her heels and blades popped out of her boots. “Killing people isn’t nearly as fun when they don’t have powers.”

“You just wait,” Rainey growled.

Or not.

“What was that?” Hailstone said.

That malicious grin grew on Hailstone’s face, and Ethan froze, wincing.

“You heard me,” Rainey turned, standing her ground. “On zero legal authority, you shut down a public area and threatened anyone who called you out about it. Is this really the best thing you can think of to do with your abilities?”

“I can think of a thing or two I’d rather be doing, and if you take one more step, you just might get a chance to find out what.”

Ethan tried to step in, anxiously rubbing his hand through his long brown hair, the wind blowing it in front of his eyes. “Okay, okay, there seems to be a misunderstanding here…”

“You’re not a hero,” Rainey pressed. “You protect nothing, just like the rest of them. You’re nothing more than a hired thug who needs someone strong enough to put you in your place.”

“You’re right about one thing,” Hailstone said, frost crackling and swirling around her hands, the hammer glimmering beautifully in the sunlight. “I’m not a hero.”

Hailstone threw the hammer over her head and pounded the ice, sending a wave of crackling force that shattered the ice in front of Ethan and Rainey with a deafening crack. Without thinking, Ethan pushed Rainey out of the way just before suddenly finding his feet losing the surface. Faster than he could react his mouth filled with water as he slipped beneath the ice, the cold water sending paralyzing shockwaves up his spine and rendering him nearly immobile.

Ethan should’ve been panicking, sinking slowly towards the bottom of the lake. Instead, he found himself conflicted.

The water wasn’t as cold as he expected, but it was still frigid, forcing his muscles to contract painfully, but not immobilizing them just yet. He didn’t take a deep breath before the ice broke, and he knew he only had a few moments before his muscles tensed up and moving became impossible. He had enough breath and energy to make a push to the surface, or sink to the light, but he knew he didn’t have enough time for both.

Instead of pushing up, towards the sun, Ethan’s eyes drifted downwards.

Beneath him, just a mere twenty feet down, was a crack in the lakebed, shimmering light pouring out. The jagged scar was no wider than his palm, hopefully keeping the amount of radiation Ethan would absorb to a tolerable minimum.

Ethan had found one, a breach point. If he really wanted powers, there was no telling if he’d ever get an opportunity again. His future was finally within his control, within his grasp, and all he had to do was sink.

But if he did reach the breach point, there was no guarantee he would be able to come back up, unless he miraculously received a power that could enable him to.

Ethan knew he couldn’t let this chance pass; he may never have one again. He began swimming down, down towards the breach point and a life out of the mines, down a path where he was in control.

Not a moment later, everything went wrong, and Ethan began to drown. His limbs froze, no longer responding to his commands, and he felt like a steel band was constricting his chest, forcing his store of air from his lungs. All he could hear was Raz’s voice in his head, laughing at him.

Yeah, man, Ethan agreed with him, his last bubble of air floating past him, this was a stupid idea.

~~~~~~

Ethan outstretched his hand, feeling a slight tingle in his fingertips. His chest contracted as the last of his air left his lungs, his eyes growing wide as the edges of his vision blackened, color draining from his world.

Except for the breach. All he could see was the breach, and Ethan knew that in a second he’d either have powers, or he’d be dead.

The world was silent under the lake’s surface, beautifully lit by the breach point beneath him.

Unbeknownst to him, there was a third option. A crash above him sent adrenaline flying through his veins, and his head whipped up to light above him. Suddenly, arms wrapped around his chest, and Alex rocketed them to the surface, punching through the ice and depositing them on the shore where he coughed up frigid water, gasping for fresh air.

“Ethan,” Alex yelled, pushing her wet hair out of her face. “Are you okay?”

When he gained the ability to speak, he found himself looking for Rainey, only to come up empty.

She must’ve bolted in the chaos, he thought, coughing. Maybe she wouldn’t have my back if things went wrong after all.

“A little cold,” he shivered. The sun had dipped behind a wall of clouds, also abandoning him.

Hailstone sheepishly approached, missing the mallet she carried earlier.

“What the hell happened?” Alex demanded to know, her eyes darting between Ethan and Hailstone.

“Those two ambushed me,” Hailstone said, pointing at Ethan. “The one ran off after I had to take precautionary measures to immobilize the combatant.”

“Combatant? This is my brother,” Alex yelled. Hailstone shrunk, stammering.

“He didn’t say that,” she muttered.

Alex took a few deep breaths to calm herself, taking in the scene. She glanced at the lake, confused.

“You froze the whole lake?”

“On Amory’s orders,” Hailstone protested.

“Was nearly killing my brother also on Amory’s orders?”

“Indirectly?” Hailstone tried. Alex’s stern look shut her down.

“No. But she wanted the lake sealed. Then these two were snooping around, and I figured I’d scare them, get them to leave.”

“He can’t leave if you drown him,” Alex growled.

“I didn’t know he wouldn’t try to come back up!”

“I’ll be talking to Amory about your technique. Get back to doing…whatever it is you were doing before I decide to throw you back to Ascension myself.”

Hailstone shot Ethan an icy glare and muttered a few curses, but ultimately stalked off back to the ice, leaving Alex crouched next to Ethan.

“Well, I don’t think she likes you,” Alex said.

“The feeling is mutual.” Ethan laid his head down on the grass, grateful the sun hadn’t quite dipped behind the mountains, warming his wet clothes. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Raz called me,” Alex said. “What were you thinking provoking Hailstone?”

“She was already provoked. A woman had come up here to swim and was pissed the lake was frozen. I was trying to defuse the situation before Hailstone went off on us.” Ethan sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees. He did his best to keep his tone casual, hiding his interest. “Speaking of, why was she out here in the first place?”

Alex shook her head. “I’m not sure. Amory typically keeps me up to date on everything, especially special assignments, but placing Hailstone all the way out here is…strange.”

“Who is Amory?”

“She’s the leader of the Protectorate Division at Apex. We created the division together, down to each sector’s assignments, balancing the rosters so each has a heavy hitter, support, and leader. Pulling someone without telling me is…atypical, to say the least.”

Ethan nodded, quiet. Amory sounds exactly like the kind of person who would know where a breach point was, and since she’s keeping Alex in the dark about their existence, she couldn’t tell her why Hailstone had been sent here in the first place

“Now, what were you doing up here?” Alex demanded to know. “And don’t say hiking, I know Raz’s leg isn’t healed enough for that.”

“It’s our last day off before the mines open up tomorrow,” Ethan lied, “I was just trying to use our last break and get out of town.”

Alex’s eyebrow shot up. “Oh, really? So it doesn’t have anything to do with finding a breach point?”

Ethan sighed. “Damn it, Raz.”

“Don’t blame him,” Alex laughed. “If those existed, Ethan, I would have heard about them by now. You’re chasing a fantasy. Don’t waste your time.”

“Seems like there’s a few things you don’t know happening at Apex,” Ethan countered.

Alex glared at him, and Ethan suddenly felt like he was under the water again, his veins turning to ice.

“If the breach points existed, and I’m not saying they do, you should stay as far away from them as possible,” Alex warned. “If you even managed to survive a more concentrated version of what we went through during the Surge, you’d end up having people like Hailstone trying to take you down just for being my brother.”

“Hailstone’s a brute, I could take her if I had powers like yours,” he said.

“Nobody has powers like mine,” Alex retorted. “And she’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s plenty of Altered out there that would gladly kill you to hurt me, not to mention what Apex would do to any new person who suddenly manifested powers.”

“I’ll stay out of trouble,” Ethan promised.

“I know that’s a lie, but do try,” Alex pulled Ethan to his feet, effortlessly. “I’ve got to get back on patrol. Can you make your way home?”

“Not like you can,” Ethan laughed. Alex smiled, then launched herself into the sky, flying off back home to Ascension.

“At least,” Ethan took one last look at the lake, “not yet.”