Trials of a New Life - Part 2

Jenny grinned wide. “I so wish we were not on super tight schedule and it would not be so fucking cold I would so have sex with you right here and now.” Jenny kissed Sally but hugged herself. “Oh. My. Gosh! Sally I so love you! This is I think the most amazing thing I ever wore. Soooo warm!”


Jenny stuffed her second suit in the bike and got back on. “Let’s go cross this lake, this is so exciting I never crossed a frozen lake. No risk no fun right?” Flames were dancing in Jenny’s eyes when she shut her visor of her helmet. This was so much fun.

Sally blushed, but smiled delightedly. "Believe me, I'm the same way," she replied, kissing back. "Just remember, it will keep you warm, but it won't stand your flame yet."

"Aren't you meant to be trying to encourage me to stick to the straight and safe road now I'm a reformed villain, not tempt me to be dangerous?" Sally teased.

“Got it, new warm suit not yet Jenny proof. I wouldn’t use my flame right now anyway not with you sitting behind me.” Jenny drove slowly along the snowy, icy ground. She was a little surprised how easy it was to drive down the shore before she felt her bike drive onto the ice.



“This is not too bad.” The bike picked up speed and Jenny loved the feeling. “It’s not like we made the lake freeze… like your friend shady Skadi would. All I am saying that this is not well the conventional route. And danger doesn’t mean villain… all it means is fun.”

"I will find a way one day to be safe with your flame," Sally promised as they hit the ice. She giggled a little, excited to be travelling on the frozen surface, but went quiet when Jenny brought up Skadi.

"She... wasn't my friend," Sally replied, her tone almost as cold as the ice.

“You were hanging out with her an awful lot for not being friends with her. Wait you don’t find that cold hearted bitch attractive do you?”


Jenny was speeding up, the bike often slipped and one in a while caused slight crackling as he jumped over small bumps. Jenny had no idea that her speed and the weight of them caused waves underneath the ice.


“You never explained why you hung out with them, they are evil sure you felt like you had no chance because of your father but shady Skadi and Kirk they are devils from hell.”

"What? No!" Sally swiftly replied. At least... she didn't think so... She'd not really looked at girls before after all. Her grip around Jenny tensed as he girlfriend went on. She made an involuntarily sound almost like an angry growl.

"Drop it," Glitch snarled at Jenny.

Jenny felt Sally’s gripped tighten, she sighed. She was quiet for a while, concentrating not to slip on the ice. It was harder then she had expected. The ice around them was crackling and once in a while she believed she felt the ice shift and even saw the water move underneath the ice.
“You know I got the not wanting to talk about my past down to the T. I will not make you talk… but… try to see it from point of view. I just asked you why you hung out with them and instead of giving me a daft reason, like ‘I was all alone and they at least were angry at the same things’ you tell me to drop it. Thanks Glitch.”


Jenny shook her head slightly. “Whatever. We got a long drive ahead of us, I am not going to drive in silence you either pick the music or the conversation topic. I mean I could talk about the last big ice lump on the right for hours. It looked like… the ice berg that sank the Titanic or maybe meteor that killed the dinosaurs.” She wanted to be annoyed but the more she thought how unfair Sally was the more angry she got, and the angrier she got the faster she was driving.

Sally also sighed, hearing Jenny use her old name as an insult.

"Jenny... try to see it from my point of view. A week ago.. we didn't even know each other. I hated you. Now... I don't want to be with anyone else... and we have a wonderful daughter. I'm still coming to terms with how much have changed. And I'm having trouble processing it." She sighed again. "Maybe music would be best."

“Fine, music it is. Baby put on some music.” Jenny was angry and annoyed and suddenly this whole trip was not turning out as she planned it. “I am sorry I am messing up your live so much.” Jenny snapped.


“I will play songs suitable for long Journeys.” Baby said but Jenny didn’t reply to her.


For a while she was quiet and speeding over the ice, it was getting more and more slippery and the crackling got replaced by visible cracks. Sally couldn’t see it but bright flames were dancing in Jenny’s eyes. She was thinking ahead planning to make this trip a bit more fun, because driving over a frozen lake was not fun enough. Though it was just the beginning of fun for Smokey.

Sally glared at Jenny through her helmet. She had hoped Jenny would have understood that Sally just wasn't ready to talk about it yet, and how much she cared about her and Hettie. But instead...

For a long time, Sally was lost in dark thoughts, before a loud crack brought her out of them.

"Jenny.... I think the ice is getting thinner..."

Jenny looked around the ice. “We will be fine it should be much further.” She was pushing the bike fast over the ice it seemed as if she crackling cheered her on, like a crowd of a stunt show… “This is so exhilarating the speed, the danger of breaking through the ice…”


Jenny seemed kind of different, a little detached the way she used to be a year ago. “As long as we go fast we will be fine.”


The lake was raggedly frozen and something was clearly happening underneath the ice breaking it.

"J-jenny? Are you alright? You sound a bit strange," asked Sally, her worry overshadowing her anger. She glance down at the ice and gasped. "J-jenny..." she repeated. "Please tell you you spiked my drink... otherwise.... I think something else is breaking the ice."

“I haven’t felt that alive in… weeks. There is nothing there, it is just the water. It is so dark because it is close to freezing and us driving over it creates a wave underneath the ice, it will eventually break through the ice.” Jenny was not book smart but she knew the thing that could kill her. She was drive in wide zigzags to try and redirect the waves underneath the ice. “The next part will be fun.”


The ice broke creating ramps and gabs, Jenny pushed the bike to its speed limit as she jumped and slipped nearly manipulating it as if it was part of her body. She was radiating hotness of herself melting the flurries of snows around her. The shore was not far from them anymore, just a stone throw away when all the sudden the gab was bigger than Jenny thought or maybe she was trying too hard to impress her girlfriend or she just simply did a mistake but they crashed in the ice cold water. Jenny gasped in horror as she felt the water around her, the bike sink underneath her and Sally, hoping she can swim. Jenny wasn’t even screaming but accepting what was coming.

"Why didn't you tell me that before!" screamed Sally as they launched into the air. For a moment, she though they were maybe going to make it.

Then, they didn't.

For a moment, as they hit the water, Sally blacked out from the force and the cold. A few seconds later she came round, frantically looking around her.

"Jenny!" she cried out.

For a moment Jenny was trying to get back to the surface but her limps were so heavy… and then it popped back into her mind.



The floating device. It took all her strength to release the floating devices out of her belt. She broke through the surface.


“Activate floating device.” She stuttered Mark was worried she could ever fall in the Hudson again so he put in everything a floating device. She took off her helmet and saw Sally not far from her.


“I’m here Sally.” Jenny’s words were slurred and she was not even sure loud enough for Sally to hear, her bike came back to the surface. Jenny felt as if she was frozen, everything seemed so slow around her.

Sally's head snapped round, relieved to hear Jenny's voice, but terrified at how weak it sounded. She swam over crudely, a little surprised that Jenny seemed to have... floaties on.

"It's alright, I've got you," gasped Sally, holding onto to Jenny with one arm, raising her crossbow on the other. They were close to the shore, close enough for her grapple.

The bolt shot out, embedding in a rock, and Sally quickly started winching them towards the shore. She took a quick glance at the bike. It was still floating. Once she got to shore she could pull it in too.

Jenny wasn’t sure she remembered how she got to shore and it wasn’t even really any better to be there, it was windy and the shore was covered in snow. “Not planned it to go this way.” Jenny was stuttering, the world still seemed to go in slow motion.


“Mouse can help… he is… at the next checkpoint… How did we get here?” Jenny was confused and it took all her strength to keep herself from passing out, a part of her just wanted to curl up and wait for a deep darkness to engulf her. Jenny was so cold that she didn’t even shiver.

"Hold on Jenny, hold on," said Sally, not really paying much attention to what she was saying. "How did Mouse... Nevermind, let's try to get you a bit warmer." Sally fiddled with the controls for the suit heating, trying to turn it up as high as it could. Some of the wiring sparked a little, but if anything, Sally felt that could help Jenny.

She glanced back at the lake, getting out her crossbow and firing a grapple to pull the bike to shore. If Jenny did pull though, she'd never forgive her if she left the bike behind.

Jenny felt the heat from her suit and the sparks from the wiring but the slight increase in heat did not warm her core. She felt like this a few times when she was fighting Skadi in the past year, especially when she was too cocky and thought she could rely solemnly on her powers. She was sitting on the ground at the shore line of the frozen lake, her brain foggy with cold, she appeared as if she was drunk or stoned or as if she was confused from sepsis.

“Was it another scarab beetle that attacked us? The sun is pretty bright in the desert, it makes the world look so bright.” Jenny was looking around the snowy landscape clearly not in her right state of mind right now.

“Hey do you think they deliver pizza out here?” Jenny managed to get her phone out of her suit. “Who do you think we should call? Do you think an Uber can bring us some pizza?” Jenny curled up nearly like a kitten in a big pile of snow, starting to shiver again. “There is something wrong with this blanket it’s shaking.”

"Don't do this to me Jenny, don't do this," begged Sally, pulling into a tight hug. Despite the warmth from the suit, Sally could feel how cold Jenny was. Tears falling Sally doubted Jenny could survive getting anywhere. Not unless she warmed up drastically.

Drastic.... Sally's eyes rested on the bike. It fuel was old fashioned gas. Sally's eyes went wide, and she looked back at Jenny. It was crazy... but... her only option.

Taking a water-bottle out of her pack, Sally quickly emptied it and opened the gas tank, filling it up from the bike. She took a deep breath, then poured the contents over Jenny. She did it twice more, until nothing else game from the tank, though it didn't feel empty yet.

Now there was the problem of lighting it. But a spark from the suit soon solved that problem as the gas ignited.

Jenny gasped when Sally poured the gas over her, a second gasp escaped her when it lit on fire and for a very brief second she felt like any other person when lit on fire but then the heat finally kick started her brain. She looked up at Sally and smiled still a little confused. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

She lifted her hand and watched the fire dance around it. "That is fascinating I have no control whatsoever over this flame, it doesn't hurt me but it is also not part of me. I wanted to impress you... that didn't work out the way I planned..."

Sally's phone was beeping signaling a text to arrive.

Miss Glitch, I got the alert that Smokey's body temperature went down to hypothermia. I am on the way with a car for you. Watch Smokey when she is that cold she is in big trouble. Her brain literary freezes, like an engine that cannot start when it is too cold. I'll be there 10 minutes, Mouse

Sally stared at the text in surprised, but felt a huge surge of relief that help was already on her way.

'Got her brain kickstarted, but it's only just ticking over. Thanks for the backup! Glitch.' she texted back. Slowly, as the flames started to die down on Jenny, she moved closer.

"You... have more people watching out for you than you realise," Sally replied, slowly putting her arms around her. The flames singed a bit, but if it helped keep Jenny warm, it was worth it.

“I gave him the code thingy that he can connect with the computer chip or whatever it is that is in my suits and I think I am the only one that thinks he is worth something.” Jenny mumbled leaning her head against Sally. “You meant Mouse didn’t you? You didn’t call Dad did you?”

Jenny was shivering and looking down her suit. “I screwed up pretty bad didn’t I? Sorry… I got kind of carried away. I wanted to impress you… and … the danger we were in makes me feel alive… pretty stupid.”

The last flame disappeared, she was still cold and a little confused but not to bad. “Thanks for the fire. Man this was worse than last time I ran into shady Skadi, she wasn’t involved in this was she?”

"I.. didn't call anyone. I was trying to get you... working again," said Sally. "Once you were better, Mouse was already on his way." She patted Jenny's back, hoping to calm her down and warm her up. "You don;t need to impress me, I already know you are impressively hot in all senses of the word," she added, kissing Jenny on the cheek.

She glanced back towards the lake. "If it was Skadi, we'd both be dead. That was too perfect an ambush opportunity for her for us to escape."

Jenny looked at Sally and kissed her on the cheek. “You should know I never properly work I am damaged goods. I can’t help it, I feel like if I don’t show off you will eventually get bored with me and… leave.”

For a second she was actually worried Skadi was here. “So she doesn’t like you either?”

A horn honked on the street above them. “Look at me Smokey I am like your knight in shining armor.” Mouse got out of the silver car it was a good car.