[OLD PREVIEW] The Phoenix Project (#3)

One

The cold bit at Ivy's skin, threatening to turn her to ice if she stood still too long. Her breath clouded the air in front of her. She would have liked to let herself catch fire, but she needed to conserve her energy.

"How much farther?" she asked Spencer.

He glanced at the GPS, unbothered by the freezing temperatures. "Not too much longer. Top of this hill, it looks like."

"God, we've been walking forever," Victoria muttered.

Unfortunately, the treacherous slopes of the mountains that housed their destination made it impossible to park the jetchopper nearby. Ivy shoved her gloved hands deep into the pockets of her coat as they trudged through the snow. They were entering late June now, but they had come so far north that Ivy would say it was winter if she didn't know any better. She couldn't understand how Spencer was walking around in a t-shirt.

Then again, she was the one who could walk through a burning building unharmed.

Ace let out a bark and broke into a run, sending a spray of snow into Victoria's face. With a sigh, she brushed the flakes off with her arm and glanced at Ivy. "Guess we're almost there."

Ivy nodded. The coordinates they were following had been pulled from the information taken from Scorpion's server, before the Supers destroyed their headquarters. Supposedly, a division of Zodiac called Capricorn was located in these mountains.

Spencer broke into a run, trying to catch up to Ace. As he disappeared over the next hill, Ivy grew tense. Surely the base would be guarded, right? Running up to it probably wasn't the best idea. This was only supposed to be a scouting mission, anyway.

Of course, if they found what they were looking for, it would be hard to resist going in.

There wasn't much information on Capricorn in the information on the USB drive, but it was listed as the 'containment division.' If it was a place for prisoners, it was very likely this was where Claire was being kept.

"Found it!" Spencer shouted.

Ivy and Victoria jogged to catch up to him. Ivy frowned when the building came into view. It looked like a smaller version of Scorpion's headquarters: white, with dark windows.

"What, no soldiers?" she asked. "We're in plain sight. Someone had to have seen us."

"I think it's empty," Spencer said. He glanced at Ace, who sat patiently next to him. "Only way in is the roof, but I don't see any jetchoppers."

"Why would it be empty?"

"We did blow Scorpion up three days ago. Maybe they figured we were coming and left," Victoria said. "We should have come sooner."

"Maybe," Spencer murmured, studying the building. "Think we should go in?"

"Definitely," Victoria said.

"What if it's a trap?" Ivy asked.

"Let's circle around," Spencer said. "If no one shoots at us, we'll go in."

There was no sign of life, not even when they walked up to the edge of the building. Ivy reached out and touched a wall. "Why would they abandon this place?" she asked.

"Let's find out. Stand next to me," Spencer said. Ivy and Victoria moved to either side of him. With a wave of his hand, Spencer created a tower of ice that lifted them up to the lowest window. Ivy removed her gloves, then placed her hands on the window and let them heat up. The glass melted, turning into a dark liquid that dripped down the side of the building.

They climbed inside. Ace sniffed the air, but remained silent. No alarms went off. No soldiers or Altered or guards of any kind came to confront them. The Supers stood in silence. The building truly was empty.