Categories > Cartoons > Teen Titans
Teen Titans season 6 episode 3
Icebound
The police haven’t had to deal with criminals for a while. At least not super ones. So, they knew that they could come home safe and not have to worry about serious threats anymore. Until today. At the prison a massive fireball busted through the walls, flooring several cops. As one of them was struggling to get to his feet, he noticed that in front of the open wall was a tall, massive man wearing an orange and black mask and a single eyepiece. Before the guard could do anything another force clubbed his head to the floor knocking him out. The force was that of an exiled Tamaran known as Blackfire. Accompanying Slade from behind was former H.I.V.E. leader Brother Blood and Dr Light. “Well done” congratulated Slade. Blackfire winked at him. Lifting her foot off the head, she reached for his clipboard with all the names of the prisoners on it. The four walked into the cell area as Blackfire read the names of their potential candidates. “So, who we got?” asked Slade. “Well, we got quite a few options,” responded Blackfire. “Some were from Brain’s brotherhood, it appears. Cheshire, Psimon, Jumbo. Think they will work?” “No,” snapped Slade. “Brain’s brotherhood was weak. We need someone with more prowess. Someone unique.” Blackfire frowned back at the clipboard turning to its next page. “Well here’s one that could be interesting: his name is Camren Makent. Codenamed: Icicle.” Slade smiled under his mask. “Bring me his cell number” he barked. Blackfire led the three to another section of the prison area. This section was filled with glass tanks for the captives, rather than regular cells. “Must be the meta human brigade” observed Light. Each glass was marked with a “Provided by S.T.A.R labs” logo on it. Luckily for them, the cell was just at the end of the room. As they approached the cell, they observed Icicle. He was about 6’5 tall, though still shorter than Slade by comparison. His skin was covered in ice from head to toe and was sitting on his bed making snow sculptures. He turned to the villains. “What’s going on? Who are you? This a breakout?” he questioned. In response, Slade threw a fireball at the glass, shattering it. As the glass fell to the ground, Icicle stepped out of his cell slowly. “You have been chosen to be a potential candidate for the new Brotherhood of Evil.” explained Slade. Icicle smiled at the prospect. “Ok, I’m in,” he agreed. Slade laughed. “You don’t get in immediately. You have to earn it”. Icicle looked confused.
“So this is what we are dealing with..” explained Nightwing. Behind him, the computer screen that Cyborg brought for the presentation was displaying 8 heads. Across from him, the team watched on the couch in earnest. It had been nearly 2 days since their reunion battle with Slade and his Brotherhood of Evil, and the Titans were still unnerved by it. “Ok let’s start with the leader”. The picture of Slade zoomed up and a 3D model of him popped up next to it along with a data file reading “ Name: Slade Joseph Wilson. Gender: M. Height: 7’1. Eye: Blue Hair: unknown. Age: unknown. Status: on the move”. “Slade Wilson has been our arch enemy since the beginning.” continued Nightwing. “ He was a mercenary and former ally of H.I.V.E. He was killed 6 years ago at a volcano and came back 2 years later. After we had defeated Trigon, he disappeared and we haven’t heard from him since until now.” Beast boy squirmed in his seat there. That wasn’t the first time he revealed himself, he thought. Nearly a month before Tokyo, Beast Boy had indeed encountered Slade. Well, a robot clone of him. The clone had shown that their ally Terra was alive but now wanted nothing to do with her former allies anymore. The others didn’t know as they were handling another foe rampaging into the city. Beast Boy hadn’t told him what he saw. It just was too painful to mention. He then raised his head up and continued listening to Nightwing. “...and he is extremely dangerous. Our next member is Brother Blood, former head of H.I.V.E until…” “..I sent his butt to the big house!” finished Cyborg, grinning smugly with his hands behind his head. “ Uh, yeah.” contorted Nightwing. “My closest guess of his involvement is that he could give Slade data and info for H.I.V.E that could potentially be used to their advantage. Ok next up!” The next villain was Blackfire. Starfire gripped her hands at the sight of her sister. “As you know, she’s Starfire’s sister but trust me she is not friendly! She is deceptive and dangerous and…” before he could finish, Raven approached the room. Nightwing stepped down and went to talk to her. “Raven, did you find anything in the library?” he asked. Raven answered by holding up a dark book that looked like it had been burned to nearly the spine. Nighwing grimaced at it. “Looks like Slade beat us to the punch.” Raven explained. “When I got there, nearly every book that could have some explanation of how to rid Slade of his powers had been burned and destroyed.” From the couch, Kid Flash raised his finger. “Uh, can’t you read people’s minds?” he asked. “Why not read Slade’s?” “Because I’m an empath not a telepath, Wallace!” snapped Raven. “I can read emotions, not thoughts. My thoughts are only limited to lifting things from the ground.” Kid flash looked confused. “Did she just call me Wallace?” he said dumbfounded. The question wasn’t answered. Nightwing held the book in his hand, looking grim. “Great!” he groaned. “This makes things a lot harder.” He then stepped back to the monitor. “We’ll have to discuss the rest later. Right now, we need to formulate a plan of how to strip Slade of his powers. Any questions?” Wonder Girl raised her hand. “Yes?” asked Robin. “Just to help boost our confidence, you’ve beaten Slade before right?” she questioned. Nightwing sighed. Had they? He thought. “Not exactly” he responded. “The first time, yes, we got free of Slade’s nanobots, but he still fled. Second time, our old teammate sacrificed herself to kill him, but he was then revived by Raven’s father Trigon. He manipulated me, as Slade told us, and he got away. So basically, yes and no.”. Wonder Girl looked nervous. Starfire then stood up next to her husband’s side. “Even though we haven’t defeated him before..” she beagan. “...doesn’t mean we can’t now. Listen, we have 2 extra members this time which means that’s twice the power we had last time so if we work together and try our hardest to find this energy source to defeat the evil, I believe we can win!” Wonder Girl clapped her hand. Beast boy followed, then Cyborg. “Nice speech!” complicated Kid Flash. “ Ok, lets get looking!” exclaimed Starfire.The others started to depart and go to their analysis room. Nightwing put his arm on his wife’s arm. “Where’d you learn to do a speech like that?” he asked with a smile. Starfire playfully punched Nightwing’s arm. “From the best of course.”
It had been 2 days since he fought his old foe, but Slade was more than ready for another go. His team was now about to expand with their new member Icicle. The brotherhood were gathered in a giant room with various gears turning around. This had been the same room Slade had blackmailed Nightwing, back when he was Robin, into becoming his apprentice. The memories were bitter, but sweet. On his monitor, images of the titans were projected. Slade walked in front of the monitor, putting his arms behind his back. “I know many of you know of our shared foes, but considering we have a new member, it’s only fair that we give him the proper rundown.” Icicle then got up. “Hold it! Let me try this.” said Icicle. He walked up to the monitor and started to examine it. After a minute, he turned to Slade and gave his analysis. “ Let me guess: an impulsive reckless bad boy, the perfect fusion of man and machine, the entire animal kingdom rolled into one, a demon goth girl, an extraterrestrial princess, a wise cracking speedster and a brave amazonian. Am I correct?”. The entire group below were looking on with shocked expressions. Icicle had never fought or met these Titans, yet, he guessed their gimmicks perfectly. Even Slade looked impressed. “Why, yes. Yes you are,” congratulated Slade, putting his hand on Icicle’s shoulder. “You are more impressive than I presumed. But with brains must also come the braun.” “No problem, Slade,” said Icicle. He folded his arms and walked down from the podium. “So, how is this going to work?” he questioned. Slade thought about it. He was definitely smart, but he could also be dangerous to the titans. Too dangerous. He needed some limitations. Slade approached him quietly. His one eyebrow raised. “You are allowed to fight any titan you want except for Nightwing. I have better plans for him.” Icicle raised his own eyebrow in earnest. “Why would that be?” he questioned. Slade held out his hand and a large fire ball appeared out of thin air and hovered around his palm. “No questions, more life,” snarled Slade. Icicle stepped back, his hands in front of him cautiously. The fire ball disappeared and Slade stepped down from the podium and left the room. The rest of the Brotherhood got out of their seats and started to depart as well, with Icicle following suit. Icicle caught up to Killer Moth and shot the breeze with him. “Hey, don’t you have a daughter, dude?” asked Icicle. Moth groaned. “Yeah, but after my ex wife found out about me forcing the Robin kid to go out with her, I lost the custody rights. Heck, that’s mostly why I joined: because he took something that meant alot to me.” Icicle frowned. “Don’t worry, pal, I’ll avenge what he did.”
The room had only been renovated a year ago, but it felt like it was there forever in Nightwing’s mind. He stood in front of the control station, arms folded, watching as Cyborg and Kid Flash searched through the computer’s map, to discover the possible location of Slade. So far, they had no such luck. Cyborg glanced back at Nightwing. “Got nothing, dude. Aside from some of his old headquarters, there doesn’t seem to be any other place where he could possibly be.” Nightwing swore angrily under his breath. Kid Flash turned his chair around to face him. “Hey, we’ll find him, bro. Don’t worry about it.” Suddenly, the alarm rang. Nightwing turned around and saw Starfire and Wonder Girl run into the room. “Analysis time’s over, boys! We’ve got trouble!” said Wonder girl. Cyborg and Kid flash got off their chairs and charged towards the exit. Wonder Girl joined them, but before Starfire could leave, she turned and noticed Nightwing was still staring at the screens. “Are you coming?” she asked, in a kind of abrasive fashion. Acting like he just got out of a trance, Nightwing shook his head swiftly and turned to Starfire. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Coming!” He ran past her out the door. Stafire looked at the screen and then down on the ground, sighing.
Nightwing’s bike and Cyborg’s buggy were driving side by side next to each other while Wonder Girl, Beast Boy (as a sparrow), Starfire and Raven were flying through the air above them and Kid Flash was keeping pace next to them. The report said that there were unnatural freezing errors in the sewage system nearby and that it will cause a flood if not regulated. Kid Flash looked at his teammates and realized something. He turned to Beast Boy and shared his observation. “How come you're the only guy who can fly while us other dudes have to go on dry ground?” Beast Boy chuckled at the observation. “Hey, I guess I’m just lucky! Must be the animal magnetism!” Kid flash growled at the remark. Stewing, he brightened when an idea came to mind. “Hey, bird boy! Wanna race to the sewer lid?” he challenged. “Kid Flash, don’t try to encourage him.” demanded Raven, who was looking on at the banter with a disapproving sneer. Beast Boy waved his wing at her. “Raven, it’s no big deal. I humbly accept.” Kid Flash nodded in acceptance. “Besides,” he continued. “What’s the worst that could happen?” Kid Flash started running faster, but it was cut short. His face met a metal stop sign in front of him, nearly knocking him out. The other titans stopped as he slumped down from the sign. Raven hovered to the ground and crossed her arms with an “I told you so” grin on her face. “Well, he could play dirty and trick you,” she snarked. Kid Flash weakly lifted his thumb up. “Good to know,” he gasped. Wonder Girl, Beast Boy and Starfire lowered to the ground while Nightwing and Cyborg departed from their vehicles. Nightwing walked up to the street next to the stop sign and saw a sewer lid in the center. He turned to Cyborg and nodded at him. Cyborg did the same back to him. Cyborg grabbed the lid and ripped it from the ground and threw it away. He jumped down first, with Nightwing following second. The others followed. “Cyborg, light!” commanded Nightwing. Cyborg nodded his head and a red light illuminated from his eye and he led the way. During the walk, Kid Flash grabbed his nose and tried not to throw up. Wonder Girl noticed. “What is it?” she asked. “It smells like junk down here. Don’t you smell it?” he fussed. Wonder Girl rolled her eyes. He acts like he never smelled before, she thought. Beast Boy soon caught up with Kid Flash. “Hey, didn’t you and Jinx go out after we defeated Brain? What happened?” he asked. Kid Flash sighed. “Long story. I went on a mission one day, when I got back, she was gone, and she stole some of our data files. Left a note threatening to expose them if I looked for her.” “Dang” exclaimed Beast Boy. They approached a door to an electric room, covered in ice. Beast boy and Kid Flash looked at each other in confusion. Cyborg approached the door and shattered the glass with his fist. When the door opened up, they saw almost the entire control room was frozen with ice, several technicians frozen in blocks of ice, and a man in the room almost covered in the stuff. The man was standing on a podium made of ice, smuggly grinning at the titans. “Who are you?” demanded Nightwing, fists clenched. The man jumped down from the ice podium. His feet making a clunking noise as he hit the icy floor, surprisingly not even slipping. He grinned. “Icicle, children. Slade has given me a task. To defeat one of you. That way, I can join his brotherhood. Any questions?” Beast Boy raised his hand. “Yeah, how long do you think it will take to defeat you?” he snarked. Icicle growled and shot a blast of Ice from his hands. The titans jumped out of the way and the ice hit a control panel behind them, destroying it. Cyborg and Raven rolled onto the ground next to each other. Raven then aimed her hands at Icicle and Cyborg aimed his arm cannon. The two blasted their projectiles at Icicle. Icicle turned and noticed the projectiles. He held out his hands and a fury of ice shot from it and froze the energy beams. The 2 frozen blocks shattered on the ground, heavily. From behind, Wonder Girl tossed the lasso of truth around Icicle and swung him in the air. To get out, Icicle froze the lasso. The ice increased that wait of the lasso causing it to slip from Wonder Girl’s arms and Icicle landing safely on the ground. The lasso fell on the ground, the ice shattering. Nightwing jumped over Icicle’s head and threw a Wing Ding at him from above. Icicle blasted the wing ding with ice and kicked it at Nightwing. The wing ding clipped his shoulder as he landed on the ground, tearing through his costume. Nightwing grabbed his shoulder in pain. Beast Boy leaped onto Icicle, having transformed into a polar bear, and attempted to scratch him. His claw scratched the ice skin, but Icicle did not seem to feel it. He aimed his hands on the ground and a mountain of ice emerged from the ground, throwing Beast Boy to the ceiling. HE fell to the ground unconscious. Starfire swooped in and grabbed the villain and lifted him in the air. Icicle held his breath in heavily. Suddenly, Starfire felt her hands now freezing icy cold. In pain, she released Icicle to the ground. He then turned towards Nightwing, still clinging to his wound. Smiling evilly, Icicle blasted a brigade of ice at Nightwing, freezing him up to his head. Starfire noticed from above. She turned to Kid Flash. “Kid Flash! Help Nightwing!” she ordered. Kid Flash nodded and attempted to run towards Nightwing. Unfortunately, Icicle shot more ice onto the floor, causing Kid Flash to slip and crash on the floor. Icicle held out his hands and created a wall of ice dividing himself and the titans. Cyborg charged at the wall and smashed it. When the glass cleared, Icicle and the frozen Nightwing were gone. Starfire landed on the ground and ran to the end of the room. There was a door with a frozen knob. “No!” she shouted. He had been captured.
On the street, a sewer lid popped open. A gust of wind breezed over as Starfire, Wonder Girl, Raven, and Beast Boy (as a blue jay) flew out. Below, Cyborg and Kid Flash climbed their way out. “Mhmm” murmured Cyborg. “No ice in sight. It might be hard to find them.” Beast Boy landed on the ground, turning into his human self. “Oh, come on! How did that happen?!” he moaned. Starfire flew in front of the 2, arms crossed, ready for business. “It doesn’t matter. Right now, we are searching the town for Nightwing.” The team looked at each other confused. “Uh,Starfire? How do we find him without any knowledge of which path they went?” questioned Raven. Starfire thought. It would be hard due to the fact that Slade had done a good job hiding his lair. Starfire sighed. “Me and Cyborg will go back to base and check the computer. Beast Boy, you and Raven check downtown Jump City. Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, uptown. Call back if you found any clues!” Cyborg nodded and got into his car, driving off. Starfire followed suit. Wonder Girl stood shocked at the command. “Wow! I guess Nightwing’s leadership has really gotten to her huh?” Beast Boy and Raven frowned at the remark, then walked in the opposite direction. Kid Flash put his hand on Wonder Girl’s shoulder. “ I thought it was good.” he complimented. She rolled her eyes and walked up the street. Kid flash shrugged. “What did I say?”
Nightwing didn’t know what to make of his situation. He was under a freezing pipe, blowing cold air at him. Hands and legs frozen to the wall and floor and his utility belt missing, he was in a big pickle. The building he and Icicle were in was some kind of abandoned pier of some sort. Icicle was busy making an ice sculpture of himself. Nightwing breathed heavily, breath visible from the cold, as shivered from the extreme temperature. And I thought Mr Freeze was sadistic, he thought. Tired of sitting there freezing, he decided to get his captor’s attention. “Hey, Icy!” he bellowed. Icicle stopped spraying ice and turned towards his captive. “You need something?” he sarcastically asked. Nightwing gritted his teeth. “I thought you were gonna hand me over to Slade. What am I doing here?” Icicle laughed. “Well, I would, but since he seems to be interested in you…” he approached Nightwing and placed his finger under his chin. “...I might as well take advantage.” Nightwing jerked his head away from Icicle’s finger. “What do you mean?” he snarled. Icicle walked back to his statue, hands behind his back. “Considering you're the leader of your team and Slade has the biggest beef with you, imagine how much money they might be willing to pay!” Nightwing widened his eyes. “You captured me, so you can auction me?!” he yelled. Icicle turned back to him. “More like a ransom. You see, I call Slade and tell him to give me 50 grand by midnight, or I ice you, same to your teammates, I can get 100 grand out of it. And, while both factions duke it out tonight, I can make my getaway with the dough under the cover of your discord.” Nightwing shivered under the cold pipe. He could barely open his mouth to clench his teeth. “How do you expect to get in touch with my team?” he questioned. Icicle sneered as he grabbed from a pocket in his ice pants a familiar communicator. Nightwing recognized it as his own. “Everything is under control”
Slade had waited long. Too long. Where is he? Should’ve been here by now! He thought to himself. He was standing in front of his rows of monitors, examining each and any part of the city, trying to find his M.I.A new recruit. He sensed a noise behind him. Turning, he saw it was Brother Blood walking towards him, a look of angst on his face. “Still hasn’t returned, huh Slade?” he said. Slade walked down from the platform. The “S” on his forehead shined a crimson red. He was infuriated. “I give someone a task to do and he can’t even get back to-” before he could finish his sentence, one of the monitors went static. When the picture returned, Icicle’s face had now taken up the frame. Slade turned to the monitor, furious. “Where have you been?! I doubt it would’ve taken you this long to get the job done!” Icicle smirked. “You're right, it didn’t. That’s why I have this here” His camera turned to the corner of the room. Sitting there was Nightwing on the ground, his hands frozen to the wall, feet to the floor, and a massive open pipe over his head, spraying cold air out. Slade charged up to the monitor. “What are you doing?! I said to leave him to me!” he shouted. “ Don’t worry, you still get him. As long as I get 50,000 dollars by midnight, he’s all yours. If not, I’ll ice him!” Slade’s fists were clenched in anger. Icicle noticed it and clearly enjoyed what he was seeing. “See you tonight.” he taunted. The monitor changed to black. In anger, Slade created a fireball and tossed it at the monitor. The monitor exploded in a flame of sparks and fire upon impact. Brother Blood stood, shielding himself from whatever debris or rubble that could fly off. Slade walked back down, smoke trailing him. Blood lowered his hands. “What do you intend to do about this?” he asked. Slade didn’t look back at Blood, walking away furiously. “ We pay him a little visit. That’s what.”
It had been an hour of searching, but Starfire still couldn’t find the tracker on Nightwing’s comm. Cyborg was there, helping her work the computer. Even so, they were still searching. “Ugh! Where can he be?” moaned Starfire. She kept trying to reboost the homing signal. No such luck still. Cyborg put his hand on her shoulder. “Let me try now. You can take a break” he offered. Starfire was about to retort, but then relented. She got off the chair, and allowed Cyborg to take her place. Starfire started to walk out of the room, head down, arms folded. Cyborg turned his head toward her. “Hey, we’ll find him” he comforted. She turned to him, looking still undeterred. Cyborg understood her feelings here. “Hey, did I ever tell you about my past?” he asked. She shook her head. Cyborg turned the chair around. “Well, I actually used to be a normal human. A football player to be exact. Best in the team. But my dad was a scientist. Focused more on his work, and barely had time for his son and his hobbies. I, for a while, thought he didn’t care about his son
“But after a big game, when my mom picked me up, we got into an accident. My mom didn’t make it. When I came to, I found myself like this.” He waved his hands outwards to show his point. “ But, I saw something I didn’t expect: my dad having done this to me. He saved my life.” Starfire walked back to Starfire, with a look of both remorse and gratitude towards her friend’s story. “I’m sorry to hear about your mother, Cyborg. But I’m also happy to hear that you and your father managed to reconcile.” Cyborg smiled at her comment. “Do you still talk to your father?” she asked. Cyborg sighed. “Once in a while. I wish I could spend more time talking, but I’ve got a duty that requires full attention.” All of a sudden, Cyborg’s communicator went off. He checked the user I.D on his wrist. “It’s Nightwing!” he identified. Starfire ran over in excitement. But the voice that came out of it sounded nothing like him. “Ah, close but no cigar.” It was Icicle. “Where’s Nightwing?” demanded Cyborg. “I have him at an abandoned pier at the north east side of Jump City.” replied Icicle. “If you want him back, I request 50 grand from you. One of you. Meet me at 456 Kane Street at midnight. If I don’t get the cash, your friend will experience very severe hypothermia.” The communicator went static. Starfire pulled out her comminicator. Cyborg slapped his hand on her arm before she could do anything. “Starfire, we don’t have 50 grand. What do you expect us to do?” he pointed out. Starfire smirked. “Leave it to me!”
Kid Flash and Wonder Girl had walked for nearly an hour. Wasn’t a walk in the park for them. They had checked 3 buildings but nothing. They were bored. Kid Flash decided to lighten the mood. “ So, have you read any good books lately?” he asked. Wonder Girl shrugged. “Nothing much. Just the odyssey I guess. And no it’s not because I’m a demigoddess.” she retorted. Kid Flash grinned. “Geez, you got an abrasive side to you, don’t you?” he replied. She sighed. “Comes with growing up on an island with only girls I guess. Toughens you up.” Suddenly, her communicator rang. Wonder Girl picked it up. Starfire’s voice came on it. “Wonder Girl and Kid Flash! Get Beast Boy and Raven and meet us at the Tower! Now!”
“So, wait! Ice dude here wants us to give him 50 grand by midnight tonight or he freezes Nightwing?” asked Beast Boy. “Where are we going to get that money, dudes?” Everyone else was wondering the same question. They had gathered in the lounge to try to figure out the answer. “We can't,” retorted Cyborg. “Not unless we rob a bank or something.” Beast Boy frowned and coked an eyebrow. It wasn’t easy for him to hear that the easiest option was the wrong one. “So what do we do?” he asked. Starfire had her hand on her chin, thinking of the best idea. She then thought of one. “Ok, listen up! I have an idea. It might not work but it's the best we got.” They all turned and paid attention. “Ok, Icicle needs one of us, right? We’ll just send one of us with the briefcase for money and one of us will go in, free Nightwing. It’s full proof!” she exclaimed. Cyborg raised an eyebrow. “Not only does that seem ciched..” he began. “...but we are all superhuman and more than likely, he’ll figure out that the one who gives him the money is fooling him.” “Unless..” chimed in Beast Boy. “..we send one of us who’ll take his eyes off the game here.” “Who are we going to get for that?” asked Kid Flash. At that moment, everyone turned to Wonder Girl.
Midnight was approaching. The time was near. Icicle was eager for his money. So far, no side has shown up yet. But it was only 11:15. Time was still of essence. He heard Nightwing groan as he was freezing under the ice pipe. Icicle grinned at his pain. After a while, an alarm rang on a device in his pocket. Icicle removed it and a surveillance system popped up on his data pad. In the footage, a woman with dark hair and a trenchcoat was standing outside of the pier with a briefcase. Icicle flicked it off and approached Nightwing. “Good news: your party’s arrived. After I collect the dough, we’ll wait for Slade to arrive and I’ll make off with 100 grand.” Nightwing weakly lifted his head and gritted his teeth. He wanted to spit in this maniac’s face. But, under this temperature, it would turn his saliva to ice. It was like all hope was lost.
Wonder Girl didn’t like being used as a visual distraction. Doing it now was no exception. But now, it was time to suck it up. The iceman was exiting the nest. Ok, she thought. Time to free our friend. Icicle approached her, with a smug smile on his face. “Hello, girl!” He greeted himself. “Still bitter about the whip?” She was not enjoying this at all. “A lasso,” she retorted. “It’s called a lasso.” Icicle rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. Just give me the dough.”
Nightwing wasn’t sure how much more he could take. The cold was grinding on him. He was nearly on the verge of passing out. The ice cuffs were like frostbite cutting into his hands and feet. He couldn’t keep his eyes open much longer. His head tilted. Suddenly, he heard a pair of feet hit the ground. Nightwing slowly lifted his head. In front of him was the build of a young red headed woman, with orange skin and a purple outfit. His wife had come to the rescue. Next to her was Kid Flash, obviously having taken her there. Nightwing was happy to see them.
Wonder Girl had been stalling for 5 minutes waiting for the others to accomplish their mission. It was agitating. Unfortunately, a device in Icicle’s pocket flickered and he pulled it out. It was security camera footage. The jig was up. “I’ll deal with you later. Right now, my prize must be detained.” he snapped. Icicle charged into the pier with the case. Wonder Girl attempted to follow, until an orange ball of fire smashed into the ground in front of her, knocking her to the ground. Wonder Girl weakly lifted her head, seeing 5 shapes in the smoke. 4 of them came into view. Dr Light, Blackfire, Moth, and Blood came into full view. The final figure then followed. “Nightwing is coming with me,” said Slade.
Nightwing could barely stand. The cold had nearly numbed every limb. His limpness forced him to have his arms slinged by Starfire and Kid Flash. Appropriate since Starfire freed him from his frozen confinements. As the two started to drag him to the exit, he realized something. “Guys, wait. I need my..” he began. But someone else finished the sentence for him. “Utility belt, kid?”
Icicle stood in front of the exit holding Nightwing’s utility belt in his left hand and the briefcase in his right. Starfire frowned at him. “Get out of our way, vile fiend!” she demanded. Kid Flash raised an eyebrow. “Fiend?” he questioned, annoyed. Icicle dropped the belt and the briefcase on the floor and raised his hands and a blast of ice emerged from them. Kid Flash zipped out of the way while Starfire flew in the air with Nightwing in her arms. Kid Flash attempted to speed attack Icicle, but his effort was in vain, because Icicle sprayed ice at his feet, freezing him to the ground. His work with Kid Flash finished, Icicle turned his attention towards Niightwing and Starfire. Starfire flew over a ceiling beam and soared to the ground. She lay Nightwing between a couple of crates to hide him. “Stay here,” she ordered him. Nightwing tried to protest, but he was too weak from the cold. She left him in the spot and flew back towards the ceiling. Starfire aimed her hands at Icicle and shot green bolts at him. Icicle dodged out of the way and sent 2 ice blasts from his hands into Starfire’s direction. One hit her squarely on the chest and stuck her to a piece of the wall. Icicle smiled at his victory. He picked up his briefcase and walked towards where Starfire placed Nightwing. He raised his fist, preparing to freeze his foe, until he looked at the area between the crates. Nightwing was gone. Suddenly, he felt a figure jump on to his back and struggle with him. It was obviously Nightwing. Icicle threw him into one of the crates. Icicle stood over him, angered. “Now, Kid, time to freeze!” he bellowed. Before he could do anything to him, Nightwing held out his hand. “You...forgetting something?” he asked. In his hand was Nightwing’s utility belt. Icicle’s smile faded. Nightwing drew out a capsule and tossed it at Icicle. The glass smashed on his face and he screamed in pain. The chemical was a heat substance, used on Mr. Freeze in the past. The briefcase fell on the ground. The case opened, showing a couple bricks in it. Subtle, thought Nightwing. Screaming, Icicle ran out of a window and fell to the ocean. Having defeated his enemy, Nightwing limped himself over to Kid Flash who was still frozen to the ground and pulled from his utility belt a heat laser device. Aiming it at the ice, the laser zapped it until it melted into a puddle of water. Kid Flash stumbled for a second before regaining his balance and turning towards Nightwing. “Thanks, man. You ok?” Nightwing nodded but buckled to the ground a beat later. The cold was still getting to him. He looked up towards Starfire to figure out how to free her from her frozen restraints, but saw she had already had it under control. She aimed her hand towards the ice and let out a burst of green energy, freeing her from the ice. She hovered towards the ground and ran over to Nightwing, who, as he was putting on his belt, slumped from pain, numbness and exhaustion. Starfire grabbed his arm and slung it over her shoulder. “Lean on me,” she advised. Kid Flash grabbed his other arm and slung around his shoulder too. Nightwing faintly smiled as they dragged him over towards the other side of the room.
Wonder Girl had fought foes before, but none like this. At the moment she was trying to lasso Brother Blood into Slade, but she got blasted down by Killer Moth. She fell to the floor, hard. Her ribs ached with pain. She tried to get up, but felt a cleat push her body down. “Now, are you ready to step out of my way?” asked Slade. Suddenly, a scream was heard. Slade turned and saw an icy figure jump out of a window of the pier into the ocean. Slade’s eyebrows furrowed. He then felt nothing but air under his cleat. Turning, he saw Wonder Girl fly away to lord knows where. Blackfire bended her knees, preparing to fly towards her, but Slade put his arm in front of her. “Leave her. We got what we need inside.” he informed her. They group walked toward the entrance. Slade kicked the door down and lead the charge in. He then stopped in his tracks and signaled the others to stop. The room was deserted. Slade growled. “Look up!” shouted Light. Slade tilted his head up and saw, by the skylight, Starfire hanging on the ceiling with Nightwing on her shoulder and Kid Flash holding on to her from behind. She blew Slade a raspberry, angering him. He gripped his hand and tossed a fireball at her. Starfire leaped from the roof with the 2 and flew away. The fireball hit the ceiling and pieces of it fell to the ground. Brother Blood approached Slade’s side. “Should we go after them?”he asked. Slade thought for a minute. Finally, he decided “There will be other opportunities.”
It felt nice for Nightwing to warm his feet again. The warmth of his blanket and the hot feet bath was good for the cold. Starfire had taken him back to the tower and lay him on the couch to nurse him back to health. The others sat by to comfort him. Starfire came out of the kitchen with a tray of food. “Thx, Starfire” said Nighwting. She placed the tray on his legs and smiled. “Any drinks?” she asked. Nightwing smiled. “Anything without Ice”
The end.
Icebound
The police haven’t had to deal with criminals for a while. At least not super ones. So, they knew that they could come home safe and not have to worry about serious threats anymore. Until today. At the prison a massive fireball busted through the walls, flooring several cops. As one of them was struggling to get to his feet, he noticed that in front of the open wall was a tall, massive man wearing an orange and black mask and a single eyepiece. Before the guard could do anything another force clubbed his head to the floor knocking him out. The force was that of an exiled Tamaran known as Blackfire. Accompanying Slade from behind was former H.I.V.E. leader Brother Blood and Dr Light. “Well done” congratulated Slade. Blackfire winked at him. Lifting her foot off the head, she reached for his clipboard with all the names of the prisoners on it. The four walked into the cell area as Blackfire read the names of their potential candidates. “So, who we got?” asked Slade. “Well, we got quite a few options,” responded Blackfire. “Some were from Brain’s brotherhood, it appears. Cheshire, Psimon, Jumbo. Think they will work?” “No,” snapped Slade. “Brain’s brotherhood was weak. We need someone with more prowess. Someone unique.” Blackfire frowned back at the clipboard turning to its next page. “Well here’s one that could be interesting: his name is Camren Makent. Codenamed: Icicle.” Slade smiled under his mask. “Bring me his cell number” he barked. Blackfire led the three to another section of the prison area. This section was filled with glass tanks for the captives, rather than regular cells. “Must be the meta human brigade” observed Light. Each glass was marked with a “Provided by S.T.A.R labs” logo on it. Luckily for them, the cell was just at the end of the room. As they approached the cell, they observed Icicle. He was about 6’5 tall, though still shorter than Slade by comparison. His skin was covered in ice from head to toe and was sitting on his bed making snow sculptures. He turned to the villains. “What’s going on? Who are you? This a breakout?” he questioned. In response, Slade threw a fireball at the glass, shattering it. As the glass fell to the ground, Icicle stepped out of his cell slowly. “You have been chosen to be a potential candidate for the new Brotherhood of Evil.” explained Slade. Icicle smiled at the prospect. “Ok, I’m in,” he agreed. Slade laughed. “You don’t get in immediately. You have to earn it”. Icicle looked confused.
“So this is what we are dealing with..” explained Nightwing. Behind him, the computer screen that Cyborg brought for the presentation was displaying 8 heads. Across from him, the team watched on the couch in earnest. It had been nearly 2 days since their reunion battle with Slade and his Brotherhood of Evil, and the Titans were still unnerved by it. “Ok let’s start with the leader”. The picture of Slade zoomed up and a 3D model of him popped up next to it along with a data file reading “ Name: Slade Joseph Wilson. Gender: M. Height: 7’1. Eye: Blue Hair: unknown. Age: unknown. Status: on the move”. “Slade Wilson has been our arch enemy since the beginning.” continued Nightwing. “ He was a mercenary and former ally of H.I.V.E. He was killed 6 years ago at a volcano and came back 2 years later. After we had defeated Trigon, he disappeared and we haven’t heard from him since until now.” Beast boy squirmed in his seat there. That wasn’t the first time he revealed himself, he thought. Nearly a month before Tokyo, Beast Boy had indeed encountered Slade. Well, a robot clone of him. The clone had shown that their ally Terra was alive but now wanted nothing to do with her former allies anymore. The others didn’t know as they were handling another foe rampaging into the city. Beast Boy hadn’t told him what he saw. It just was too painful to mention. He then raised his head up and continued listening to Nightwing. “...and he is extremely dangerous. Our next member is Brother Blood, former head of H.I.V.E until…” “..I sent his butt to the big house!” finished Cyborg, grinning smugly with his hands behind his head. “ Uh, yeah.” contorted Nightwing. “My closest guess of his involvement is that he could give Slade data and info for H.I.V.E that could potentially be used to their advantage. Ok next up!” The next villain was Blackfire. Starfire gripped her hands at the sight of her sister. “As you know, she’s Starfire’s sister but trust me she is not friendly! She is deceptive and dangerous and…” before he could finish, Raven approached the room. Nightwing stepped down and went to talk to her. “Raven, did you find anything in the library?” he asked. Raven answered by holding up a dark book that looked like it had been burned to nearly the spine. Nighwing grimaced at it. “Looks like Slade beat us to the punch.” Raven explained. “When I got there, nearly every book that could have some explanation of how to rid Slade of his powers had been burned and destroyed.” From the couch, Kid Flash raised his finger. “Uh, can’t you read people’s minds?” he asked. “Why not read Slade’s?” “Because I’m an empath not a telepath, Wallace!” snapped Raven. “I can read emotions, not thoughts. My thoughts are only limited to lifting things from the ground.” Kid flash looked confused. “Did she just call me Wallace?” he said dumbfounded. The question wasn’t answered. Nightwing held the book in his hand, looking grim. “Great!” he groaned. “This makes things a lot harder.” He then stepped back to the monitor. “We’ll have to discuss the rest later. Right now, we need to formulate a plan of how to strip Slade of his powers. Any questions?” Wonder Girl raised her hand. “Yes?” asked Robin. “Just to help boost our confidence, you’ve beaten Slade before right?” she questioned. Nightwing sighed. Had they? He thought. “Not exactly” he responded. “The first time, yes, we got free of Slade’s nanobots, but he still fled. Second time, our old teammate sacrificed herself to kill him, but he was then revived by Raven’s father Trigon. He manipulated me, as Slade told us, and he got away. So basically, yes and no.”. Wonder Girl looked nervous. Starfire then stood up next to her husband’s side. “Even though we haven’t defeated him before..” she beagan. “...doesn’t mean we can’t now. Listen, we have 2 extra members this time which means that’s twice the power we had last time so if we work together and try our hardest to find this energy source to defeat the evil, I believe we can win!” Wonder Girl clapped her hand. Beast boy followed, then Cyborg. “Nice speech!” complicated Kid Flash. “ Ok, lets get looking!” exclaimed Starfire.The others started to depart and go to their analysis room. Nightwing put his arm on his wife’s arm. “Where’d you learn to do a speech like that?” he asked with a smile. Starfire playfully punched Nightwing’s arm. “From the best of course.”
It had been 2 days since he fought his old foe, but Slade was more than ready for another go. His team was now about to expand with their new member Icicle. The brotherhood were gathered in a giant room with various gears turning around. This had been the same room Slade had blackmailed Nightwing, back when he was Robin, into becoming his apprentice. The memories were bitter, but sweet. On his monitor, images of the titans were projected. Slade walked in front of the monitor, putting his arms behind his back. “I know many of you know of our shared foes, but considering we have a new member, it’s only fair that we give him the proper rundown.” Icicle then got up. “Hold it! Let me try this.” said Icicle. He walked up to the monitor and started to examine it. After a minute, he turned to Slade and gave his analysis. “ Let me guess: an impulsive reckless bad boy, the perfect fusion of man and machine, the entire animal kingdom rolled into one, a demon goth girl, an extraterrestrial princess, a wise cracking speedster and a brave amazonian. Am I correct?”. The entire group below were looking on with shocked expressions. Icicle had never fought or met these Titans, yet, he guessed their gimmicks perfectly. Even Slade looked impressed. “Why, yes. Yes you are,” congratulated Slade, putting his hand on Icicle’s shoulder. “You are more impressive than I presumed. But with brains must also come the braun.” “No problem, Slade,” said Icicle. He folded his arms and walked down from the podium. “So, how is this going to work?” he questioned. Slade thought about it. He was definitely smart, but he could also be dangerous to the titans. Too dangerous. He needed some limitations. Slade approached him quietly. His one eyebrow raised. “You are allowed to fight any titan you want except for Nightwing. I have better plans for him.” Icicle raised his own eyebrow in earnest. “Why would that be?” he questioned. Slade held out his hand and a large fire ball appeared out of thin air and hovered around his palm. “No questions, more life,” snarled Slade. Icicle stepped back, his hands in front of him cautiously. The fire ball disappeared and Slade stepped down from the podium and left the room. The rest of the Brotherhood got out of their seats and started to depart as well, with Icicle following suit. Icicle caught up to Killer Moth and shot the breeze with him. “Hey, don’t you have a daughter, dude?” asked Icicle. Moth groaned. “Yeah, but after my ex wife found out about me forcing the Robin kid to go out with her, I lost the custody rights. Heck, that’s mostly why I joined: because he took something that meant alot to me.” Icicle frowned. “Don’t worry, pal, I’ll avenge what he did.”
The room had only been renovated a year ago, but it felt like it was there forever in Nightwing’s mind. He stood in front of the control station, arms folded, watching as Cyborg and Kid Flash searched through the computer’s map, to discover the possible location of Slade. So far, they had no such luck. Cyborg glanced back at Nightwing. “Got nothing, dude. Aside from some of his old headquarters, there doesn’t seem to be any other place where he could possibly be.” Nightwing swore angrily under his breath. Kid Flash turned his chair around to face him. “Hey, we’ll find him, bro. Don’t worry about it.” Suddenly, the alarm rang. Nightwing turned around and saw Starfire and Wonder Girl run into the room. “Analysis time’s over, boys! We’ve got trouble!” said Wonder girl. Cyborg and Kid flash got off their chairs and charged towards the exit. Wonder Girl joined them, but before Starfire could leave, she turned and noticed Nightwing was still staring at the screens. “Are you coming?” she asked, in a kind of abrasive fashion. Acting like he just got out of a trance, Nightwing shook his head swiftly and turned to Starfire. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Coming!” He ran past her out the door. Stafire looked at the screen and then down on the ground, sighing.
Nightwing’s bike and Cyborg’s buggy were driving side by side next to each other while Wonder Girl, Beast Boy (as a sparrow), Starfire and Raven were flying through the air above them and Kid Flash was keeping pace next to them. The report said that there were unnatural freezing errors in the sewage system nearby and that it will cause a flood if not regulated. Kid Flash looked at his teammates and realized something. He turned to Beast Boy and shared his observation. “How come you're the only guy who can fly while us other dudes have to go on dry ground?” Beast Boy chuckled at the observation. “Hey, I guess I’m just lucky! Must be the animal magnetism!” Kid flash growled at the remark. Stewing, he brightened when an idea came to mind. “Hey, bird boy! Wanna race to the sewer lid?” he challenged. “Kid Flash, don’t try to encourage him.” demanded Raven, who was looking on at the banter with a disapproving sneer. Beast Boy waved his wing at her. “Raven, it’s no big deal. I humbly accept.” Kid Flash nodded in acceptance. “Besides,” he continued. “What’s the worst that could happen?” Kid Flash started running faster, but it was cut short. His face met a metal stop sign in front of him, nearly knocking him out. The other titans stopped as he slumped down from the sign. Raven hovered to the ground and crossed her arms with an “I told you so” grin on her face. “Well, he could play dirty and trick you,” she snarked. Kid Flash weakly lifted his thumb up. “Good to know,” he gasped. Wonder Girl, Beast Boy and Starfire lowered to the ground while Nightwing and Cyborg departed from their vehicles. Nightwing walked up to the street next to the stop sign and saw a sewer lid in the center. He turned to Cyborg and nodded at him. Cyborg did the same back to him. Cyborg grabbed the lid and ripped it from the ground and threw it away. He jumped down first, with Nightwing following second. The others followed. “Cyborg, light!” commanded Nightwing. Cyborg nodded his head and a red light illuminated from his eye and he led the way. During the walk, Kid Flash grabbed his nose and tried not to throw up. Wonder Girl noticed. “What is it?” she asked. “It smells like junk down here. Don’t you smell it?” he fussed. Wonder Girl rolled her eyes. He acts like he never smelled before, she thought. Beast Boy soon caught up with Kid Flash. “Hey, didn’t you and Jinx go out after we defeated Brain? What happened?” he asked. Kid Flash sighed. “Long story. I went on a mission one day, when I got back, she was gone, and she stole some of our data files. Left a note threatening to expose them if I looked for her.” “Dang” exclaimed Beast Boy. They approached a door to an electric room, covered in ice. Beast boy and Kid Flash looked at each other in confusion. Cyborg approached the door and shattered the glass with his fist. When the door opened up, they saw almost the entire control room was frozen with ice, several technicians frozen in blocks of ice, and a man in the room almost covered in the stuff. The man was standing on a podium made of ice, smuggly grinning at the titans. “Who are you?” demanded Nightwing, fists clenched. The man jumped down from the ice podium. His feet making a clunking noise as he hit the icy floor, surprisingly not even slipping. He grinned. “Icicle, children. Slade has given me a task. To defeat one of you. That way, I can join his brotherhood. Any questions?” Beast Boy raised his hand. “Yeah, how long do you think it will take to defeat you?” he snarked. Icicle growled and shot a blast of Ice from his hands. The titans jumped out of the way and the ice hit a control panel behind them, destroying it. Cyborg and Raven rolled onto the ground next to each other. Raven then aimed her hands at Icicle and Cyborg aimed his arm cannon. The two blasted their projectiles at Icicle. Icicle turned and noticed the projectiles. He held out his hands and a fury of ice shot from it and froze the energy beams. The 2 frozen blocks shattered on the ground, heavily. From behind, Wonder Girl tossed the lasso of truth around Icicle and swung him in the air. To get out, Icicle froze the lasso. The ice increased that wait of the lasso causing it to slip from Wonder Girl’s arms and Icicle landing safely on the ground. The lasso fell on the ground, the ice shattering. Nightwing jumped over Icicle’s head and threw a Wing Ding at him from above. Icicle blasted the wing ding with ice and kicked it at Nightwing. The wing ding clipped his shoulder as he landed on the ground, tearing through his costume. Nightwing grabbed his shoulder in pain. Beast Boy leaped onto Icicle, having transformed into a polar bear, and attempted to scratch him. His claw scratched the ice skin, but Icicle did not seem to feel it. He aimed his hands on the ground and a mountain of ice emerged from the ground, throwing Beast Boy to the ceiling. HE fell to the ground unconscious. Starfire swooped in and grabbed the villain and lifted him in the air. Icicle held his breath in heavily. Suddenly, Starfire felt her hands now freezing icy cold. In pain, she released Icicle to the ground. He then turned towards Nightwing, still clinging to his wound. Smiling evilly, Icicle blasted a brigade of ice at Nightwing, freezing him up to his head. Starfire noticed from above. She turned to Kid Flash. “Kid Flash! Help Nightwing!” she ordered. Kid Flash nodded and attempted to run towards Nightwing. Unfortunately, Icicle shot more ice onto the floor, causing Kid Flash to slip and crash on the floor. Icicle held out his hands and created a wall of ice dividing himself and the titans. Cyborg charged at the wall and smashed it. When the glass cleared, Icicle and the frozen Nightwing were gone. Starfire landed on the ground and ran to the end of the room. There was a door with a frozen knob. “No!” she shouted. He had been captured.
On the street, a sewer lid popped open. A gust of wind breezed over as Starfire, Wonder Girl, Raven, and Beast Boy (as a blue jay) flew out. Below, Cyborg and Kid Flash climbed their way out. “Mhmm” murmured Cyborg. “No ice in sight. It might be hard to find them.” Beast Boy landed on the ground, turning into his human self. “Oh, come on! How did that happen?!” he moaned. Starfire flew in front of the 2, arms crossed, ready for business. “It doesn’t matter. Right now, we are searching the town for Nightwing.” The team looked at each other confused. “Uh,Starfire? How do we find him without any knowledge of which path they went?” questioned Raven. Starfire thought. It would be hard due to the fact that Slade had done a good job hiding his lair. Starfire sighed. “Me and Cyborg will go back to base and check the computer. Beast Boy, you and Raven check downtown Jump City. Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, uptown. Call back if you found any clues!” Cyborg nodded and got into his car, driving off. Starfire followed suit. Wonder Girl stood shocked at the command. “Wow! I guess Nightwing’s leadership has really gotten to her huh?” Beast Boy and Raven frowned at the remark, then walked in the opposite direction. Kid Flash put his hand on Wonder Girl’s shoulder. “ I thought it was good.” he complimented. She rolled her eyes and walked up the street. Kid flash shrugged. “What did I say?”
Nightwing didn’t know what to make of his situation. He was under a freezing pipe, blowing cold air at him. Hands and legs frozen to the wall and floor and his utility belt missing, he was in a big pickle. The building he and Icicle were in was some kind of abandoned pier of some sort. Icicle was busy making an ice sculpture of himself. Nightwing breathed heavily, breath visible from the cold, as shivered from the extreme temperature. And I thought Mr Freeze was sadistic, he thought. Tired of sitting there freezing, he decided to get his captor’s attention. “Hey, Icy!” he bellowed. Icicle stopped spraying ice and turned towards his captive. “You need something?” he sarcastically asked. Nightwing gritted his teeth. “I thought you were gonna hand me over to Slade. What am I doing here?” Icicle laughed. “Well, I would, but since he seems to be interested in you…” he approached Nightwing and placed his finger under his chin. “...I might as well take advantage.” Nightwing jerked his head away from Icicle’s finger. “What do you mean?” he snarled. Icicle walked back to his statue, hands behind his back. “Considering you're the leader of your team and Slade has the biggest beef with you, imagine how much money they might be willing to pay!” Nightwing widened his eyes. “You captured me, so you can auction me?!” he yelled. Icicle turned back to him. “More like a ransom. You see, I call Slade and tell him to give me 50 grand by midnight, or I ice you, same to your teammates, I can get 100 grand out of it. And, while both factions duke it out tonight, I can make my getaway with the dough under the cover of your discord.” Nightwing shivered under the cold pipe. He could barely open his mouth to clench his teeth. “How do you expect to get in touch with my team?” he questioned. Icicle sneered as he grabbed from a pocket in his ice pants a familiar communicator. Nightwing recognized it as his own. “Everything is under control”
Slade had waited long. Too long. Where is he? Should’ve been here by now! He thought to himself. He was standing in front of his rows of monitors, examining each and any part of the city, trying to find his M.I.A new recruit. He sensed a noise behind him. Turning, he saw it was Brother Blood walking towards him, a look of angst on his face. “Still hasn’t returned, huh Slade?” he said. Slade walked down from the platform. The “S” on his forehead shined a crimson red. He was infuriated. “I give someone a task to do and he can’t even get back to-” before he could finish his sentence, one of the monitors went static. When the picture returned, Icicle’s face had now taken up the frame. Slade turned to the monitor, furious. “Where have you been?! I doubt it would’ve taken you this long to get the job done!” Icicle smirked. “You're right, it didn’t. That’s why I have this here” His camera turned to the corner of the room. Sitting there was Nightwing on the ground, his hands frozen to the wall, feet to the floor, and a massive open pipe over his head, spraying cold air out. Slade charged up to the monitor. “What are you doing?! I said to leave him to me!” he shouted. “ Don’t worry, you still get him. As long as I get 50,000 dollars by midnight, he’s all yours. If not, I’ll ice him!” Slade’s fists were clenched in anger. Icicle noticed it and clearly enjoyed what he was seeing. “See you tonight.” he taunted. The monitor changed to black. In anger, Slade created a fireball and tossed it at the monitor. The monitor exploded in a flame of sparks and fire upon impact. Brother Blood stood, shielding himself from whatever debris or rubble that could fly off. Slade walked back down, smoke trailing him. Blood lowered his hands. “What do you intend to do about this?” he asked. Slade didn’t look back at Blood, walking away furiously. “ We pay him a little visit. That’s what.”
It had been an hour of searching, but Starfire still couldn’t find the tracker on Nightwing’s comm. Cyborg was there, helping her work the computer. Even so, they were still searching. “Ugh! Where can he be?” moaned Starfire. She kept trying to reboost the homing signal. No such luck still. Cyborg put his hand on her shoulder. “Let me try now. You can take a break” he offered. Starfire was about to retort, but then relented. She got off the chair, and allowed Cyborg to take her place. Starfire started to walk out of the room, head down, arms folded. Cyborg turned his head toward her. “Hey, we’ll find him” he comforted. She turned to him, looking still undeterred. Cyborg understood her feelings here. “Hey, did I ever tell you about my past?” he asked. She shook her head. Cyborg turned the chair around. “Well, I actually used to be a normal human. A football player to be exact. Best in the team. But my dad was a scientist. Focused more on his work, and barely had time for his son and his hobbies. I, for a while, thought he didn’t care about his son
“But after a big game, when my mom picked me up, we got into an accident. My mom didn’t make it. When I came to, I found myself like this.” He waved his hands outwards to show his point. “ But, I saw something I didn’t expect: my dad having done this to me. He saved my life.” Starfire walked back to Starfire, with a look of both remorse and gratitude towards her friend’s story. “I’m sorry to hear about your mother, Cyborg. But I’m also happy to hear that you and your father managed to reconcile.” Cyborg smiled at her comment. “Do you still talk to your father?” she asked. Cyborg sighed. “Once in a while. I wish I could spend more time talking, but I’ve got a duty that requires full attention.” All of a sudden, Cyborg’s communicator went off. He checked the user I.D on his wrist. “It’s Nightwing!” he identified. Starfire ran over in excitement. But the voice that came out of it sounded nothing like him. “Ah, close but no cigar.” It was Icicle. “Where’s Nightwing?” demanded Cyborg. “I have him at an abandoned pier at the north east side of Jump City.” replied Icicle. “If you want him back, I request 50 grand from you. One of you. Meet me at 456 Kane Street at midnight. If I don’t get the cash, your friend will experience very severe hypothermia.” The communicator went static. Starfire pulled out her comminicator. Cyborg slapped his hand on her arm before she could do anything. “Starfire, we don’t have 50 grand. What do you expect us to do?” he pointed out. Starfire smirked. “Leave it to me!”
Kid Flash and Wonder Girl had walked for nearly an hour. Wasn’t a walk in the park for them. They had checked 3 buildings but nothing. They were bored. Kid Flash decided to lighten the mood. “ So, have you read any good books lately?” he asked. Wonder Girl shrugged. “Nothing much. Just the odyssey I guess. And no it’s not because I’m a demigoddess.” she retorted. Kid Flash grinned. “Geez, you got an abrasive side to you, don’t you?” he replied. She sighed. “Comes with growing up on an island with only girls I guess. Toughens you up.” Suddenly, her communicator rang. Wonder Girl picked it up. Starfire’s voice came on it. “Wonder Girl and Kid Flash! Get Beast Boy and Raven and meet us at the Tower! Now!”
“So, wait! Ice dude here wants us to give him 50 grand by midnight tonight or he freezes Nightwing?” asked Beast Boy. “Where are we going to get that money, dudes?” Everyone else was wondering the same question. They had gathered in the lounge to try to figure out the answer. “We can't,” retorted Cyborg. “Not unless we rob a bank or something.” Beast Boy frowned and coked an eyebrow. It wasn’t easy for him to hear that the easiest option was the wrong one. “So what do we do?” he asked. Starfire had her hand on her chin, thinking of the best idea. She then thought of one. “Ok, listen up! I have an idea. It might not work but it's the best we got.” They all turned and paid attention. “Ok, Icicle needs one of us, right? We’ll just send one of us with the briefcase for money and one of us will go in, free Nightwing. It’s full proof!” she exclaimed. Cyborg raised an eyebrow. “Not only does that seem ciched..” he began. “...but we are all superhuman and more than likely, he’ll figure out that the one who gives him the money is fooling him.” “Unless..” chimed in Beast Boy. “..we send one of us who’ll take his eyes off the game here.” “Who are we going to get for that?” asked Kid Flash. At that moment, everyone turned to Wonder Girl.
Midnight was approaching. The time was near. Icicle was eager for his money. So far, no side has shown up yet. But it was only 11:15. Time was still of essence. He heard Nightwing groan as he was freezing under the ice pipe. Icicle grinned at his pain. After a while, an alarm rang on a device in his pocket. Icicle removed it and a surveillance system popped up on his data pad. In the footage, a woman with dark hair and a trenchcoat was standing outside of the pier with a briefcase. Icicle flicked it off and approached Nightwing. “Good news: your party’s arrived. After I collect the dough, we’ll wait for Slade to arrive and I’ll make off with 100 grand.” Nightwing weakly lifted his head and gritted his teeth. He wanted to spit in this maniac’s face. But, under this temperature, it would turn his saliva to ice. It was like all hope was lost.
Wonder Girl didn’t like being used as a visual distraction. Doing it now was no exception. But now, it was time to suck it up. The iceman was exiting the nest. Ok, she thought. Time to free our friend. Icicle approached her, with a smug smile on his face. “Hello, girl!” He greeted himself. “Still bitter about the whip?” She was not enjoying this at all. “A lasso,” she retorted. “It’s called a lasso.” Icicle rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. Just give me the dough.”
Nightwing wasn’t sure how much more he could take. The cold was grinding on him. He was nearly on the verge of passing out. The ice cuffs were like frostbite cutting into his hands and feet. He couldn’t keep his eyes open much longer. His head tilted. Suddenly, he heard a pair of feet hit the ground. Nightwing slowly lifted his head. In front of him was the build of a young red headed woman, with orange skin and a purple outfit. His wife had come to the rescue. Next to her was Kid Flash, obviously having taken her there. Nightwing was happy to see them.
Wonder Girl had been stalling for 5 minutes waiting for the others to accomplish their mission. It was agitating. Unfortunately, a device in Icicle’s pocket flickered and he pulled it out. It was security camera footage. The jig was up. “I’ll deal with you later. Right now, my prize must be detained.” he snapped. Icicle charged into the pier with the case. Wonder Girl attempted to follow, until an orange ball of fire smashed into the ground in front of her, knocking her to the ground. Wonder Girl weakly lifted her head, seeing 5 shapes in the smoke. 4 of them came into view. Dr Light, Blackfire, Moth, and Blood came into full view. The final figure then followed. “Nightwing is coming with me,” said Slade.
Nightwing could barely stand. The cold had nearly numbed every limb. His limpness forced him to have his arms slinged by Starfire and Kid Flash. Appropriate since Starfire freed him from his frozen confinements. As the two started to drag him to the exit, he realized something. “Guys, wait. I need my..” he began. But someone else finished the sentence for him. “Utility belt, kid?”
Icicle stood in front of the exit holding Nightwing’s utility belt in his left hand and the briefcase in his right. Starfire frowned at him. “Get out of our way, vile fiend!” she demanded. Kid Flash raised an eyebrow. “Fiend?” he questioned, annoyed. Icicle dropped the belt and the briefcase on the floor and raised his hands and a blast of ice emerged from them. Kid Flash zipped out of the way while Starfire flew in the air with Nightwing in her arms. Kid Flash attempted to speed attack Icicle, but his effort was in vain, because Icicle sprayed ice at his feet, freezing him to the ground. His work with Kid Flash finished, Icicle turned his attention towards Niightwing and Starfire. Starfire flew over a ceiling beam and soared to the ground. She lay Nightwing between a couple of crates to hide him. “Stay here,” she ordered him. Nightwing tried to protest, but he was too weak from the cold. She left him in the spot and flew back towards the ceiling. Starfire aimed her hands at Icicle and shot green bolts at him. Icicle dodged out of the way and sent 2 ice blasts from his hands into Starfire’s direction. One hit her squarely on the chest and stuck her to a piece of the wall. Icicle smiled at his victory. He picked up his briefcase and walked towards where Starfire placed Nightwing. He raised his fist, preparing to freeze his foe, until he looked at the area between the crates. Nightwing was gone. Suddenly, he felt a figure jump on to his back and struggle with him. It was obviously Nightwing. Icicle threw him into one of the crates. Icicle stood over him, angered. “Now, Kid, time to freeze!” he bellowed. Before he could do anything to him, Nightwing held out his hand. “You...forgetting something?” he asked. In his hand was Nightwing’s utility belt. Icicle’s smile faded. Nightwing drew out a capsule and tossed it at Icicle. The glass smashed on his face and he screamed in pain. The chemical was a heat substance, used on Mr. Freeze in the past. The briefcase fell on the ground. The case opened, showing a couple bricks in it. Subtle, thought Nightwing. Screaming, Icicle ran out of a window and fell to the ocean. Having defeated his enemy, Nightwing limped himself over to Kid Flash who was still frozen to the ground and pulled from his utility belt a heat laser device. Aiming it at the ice, the laser zapped it until it melted into a puddle of water. Kid Flash stumbled for a second before regaining his balance and turning towards Nightwing. “Thanks, man. You ok?” Nightwing nodded but buckled to the ground a beat later. The cold was still getting to him. He looked up towards Starfire to figure out how to free her from her frozen restraints, but saw she had already had it under control. She aimed her hand towards the ice and let out a burst of green energy, freeing her from the ice. She hovered towards the ground and ran over to Nightwing, who, as he was putting on his belt, slumped from pain, numbness and exhaustion. Starfire grabbed his arm and slung it over her shoulder. “Lean on me,” she advised. Kid Flash grabbed his other arm and slung around his shoulder too. Nightwing faintly smiled as they dragged him over towards the other side of the room.
Wonder Girl had fought foes before, but none like this. At the moment she was trying to lasso Brother Blood into Slade, but she got blasted down by Killer Moth. She fell to the floor, hard. Her ribs ached with pain. She tried to get up, but felt a cleat push her body down. “Now, are you ready to step out of my way?” asked Slade. Suddenly, a scream was heard. Slade turned and saw an icy figure jump out of a window of the pier into the ocean. Slade’s eyebrows furrowed. He then felt nothing but air under his cleat. Turning, he saw Wonder Girl fly away to lord knows where. Blackfire bended her knees, preparing to fly towards her, but Slade put his arm in front of her. “Leave her. We got what we need inside.” he informed her. They group walked toward the entrance. Slade kicked the door down and lead the charge in. He then stopped in his tracks and signaled the others to stop. The room was deserted. Slade growled. “Look up!” shouted Light. Slade tilted his head up and saw, by the skylight, Starfire hanging on the ceiling with Nightwing on her shoulder and Kid Flash holding on to her from behind. She blew Slade a raspberry, angering him. He gripped his hand and tossed a fireball at her. Starfire leaped from the roof with the 2 and flew away. The fireball hit the ceiling and pieces of it fell to the ground. Brother Blood approached Slade’s side. “Should we go after them?”he asked. Slade thought for a minute. Finally, he decided “There will be other opportunities.”
It felt nice for Nightwing to warm his feet again. The warmth of his blanket and the hot feet bath was good for the cold. Starfire had taken him back to the tower and lay him on the couch to nurse him back to health. The others sat by to comfort him. Starfire came out of the kitchen with a tray of food. “Thx, Starfire” said Nighwting. She placed the tray on his legs and smiled. “Any drinks?” she asked. Nightwing smiled. “Anything without Ice”
The end.
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