[ Artificial Lake, Abandoned Amusement Park, Gotham city ]
Thea had aimed at the calf earlier, but this time she didn't bother. She loosed another freezing arrow at the upper section of the ice block, her expression sour. That was another arrow down the drain—and every one of these was expensive. She still hadn't found some rich sucker willing to cover her expenses. For now, she could only pray Bruce came back soon. She really couldn't afford to keep playing the rich vigilante on a freelancer's budget.
None of the three Gotham natives had any idea what was going through her mind. All they saw was a brilliant flash of white light, and the faintly humanoid form of Killer Croc vanished completely.
What remained was a jagged monolith of ice, nearly three meters tall and five wide, looming where their enemy had stood. Through a sliver of translucent surface, they could just make out the rough silhouette frozen within.
Robin took a reflexive step back. "Okay… now I'm cold."
Batgirl blew into her gloves, teeth clenching. "Temperature dropped like twenty degrees. What's in those arrows, the soul of Antarctica?"
Catwoman rubbed her arms. "Remind me to never take her on a ski trip."
The frost was so intense that even their tech began to hiss faintly with thermal resistance. The surrounding air shimmered as the ambient heat was devoured by chemical chill after after two consecutive freezing shots.
Thea didn't need Felicity to explain the chemistry—liquid nitrogen could drop below minus one hundred, but even with atmospheric dissipation, the localized cold was still hovering near minus fifty.
"Alright, mission complete. I'm out," Thea said, trying to keep it casual as she turned away, waving over her shoulder. She was already planning to bolt before anyone thought to ask for a ride.
Catwoman, she could handle. They'd flown together before, and she wasn't too heavy on the senses. But Robin and Batgirl? They'd just been wrestling with a sewer-born mutant. The smell alone was a solid no.
Batgirl she could maybe tolerate, just barely. But Robin? No way. She could already imagine the awkwardness. If they asked for a ride and she said no, things would get weird. If she said yes, she'd regret it the entire flight. Best to vanish before anyone could ask.
"Come down first," Catwoman called out, before she could take off. "We need a quick team huddle."
Thea froze mid-flight.
"I—what? Now?" she said, turning around with wide eyes. "Do we have to?"
Catwoman crossed her arms and pointed a clawed finger. "Yes. You're not flying off until we figure out what happens next."
Trapped, Thea let out a silent groan and stepped off her board. With no room to escape, she was promptly hauled off with the others to a clearer patch of ground, away from the towering iceberg, for an impromptu strategy meeting.
"Should we move farther away? What if he can still hear us?" Robin asked, gesturing toward the block of ice encasing Killer Croc. With no idea how it worked, he turned expectantly to Thea for an answer.
"He's unconscious, Robin. Frozen solid. That thing's not hearing anything unless you start blasting opera directly into the ice." Batgirl answered before Thea could. Her tone was sharp, almost maternal, and her mind already spinning with thoughts: Your science knowledge is truly a disaster. I need to sign you up for higher education classes. Maybe even a degree program. At least that way, we won't lose face when we get married.
Despite Batgirl's curt tone, Thea gave a small nod of confirmation. "She's right. With the level of cold and the thickness of the ice, there's no way he's conscious—much less eavesdropping."
Robin gave a weak laugh, clearly embarrassed. Standing there, surrounded by three competent women, he felt like he should've had some contribution worth showing off. Instead, he just came off… underwhelming. The smile he offered was the kind you give when the joke's on you.
No one felt like prolonging his awkwardness. And with the battle over, attention naturally shifted to the aftermath. The giant ice sculpture still sat at few dozen meters away from the shore, inconvenient and impossible to ignore. Though no one said it aloud, all three members of the Bat-family turned toward Thea as if to say, You froze it. Now you fix it.
Thea blinked. To be honest, she hadn't thought this far ahead. She and Felicity had calculated power, duration, cost… but not cleanup. Never cleanup.
"Felicity," she muttered into her mic, "please tell me you have a solution for this."
A beat of hopeful silence.
Then... nothing.
"...Felicity?" Thea repeated.
The silence crackled in her earpiece. It stretched out long enough to feel personal. It was absolute radio vacuum.
Thea's shoulders slumped. "Of course. Genius hacker goes AWOL at the first sign of logistics."
"…We could go find Commissioner Gordon. Talk it through with him," Catwoman suggested at last, casually tossing out the most reasonable-sounding solution she could come up with. In reality, it was just a classic move: redirect the problem to someone older and in authority.
Batgirl blinked. "Seriously?"
Catwoman shrugged. "Why not? He's got the badge, the mustache, and a lifetime of cleaning up after Bat messes. I say we make this one his problem."
Robin raised a brow. "You mean consult him."
"Sure," Catwoman said with a smirk. "That's what I said."
Thea also quickly agreed. Sounded good. If nothing else, Gordon was practically Gotham's collective grandfather. If anyone could take responsibility for a ten-ton mutant popsicle in the middle of a park, it was him.
"Well okay then, we'll let him take the lead," Batgirl muttered. "That's what old-timers are for anyways."
"Calling him now," Felicity's voice finally buzzed in. As she did, the four of them stood there, waiting in awkward silence while the headset filled with the familiar silence again.
Thea knew Felicity had gone to call for help, but standing around waiting didn't sit right with her—or anyone else.
"Red Arrow, are you interested in sparring with me?" Batgirl asked, her tone bright with enthusiasm.
Their reactions varied.
Robin's head snapped toward her. "Batgirl—are you serious?"
Catwoman looked downright giddy. "Ooooh. This I've got to see."
She was clearly ready to enjoy the show. But Robin, on the other hand, wore the unmistakable frown of a boyfriend both worried and confused.
Thea blinked once, then stared at Barbara. She was smiling far too confidently for someone who'd nearly been mauled half an hour ago. Thea rubbed her temples. I should be asleep in a park right now, dreaming of ramen. Not playing tag with Batgirl. Her routine was clearly disturbed—fighting criminals all night, not slept after entering Gotham and Gotham's forced team-ups weren't doing her circadian rhythm any favors.
Still... she was bored.
So she decided not to waste time debating the decision.
And if Batgirl wanted to be humbled in front of her boyfriend and Gotham's sassiest cat burglar?
"Sure, whatever," Thea sighed. If she used her bow, this wouldn't even be a fight—it'd be bullying. So she casually tossed her weapon aside and waved her hand lazily. "Come on then."
The moment Thea ditched the bow, Batgirl and Robin both exhaled in relief. They couldn't help it. Thea's high-tech arsenal was practically cheat-level against regular fighters. Even someone as fearsome as Lady Shiva could be caught off guard if she wasn't careful. This wasn't an age of only martial arts anymore—it was also the age of miniaturized warheads disguised as arrows.
Only Catwoman, who had fought Thea more than once, wore a knowing smile. She chuckled under her breath. "Cute. They think they're safe now." But she said nothing to them, just leaned against a tree like she'd bought popcorn for this exact moment.
Encouraged, Batgirl happily removed her belt—which wasn't just a belt but her disguised whip.
Thea hadn't seen the whip in action earlier and, for a split second, she froze.
Is she unbuckling her belt? Wait, what is she—oh God, I surrender! Thea's mind short-circuited.
Was this psychological warfare? Why keep your weapon around your waist? Tie it to your thigh, your wrist, anywhere less... misleading. This kind of dramatic gesture could definitely create misunderstandings. Even as a woman, Thea found herself momentarily disoriented. If Batgirl had done this in front of a man—say, one who hadn't seen a date in fifty years—he'd go from level-five combat to a feral werewolf in seconds. Combat power instantly over 100.
The whole scene just felt reckless. Thea itched to warn her: Girl, you need to protect yourself. The adult world isn't safe. But they weren't that close, and even if they were, Batgirl probably wouldn't listen. So she stayed silent and swallowed the advice.
Once she realized it was a false alarm and the belt was just a belt—well, sort of—Thea's sleepiness evaporated. Originally, she'd intended to go easy and just pass the time, but now that Batgirl had made such a spectacle of preparing for battle, there was no backing down. Her opponent had stripped her metaphorical armor—Thea had no choice but to meet her in kind.
They entered the makeshift arena empty-handed, alert, circling. No one rushed in. Batgirl gestured politely for Thea to make the first move.
It made Thea smirk. You're already weaker than me, and you want me to go first? Don't blame me when this ends quickly.
"Pay attention," she warned, and launched her attack.
Wing Chun, direct and fast—a sharp blow aimed for Batgirl's face.
Batgirl reacted quickly, twisting into a judo grip and trying to catch Thea's arm for a throw.
To Be Continued...
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