Ice Queen stood behind an ambulance, a duffle bag next to her ice covered feet. She saw him as he walked towards her, and she seemed to almost smile, a tiny smile that reflected like crystal beneath the street lights. “You okay?” she asked, her voice nearly showing a genuine sense of concern.
“I’m good,” he answered. “You?”
“Heartbroken.” A frozen tear fell out of her left eye as she spoke. “Even though Billy was older than me and Fire, he was like our silly little brother. Watching him die was like losing family.”
The Detective nodded. “If it means anything, I’m sorry.”
“Nothing for you to be sorry for. You did what you could.” She wiped the falling ice from her eyes, straightened her back out, and cleared her throat, the sadness suddenly disappearing from her frozen face. “Now, you need to turn the fuck around.”
“Why?” he asked, suddenly feeling the need to lighten things up to change the mood. “Are you naked under that frost?”
“Actually,” she answered, “I am. When I ‘ice up,’ it freezes my clothes, and they shatter, leaving me completely nude when I’m in my ice form. Therefore, you need to turn your ass around, so I can depower and get dressed.”
“Okay.” A slight smirk covered his face as he turned away from her. “I’ll be a gentleman this time, but don’t come to expect me to behave this well all the time.”
“Thanks,” she said in a sarcastic tone.
He snuck a quick glimpse behind him, only to see that within seconds, the ice covering her body disappeared as if it had never been there at all. He could barely see the back of her bare legs, but he saw enough to know they were long and shapely. He tried to work his glance up higher, and then she spoke to him. Not exactly wanting to get caught, he quickly looked away.
“Let me ask you something,“ she said from behind his back. “How did you not know you were shot?”
“Like your bald lawyer friend said earlier, my adrenal gland is quite large, so when I’m under stress, you know, like being shot at by a seven foot tall killer machine, I don’t really feel pain or any other kind of limits.”
“That’s handy.”
“Tends to be,” he said in return. “You dressed yet?”
She walked next to him. “Yes, I am. So now what? How do we find this bastard?”
He stared at the short skirt and low cut top she was wearing. “Nice outfit. Is that your alternate crime fighting outfit, or are we going out to a super hero nightclub later?”
“Fuck you,” she answered, a tiny smile returning to her face. “This was all I had in the damn car. Now answer my question, what do we do next to find this motherfucker?”
He walked to the other side of the ambulance, staring at the people working to clean up the mess. She followed close behind him.
“We look at what we’ve got. Two of The Seven are dead, killed by some guy inside of Barren’s armor. Whoever this guy is, he had to have some kind of access to Barren to get into his place to begin with.”
A look of concern crept onto her smooth face. “So you think this was somebody who had access to Barren, to us? Somebody we knew?”
“Most likely,” he answered. “How else could somebody have bypassed all of this---” he pointed up the penthouse---“building’s security and make it to Barren without being noticed? And then he pinpointed the exact location of a man who could run faster than the speed of sound, using electronic armor built from the ground up for somebody else. He had to have access to all of this beforehand.”
“Makes sense.” She stared at the spot in the street where The Speed Demon had been killed.
“And whatever this guy’s endgame is, from the way he talked, all of this is personal. It’s not political; it’s not the act of a terrorist; it’s the act of a person seeking vengeance.”
She turned and looked The Detective in the eyes. “And how exactly do you come to that conclusion?”
“Look at what he,
“I’m good,” he answered. “You?”
“Heartbroken.” A frozen tear fell out of her left eye as she spoke. “Even though Billy was older than me and Fire, he was like our silly little brother. Watching him die was like losing family.”
The Detective nodded. “If it means anything, I’m sorry.”
“Nothing for you to be sorry for. You did what you could.” She wiped the falling ice from her eyes, straightened her back out, and cleared her throat, the sadness suddenly disappearing from her frozen face. “Now, you need to turn the fuck around.”
“Why?” he asked, suddenly feeling the need to lighten things up to change the mood. “Are you naked under that frost?”
“Actually,” she answered, “I am. When I ‘ice up,’ it freezes my clothes, and they shatter, leaving me completely nude when I’m in my ice form. Therefore, you need to turn your ass around, so I can depower and get dressed.”
“Okay.” A slight smirk covered his face as he turned away from her. “I’ll be a gentleman this time, but don’t come to expect me to behave this well all the time.”
“Thanks,” she said in a sarcastic tone.
He snuck a quick glimpse behind him, only to see that within seconds, the ice covering her body disappeared as if it had never been there at all. He could barely see the back of her bare legs, but he saw enough to know they were long and shapely. He tried to work his glance up higher, and then she spoke to him. Not exactly wanting to get caught, he quickly looked away.
“Let me ask you something,“ she said from behind his back. “How did you not know you were shot?”
“Like your bald lawyer friend said earlier, my adrenal gland is quite large, so when I’m under stress, you know, like being shot at by a seven foot tall killer machine, I don’t really feel pain or any other kind of limits.”
“That’s handy.”
“Tends to be,” he said in return. “You dressed yet?”
She walked next to him. “Yes, I am. So now what? How do we find this bastard?”
He stared at the short skirt and low cut top she was wearing. “Nice outfit. Is that your alternate crime fighting outfit, or are we going out to a super hero nightclub later?”
“Fuck you,” she answered, a tiny smile returning to her face. “This was all I had in the damn car. Now answer my question, what do we do next to find this motherfucker?”
He walked to the other side of the ambulance, staring at the people working to clean up the mess. She followed close behind him.
“We look at what we’ve got. Two of The Seven are dead, killed by some guy inside of Barren’s armor. Whoever this guy is, he had to have some kind of access to Barren to get into his place to begin with.”
A look of concern crept onto her smooth face. “So you think this was somebody who had access to Barren, to us? Somebody we knew?”
“Most likely,” he answered. “How else could somebody have bypassed all of this---” he pointed up the penthouse---“building’s security and make it to Barren without being noticed? And then he pinpointed the exact location of a man who could run faster than the speed of sound, using electronic armor built from the ground up for somebody else. He had to have access to all of this beforehand.”
“Makes sense.” She stared at the spot in the street where The Speed Demon had been killed.
“And whatever this guy’s endgame is, from the way he talked, all of this is personal. It’s not political; it’s not the act of a terrorist; it’s the act of a person seeking vengeance.”
She turned and looked The Detective in the eyes. “And how exactly do you come to that conclusion?”
“Look at what he,
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