And look who's first to arrive on the scene! Blue Rose has been icing her competition and is on track to be this season's Queen of Heroes. Let's see what's she going to do next!

Karina surveyed the abandoned warehouse, looking for the easiest way in. She could use Wild Tiger's preferred method of entry and smash through the loading doors but the thought of paying all those damage fines (not to mention the resulting lectures from the Titan higher-ups) was not at all appealing. Thankfully, she spied an open window two stories up. With Tiger & Barnaby still several minutes away, Karina estimated that she had enough time to capture the suspects before they could even roll in on the double chaser.

She used her ice to launch herself upwards, swinging her legs through the window and landing quietly on the catwalk bolted to the wall. Karina peered over the railing. Directly below her was a long table, its surface covered with multiple packets filled with some kind of white material. More importantly, there was no sign of the suspected drug dealers, which meant that her presence continued to remain unnoticed. She leaped over the railing and skated down to the ground level on an thin ice bridge. There was still no movement or sound from the darker recesses inside the warehouse and Karina allowed herself a small smile as she contemplated an easy arrest and quick end to her night.

She really should've known better.

If she hadn't been looking in that direction, she wouldn't have caught the brief flash of light (later she'd learn that it was the light bouncing off the long barrel of a shotgun). Karina barely had time to shoot a stream of solid ice towards the suspects. As the ice passed over the table, its jagged edges sliced open the packets, sending a thick cloud of white powder into the air. Startled, Karina breathed it in before she realized her mistake. She counted five heart-pounding seconds before exhaling in relief when there didn't seem to be any immediate effect on her. Glancing down at herself, she noted that her suit was covered with a light dusting of that white powder. Panicking a bit, she hurried over to where she'd frozen the suspects to the wall and carefully checked her reflection in the ice.

Karina heaved a sigh of relief. The powder was light enough that it wouldn't be picked up by the cameras. She had just brushed off the worst of it when the door to the warehouse was wrenched off its hinges with a loud, grating noise. As the searchlights from the helicopters landed on her, she turned towards the cameras, ignoring Tiger's loudly uttered "Aw crap, we're late!" and purred, "My ice may be a little cold..."

And now for the boring part, thought Karina as the lights shut off and the helicopters moved away from the building. Law enforcement personnel began streaming in through the open doorway: police officers with their service weapons out, followed by techs ready to process the crime scene. While waiting for someone to take her statement, she strolled over to the table and swiped a gloved finger along the surface. Bringing it to her face, she cautiously sniffed but couldn't detect any kind of scent. "What is this stuff?" she asked no one in particular.

"A new street drug. Apparently it's very popular with the high school crowd."

Karina found Barnaby standing near her, hands planted on armored hips and faceplate pushed up. He turned away from observing the techs carefully bagging the evidence and focused his attention on her. "I'm surprised you're not familiar with it, seeing as you're a high school kid yourself."

On the surface it seemed like a mild comment. After all she was still two months away from graduation. It was the brief smirk that accompanied his statement that stung her, made her see red. "I'm not a kid, Bunny," she corrected him with an angry toss of her head, relishing the slight narrowing of his eyes as she used his nickname. Before he could say anything else, a hand landed heavily on her shoulder.

"That's right! Your birthday was a month ago." Wild Tiger flipped up his faceplate and Karina was treated to the wide, open grin that never failed to set off a fluttering sensation in her belly and leave her slightly breathless. "Hope you got to spend it with someone special," he added with a wink.

I didn't, but maybe we could go out for a drink later and you can help me celebrate.

She could say the words out loud. She was eighteen, after all. Finally an adult. And it was perfectly normal for one adult to ask another out on a date. He'd even given her the right opening. The only thing left was for her to take it. Her lips parted and Karina looked into Tiger's eyes.

Eyes that regarded her with warmth and friendly affection, but nothing more. And just like that, reality asserted itself.

Flustered, she looked away to hide the blush spreading across her cheeks. "I don't need anyone special. I'm too busy for that." Karina tried for a deliberately casual tone of voice, hoping that Tiger wouldn't catch on to her misguided attempt at revealing her feelings to him.

However, she really didn't have to worry; Tiger remained his usual oblivious self. "Rose, you're too young to live like that. You gotta get out more," he admonished her as he strolled over to join his partner. That earned an eye roll from her though there was no real heat behind the gesture. She'd come to tolerate some of Tiger's meddling, even when it wasn't in the direction she would've preferred.

When Karina felt composed enough to face him, she turned back to the duo. And realized, as her stomach seemed to drop away from her, that she'd been too transparent for one person. Barnaby's green eyes studied her intently, an eyebrow quirked upward in an unspoken challenge.

Her fingers curled into her palms. Don't you dare say anything...

Thankfully, one of the police officers came up to them before she could freeze his mouth shut. "Sorry to interrupt, Miss Blue Rose. We're ready for your statement now." Without a word to either Tiger or Barnaby, she turned her attention to the officer and provided him with the information needed to complete his report. By the time she'd finished, both of them had already left.

Karina wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or disappointed.

The first sign that something wasn't quite right was when she took off her hero suit inside her transport. As her hands brushed over her bare breasts, heat spiked between her thighs and her knees buckled slightly. "What the hell?" Karina said out loud as she placed a hand against her dressing table to steady herself. The strange sensation continued to build, and by the time she'd gotten into her civilian clothes, she was truly worried. Her legs were shaking so much that she could hardly stand. She felt so very hot that even activating her power couldn't cool her off. And there was that vague sense of need that coiled around her gut and set her heartbeat racing.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Karina tapped her call band and spoke to the driver as calmly as possible. "Could..." She swallowed thickly and tried again. "Could you turn around and drop me off at Justice Tower?"