Disclaimer: I do not own Justice League or Justice League Unlimited. I merely wrote this series for my own entertainment and the entertainment of others.

A to Z, an Anthology
Chill

Diana dodged a plethora of vines that swung high, all of them seeking to catch her and squeeze the breath from her lungs. Instead the vines hit the wall of a nearby building, leaving a considerable dent. Apparently Poison Ivy was getting frustrated with her.

This entire battle was a little strange. Aside from the Joker, Batman's rogues rarely appeared outside of Gotham City to cause trouble. Certainly not in Central City, of all places. The city had no value to them. Gotham was where Batman was, the one they wished to prove themselves against.

An overgrown stem with large, sharp-looking thorns came at Diana's head next and she ducked. Reaching for her lasso, Diana quickly took to the air and dove over the assaulting greenery. A split second later, she spotted the source and darted toward her.

Poison Ivy saw her coming and Diana could see the anger in the other woman's green eyes. She could almost feel the villainess summoning her plants to a close-quarters battle, so she swung her lasso, catching Poison Ivy in its coil. She struggled, but Diana tugged hard and sent her to the cement.

Leaving her tied up on the ground, Diana turned to look a small distance away, intending to assist Superman with –

"Diana, look –"

A screaming blast hit Diana square in the back, knocking her forward and to her knees. Then there was cold. A terrible, unrelenting cold, which was followed by an inky darkness.

When consciousness returned, Diana still felt chilled. Even when she opened her eyes to the afternoon sun pouring in from open French doors along with a warm breeze that flung sheer white curtains inward, Diana was cold. She quietly sank back into the burrow of warmth that surrounded her in the bed she currently occupied.

"Ah, welcome back, your Highness."

Diana's eyes flickered to her right. Sitting next to the bed was Alfred, who was smiling at her gently. "I must say, your Highness," he continued, "you gave us all quite a scare."

She had? Diana swallowed and opened her mouth. Her voice was hoarse from lack of use, but she managed to rasp out, "Wh-What happened?"

"I believe it was Mr. Freeze," the butler answered. "His ice weapon packs quite a punch, even on the more powerful metahumans." He reached over to the nightstand and picked up a glass of water and held it out to her. Diana pulled one arm out from under the white comforter to take it and drink. After a moment, she handed it back and returned her arm to the warm cocoon it had been resting in.

"Master Bruce was quite concerned," Alfred spoke up. "After he and Mr. Kent brought you back here, he insisted on calling in Doctor Thompkins to see that you recovered correctly."

"Doctor Thompkins?"

"An old friend of the Wayne family," he explained. "She has seen Masters Bruce, Dick, and Tim through many serious injuries over the years. In the absence of the Watchtower's facilities, Master Bruce felt she was the best one to call on."

Diana nodded, glancing around. She was actually beginning to feel a bit better. Most likely her own natural healing abilities were kicking in even more rapidly now that she was conscious. She would probably be up and about by supper.

"Where is Bruce?" she asked, returning her gaze to Alfred as she sat up to stretch her back a bit. That allowed her to see the older man close off his expression and his lips to tighten in what she thought might be disapproval.

"He has gone to supervise the construction of the new Watchtower today," he told her. "He maintained that it had reached a phase where his presence was necessary."

"Oh." Her disappointment was tangible as Diana leaned back against the pillows again. A shiver swept through her body.

Alfred seemed to sense her sudden feelings of melancholy and he stood up. "He should likely return to the Manor soon, your Highness," he said. "I will inform him that you are awake when he arrives. Would you have me send him up here?"

Diana bit her lip. A good question. She knew very well from just the other day that the construction of the new Watchtower was going along just fine, that it needed no supervision. Why then wasn't Bruce here? She knew he was a busy man, with his business and the aspects of his cases that he could use the day time to work on.

"If he wants to," she murmured, "I'm sure he'll come up here."

Alfred bowed his head silently and soon left the room, leaving Diana alone. She glanced out the French doors again. Despite the golden sunlight, she could still feel the chill in her bones.

Chill: n. moderate coldness; depressing effect; lack of emotional warmth.