7:31 P.M. – Location Unknown

She stopped just as the tunnel began to curve inwards towards a split in the road.

She couldn't blame herself for being paranoid, though.

After all, they had taught her how to open these pockets to make a seemingly untraceable escape.

All she could really hope was that her constant pocket-hopping eventually made it nearly impossible for even them to pinpoint her location.

Satisfied that she was safe for now, she rested on a nearby sewer pipe (she knew this wasn't actually a sewer, but eh, details) while she plotted her next move.

She knew she couldn't stay in the pockets forever. She had to find somebody that could help her.

But who, though?

She fished her cube out from her pocket (she'd affectionately dubbed it the "Wondercube" after seeing everything it was capable of doing) and activated it, using it to show a holographic screen.

"Okay, Wondercube, search for someone who might be able to help me out," she stated, and the screen started cycling through a bunch of different options.

When she eventually found one that looked appealing to her, she tapped the screen to stop the cycle, the image stopping on a large group of about thirteen people wearing brightly-colored suits.

Yeah. They looked like the right kind of people.

But would they be willing to help someone like her?

She figured she'd get there eventually.

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(The pages constantly turn, no matter how long the reader takes. When one story ends, another story will inevitably start. In the end, there is only a new beginning.)

Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger are proud to present:

Totally Spies: The New Adventures

Episode 91: Danger in the Deep Freeze

Story Rated: T for Teen

Story Created: October 15th, 2023

Story Summary: The one-hundred and twenty-fifth co-op project between Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger, and episode ninety-one of our mission-based series Totally Spies: The New Adventures. Summer vacation's almost over, so the spies are trying to squeeze every last bit of fun out of the summer that they can, but winter may be coming unexpectedly in the form of Frankie Dude and Dr. Gelee, who actually come knocking to trap both Nick and Haruka in the beach house pool and force the spies to stop their dirty work all around California if they want to free them. They'll have to work quickly, though, as Nick can only do so much to keep the two of them from freezing to death. Can the spies scuttle this scheme before the worst comes to pass?

Author's Notes from Mat49324: It's time for our next project that is after Nautical Nasties. I titled this one Danger in the Deep Freeze. Hope you enjoy this one because this will be full of water as well. I guess you can say that this is where being trapped in water with no gadgets can really suck if you see what I mean. BTW, we're also still working on our movie fic simultaneously, and we have completed the first chapter – of 5 total; however, we assure you that this 8th season will be completed when our movie fic goes up. As for this one, we're having another of the rogues' gallery return for an icy performance if you catch my drift. For now, here's The Blue Time Ranger for anything he'd like to say.

Author's Notes from The Blue Time Ranger: Ten to go! We've got a rather cold one today, and how appropriate now that fall's here and things are starting to get chillier. It's been a while since we've seen either of these baddies (and I don't count the phantom Frankie the spies fought in Forgo Dreams), so we figured why not smush them together for a plot? As Mat mentioned, we're also deep into our next movie, but like we've said, it won't be posted until season eight is done and dusted. For right now, let's get frosty! ROLL IT!

And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer: Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger do not own anything related to Totally Spies or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Marathon Media Group, Image Entertainment Corporation, Vincent Chalvon-Demersay, and David Michel. The only things of this story we DO own are any characters or locations created by us truly for the story. Any characters or things we don't own, we are just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of our readers. Besides, if we did own Totally Spies, which we don't, why would we be writing fiction on a fan site?

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Act 1: Blizzard Bluff

12:01 P.M. – The Spies' Beach House

As the summer break began to wind down for the spies, so did their time in their beach house. Currently, Alex was out in the driveway wearing her yellow starfish bikini ready for their next car wash battle. Sam was right behind her in her red and white tie-on bikini.

"Ready for that car wash battle, Sammy?" Alex giggled.

"You're on," Sam laughed back. "By the way, glad you thought of doing this before summer's over."

"Of course," Alex grinned. "They're fun indeed."

"And the start is extra fun..." Sam remarked as she immediately sprayed Alex, who yelped.

"You sneaky snoop!" Alex exclaimed as her battle with Sam began.

"We're spies, Alex," Sam taunted as she tried to spray Alex again. "We're supposed to be sneaky!"

"Even if we don't always commit to the 'sneak'?" Alex laughed as she jumped over another spray to grab the hose and turn it on Sam to make her "dance".

"...okay, point," Sam giggled as she moved to retaliate.

"Hey, are you... com...ing...?" Mat started as his question came to a stop upon seeing Sam at least involved in their car wash battle and that they were sopping wet.

"Later we will," Sam giggled to Mat, feeling good that she got her fiancée good.

"Hey, what's going on in..." Nick asked after peeking outside, only to see his own fiancée wet as well thanks to the epic hose fight. "Guess that answers that."

Alex couldn't help but giggle. She didn't need to be a psychic to read Nick like a book, after all.

"Is your race on now, Mat?" Sam wondered.

"Washougal? Yeah," Mat answered, still enticed at the sight he was seeing.

"I guarantee we'll be finished well before it's over," Sam giggled and gave Mat a kiss.

"Okay," Mat chuckled.

"So... who's winning this battle so far?" Nick asked.

"Looks like I'm gonna..." Sam stated, only to be sprayed in the back by Alex.

"Maybe don't speak too soon, Sammy!" Alex laughed as she juked from side to side to avoid retaliation.

Mat returned in time for the 250cc broadcast from Washougal, WA, which was up first. Calling the race were Racer X Writer Jason Weigandt, 4-time Motocross champ David Bailey, and pit reporter Erin Bates.

"Looks like a shakeup in the points, Mat," May told him. "That's what they said on the broadcast."

The moto 1 highlights had just showed Honda's Blake Wharton #61 getting the early lead, but Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Jake Weimer #19 crashed on the opening lap, and Honda rookie Justin Barcia going over his bike.

Then, after the completion of the first lap, Troy Lee Honda rookie Sean Borkenhagen #85 crashed just before the famous Washougal whoop section, but that wasn't the worst of it.

Jason: ...and then the domino effect begins. Look at this – riders going flying...

"Geez!" Mat exclaimed.

As many as five or six bikes were down.

"Yikes," Melissa quipped.

"That's why it's called a 'domino effect'," May replied. "One falls, so many more are gonna follow suit."

Honda's Barcia later went down in the same spot as Weimer did. In the meantime, Wharton and Dungey battled for the lead until Dungey wrestled the lead from him, and Wharton would later lose 2nd place to Canidae Kawasaki's Kyle Cunningham #36.

As for fellow championship rival Christophe Pourcel #377, he got a bad start, and he could only salvage an 8th place finish. That meant that Pourcel's points lead was no more; Dungey now had a 9-point lead on him.

"Did he just blow it?" Bridget wondered.

"We'll see after the second moto..." Mat stated until the highlights showed Dungey had crashed himself but did not lose the lead.

David: Dungey... a small mistake towards the end. He bent his clutch lever down... a little bit of panic, but he was able to hold off Cunningham who was a close second, and Blake Wharton, who was a close 3rd.

Since there was a break before the second moto, Nick and Mat checked out Sam and Alex continuing their car wash battle.

"Hey, May, did you wanna get the next car wash battle?" Dawn asked.

"Oh, you're on," May responded.

Before long, the second 250 moto got under way, and Mat and Nick returned in time.

David: There it is.

Jason: Man, he NAILS IT! Pourcel... can he get through that second turn this time?! You see a lot of pileups here... not this time. It looks like it's VINCE FRIESE! The privateer's gonna grab the holeshot! Bunch of riders down in a pile!

Pourcel made quick work of the privateer Vince Friese and took the lead.

Dungey had a slight reversal of fortune, as he was running in 5th place.

"I swear... Pourcel backs up his statements more times than I make spaghetti in a week!" Mat exclaimed.

David: ...so impressed! EVERYTHING Pourcel has done so far except go just a touch wide in the first corner has been a thing of beauty! Good lines, good momentum... in the right gear... looking calm and cool.

In the meantime, Dungey worked on GEICO Powersports Honda's Brett Metcalfe #24, who in turn went for the Honda privateer Friese.

"Predictions, anybody?" Melissa asked. "I think Pourcel's winning this moto."

"I'm going with Pourcel as well unless Dungey puts something incredible together," Mat stated.

"I think Weimer might be creepin' up there, so I'm gonna go with him," Haruka stated.

"You know what, I'll take that bet, too," Nick answered.

Pourcel continued to lead the second moto until a pit report from Erin Bates turned out to be bad news for someone.

It turned out to be Kyle Cunningham, who was already out of moto 2.

Kyle: ...somebody decided to get a bright idea to move over on me and clean me out, so that's how it goes.

Erin: Disappointing day, but nonetheless, a terrific job for you.

Mat was shaking his head in disbelief. He looked behind to see Sam and Alex had come in with towels.

"Sounds like a dick move to me," Nick commented, completely sympathetic.

"No kidding," May quipped. "There's 'okay, that's understandable' and then there's 'just being a jerk'. That was definitely the latter."

Currently, the overall picture had Blake Wharton in the driver's seat for the win with his 3-2 moto scores and Cunningham out of the race; moto 1 winner Dungey was running back in 6th. Wharton was also battling for 2nd with Pro Circuit's Jake Weimer, who came back for 10th in that first moto.

Before the end of the lap, Weimer got around Wharton for 2nd.

"Hey, should we throw the loser(s) in the pool?" Nick suggested.

"I think I'm voting on that," Blaine laughed.

"I just hope a green bike wins," Sam giggled.

Currently, Dungey was going after Metcalfe for 4th. It ended when Dungey clipped the back of Metcalfe, and he fell to the dirt.

Mat reacted at the exact time Dungey crashed.

"Aww, damn!" Blaine exclaimed.

Jason: Oh, Dungey goes down; Metcalfe protecting his line. Was Dungey getting impatient? He tried to pass him around the outside...

David: Dungey had the right idea, but Metcalfe was just doing his line. He's just drifting out there, didn't realize he would clip Dungey like that. Dungey just... right as that's happening, and he realizes the bike's running, he's gonna get going... he's gonna realize, "Ah, I didn't need to push it that hard..."

Fortunately, Dungey had dropped two positions to 7th.

"That could be the overall..." Mat cringed.

"Points lead, too?" Melissa wondered.

"I don't know yet," Mat replied as the second 250 moto continued.

"If it is, that'll be a major downer," Dawn stated.

"Not as bad as Red Bud where Dungey had that big crash and gave away all the points he gained on Pourcel," Mat deduced.

In the meantime, Dungey got back around KTM's Tommy Searle for 5th place and possibly save the overall win.

"That's a champion for ya," Nick replied.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, man," Mat laughed.

Sam could see that Pourcel was leading the way, and she was happy that a green bike was out front.

At the end of the moto, Pourcel won it all with Weimer in 2nd and Wharton in 3rd. Metcalfe was able to hold off Dungey for 4th, but Dungey's 5th place (41 pts. total) was just enough to seal the overall win to Wharton's 3-3 (40 pts.). Pourcel's 8-1 was good enough for 3rd overall.

In terms of the points standings, Dungey and Pourcel were now TIED for the lead.

"So, who lost the bet here?" Clover wondered.

"That would be us," Haruka replied, pointing to herself and Nick.

"Hey, my psychic powers can't predict everything, sadly," Nick teased.

The 450cc class broadcast started with the 40 riders going out for their parade lap before moto 2.

"Mat, I don't think we need to repeat things," Bridget stated regarding Chad Reed.

The moto 1 highlights showed Suzuki's Chad Reed seize the early lead, but in the second turn, Honda's Davi Millsaps crashed and took a few riders with him, including his teammate Ivan Tedesco.

"Ouch," Bridget stated.

"His own guy, too," Nozomi sighed dramatically.

"That's just the way the cookie crumbles," Nick answered.

David: ...Back out front, Chad was trying to pull away from a batch of young kids.

#48 Tommy Hahn on the Canidae Kawasaki immediately got around another privateer Matt Goerke on his #34 Suzuki City Suzuki. Hahn immediately kept Chad Reed in his sight, but Reed kept the lead and was never really challenged. After moto 1, it was Reed, Hahn, and Belgium import Clement DeSalle on a #463 Honda 450 in his first ever race in the states finishing 3rd.

"I thought Reed rode pretty well in moto 1," Mat told the others. "And if he comes through with a solid second moto, I think Reed's going to pocket the title."

"Hope you're right, man," Blaine commented.

"If anybody deserves that kind of happiness, it's you, Mat," Nozomi added.

"I'm willing to jump on your bandwagon, Mat," Britney stated.

Jason: Tommy Hahn 2nd in moto 1. If he can get a solid result in moto 2 and Chad Reed falters, he could win his first ever race. LET'S GO RACING LIVE FROM WASHOUGAL ON SPEED!

Turn 1 immediately saw riders down, and one of them was none other than Tommy Hahn himself.

Jason: Oh, he tangled up and Tommy Hahn is down – he's got another rider in front of him, so DISASTER ALREADY for Tommy Hahn! That's a heartbreaker! Meanwhile, Josh Grant – we thought he might bounce back, he does! He's got the lead and it's JASON LAWRENCE IN THE #2 SPOT!

"WHA-AT!?" Mat exclaimed. "I CANNOT BELIEVE that Jason Lawrence of all people is up front!"

"That's the guy who kept getting in so much trouble, right?" Haruka wondered.

"Exactly!" Mat replied. "That guy probably had more suspensions this year than your average juvenile delinquent!"

Josh Grant led the way, but there was no sign of Chad Reed anywhere, much to Mat's dismay.

Fortunately, there was a sighting of him, and he turned out to be in 7th. With Tommy Hahn out, and DeSalle nowhere to be found – outside of the top 20 at least – the odds of Reed taking another overall were very much in his favor.

"Is this the ride you're looking for, dude?" Nick asked Mat.

"It's still early," Mat replied.

Everyone was silenced by hearing a pit report from Erin Bates that Tommy Hahn was complaining of pain in his right hip from that first turn crash – so bad, he couldn't walk on it.

"I'd hate to be in the Canidae Kawasaki pits right now after what happened with Cunningham in the 250s, and Tommy Hahn right now," Mat sighed.

"No doubt," May commented.

"Sounds like Clover after losing an argument with Mandy back then," Alex chuckled.

The second 450 moto continued with Josh Grant still leading the way, and Chad Reed methodically working his way to the front. He'd gotten around his teammate Michael Byrne for 3rd, which was enough for the overall.

With under 11 minutes remaining, Mat perked up and reacted with an "Uh oh..." at privateer Antonio Balbi #37, as his bike was starting to smoke.

David: ...Smoking.

Jason: He cannot put up much of a fight.

Moments later, Balbi could only push his bike off the track.

"That's after Horsepower Hill, and just after the mechanics' area on top of that," Mat sighed.

"That feeling when you know there's really nothing you can do but pack it in," Alex noted.

"Definitely a 'this sucks' kinda feeling," Melissa replied.

"What were you saying about Hahn's team?" Haruka chuckled to Mat.

With under three minutes remaining, Reed was certainly catching Grant at a methodical pace.

"Reed's solidified that he's got the lock on the title from my view," Mat stated.

With 3 laps remaining, Reed finally got around Grant to solidify the 1-1 sweep and create a lock on the 2009 450cc Motocross Championship simultaneously.

David: ...ten minutes ago, I'll bet there was people maybe kinda heading for the car goin' "Yeah, Josh has got it," and I was one of 'em. I thought, "Josh is probably going to win this one..."

At the checkers, Suzuki's Reed won the second moto and the overall with Josh Grant in 2nd, and Jason Lawrence with a mind-blowing 3rd place finish.

"I'm totally blown away by Jason Lawrence of all people!" Mat told everyone.

Jason: ...the biggest surprise of all, Jason Lawrence had only finished I believe TWO MOTOS ALL YEAR before this, gets third...

"Totally nuts there!" Dawn exclaimed.

In the overall, the top 3 was the same as moto 2 – Reed (1-1), Grant (5-2), and Lawrence (10-3). The points standings also had Reed well out front by a healthy 65 points over Josh Grant, 337-272.

"I think you're right about the last quarter of this season, bro," Nick told Mat.

"That has to be the most inspiring ride I've seen out of Chad Reed as well, too!" Mat exclaimed.

"So, do we hit the pool again or hit The Groove?" Clover wondered.

"Wait, don't we have to throw somebody in the pool for losing that bet?" Bridget teased, glancing at both Nick and Haruka.

"So we do," May quipped.

"All right, just get it over with," Haruka sighed dramatically.

Despite what she'd said, Haruka was clearly having fun as Nozomi went to hoist her up while Alex did the same for Nick so they could toss them both into the pool with a large splash.

"You know what, I'm kinda thinkin' about joining them," May chuckled. "Anyone else want in?"

Before the rest of the spies could reply to that offer, a large blast of blue light shot down from the sky and struck the pool, swiftly freezing it and forming a large dome of ice around the pool, trapping both Nick and Haruka inside the ice dome.

"Okay, who's the wise-ass?!" Mat shouted.

"I think they're up there," Melissa stated, pointing to just above the beach house, where both Frankie Dude and Doctor Gelee could be seen flying inside a large, pod-shaped vehicle.

"I hope you like our little snowy surprise, you uncool dudes and dudettes!" Frankie Dude shouted.

"You've got some nerve making a house call, you know!" May exclaimed as she summoned her anchor and attempted to crack the ice dome...

...only to find that, despite all the power she put into her swings, her anchor didn't even make a dent.

"...okay, this might be a problem," May quipped.

"You have no idea how right you are, little pirate," Gelee laughed. "My new ice formula can't be broken so easily, as I've designed it to be extra thick so that not even your boy toy's psychic powers can break through it. And even if he could power up, I'm sure he'd rather focus on conserving his powers so those two don't freeze to death."

"You want me to fly up there and slap you both into next millennium?!" Alex shouted. "Let them go this instant!"

"Sorry, but that ain't happenin'," Frankie Dude retorted. "If you want any chance of saving them, you're gonna have to put a stop to our little mini-schemes all over the place."

"Tick, tock, the clock is ticking, spies," Gelee cackled as they flew away, leaving the spies to ponder what they were supposed to do.

"Well, this is a pickle, isn't it?" Clover groaned. "And just when we were starting to have fun, too..."

"Clover, focus!" Alex shouted. "We need to find some way to get those two out of there!"

"You guys just get out there and stop whatever they're planning!" Nick exclaimed. "We'll try out best to hold out as long as we can!"

"Hey, we're tough, remember?" Haruka quipped. "You all just take care of business."

After a couple seconds of deliberation, the rest of the spies all nodded and took off into the sky to head to W.O.O.H.P. Headquarters.

2:34 P.M. – W.O.O.H.P. Headquarters

Jerry's Office

"Jerry, we've got a situation on our hands!" Alex shouted as the eleven spies all burst into the office.

"We already know, Alex, and we've got your gadgets ready for you," RiCO responded. "iCO and I are sweeping the city for anything they're planning."

"Well, then, let's hurry!" May exclaimed. "I don't know how long those two can hold out in that thing!"

"Not without me, you're not!"

The spies all turned around just in time to see Sortiliena skidding to a stop behind them.

"I got here as soon as I heard what happened," Sortiliena proclaimed. "And I figured I'd tag in for Nick and Haruka while they're indisposed."

"You are a rockstar, Sortiliena," Mat responded.

"It's the least I can do," Sortiliena giggled. "Now let's find those two frosty farts so we can kick 'em where it hurts."

"Bingo!" RiCO exclaimed. "I've pinpointed an anomaly in Santa Monica."

With that, the spies retrieved their gadgets and set out to foil Frankie and Gelee's schemes, and hopefully save their friends from a cold death.

2:53 P.M. – The Spies' Beach House

"Well, this is a pickle," Haruka noted.

"You're telling me," Nick responded as he raised his hand to fire a Final Shine Attack into the ice dome surrounding them. "Nada. I hate to say it, but they're getting smarter."

"Honestly, they're just being dicks now," Haruka quipped. "I'm more worried about what's gonna happen to us while we're stuck here."

"Yeah, it's gonna get colder and colder the longer we're trapped here," Nick noted. "And hypothermia is a death I do not want to experience, thank you very much."

Nick could already tell that Haruka was starting to feel a little chilly, and given that they only had their swimwear on, that exacerbated the already-existent problem.

Remembering what he'd done for Melissa and Dawn during one of their earlier capers with Doctor Gelee, Nick floated closer and put his hand on Haruka's shoulder, transferring his power in a way that warmed her up pretty quickly.

"Are you sure you can keep that up, Nick?" Haruka asked. "I mean..."

"Hey, if it's just doing this, I could do it in my sleep," Nick answered. "And I'm pretty sure I'm at full power. Like I said, I'd rather not freeze to death, and I'm pretty sure you feel the same way."

"Very true," Haruka replied, leaning forward to hug Nick so that they both stayed warmer. "I just hope the others can figure out how to get this crap fixed before... that."

Nick looked up at the ice dome surrounding them, noting that he could just barely see through the thick sheet of ice.

"Me, too, Haruka," Nick sighed. "...me, too."

"I just hope the others can think of something fast..." Haruka groaned.

"It's still summertime for crying out loud, but this is just taking things too far!" Nick added in agreement.

Haruka tried to give some punches to the ice, but the outcome was no different from when Nick tried his Final Shine Attack.

"Should we try sometime after they've stopped one of whatever they planned?" Haruka asked Nick.

"I was thinking the same thing," Nick replied.

For the time being, the two of them tried to compensate for the circumstances they were given.

3:10 P.M. – Santa Monica

"So, what're we looking for?" Clover wondered.

Sam was looking around and saw Gelee and Frankie Dude's small vehicle in the sky. Not knowing they had been spotted, Frankie Dude fired his device at some unsuspecting beachgoers and a cage made out of ice came out of the sand.

"Uh-oh!" May exclaimed. "And if my anchor wasn't enough to get Nick and Haruka out, this won't be any different."

"As lame as I find their game plan is to beat us, they came prepared," Mat stated.

"Maybe we can't destroy this yet, but we can put them in a frenzy," Sam quipped.

She tried to fire her Laser Lipstick directly at them.

"I'm joining in that fray, Sammy," Alex emphasized.

"We'll need a lot more than two Laser Lipsticks to even bother them," Britney remarked.

"Totally," Nozomi replied. "You and me, May!"

"Right behind you," May stated as she and Nozomi took to the sky via their Jet Pack Backpacks.

After a bit of flying around, May decided to try something and threw a pair of Incendiary Earrings onto the top of the ice cage to see if it would do something.

When the earrings exploded, the top of the cage was slightly warped, but it didn't seem to be too damaged.

"Well, are least that did something," May quipped. "But we're gonna run out of earrings sooner or later, and then what?"

"Hmmm... let me try something," Nozomi stated. "This ice cage doesn't look as thick as the dome that Nick and Haruka are trapped in..."

Nozomi flew downwards and aimed an Electromagnetic Curling Iron at the warped part of the cage, firing a blast from it to hopefully do some damage.

Thankfully, it seemed to work much better after May's attack, and the top part of the cage eventually melted just enough for May and Nozomi to ferry the beach-goers out of the cage so they could run.

"And that's how we take care of business," May proclaimed as she high-fived Nozomi.

"That... somehow worked," Alex quipped.

"It's like Nozomi said, that ice didn't seem as thick as the ice dome earlier," Mat quipped. "Maybe the chodes didn't use as strong of a blast to trap them?"

"If it's still gonna take a lot of effort to melt those things regardless, this might not get us anywhere," Melissa stated. "We're probably gonna have to find Gelee and Frankie and wring the answers out of them."

After a while, Sam's X-Powder chirped.

"Hello?" Sam asked.

"Spies, we've got a report of another anomaly around the Venice Boardwalk," Jerry told the others. "You're going to have to split up!"

"I'll ping you when you're close," RiCO added.

"Stopping them is probably a decoy until Nick and Haruka are left with that grim demise," Britney stated.

"My thoughts exactly," Mat remarked.

"But if we stop them, they won't create anymore," Clover pointed out.

They agreed to that. As for the extra emergency around the Venice Boardwalk, Clover, Blaine, Mat, and Sam hurried off there.

"Keep your Ear Ring Communicators on in case," Sam told the others.

"We'll do our best, Sammy," Alex quipped.

3:59 P.M. – The Spies' Beach House

Meanwhile, back at the beach house, Nick and Haruka were still trying to hang on until who-knew-when.

"Still no luck..." Haruka groaned. "It's still sunny outside and this ice isn't even melting!"

"You heard Gelee..." Nick told her. "All we can do is wait on the others."

"We can't float forever though," Haruka added. "The only way out is the pool grate and neither one of us can fit! We have no gadgets, and all we can do is just wait!"

"Look, Haruka, I know it's not the ideal situation," Nick responded. "But if my powers can't really do anything to it, all we can really do is try to tough it out. It sucks, I know, but..."

"Oh, by the way, you wanna explain what that dunk was for when I tried to tease Mat?!" Haruka shot back.

"W-wait a minute, Haruka, where is this coming from?!" Nick stuttered, clearly not expecting that.

"You, of all people, know that I like to tease people!" Haruka shouted. "And yet, when I did it that one time, you got all on my case about it!"

"Me teasing is fine, since I've known you for so long and know how you work," Nick responded. "But did you really think that Sam was gonna be as forgiving as me?"

"Come on, Nick, everyone here knows how I am by this point!" Haruka shot back, clearly not thinking straight due to the circumstances. "But of course, when I try it on someone else, you're suddenly all uppity! What the hell's the deal with that?!"

Almost as soon as it had gotten started, Haruka's anger suddenly faded, and she recoiled in shock, having not expected to just go off like that.

"I-I... I mean, I just..." Haruka sputtered, trying to save face.

Nick simply waded closer and hugged Haruka, again using his powers to keep her warm. He was thankfully at mostly "full charge", so he could keep this up however long he needed to.

"Jeez, Nick, I'm sorry," Haruka stated. "I didn't mean to snap like that, I just..."

"You're on edge and worried because of all of this," Nick replied. "I completely understand, Haruka."

"I don't know why that came out so suddenly," Haruka admitted. "I didn't think this was gonna get to me as much as it has..."

"Like I said, I know this isn't the ideal situation for us to be stuck in," Nick stated. "But I guess we just have to deal with it as best we can."

"It really does seem like all we can do is hope the others can figure this out before we turn into icicles," Haruka sighed. "By the way, you're not draining your powers by keeping me warm, are you?"

"Hey, if it's just doing this, I could probably do it in my sleep," Nick answered. "And I'm at mostly full charge, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"That's good, at least," Haruka noted.

"And considering we're stuck here until our dastardly little villains are taken care of, I guess that's really all we can do," Nick quipped.

Haruka just sighed again and tightened her hold on Nick, sincerely hoping that they could get out of this without freezing to death.

They were so caught up in staying warm that they didn't notice a strange portal open up above the beach house, allowing someone to jump out of it and land on the roof. (Not that they could have seen, anyway, since the ice dome was opaque enough to obscure anything from the outside.)

She stared down at the strange dome of incredibly thick ice, wondering what that was doing in a pool, of all places.

But if this was their house, then...

She reached into her pocket. Guess it was time for the Wondercube to work its magic.

To be continued...

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Next time...

Clover: All right, you losers, where exactly are you?

Sam: Maybe don't provoke them any further, Clover?

Clover: Hey, I just want them to get out here so we can stomp on them.

Frankie Dude: As you wish, my little brats!

Blaine: You'd better tell us how to break that ice dome before our friends freeze to death, or you're gonna be in for a world of pain," Sam growled.

Gelee: Ooh, did I forget to mention that? I designed this mixture to be practically unbreakable. So, I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but... your friends are going to die in that dome. I may have used up most of this formula in doing so, but it was worth it to finally get rid of some of you.

Mat: You're insane!

Gelee: Maybe I am. That just makes it more fun for me.

Frankie Dude: And now, we're going to get rid of the rest of y'alls! I finally get to say 'sayonara' to you meddlesome little twits!

Clover: Welp, looks like we've got trouble next time, readers, so stay tuned for the next act of Totally Spies: Danger in the Deep Freeze, "Diamond Dust"!

Haruka: Am I glad that ice was actually fake here on-set. It looked so real, too...

Nick: Trust me, I've been stuck in a blizzard once. That kind of cold is not fun.