Pulse: Season One

by LVCEBREROS

Freddie Benson will begin college and, after a shocking series of events, will become a crime fighting superhero known as Pulse. This show is kind of a spin off TV series of my creation. Several OCCs as well as a few familiar faces. I hope everyone likes it! There is SEDDIE in the future! Stay tuned :P

7. Episode Seven: Harsh Wynter

Author's Note: Hi everybody! Back with another installment. I know for a fact that the last 'episode' isn't one of my best but I wanted to set stuff up. I had to set up characters in places I wanted them to be. This installment is okay but I'm hoping you guys don't hate it.

This episode features another character based on another member of Batman's Rogues gallery. I've just done a gender swap and have her creation be connected to Gabe's dad.

Also, this re-edited episode will feature something that wasn't in it originally. If anybody thought the villain of this episode got taken out too quickly, I'm going to fix it the best I can. I hope you have fun with it.

Including the change of Cassie's actress. I hope you like the change because she's one of my favorite actors from one of my favorite TV shows.

Disclaimer:Apart from the originally created characters, I own absolutely nothing.

Also, I'm using dialogue and some scenes from season two, specifically an episode of Arrow 'Blind Spot', so I don't own that either.

That being said, let's go on to Episode Seven!

•••

•••

"Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice."

- Robert Frost

•••

Late at night in an alleyway in Queens, a group of burglars were breaking into a high-end furniture store. The pair of men wore ski masks and were dressed in all-black clothing. They were skulking around, looking for something to steal.

"Dude, why are we here again?" the smaller of the two men asked.

"I used to work here. I know they don't drop off the deposit till the morning." The other man said. "They got it in the safe in the back office. Hopefully, they haven't changed the combination."

The smaller individual looks around anxiously. "I still don't think this is a good idea."

"Dude, don't puss out now!" The other man said in a hushed angry tone.

"What if that Pulse guy shows up? Heard a rumor he's got like a sixth sense for crime." The smaller of the two said as the two reach the office in the back of the building.

"You know that sounds stupid, right?" The other man said. "Now let's do this before the tooth fairy shows up too."

The smaller of the two groans as his partner goes to open the door to the office. He looks forward and sees something that makes his eyes widen. "Dude..."

"What is it now?" The other man said, sounding annoyed.

"Does he look like the tooth fairy to you?" The smaller man said, pointing in front of him.

The other man ignores his partner until an arrow lands a few inches away from his head. He slowly looks behind him and sees a figure in the shadows who was holding a bow with another aimed at the two.

The two men looked terrified as the figure fired the arrow towards them.

•••

Gabe and Millie sit on the floor of the dojo and casually have a conversation as they watch something. "I really can't believe your dad is making you quit your waitressing job," Gabe said as he fiddled with his Pearpad.

"He said after what happened at the rave, he wants to keep a closer eye on me," Millie told Gabe as sounds of fighting and clacking of wood are heard in the foreground. "It sucks because I loved that job."

"Thinking your dad might be taking the overprotective father thing a bit too far," Gabe said.

"Try telling him that." Millie retorts. "He's getting me a job at the precinct as the assistant to the front desk clerk."

"Didn't think the front desk clerk needed an assistant?" Gabe said, focusing back on his Pearpad.

"She doesn't. It's mindless busy work to keep me 'safe'." Millie told him as the unseen fighting continued.

"Try to look on the bright side." Gabe began.

Millie raises an eyebrow. "There's a bright side?"

Gabe stammers a bit until he sheepishly grins. "Look, I'm no good at dispensing optimism. That's your schtick."

"Then what's yours?" Millie asked. "Being an all-out genius and delivering it with sardonic flair?"

"Don't forget looking good while doing it," Gabe said with a devilish grin on his face.

Millie lets out a light aggravated groan.

The pair focuses their attention on the fight taking place. "So, still think she'll win?" Gabe asked.

"Oh yeah. She's like Superwoman." Millie said.

"There is no such thing as Superwoman. There's Supergirl and there's Wonder Woman." Gabe said, which caused Millie to roll her eyes. "If anything, she is more like Batwoman."

"There's a Batwoman?" Millie asked, perplexed.

Gabe nods. "Technically there's two if you count-" Millie gives him an annoyed glare. "I'll be quiet."

"Thank you," Millie said and the two continued watching.

The two are watching a sparring session with Freddie and Pete versus Cassie using wooden staffs.

Freddie wore a sweat-drenched gray short-sleeved T-shirt with loose black sweatpants, Pete was shirtless again with a pair of army green cargo pants, and Cassie had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and was dressed in a sleeveless black workout top with matching yoga pants.

Cassie kept having the upper hand against the boys, blocking each attempt to strike her.

"My money's still on Cassie," Millie said

"I would take that bet but that's what most would call a sucker's bet," Gabe said.

"Dude, our ears still work you know," Freddie said not taking his eyes off Cassie's defensive strikes. "Well, only one of mine does, anyway."

Cassie dodges a strike on Freddie but gets struck in the back by Pete. She recovers and stabs her staff on the mat and uses it to perform an aerial spin kick that knocks Pete off his feet.

Gabe and Millie react like they were watching a live sporting event as Cassie twirls her staff. Pete gets in a seated position and motions his hands in surrender.

"One down, one to go." Cassie gloated playfully as she looked back at her nephew.

Freddie goes to strike her but she puts her staff up to block the strike but the force causes the staff to break in half. "You were saying?"

Cassie just shrugs as grabs both halves and holds them like batons twirling one of the halves in the air and catching it.

Freddie goes to trip her but Cassie dodges it and hits him with one of the batons in the shoulder and the other baton to knock the staff out of his hands. He stares at her, shocked. "Aw, chizz."

Cassie twirls the batons and motions for him to pick up his staff. "You aren't getting off that easy."

Freddie rushes over, grabs his staff then snaps it in half to give himself his own set of batons. "That was easy?" He asked, twirling the batons.

"We are past the point of 'kid gloves', kiddo," Cassie said, adjusting herself for round two.

Freddie charges at her and goes to strike but Cassie deflects it with one of her batons and elbows him in the stomach, causing Freddie to stumble back. He groans and goes for another offensive attack by swinging from his left but she uses both batons to deflect again.

"You weren't expecting that?" Freddie gloated.

Cassie answers by kicking him in the stomach, momentum forcing him to go flying over her head.

Freddie lands hard on the mat and goes to get back up but Cassie places a baton on his chest. "Ooooowwww" he groaned.

"Come on..." Cassie said with a playful smile. "You totally could've countered that."

Millie is still in awe of this and Gabe hides a look of enjoyment at Cassie kicking butt.

Cassie throws the batons aside and offers a helping hand which Freddie accepts.

"Yeah, I'm gonna feel that in the morning," Freddie said, groaning in pain.

Pete wipes his sweat off his body as Cassie throws Freddie a clean towel.

"You need to work on your form. You're still kind of stiff." Cassie said to Freddie. "You wait for your opponent to make the first move."

"So what? I should hit first and ask questions later?" Freddie asked as he wiped his brow.

"No. You have to watch their movements closely, every fighter has a tell. You got to learn how to spot theirs and how to conceal yours." Cassie advised.

Freddie thinks a bit and nods. "That makes sense."

Millie and Gabe walk closer to them and the young nurse says "It still amazes me that you can do all that."

Cassie shrugs. "No big deal. Just years of practice and training."

"Are you kidding? You're like some kind of superhuman or something." Millie said.

"Well, she does have the power to heal so I guess that's what you would call superhuman." Gabe jokes.

"I'm serious. You are amazing. Wish I could move like that." Millie said excitedly.

Cassie laughs nervously. "Okay... what are you after?"

Millie looks confused. "Huh?"

"You're trying way too hard at being extra nice to me which means you must want something," Cassie told her.

Pete, Gabe, and Freddie look at Millie who stammers for an excuse. "No, I was... paying you a compliment."

Cassie stares at Millie with her hands folded over her chest. She wasn't buying it.

Millie sighs, giving up the charade. "Fine. I have an ulterior motive."

"Then just ask. No need to butter me up to get what you want." Cassie said grinning.

"I-I was wondering if you could teach me... Teach me how to fight." Millie said as she brushed her hair from her face.

Freddie and Gabe seem surprised by this as Cassie speaks. "I don't know. Don't think your dad would like that very much."

"Um, I'm helping the vigilante that my dad is supposed to bring in. Pretty sure that what he doesn't know won't hurt him." Millie said.

"Are you sure about this?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah Mills, Cassie is no joke," Gabe said.

"I can handle it." Millie insisted as she turned back to Cassie "Please? Please?"

Cassie sighs, smiling at the futility of the situation. "I'll think about it. IF, I agree, don't go and tell your dad it was my idea, okay?"

Millie gleefully cheered and she gave Cassie a big hug. "Yay!"

Cassie feels a bit awkward at the burst of affection but couldn't help but smile. Millie's enthusiasm was infectious.

The team walks into the main room and Gabe makes his way to the tech hub. "Still a slow night. Not one major sort of crime going down." Gabe said.

"Really?" Freddie asked.

"You're surprised? You have been out all night for the past three days busting bad guys all over the city." Millie said. "You've been pretty gung-ho ever since-" She stops herself to not mention the name. "You broke up with She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named."

Gabe stares at Millie. "When did Jane become the Dark Lord of Magic?"

Millie slaps him in the back of the head which makes him flinch. "That was me trying to avoid saying her name, dumbass."

Gabe turns to face her and reacts to the hit. "Even married guys don't put up with this kind of abuse!"

"Guys, it's okay. You don't have to walk on eggshells on my account." Freddie told his friends. "It's been almost five days since Jane and I broke up. I'm fine."

"Same can't be said for the criminals that have been in Pulse's path since your break up," Gabe stated.

"Which is why I've increased his training. The last thing we need is for you to put your fist through some purse snatcher's chest because you can't control your emotions." Cassie replied. Freddie glares at her. "What, you said we shouldn't walk on eggshells? I'm being honest."

You guys don't have to worry about me. I'm fine. Let's just leave it at that." Freddie reassured his friends and aunt.

"Okay," Millie said.

"All right then," Gabe stated.

"Fair enough." Cassie retorts.

Freddie stares at them with a sideways glare, he knew that they were lying. "You guys aren't going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope," Millie answered.

"No way," Gabe replied.

"Nuh-uh," Cassie uttered, shaking her head.

Freddie notices Pete putting on his shirt and hasn't said anything. "Why are you so quiet? Thought maybe you might want to put your two cents into this?"

"Not my place. Besides, these three do all the worrying for all of us." Pete said as the other three reacted slightly offended.

The statement makes Freddie smile.

"How about we call it a night? Didn't you say you and Gabe had this exam for your computer engineering class?" Cassie asked Freddie.

"Oh right. I forgot I have a life out of that suit." Freddie joked as he grabbed his book bag.

"I have to present a lecture on the proper behavior around terminally ill patients," Millie stated. "You guys can study at my place if you'd like."

"Will your dad be there?" Gabe asks as he begins powering down the hub.

"Probably," Millie said.

"Then we're studying at Cassie's," Gabe said which Freddie agreed.

Millie rolls her eyes at the remark. "My dad isn't THAT bad."

"Says you. He always has this look that makes me think he wants to crib stomp me." Gabe said.

"Yeah, your dad has this 'stare a hole into your soul' intimidation look down. I feel like he could make one phone call and bring in the SWAT to haul us off to jail." Freddie stated.

"Um, because he CAN do that," Cassie said frankly.

"Riiight." Freddie and Gabe said together in agreement.

"Let's go before Freddie decides to change his mind and goes on a five-hour patrol... Again." Cassie said as she began to head out.

"Pardon me for wanting to be thorough," Freddie said with a laugh as the team headed up the stairs. "I just can't shake this feeling that something terrible will happen if I don't head out tonight."

"Please, what could happen in one night?" Millie asked, which caused the others to glare at her. "Probably should stop saying that, huh?"

The four nod in unison.

•••

In an underground parking garage, a short man in his late fifties with white hair walks out of the elevator. He walks through the nearly empty garage to his expensive all-black Porsche.

He thinks he hears a noise behind him but sees nothing. He opens the door to his car and hears the noise again - an inhuman moan.

"Who's there?" The man shouted.

The moan wasn't heard again.

The man hurries to get into his car and slams the door shut. He leans back in his seat and regains his composure.

"Hello, Wayne."

The man quickly turns around and finds a woman in the backseat of his car. She wore a gray hooded sweatshirt that hid her face but couldn't hide her unusually colored platinum blond hair. It seemed almost white.

"Who are you? How do you get into my car?" Wayne asked the woman.

"You know who I am, Dr Cartwright." The woman told him. Her voice had seemed to have an otherworldly quality, it was stern and unfeeling.

Wayne Cartwright's eyes widen in horror as he realizes who she was "Gwyneth? Is that you?"

"You do remember me," Gwyneth said, her tone not changing.

"W-we thought you were dead." Wayne stuttered.

"Did you? How quickly do they forget? I never do. I remember everything, reminded every morning when I wake up in agony." Gwyneth said, her demeanor remaining cool which had become unsettling for Wayne.

"I wanted to tell the police what happened to you. He made us take the secret to our graves." Wayne stated, his voice filling with terror. He notices that he could see his breath. It was becoming colder.

"Is that so?" Gwyneth asked, the car's windows began to frost over. "I guess he'll get his wish."

Wayne frantically reached for the door, but the handle had broken off as he tried to yank it open.

"I need to send him a message. He needs to know I'm coming for him and anyone responsible for what happened to me." Gwyneth stated, her cool demeanor never changing.

"Please, please don't kill me," Wayne begged as Gwyneth grabbed his wrist tightly.

"Death is not that bad," Gwyneth told him as his arm began to flash freeze at her touch. The wave of cold spread all over his body until his entire body froze over in an agonized scream permanently written on his face. "It's… comforting."

•••

The next morning, Victor walks into Captain Thompson's office. The captain was looking through some paperwork but looked up.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Victor asked.

"I did," Thompson said. "Have a seat." Victor sat in the chair in front of his desk. "I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to be completely honest."

Victor stares at Thompson, a puzzled expression on his face. "Sir?"

"Have you been in contact with Pulse?" Thompson asked.

Victor looks down and takes a deep breath. "What would give you that idea?"

"The last few weeks, whenever you arrive at a crime scene, Pulse seems to be close behind or gets there before you do," Thompson said, examining the seemingly strange coincidences. "Danny told me he was there when you busted Mother then again when you both apprehended Barrow and his family. How do you explain that?"

"Coincidence," Victor said, trying to play it coy.

Thompson glares at Victor. "Are you willing to risk your professional career to protect this criminal?"

"It's different. He saved Millie's life. He's saved several innocent lives." Victor stated.

"So we ignore the law because Pulse performed a few good deeds?" Thompson asked. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions. No matter how genuine he is about his actions, he is breaking the law."

"I know that," Victor said bluntly.

"I'll give you a piece of advice, Vic," Thompson said. "Take it from experience, never trust someone wearing a mask. It'll end badly."

Victor stares at his boss with a look of contemplation. Not sure what he should do.

•••

In their computer engineering class, Freddie and Gabe were taking an exam along with the rest of their class. The room was in complete silence with only the sounds of the computers being used to take their exams. Freddie was wearing his blue button-up plaid shirt, dark blue jeans, and sneakers. Gabe had on a tight white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black pants, and black boots. Both of them are focusing on their exam.

Professor Jenkins was reading a copy of 'Nifty Shades of Beige' at her desk as the students took their exams.

Freddie looks behind him at the door. He seems to be looking for someone but he winces a bit as he tries to take the test.

Gabe notices and whispers to him. "You okay?"

Freddie nods but shows minor discomfort.

"Mr. Morgan?" Professor Jenkins sternly whispered to Gabe. "Judging by your eagerness to speak, I'm assuming you're finished with your exam and would like me to grade it now?"

"Um, actually, I finished ten minutes ago but I didn't want to brag." Gabe joked which made Freddie smirk.

"Then show common courtesy and remain silent until the rest of the class has finished. Is that clear?" Jenkins curtly told him.

"Yes, Professor Jenkins," Gabe said.

Freddie stares blankly at his monitor at what seemed a completed exam.

"Not bad. Finished it in record time."

Freddie looks over and sees Dream Sam sitting next to him again. She wore the outfit she was wearing when she beat up a jock at the Groovy Smoothie which resulted in the breaking of Gibby's toy phaser during the scuffle.

Freddie hangs his head. "And here I thought my day wasn't complete without me hallucinating."

"Ouch. You're trying to hurt my feelings, Benson?" Dream Sam said, feigning embarrassment.

"I didn't know figments had feelings?" Freddie said.

"And why do you keep thinking I'm just a figment?" Dream Sam asked.

"Because I know the real Sam wouldn't use that word correctly in a sentence," Freddie said, turning away from her.

"Dude, I think I already established that I'm not her." Dream Sam said.

Freddie sighs softly. "Okay, fine. Just deliver your vague and confusing riddle so I can wake up and maintain my grade point average in this class."

"Not a riddle. A question." Dream Sam stated.

"Which would be?" Freddie asked, humoring her.

"What hurts more, burning alive or freezing to death." Dream Sam asked.

"Thought you said no riddles?" Freddie stated.

"Mr. Benson!"

Freddie wakes up with a start and sees Professor Jenkins standing over him, not looking very pleased.

"Is my exam not scintillating enough for you?" Jenkins asked him sternly.

Freddie stammers, struggling to find words. "I'm sorry about that. I was-"

"I think he also finished his exam already. He didn't want to disturb the rest of the class by being a total show off." Gabe said. "Think there should be one per class."

"In that case, let me grade both your exams," Jenkins demanded. "Send them in, NOW."

Freddie looks over at Gabe who simply shrugs as both boys do as instructed. Professor Jenkins walks over to their desk and begins to grade their electronic exams.

"I hope I finished. I think that I dozed off before I finished the last two questions." Freddie whispers to Gabe.

As Jenkins grades the exams, her eyes widen as she looks up at Freddie then at the exam then back at Freddie again. She was shocked.

"Is there a problem, Professor?" Freddie asked concerned.

"Mr. Benson, I think it's imperative for you to speak to me after class," Jenkins said aghast.

Gabe stares at his friend wide-eyed as the class reacts with 'oohs' and gasps.

"That's enough or I'll start grading all your exams, regardless of whether or not you are finished," Jenkins warns the class.

The class calms down and gets back to taking their exams.

Gabe stares at Freddie who looks down, looking very worried.

•••

The underground parking garage was now a crime scene which was now surrounded by caution tape and being evaluated by the Crime Scene Investigation Unit.

Victor Flores and Danny Parker arrive at the scene as they speak to a security guard.

"We found the garage like ten degrees below freezing. Covered in a thick sheen of ice." The portly security guard explained.

"And you're saying this all came from this car?" Victor asked.

"We think so. That car was a block of ice when we found it." The guard said, pointing at Wayne Cartwright's car.

"Does the Vic have a name?" Danny asked Nina Roberts.

"It was difficult at first. When the temperature shifted, the body shattered into pieces." Nina told them. "We did however find his work badge." She hands the badge to Victor and Danny takes a look at it as well.

"Dr. Wayne Cartwright. Lead Researcher for Crygenix." Victor read. "What kind of research was he involved in?"

"I think the name of the place can answer that." A voice called from one of the CSIs.

The detectives and Nina look over as they are approached by Leopold Maxwell, the young man who Millie was dancing with at the rave.

"But I will be polite and give you some context. Dr. Wayne Cartwright was a renowned expert in cryogenics." Leo told them. "Guy was the top in his field. Wrote several papers in Scientific American regarding his research including an interesting but controversial article about his futuristic approach in cellular tissue restoration using cryonics."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Victor asked Leo.

"Oh, this is Leopold Maxwell, he joined the CSU a week ago," Nina told the detectives.

"You guys can call me Leo, everyone else does," Leo said. Victor just stares at him which makes Leo nervous. "And you are terrifying. Do you practice that look?"

"Don't mind him, Vic's not good with new people," Danny said. "Nice to meet you, Leo. I'm-"

"Daniel Parker? And he's Victor Flores. I know a lot about you guys. You are known around the precinct as the guys taking the strange-looking cases popping up in the city." Leo said.

"I figured that stigma would stick to us," Danny told Victor. "You can call me Danny, only my mother calls me Daniel."

"Um, okay," Leo said as Victor just stared at him.

Victor finally speaks. "Care to tell me what you think killed him?"

"Well, it appears that he might have come in contact with a batch of liquid nitrogen but that seems unlikely," Leo explained.

"Why is that?" Danny asked.

"Because we tested for any sign of foreign chemicals and the scene showed no signs of chemicals except for trace amounts of motor oil," Nina explained.

"As well as a few…" Leo clears his throat to find the proper words. "Less than hygienic substances."

Victor looks inside the car and sees the partially shattered body of Dr. Cartwright. He sees that his wrist is still intact, the same wrist Gwyneth had grabbed. "I believe we may have found a way to identify Dr. Cartwright's attacker. There might be a deep imprint on his wrist."

"Someone must've squeezed his wrist very tightly." Danny looks down and sees the wrist and the imprint of the hand tightly around the wrist "This falls under the category of strange and bizarre."

The detectives stare at the remains even further.

•••

At the end of Professor Jenkins' class, the students began to exit including Freddie and Gabe until the professor spoke up.

"Mr. Benson?" She called out which stopped the boys dead in their tracks. "When I said I need to speak to you after class, it wasn't a suggestion. You're free to go, Mr Morgan."

Freddie looks back at Gabe. "I'll meet you in the quad."

Gabe pats him on the back and quietly says. "Good luck."

Gabe leaves and Freddie looks over at Professor Jenkins.

"Have a seat, Fredward," she told him and he sat in his seat.

Freddie struggled to apologize. "Listen, Professor, I am sorry I dozed off in class but my work schedule has been taxing-"

"Well, you could've fooled me." Professor Jenkins said which catches Freddie off guard. "Are you aware that I can monitor any student's work from the computer at my desk?"

"Um, yeah. Most middle school and high school computer teachers use that kind of tech to monitor whether their students are doing their school work or goofing off online." Freddie stated.

"Well, I saw that you were 'dozing off' I quickly took a look at your exam. You finished your test thirty minutes after the exam began." Professor Jenkins said in an amazed tone. "I'm aware that your friend Mr Morgan is a genius and he sets the curve for this class but I believe you go beyond that curve."

"Really? I thought for weeks my brain was on autopilot." Freddie said, trying to play it cool.

"Well whatever it is 'controlling' your brain, it's making you a savant in every essence of the word," Jenkins said mildly impressed which made Freddie laugh nervously. "You keep this up and I could get you on the shortlist for top internships in companies such as Pear Electronics. I know a few people I could talk to that could put in a good word."

"No way!" Freddie said, astonished. "Um, thank you. For a minute there, I thought I was in trouble."

"I will give you a piece of advice, Mr. Benson." Jenkins sternly warns with a twinge of kindness. "Get some sleep. I can't have my star pupil nodding off in class, clear?"

Freddie blushes in embarrassment. "I will, Professor." He gets up to leave and exits the classroom as he turns to see Jane make her way into the classroom. "Jane."

Jane stares at him, she was wearing sunglasses to cover her eyes. "Oh. Freddie, hi."

"So, how are you doing?" Freddie awkwardly asked.

"I'm fine. Better than fine. I'm great." Jane stated. "How are you?"

"Oh. I'm... doing great, too." Freddie said, faking enthusiasm.

"Good. Good for you." She said as an awkward silence fell over them. "I gotta go." She walks past him to go into Professor Jenkins' classroom. "It's good to see you."

"Um, yeah. You too." Freddie replied.

Freddie begins to walk down the hall but he looks back and sees Jane arguing with Professor Jenkins. He considers getting involved but he thinks better of it and leaves.

•••

Cassie was in her apartment, looking over some paperwork. She was wearing an aqua-colored button-up blouse, black pants, and black calf-length high-heeled boots. Her blond hair was down and loose.

Her cell phone rings, Cassie checks the caller ID on her phone and grins a bit. "Hey, you."

"Hey." Alec Grayson's voice answered. "What are you doing?"

"Not much, just wrapping up a case I've been working on," Cassie said as she leafs through the papers. "How about you?

"Same here. Only I'm listing off legal jargon and other things that would've made us run for the hills as kids." Alec said.

"Sounds like big fun." Cassie teased as Alec laughed. "Listen, I'm sorry that the other night turned to us witnessing a superhero beatdown-"

"And ended with you delivering a beatdown of your own." Alec jokes. "Thought you said Mockingbird was dead because she seemed alive and kicking if you ask me."

Cassie remained quiet until she let out a deep breath. "You know why I hung up the mask. You're one of the handful of people who does."

"And yet you seem like you haven't missed a step," Alec said. "I saw that spark you used to have."

Cassie couldn't help but smile. "You make a good point, Counselor. But the city doesn't need me anymore. There's a new game in town."

"Pulse?" He asked. "The guy in the costume from that night?"

"That's him," Cassie said.

"You wouldn't by any chance be mentoring this guy, are you?" Alec asked.

"Me? Mentoring Pulse?" Cassie said feigning ignorance "I'm a private investigator, Alec. Not Mr. Miyagi."

"All right, just saying, the guy would benefit from your expertise," Alec told her.

"Alec, you can stop kissing up to me. I already like you." Cassie said with a laugh in her voice. There was a knock at her door. "I gotta go. Call me later?"

"You know it. Bye." Alec replied.

"Bye," Cassie said as she hung up.

Cassie gets up off the couch and goes over to answer the door. She opens the door and finds Pete standing there holding a take-out bag. "Why don't you just have a key made? I mean, you practically live."

Pete was wearing a tight black short-sleeved T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and work boots. "Is that your way of asking me to move in?" He asked her.

Cassie rolls her eyes and inspects the bag. "What's that?"

"I bought some Chinese from that place down the block but I bought extra so I was thinking we could have lunch together. I mean if you aren't too busy." Pete suggested.

"Well, I am never too busy for an egg roll," Cassie said jokingly which made Pete smile.

•••

"She was arguing with Professor Jenkins?"

Freddie and Gabe sat in the grass outside one of the main buildings of City Tech having lunch. He had told Gabe what he had seen between Jane and Professor Jenkins.

"Yeah, she seemed upset," Freddie said as he took a bite of his turkey sandwich.

"Do you think it's because she missed the exam?" Gabe suggested while chewing on a grape.

"It's possible. She did look a bit out of it when I saw her. Probably just slept in or something." Freddie assumed.

"I gotta say, you are handling the break up better than I thought. I assumed that you might be wigging out after seeing her." Gabe replied.

"I think it's because I'm getting better at not wearing my emotions on my sleeve," Freddie said.

"That and you take your pent-up rage on any creep stupid enough to commit a crime in this city," Gabe said as he popped another grape into his mouth.

Freddie glares at him. "You might be overreacting a bit."

"In the past few days, you've put six guys in the hospital with several incredibly creative injuries," Gabe said, whispering. "You simultaneously broke a carjacker's left forearm and right femur with three strikes."

Freddie sighs. "Guess you're right."

"Good news is that at least nobody's dead," Gabe said reassuringly.

Freddie remains silent.

The boys turn their heads as they hear Millie and Lucy's voices. The two girls were discussing with Millie stomping toward the boys and Lucy trying to calm her down.

Millie was wearing a cream-colored long-sleeved sweater with a black pleated skirt and ballet flats while Lucy wore a sleeveless dark blue top with blue jeans and black Converse sneakers.

Gabe stares at Millie and smiles "Would it be inappropriate to ask you how your presentation went?"

Millie scowls at Gabe and sits down next to Freddie who hands her a bottle of water. "Not in the mood, Phony Stark."

Lucy sits down next to Gabe and kisses him on the cheek. "Gabe now is not the time for your brand of charm."

"What happened? You bomb your presentation?" Freddie asked Millie.

Millie shakes her head as she grabs the other half of Gabe's sandwich, much to his annoyance. "I killed it. Got the second highest grade percentage in the class."

"Then what's the problem?" Freddie asked.

"Guess who got the highest percentage?" Millie asked.

Gabe and Freddie thought a bit until it hit them. "You don't mean Heather 'Cersei-Lannister-in-Prada' Chase?"

"You guessed correctly," Millie said, still sounding annoyed.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Heather is in the nursing program." Freddie joked as he sips his bottle of water.

"Yeah, the girl is about as warmhearted as Nurse Ratched." Gabe quips.

"And she has no qualms admitting that either," Millie said. "Completely manipulated the instructor to get that grade."

"Come on, Millie, you're acting as if she put some kind of spell on Mrs. Tulane," Lucy stated frankly.

Millie huffs in annoyance. "Wouldn't surprise me. Heather's a total witch with a capital 'B-I-T-C-H.'"

"My ears are burning."

The four look up to find Heather Chase standing before them flanked by her gaggle of harpies.

"Oh, it must be because of the hot air in your head trying to escape," Gabe said sarcastically. "That built-up pressure tends to create some heat and friction."

"Oh, I do enjoy your attempt at insults," Heather said with a sneer.

"I do have a larger vocabulary. I tend to use words other than 'freak' and 'loser'." Gabe answered back.

"Whatever," Heather said dismissively.

"Another gem." Gabe quips which makes his friends snicker.

Heather focuses her attention on Millie. "So, tell me something, Millicent, how does it feel to be second best to me?" Heather cruelly asked. "I mean, it shouldn't be too much of a change of pace. I've always been better than you and I always will be."

Heather and her clique laugh at this.

Freddie glares at Heather as everyone fails to notice his eyes are now furrowed and focused on something.

Heather sees Freddie staring at her. "What are you staring at, freakshow?"

Freddie blinks and stares at her. "Nothing. I'm just wondering if you take any pictures of yourself and send them to your boyfriend. Like... naked pics?"

Heather scowls at him "Like that's your business, Fred-loser."

"Oh. Okay." Freddie said as all the cellphones in the area receive a text alert. "Maybe you should make sure your boyfriend doesn't send those pics to everyone on campus or in this general area."

Everyone stares at the messages and is amazed at what was sent. Heather screams as her friends try to calm her down. Millie, Gabe, and Lucy are shocked and amused by this.

"Are those cat ears, Chase?" Lucy asked, laughing.

"Didn't peg you as a cat person." Gabe quips laughing.

"That's the most she's wearing," Millie said laughing.

A mortified Heather runs off as her friends chase after her. The people in the quad pointed at Heather as she passed by.

Gabe and Millie look at Freddie with a mixture of awe and confusion.

Freddie nonchalantly goes to take another sip of his water. "It's amazing what you find in the data stream."

Gabe and Millie stand there, mouths agape. Freddie's eyes furrow then he looks at Gabe, mouthing 'Your mom.'

With that, Gabe's cell phone rings. He pulls it out and answers "Hey Mom. What's going on?" He listens to the conversation as Millie checks something on her phone and then shows something to Lucy.

"Check it, #NaughtyKittyHeather is trending," Millie said, showing Lucy who is stunned and amused.

"Sure. I'll be there." Gabe told his mom "Love you too. Bye."

"What happened?" Freddie asked as Gabe hung up.

"My mom's getting out of the hospital today. Wanted to make sure I was coming to see her." Gabe said with relief in his voice.

"Cool." Freddie said but noticed Gabe's uneasiness "What?"

"She said my dad is coming over too," Gabe said through gritted teeth. "He hasn't been for the last week while she was in recovery and now he tells her he might show."

"In other words, he might not show up at all." Millie estimated.

"Exactly," Gabe said bitterly.

"Do you need some moral support? I got no real plans this afternoon. I can go with you if you want." Freddie offered.

"You sure?" Gabe asked.

Freddie nods. "I didn't get to meet your mom last week and I want to know if your dad is as bad as you're making him out to be. Besides, you never leave a friend stranded without backup."

"Thanks, man," Gabe said smiling.

"I'll go too." Lucy offered eagerly. "I've been dying to meet your parents and I don't feel like doing that over the clichéd awkward dinner."

Gabe blushes a bit. "Well, in that case, you can come too."

Lucy excitedly claps. "I'm so pleased."

This makes Gabe laugh and Freddie and Millie each raise an eyebrow and laugh nervously respectively. That was an odd thing to say.

"Wow, Gabe is taking a girl to meet the parents," Millie said amused. "Sorta disappointed I'm going to miss that."

Gabe makes a face. "Speaking of meeting the parents, when is this Leo guy going to meet your dad?"

"Not just yet. I have to break the news gently." Millie explained. "He's not used to his little girl dating boys which means he goes out of his way to terrify anyone that shows the slightest bit of interest."

"What if he meets Leo before you get the chance to tell him?" Freddie asked.

"What are the odds of that happening?" Millie asked.

"About the same odds of surviving getting struck by lightning," Lucy stated.

The trio laughs nervously as they avert their gaze from Lucy.

Millie hangs her head. "I'm doomed."

"Sounds about right." Gabe quips and Freddie nods.

•••

At the precinct, Leo was on his blue Pearbook examining several crime scene photos and reading some lab results at a desk. Victor watches from his desk with a scowl on his face.

"I don't like that kid," Victor uttered.

Danny looks up from his paperwork and stares at Victor. "Seems to me like you don't like anybody."

"That's not true. I like you." Victor said, turning to look at Danny.

"Not by choice." Danny quipped.

Victor gives him a small smile then he looks at Leo again. "I just have a bad feeling about him."

"You say that about anyone who has a Y chromosome. Practically those two boys close to Millie." Danny joked.

"I am justified. Gabriel Morgan has a reputation for using girls and then throwing them away like used tissue paper." Victor stated. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"And what about Freddie? The kid seems pretty harmless." Danny said. "You aren't still angry with him about the Dahl incident?"

Victor sighs and shakes his head. "Not really but... it's difficult to remain objective. Millie's all I have, I want to protect her."

"But you aren't afraid you'll only smother her? You'll just end up pushing her into a dangerous situation only because she is trying to spite you." Danny told him.

"You always give unsolicited advice?" Victor asked.

"Ever since he was a child. He's always had an old soul."

Danny's eyes widen at hearing the voice calling behind them. He looks up to find a woman standing a few feet behind him. She was in her late fifties with long light brown hair and stood at average height. She wore a gray blouse paired with dark pants.

Danny got up from his chair and finally spoke up. A huge surprised smile appears on his face. "Mom?"

The woman smiles warmly and goes over to hug him. "Glad you aren't embarrassed to get a hug from your mother."

"Not in a million years," Danny said as he hugged her. He pulls away from her a bit. "What are you doing here?"

"What? A mother can't visit her son?" Danny's mom stated smiling.

"You could've called, you know," Danny said.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." She told him.

"This is a surprise." Danny looks over at Victor who had walked over to them "Mom, this is my partner Victor Flores. Vic, this is my mother Rita."

"Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Parker," Victor said warmly shaking her hand.

"Pleasure's all mine, Detective. And please, call me Rita." Danny's mom told him.

"What brings you to New York, Rita? It isn't intrusive for me to ask, is it?" Victor asked politely.

"Not at all, Victor. I have something important to discuss with Daniel." Rita replied as she stared at her son. "Is this a bad time?"

Danny looks at Victor and then at his mother. "Actually..."

"Not at all," Victor said which caught Danny's attention.

"What about the case?" Danny asked. "You sure you can-"

"Don't worry about it. Besides, I'm sure this won't take too long. Will it, Rita?" Victor said.

"Just need a few hours to talk to my son," Rita said frankly. "Maybe grab some lunch while doing so."

"In that case, go spend some quality time with your mother. I'll go over the crime scene photos again." Victor reassures his partner. "If I get any new details, I'll call."

Danny shrugs his shoulders. "All right. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

Victor nods as Danny follows his mother out of the precinct.

Victor goes to look back at the crime scene photos but is distracted when Leo walks over to him.

"I found out who that imprint on Dr. Cartwright's wrist belongs to," Leo said proudly.

"Really? Care to tell me who it is?" Victor asked in a mildly condescending manner.

Leo ignores his attitude and continues "I ran the imprint through several different departments and I got a hit on a missing persons case from two years ago. The prints belong to Doctor Gwyneth Savage. She was reported missing by her live-in boyfriend Ryan Moore two years ago. It's been a cold case for about four years."

"Okay, so how does the handprint of a missing woman end up on the wrist of the man who has been frozen solid?" Victor said, almost to himself.

"Maybe Moore knows something? Think it'd be a good idea to question him." Leo stated. "But I don't wanna tell you how to do your job."

Victor glares at Leo as he goes back to where he was working. He sighs and walks off down the precinct into a room where several files were kept.

He leafs through the files and finds a file labeled 'Savage, Gwyneth'

•••

Professor Jenkins was in her classroom, eating lunch and grading some of the electronic exams. As she works, Jenkins sees the liquid in her bottle of water start to freeze. The freezing was so quick that the bottle cracked under the conditions of extreme temperature.

The professor becomes unnerved when she sees her breath and the room becomes increasingly colder. The lights began to flicker on and off until they went dim.

"Hello, Leslie."

Professor Jenkins sprang from her desk and saw Gwyneth Savage standing at the entrance of the classroom. She is filled with terror at the sight of the strange-looking woman.

"What's the matter, Leslie?" Gwyneth asked. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

"H-how- how are you alive?" Professor Jenkins asked, frozen in fear. "You can't be alive."

"It's amazing what a human being can survive if motivated enough," Gwyneth said as she slowly strides towards her. "Want to know what motivated me, Leslie? What kept me alive? What keeps me warm... figuratively speaking of course."

Jenkins frantically reached for her cell phone but Gwyneth launched a blast of freezing ice at her hand which froze her phone onto her hand but left her unable to use it.

"I haven't felt any kind of warmth in a VERY long time but what gives me comfort is that I will make you all pay for my suffering," Gwyneth stated.

"Gwyn, please. I-I had no choice." Jenkins said as she tries to break the ice on her hand. "We wanted to tell the truth but-"

"Let me guess, he made you an offer you couldn't refuse?" Gwyneth asked, her cold demeanor remaining unchanged. "Got you a cushy teaching job at City Tech to buy your silence. So you can forget what happened to me? How you left me for dead?"

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The professor stammered, pleading for mercy from Gwyneth.

"You know, Wayne didn't beg as much as you," Gwyneth said as she got close to her face and waved her hand over her face. "Well, I didn't give I'm much of a chance to."

Professor Jenkins gasps in horror. "Y-You killed him?"

"Don't worry, he died fairly quickly." Gwyneth reassures the professor "And I will give you the same kind of mercy, Leslie. Want to know why?" She tightly grips Professor Jenkins' neck. "Because you were my friend."

The last sensation Professor Jenkins felt was a cold that didn't even allow her to scream.

•••

A female student with long brown in a ponytail and thick eyeglasses walks towards Professor Jenkins' classroom where she finds the door sealed shut. She grabs the door handle but recoils at the cold coming from the door.

As she tries to get the door open, Freddie, Gabe, Millie, and Lucy walk down the hall. "Why do you want to talk to Professor Jenkins?" Freddie asked Gabe.

"I want to know how you were able to score higher than me," Gabe stated.

"You know there is such a thing as being a sore loser, Gabriel," Millie said sarcastically.

"Says the girl who thinks Heather Chase is an actual witch." Gabe quips as Millie playfully punches his arm.

The group sees the girl struggling with the door and Freddie recognizes the girl from class. "Ivy?"

The girl, Ivy, looks up at him. "Oh, hey Freddie." She said, still struggling to get the door open.

Freddie sees her having trouble and senses something is wrong. "What's wrong?"

"I came to talk to Professor Jenkins about some extra credit assignments and I can't get her door open," Ivy said, trying to pry it open.

"Let me try," Freddie suggested as he walked closer to her.

"No offense, Freddie, but I watched iCarly and you weren't exactly known for your upper body strength," Ivy said, still failing to get it open.

"You might be surprised," Gabe said frankly.

Ivy looks at Freddie who is now next to her. "Give it a shot."

Ivy stood to one side as Lucy got close to her. Millie and Gabe watch from a distance.

After feigning some struggle, with one mighty superhuman strength-powered pull, Freddie pried the door open. Lucy and Ivy stare at him in disbelief.

Freddie simply shrugs as he sheepishly smiles. "I've been working out."

The girls don't question it as Freddie opens the door and the group finds it dimly lit and several degrees below freezing. Their breaths were visible because of the frigid temperature.

"Geez, who turned down the AC in here?" Millie shivered. "It feels like the walk-in at a meat packing plant."

"Only cleaner than less credible meat distribution companies," Gabe said smugly.

"Don't rub your healthy philosophy in our faces." Millie jokes. "We get it, you go organic."

Freddie shushes them as he pulls out his Pearphone and activates the flashlight function on his phone. He leads them deeper into the classroom. "It gets colder further in."

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked, oddly not shivering like her friends.

"Wish I knew," Freddie stated as he pointed his flashlight around the room.

Gabe notices Lucy wasn't reacting to the cold. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lucy said. "Why?"

"You aren't cold?" Gabe asked.

Lucy rubs her arms. "A little. Didn't want to say anything."

Gabe instinctively removes his jacket as Lucy tries to stop him. "It's okay. I can take the cold."

This act of chivalry makes Millie grin as Gabe places his jacket over Lucy's shoulders.

The group continues to look around as Gabe sees something. "Hey, look at this!" The girls head over to where Gabe is and see another door pried open, almost shattered to pieces. "What do you think did this?"

Freddie stares at something with his eyes widened in abject horror. "Assuming that it's the same person who did that."

The group gathers around and sees what Freddie had his phone pointed at - the frozen corpse of Professor Leslie Jenkins.

Millie and Ivy let out yelps and screams of horror as the group recoiled in horror as Freddie is shaken by the sight. He had spoken to Professor Jenkins almost two hours ago.

"We need to call the police." Freddie simply said. Despite his misgivings, the police needed to know about this.

•••

Inside a diner across the street from the precinct, Danny sat at a booth with his mother Rita while their waitress cleared out their empty plates from the table.

"Sorry that I couldn't take you anywhere else but this is a bit last minute," Danny said mildly ashamed.

"Daniel, I don't mind where we go. As long as I get to spend time with you, I'm content." Rita told him.

Danny smiles. "So, you wanted to talk to me about something? What's going on?"

Rita remembers why she was in town and exhales. "There is but it's going to be difficult to tell you this." She said in a somber tone.

Danny stares at his mother, sensing her nerves. "What is it? Tell me."

Rita looks down and takes in a deep breath. "Do you remember what I used to tell you about your father?"

"That he was a deadbeat lowlife who abandoned us before I started kindergarten?" Danny stated as he clears bitterness in his voice. "Not something a person forgets, Mom."

"Well, you can add a womanizing pig to that description." Rita retorts, which confuses Danny. "Last week, I was contacted by a woman who told me that your father had married her and left her with two kids."

"What do you mean she contacted you?" Danny asked. "Did she give you her name?"

"No. She just asked me if I was Rita Parker then told me about what your father had done." Rita replied.

"Wait a second, my dad married you and married this woman?" Danny asked. "If that's true, that's bigamy-"

Rita lets out a deep breath. "Sweetheart, your father and I were never married."

Danny was thrown by this revelation. The expression on his face read as though something cracked inside his mind. "S-so I'm a b-bastard? Is that what you're t-telling me?"

Worry comes across Rita's face as she tries to hold his hand. "Honey, you're stuttering. You haven't stuttered in years.'

"We-well, I'm a little uh-upset right n-now, Mom!" Danny yelled which caught the attention of a few patrons. "Wh-why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I was ashamed," Rita replied somberly. "I didn't want you to know-"

"Know w-what? Th-that I'm the bastard s-son of some lowlife who c-couldn't keep it in his pants?" Danny said, appearing to be emotionally wounded.

Rita seemed hurt by her son's words. "Danny..."

"I-I can't deal with this right now," Danny said as his cell phone rang. He quickly pulls it out and answers "Parker. I-I'll be right there." He hangs up and gets up from the booth. "I have to get back to work."

"Daniel, I'm not done talking to you," Rita stated as Danny set down some cash to pay for the food.

"Well, I'm done listening," Danny said bitterly. "Next time you want to drop a bombshell like that, send an Email. Would've been a lot easier to delete it and forget you ever told me about this."

Rita remained silent as Danny made his way out of the diner.

•••

Back at Cassie's apartment, Cassie and Pete were having lunch and in the throes of a conversation. "Wait, you had a thick Scottish accent?" Pete asked, using the chopsticks to place a piece of Orange Chicken in his mouth.

"My parents were from Scotland and when I was growing up, I spoke a similar dialect," Cassie said as she struggled with her chopsticks. "Kids used to pick on me mercilessly. Ask me where were 'me Lucky Charms' which was profoundly stupid because Leprechauns are from Irish folklore, not Scottish."

"Can't fault bullies for being total morons." Pete jokes.

"Especially when they could've gone with 'Beam me up, Scotty' jokes, They were right there!" Cassie said laughing. "It took years for me to lose the accent but there are times it slips in, practically when I'm pissed off."

"Really? I've never heard it before." Pete replied.

"Only because you've only seen me upset. You haven't seen me pissed off." Cassie said laughing.

"God help the person in the path of that fury," Pete said jokingly.

"Or anyone within the vicinity." She said frankly. Cassie's cell phone rings and she checks the caller ID. "It's Freddie."

"Take it. Might be important." Pete said as he took a bite of lo mien.

Cassie answers, "Hey, what's going on?" She listens and her face goes white which Pete sees. "O-okay. I'll do that." She quickly goes to turn on the television where a live news report was airing.

"Authorities can't give us any further information but this bizarre scene could be something straight out of a horror film." The female on-scene anchor said who was reporting from City Tech. "Professor of Computer Engineering at the New York City College of Technology, Leslie Jenkins, was found murdered in a gruesome manner. Witnesses have reported seeing the professor frozen solid in a strange manner."

"Frozen?" Pete questioned as he looked at the TV.

"Here I thought Freddie would only have to deal with run-of-the-mill baddies," Cassie said as she put the phone to her ear. "Still there?"

"Yeah." Freddie's voice is heard on the other end. "How fast can you get to the base?"

Cassie looks at Pete who gets up from the couch and puts on his jacket. "We're headed out now."

"Think you guys can start research before we get there? Gabe and I have to the hospital to see his mom." Freddie said.

"No problemo. Do you know which hospital is performing the autopsy on Professor Jenkins?" Cassie asked.

"Same hospital we're headed to," Freddie said.

"Talk about serendipity," Cassie said as Pete hands Cassie her tan leather jacket.

"Tell me about it," Freddie said. "I'll see if I can sneak off and do some snooping"

"Be careful." She said sincerely.

"I will. Promise." Freddie quickly hangs up as the pair exits the apartment.

•••

Millie, still shaken up about finding the professor's frozen body, enters the precinct and walks over to the front desk where the female clerk was sifting through paperwork. "Ms. Oswald?"

Ms. Oswald, the clerk who was a slightly plain-looking middle-aged woman with stringy blond hair, blotchy skin, and bland clothing, looks up from her work to acknowledge Millie. "Millicent Flores?" Millie nods. "Your father told me you'd be assisting me with filing."

"That's correct," Millie said cheerfully but her smile fades at Ms Oswald's stern demeanor.

"You can start sorting that pile over there," Oswald said, pointing to a large stack of folders.

Millie sighs as she begins to look at the stack; a few papers were strewn about as she moved them.

"Try to be careful. I have a system." Oswald replied.

"So I've noticed," Millie said, hiding her sarcasm. She picks up the papers and finds the printout of a sketch drawing of a woman in a domino mask. The top of the form read 'Mockingbird'. The woman's face seemed familiar.

"Could you stop your stalling and get to work?" Oswald said bitterly.

Millie picks up some of the papers and starts setting some papers aside. Some that might be important later on, she thought.

•••

Freddie, Gabe, and Lucy exit the elevator of Sacred Mercy Hospital and make their way to Fiona Morgan's hospital room. The three of them were still a little shaken up after seeing the body of Professor Jenkins. However, they were doing their best to hide it.

"Nervous?" Freddie asked his friend.

Gabe swallows hard. "Be lying if I said otherwise."

Lucy goes to hold his hand. "It's okay, we'll be there in case it gets bad."

"Thanks." Gabe then opens the door and finds his mother on his feet, packing her overnight bag. "Mom, what are you doing on your feet?"

Fiona turns to look at her son and smiles. Her condition had improved from her sickly appearance from a few weeks before. "Calm down, Gabriel. The doctor told me it was all right for me to be on my feet."

Gabe sighs as he looks over at Freddie and Lucy. "Mom, I want to introduce you to some people." He motions to Freddie. "This is my roomie and friend Fredward Benson but everybody calls him Freddie."

Freddie sheepishly runs his right hand through his hair "Hi, Mrs Morgan."

"Hello, Fredward." She said, hugging Freddie which caught the boys off guard. She pulls away from him. "Gabe has told me a lot about you."

"I certainly hope not," Freddie said, sideways glaring at his friend.

"I'm none too worried. I'm sure you're keeping my little cherub out of trouble." Fiona said, which causes Freddie and Gabe to laugh nervously.

"I do my best," Freddie replied.

Gabe looks at Lucy. "And this is Lucy Shepard. She's the girl I've been seeing."

Fiona reacts to Lucy with sheer joy. "You're Lucy. The girl who has managed to win my son's heart."

Lucy blushes at the statement. "I guess so."

"Don't be so modest. That's quite the feat considering my son's track record with girls." Fiona said.

"Mom!" Gabe said mortified, which caused Freddie to snicker.

"This is a good thing. I'm glad that she makes you happy." Fiona said, which makes Lucy blush again.

"She does," Gabe said.

"I certainly hope it isn't in a most biblical sense."

Gabe winces in panic and annoyance as the group turns to find a well-dressed man with short brown hair and dark eyes entering the room. He walks with a presence of intimidating monarchy but holds a thread of salt of the earth aura around him.

This is David Morgan.

"Gabriel," David stated calmly.

"Dad," Gabe said with a hint of bitterness.

Fiona walks to her husband and lovingly kisses him on the cheek. "Darling, you made it."

"Did you doubt that I would?" David said sweetly.

"I did," Gabe said under his breath.

"You have something to say, son, do speak up," David said, implying he heard the snide comment from his son.

Gabe stares at him, gritting his teeth. "No, sir."

David looks at Freddie and Lucy. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Gabe looks over at the two and sighs. "This is my friend Freddie Benson and my girlfriend Lucy Shepard."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Morgan," Freddie said offering a handshake which David accepts with a firm grip Freddie returns surprised David, and makes Gabe smile.

"That's quite the grip, young man. I like that in a person." David said, impressed.

"Um, thanks," Freddie said, realizing he had used a fraction of his now superior strength without knowing.

"Freddie? Is that short for anything?" David asked.

"Yeah, it's uh... Fredward." Freddie said mildly embarrassed.

"Don't be ashamed, it's a one-of-a-kind moniker," David said.

"That's what my mom used to tell me when I came home from school after being thrown into dumpsters," Freddie said. "Dealt with a lot of bullying at my age."

"Believe me, I understand how cruel children can be," David said. "No one can understand a man of vision."

"I'm hardly a man of vision, Mr. Morgan," Freddie replied, not sure what to make of that statement.

"I do love a person with a great sense of humility. Maybe it will rub off on my son." David said as Gabe avoided his stare.

"I think it has," Freddie said complimenting Gabe, making his friend smile. "Gabe's a great guy."

David focuses his attention on Lucy. "And you are the infamous Lucy Shepard. The young lady who's stolen my son's heart."

"I wouldn't say stolen, Mr Morgan. It was willingly given." Lucy said as Gabe holds her hand protectively.

"Is that what he told you?" David said which causes Gabe to glare at him. "He does have a way with words. We Morgan men do have a bit of snake-oil salesmen in us."

"Only when it's necessary." Gabe simply said.

At that moment, David's phone rings. "It's the office. Excuse me." He walks out of the room.

"Wow, it took him less than two minutes to bail. That's a new record." Gabe said spitefully.

"It's okay, that's his way," Fiona assured her son.

"Kinda wish you didn't defend him when he isn't worth it," Gabe stated.

"Sorry to interrupt but... Gabe, can I talk to you outside for a sec?" Freddie asked.

Gabe nods as he turns to Fiona and Lucy. "I'll be back in a second."

The two boys head out into the hallway where David Morgan had gone into. However, David was nowhere in sight. "I gotta listen in on the autopsy. Maybe I can get a clue on who or what murdered Professor Jenkins."

"Think we both know 'the how'. Just the who, what and why." Gabe remarked.

"You're not wrong," Freddie replied.

"Say while you're doing recon, can you go see where my dad went? He's not getting off so easily for leaving." Gabe said.

Freddie nods as Gabe goes back into the hospital room. Freddie looks down the hall and sees a woman in a hooded sweatshirt with unnaturally colored platinum blond hair walking down the hall. She seems to be looking for someone but goes into the access door to the stairwell.

He quickly walks over to the door and places his hand just above the knob and a coldness radiated from it that even just a few inches close to it caused him to recoil in pain.

"Ah!" He said, rubbing his hand. "Okay, Ow."

Freddie looks around and goes to get into the elevator and quickly hits the 'close doors' button. "All right. Let me see if this works." He places his hand on the electronic control panel as electrical energy sparks from his hands. Suddenly on a computerized screen, bold green letters read 'Restricted Floor - Access Granted.'

Freddie sighs and stands in the elevator as it heads down. He starts whistling a peppy tune.

The elevator stops on a basement floor. Freddie exits the elevator and sees a sign that read 'Morgue' and had an arrow pointing to the left which he followed. He starts walking down the hall.

•••

Back at the Pulse Cave, Cassie was trying to gain access to the Hub and had some trouble. She groans in frustration which amuses Pete.

Cassie turns to face him. "Glad to see you're finding my annoyance with modern technology funny."

"Sorry, it's just cute when you get frustrated," Pete said, smirking.

"In that case, I must be downright adorable," Cassie said, still trying to get the Hub going. "Grrrrr! I can't be expected to know this stuff."

Pete walks up behind her "Let me." He mashes a few keys and gets the Hub online. "There."

Cassie seems surprised "Whoa. How did you-"

"You don't have to be a technical genius to be handy with electronics," Pete stated. "I have some skill sets you have no idea about."

"Wow, way to make me feel useless." Cassie joked.

Pete smiles, "Nobody's perfect, Princess."

Cassie rolls her eyes and starts shifting through some files

•••

Victor and Danny were still examining Professor Jenkins' classroom. Danny looks around and sees Leo examining the scene with them.

"You said Millie found the body?" Danny asked.

"Freddie and Gabe did. She was just tagging along." Victor stated. "Funny how those two seem to have a habit of finding themselves in trouble."

"Guess Benson must get that from his aunt. Trouble seems to follow that woman." Danny stated. "Could be the wrong place, right time."

"Or vice versa." Victor replied as he walked over to the spot where the professor's body had been. "How did it go with your mother? Have a good time?" Danny remains silent. "Take that as a 'no'."

Danny sighs "Really don't want to talk about it."

Victor shrugs, "Fair enough."

Danny turns to look at Leo and whispers to his partner. "Thought you said you didn't like him?"

"Just because I don't like him doesn't mean he isn't useful," Victor whispers to Danny.

"My hearing works fine, detectives," Leo called out.

"Ever heard of selective hearing?" Victor said.

"Don't believe in it," Leo replied as he focused on his task until he spots something by the shattered door. "I think I found something."

The detectives walk over to Leo as Danny asks "What'd you find?"

"The knob on this door. There's an imprint similar to the one on Dr. Cartwright's wrist." Leo said. "Whoever wanted out of here, wasn't caring about what clues she left behind."

"She? How do you figure it's a woman?" Danny asked.

"We ran the prints and found they belong to a woman missing almost two years ago, Dr. Gwyneth Savage," Victor said.

"Also, the outline of the fingers is way too dainty to be from a male," Leo stated.

"Question is how did she do this?" Victor asked. "This isn't some run-of-the-mill killing. Savage wanted to kill these people and ensure they suffered slow and agonizing deaths."

"This seems more like a flash freeze." Leo said "I noticed that on Jenkins' and Cartwright's bodies, there was no formation of ice crystals. They suffered but this was an instantaneous death."

"But why these people? I can understand an expert in cryogenics but why go after a professor of computer engineering?" Danny asked.

"I say look at their connection to Savage. She has a vendetta against these people." Leo estimated. "This reads 'revenge killing'."

Danny and Victor stare at Leo and then at each other.

•••

Freddie walks down the hall and finds two double doors that read 'Morgue'. He stands near the doors and listens to the voices coming from within. One of them sounded like David Morgan.

"Are you certain she's alive?" David asked someone.

"I can't see how she survived." Another man said. "We watched her absorb those chemicals. That process would have killed anyone instantaneously."

"First Cartwright, now Leslie." David said, "Mr. Salvador, the good doctor is picking off those present during the accident."

"Until she gets to you," Salvador stated.

There was a cavern of silence as Freddie waited for a response.

"What do you expect me to do?" David asked.

"Nothing. That woman deserves her revenge." Salvador replied guiltily "And we all deserve to die."

"Couldn't agree more." A familiar female voice spoke.

Freddie's eyes widen as he hears the sound of a blast of ice and a bloodcurdling scream. Freddie runs into the morgue and finds David face-to-face with Dr. Savage and Mr. Salvador completely frozen solid.

"Time to pay the piper, Morgan," Gwyneth stated as she pointed her hands at David. An ice blast forms on her hands

Freddie instinctively jumps towards David and gets him away before the blast could hit him. David looks at Freddie surprised, "How did you get in here?"

Freddie stares at him wide-eyed "I saved your life and that's the question you ask?" He helps David to his feet as the two see Gwyneth advance on them.

"My issue is not with you." Gwyneth said to Freddie "Do yourself a favor, walk away."

"Sorry but I'm not going anywhere," Freddie said as he protectively stood in front of David Morgan.

Gwyneth passes by Mr. Salvador's petrified form and smashes it to pieces, killing the man instantly.

"Do you have a plan, Fredward?" David asked.

"Well..." Freddie began as Gwyneth readied another icy attack. "No shame in running."

"Can't fault you on that," David said as the two ran out the door Gwyneth fired a blast of ice at them but barely missed.

The two ran down the hall with Gwyneth in pursuit.

"We just have to get to the elevator," Freddie told Mr. Morgan.

As they ran, Gwyneth drew a swirl of icy energy and formed it into an icicle-like spike. She throws it and it grazes David in the shoulder and ends up embedded in the wall.

Freddie pulls the injured Mr. Morgan into the elevator. "Stay out of sight." David nods as Freddie looks up to see Dr. Savage making her way toward the elevator.

Her demeanor didn't register as angry or frustrated. It was stoic, clinical. "End of the line," Gwyneth stated.

Freddie places his hand on the control panel as Gwyneth readied another attack. "I wouldn't say that just yet." Suddenly, the doors quickly closed before Gwyneth could fire her ice blast and only covered the closed elevator doors.

Freddie kneels and goes to check on David Morgan. "You okay?"

David stares at the bleeding gash on his arm then back at Freddie. "Thank you."

Freddie stares at David and knows that this wasn't over.

•••

Back in the basement hallway, Gwyneth remains standing, her expression didn't change.

She had a contingency plan.

•••

Back at the precinct, Millie was walking through the building with a stack of files in her hands. She rounds the corner and bumps into someone and the papers go flying.

"Dang it! I spent an hour and a half sorting those!" Millie complains as she picks up the papers and the person she bumped into helps.

"Guess I should watch where I'm going, huh?"

Millie looks up and finds Leo was the one she had collided with and was now helping her.

"Well, this is a surprise," Millie said smiling. "What are you doing here?"

"Working. I told you that I had graduated early and started my job at the CSU, right?" Leo explained as he gathered the papers.

"Yes, but you neglected to mention it would be at THIS precinct," Millie said grinning. "You- you haven't run into my dad, have you?"

"You mean the stern and rather intimidating detective working the strange cases that I have been sticking myself in? If so, then we've met." Leo said. "I've been helping him with the case with the frozen bodies."

"One of which I was present at, I'm aware." Millie said but thinks back to what he said "Wait, you said bodies. As in plural?"

"Yeah, there have been two bodies so far. I thought your dad would've told you." Leo said.

"Don't be surprised. He likes to keep his secrets and I keep mine." Millie said as she sets the files on a desk.

"For instance, the fact that we're seeing each other?" Leo asked and Millie nods. "I understand why you haven't told him."

Millie folds her arms over her chest."Do you?"

"Being in his presence for the last four hours, I'm thinking your dad tends to scare off the guys you date." Leo guessed.

Millie lets out a deep breath and laughs "You do understand."

"I'll say this, he better understand that I don't scare easily," Leo told her as he took her hand. "I like you and there is nothing your dad can say or do that will make me change my mind. Okay?"

"Okay," Millie said smiling.

"I have to get back to work," Leo said as he made his way to his desk.

Millie thinks and has an idea "Um, can you fill me in on the case? Maybe I can help."

Leo smiles, "Don't see the harm in it."

Millie grins and walks over to Leo's desk and sits down in a chair next to his as he shows her the information on his computer.

•••

At Sacred Heart, David Morgan was being bandaged up by a female nurse as Freddie stands nearby. He stood guard over David as Victor and Danny questioned David Morgan.

"Did you get a good look at the woman?" Danny asked David.

"It was a bit difficult considering she was trying to kill me with ice," David said.

Victor just glares at David, not saying anything.

"We didn't get a good look at her. She had a hood over her head." Freddie told them.

"Seems that everyone with superpowers likes wearing disguises, don't they?" Danny said jokingly.

Freddie swallows hard.

David acknowledges Victor "I do like your new partner, Victor. Certainly can take a joke better than you can."

Victor still says nothing.

At that moment, Fiona, Gabe, and Lucy made their way into the room. Fiona runs over and hugs her husband as Gabe and Lucy stand next to Freddie.

"Thank god you're alright," Fiona said as she embraced David.

"I'm all right," David said while pulling away and reassuring her.

"What happened?" Gabe asked Freddie, not making eye contact with his father.

"Someone attempted to kill me," David told them. "Fortunately, your friend arrived in the nick of time. He saved my life."

Fiona smiles as she looks at the boys "I knew there was another reason I liked him, Gabriel."

Gabe stares at Freddie who simply shrugs.

"David? May I call you David?" Victor asked.

"Of course, we've known each other long enough," David said smiling.

"All right. David, do you happen to know who Dr. Gwyneth Savage is?" Victor asked as the others in the room look to David for an answer.

"Yes, she worked for MI a few years ago until her disappearance," David said.

"What about Dr. Wayne Cartwright or Professor Leslie Jenkins?" Victor asked.

Gabe watches as Freddie focuses on David, waiting for his response.

"No, I'm afraid I don't know who they are," David said feigning ignorance. "What is this all about?"

Victor sighs. "Dr. Cartwright and Professor Jenkins have been murdered."

"Oh, my god." Fiona gasps.

"We have reason to believe Dr. Savage might be alive and murdered Dr. Cartwright and Professor Jenkins," Danny replied.

David scoffs. "You cannot be serious."

"If what you and Mr Benson are saying is true, this woman who threw blasts of ice at you is the same woman who murdered them both as well as your friend Ramon Salvador in the same manner," Victor stated.

"And what do you propose to do about it?" David asked, trying to remain composed.

"We'll have some uniformed officers waiting outside your penthouse to ensure Savage does not return," Danny tells him.

"I think my security detail can handle things just fine," David stated.

"Yes, but we believe in covering our bases. Ensure nothing terrible happens." Victor told him bluntly.

David sighs "Very well." He looks over at Gabe and Fiona. "Will officers be watching over the rest of my family?"

"That won't be necessary," Gabe said. "I can take care of myself."

"Gabriel," Fiona spoke up.

"It's all right. He's an adult and allowed to make his own decisions." David stated.

Gabe sighs and walks out of the room with Lucy close behind. Freddie goes to follow his friend but David's voice stops him.

"Fredward, wait." David made his way towards him. "I want to properly thank you for saving my life."

"It's no big deal. Wrong place, right time." Freddie said smiling.

"How are you able to get to the morgue? That area is restricted to non-hospital personnel." Danny questioned him.

"I was actually trying to get to the cafeteria but the elevator took me to the morgue instead," Freddie stated. "Guess there was a glitch in the system."

"This is an old building. I believe they're trying to fix the electrical systems here." David said to the detectives as he looked back at Freddie "And if it weren't for that glitch, I wouldn't be standing here."

Freddie sheepishly brushes back his hair. "Um, I gotta go. Gabe and I are going to go study at my aunt's apartment. Have a good night."

Freddie walks out of the room into the hallway where Gabe stood by the door. "How long were you standing there?"

"Since my dad unofficially decided to adopt you." Gabe joked.

Freddie looks down and the boys head to the elevator. "Where's Lucy?"

"Her mom came to pick her up. Said she would drop her off at her dorm." Gabe said as he pushed a button to go down. "I take it we AREN'T studying at Cassie's tonight."

Freddie looks at him sideways "Why would you think otherwise?"

•••

At the hideout, Gabe was sifting through some files as Freddie and Pete stood behind him. "Why would Dr Savage want to kill my dad?"

"I heard him and Mr. Salvador arguing. Saying how they deserve to pay for what they did." Freddie said.

"Still don't know whether to act shocked or disappointed because he is responsible, it doesn't surprise me," Gabe stated.

"Take it your old man isn't a saint?" Pete asked.

"If by 'saint' you mean a womanizing, self-absorbed, arrogant jerk who I inherited some of my less than admirable qualities, then yes, he's freaking Mother Theresa," Gabe said as he maniacally typed and notices something. "What was Cassie doing while we weren't here? Trying to play solitaire?"

"No, but I did manage to hack into your World of Warlords account," Cassie called out as she and Millie walked down the stairs. "Vegus, the Sky Mage."

Gabe sighs "I used to play that before I discovered that I much preferred girls."

Freddie shakes his head. "So were you able to hack into the mainframe of Morgan Innovations?"

"Please, I've been able to do that since I was twelve." Gabe gloated "But certain files are missing."

"What files?" Cassie asked.

"Something called Project..." Gabe scans the screen and is in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me."

"That's a weird name for a super secret program." Millie jokes.

Freddie notices the look on Gabe's face. He looks as if someone kicked him in the stomach. "Gabe, what is it?"

Gabe takes a deep breath. "It's called Project Sub-Zero. Guess who was in charge of it?"

"I'll be optimistic and say Frosty the Snowman," Millie said, trying to lighten the mood.

Gabe shakes his head, not in the mood for jokes. "Dr. Gwyneth Savage."

The group remains quiet for a moment until Freddie speaks up. "Dude, I'm sorry."

"Don't think it's time for condolences," Gabe told his friends, hiding his irate demeanor. "We have to figure out why they shut down the project and what would make the doctor decide to go on a killing spree."

Cassie sucks in some air. "Does it say where we can find information on the project?"

Gabe checks the screen and finds something. "Okay... I have good news... and bad news."

"I suggest the good news first, tends to soften the blow of bad news," Millie stated.

Freddie lets out an exasperated breath. No time for games.

"Okay, dealer's choice. I found where they stored files concerning Project Sub-Zero." Gabe said as he read over the information.

"Where are they?" Freddie asked.

"Fredward, meet bad news." Gabe stated, "All of the files are being housed in the Archives."

"Archives?" Pete asked.

"It's where MI keeps the hard copies of most of their older files. Some date back to the early eighties. Most of those files are older than I am." Gabe explained. "But why keep information from a project from a few years ago? Documents that old would normally be kept digitally."

"Maybe it's something they're trying to hide. Something they wanted to cover up." Pete stated.

"Like the untimely demise of the person in charge of a super secret project?" Cassie surmised. "Seems like a good way to sweep things under the rug."

Freddie looks at Gabe. "Do you know where the Archives are?"

"Yeah, it's inside the lower levels of Morgan Innovations," Gabe told him. "It's not the most secure level but it doesn't mean it isn't guarded."

"What's the plan?" Millie asked.

Freddie smiles at them. "We're going to borrow those files."

Cassie rubs the bridge of her nose. "And I'm counting the ways that could go wrong."

Freddie scowls at his aunt.

•••

Pulse was standing on the edge of a rooftop of a building. He scans the area and sees two security guards. "You were right. The place doesn't seem that well guarded."

"Well, most people don't come looking for the stuff in the Archives unless they know where to look," Gabe said.

"Except us?" Freddie stated.

"I'm gaining access to the system for the security cameras. Shut them down. Hopefully, you can do this quick enough before they get a chance to reboot." Gabe said.

Pulse leaps down from the building and swiftly approaches the guards. He grabs the two of them by the shoulders and zaps them.

The guards slump to the ground unconscious as Pulse walks over to an electronic keypad. "You got the cameras offline?"

"Working on it. At least the cameras are from this century." Gabe said.

•••

Inside the security suite, two guards sat in front of a monitor with several camera monitors in specific areas including the Archives but all lost visual in a snap.

•••

"And now they're toast," Gabe said. "You have at least eight minutes before the system reboots."

Pulse places his hand over the keypad and his hand sparks with electricity. "Come on." The readout of the display reads 'Access Granted.' He opens the door and makes his way inside.

•••

In the suite, one of the guards notices the cameras were offline. "Hey, look at this."

"What the hell." The other guard stated.

•••

Pulse enters a large room with large boxes of documents and files. "This could take a while."

"You have six minutes," Cassie stated.

Pulse starts looking around to find certain document files. There were dozens of boxes and file cabinets in the room.

•••

Back with the guards, the two were scrambling to get the cameras back online.

"I'm rebooting the monitors." The guard who caught the glitch first. "A Trojan is plugging our system."

"It's probably some punk." The guard said as he types to get the system back up.

•••

Pulse opens a box and sees something. "Yes. Found it."

The front of the large document file read 'Project Sub-Zero.'

•••

Back at the hideout, Gabe notices what the guards are doing. His face reads of panic. "Uh oh." He exclaimed.

"Uh oh? Why'd you say 'uh oh'? Why 'uh oh'?" Millie asked frantically.

Cassie and Pete stare at the monitor and see what's happening. They don't like the look of this.

•••

Pulse grabs the files and goes to make his way out.

"Pulse?" Gabe stammers

"What's wrong?" Freddie asked.

"It looks like we got the one rent-a-cop with a brain here," Gabe stated. "If there's a camera nearby, I recommend hiding."

The light on the security camera behind Pulse goes from red to green and catches a glimpse of him before ducking out of the way.

•••

The guards see Pulse on the footage. "There!"

The guard gets on a phone "Security to the Archives. We have an intruder."

•••

"A security squadron will be down there any second." Gabe sternly warns his crime-fighting friend. "You need to get out of there now!"

•••

Pulse grabs the file and runs into the hall. He hears several marching footsteps approaching as a group of men in black uniforms armed with guns head his way.

"Freeze!" One of the men yelled.

Instinctively, Pulse fires waves of electrical energy at the guard which takes out the lights in the hall and knocks the guards off their feet.

The men recovered and saw Pulse was nowhere to be found.

•••

Back at the hideout, the gang was looking over the documents from inside the files. They all wore latex gloves on their hands.

"Dr. Savage had the worst handwriting," Cassie stated. "Saying it's chicken scratch would be a compliment."

"Least the printouts are legible," Millie stated. "Don't understand a word of it."

"It's talking about an experimental chemical called HM-178. Says it works in sub-zero temperatures." Gabe stated.

"Calling it Sub-Zero seems a tad on the nose, don't you think?" Pete asked.

"Why were they studying it in the first place? Morgan Innovations is a tech company?" Cassie asked.

"MI also specializes in weapons technology. They aren't above taking several contracts with the US government to develop new weaponry." Gabe explained.

"Says HM-178 was being developed as a potential chemical weapon. Works like liquid nitrogen." Freddie stated.

"Also says Dr. Savage was supervising the project along with a think tank of brilliant scientific minds," Cassie said.

"Does it say who was in this think tank?" Freddie asked.

Cassie scans the pages to find something important. "Um, Dr. Wayne Cartwright, Dr. Kavita Suresh, Dr. Jeremiah Rogers... And Dr. Leslie Jenkins."

Freddie's shoulders fall. Remembering his stern professor as she was.

"Seems like a hodgepodge of a think tank," Gabe stated. "Cartwright was a cryogenics expert, Jenkins was a computer engineer, Rogers is a renowned chemist and Suresh is a robotics expert."

"They were trying to build a military weapon," Pete said. "Fair to say those would be the people to call."

"Who was Ramon Salvador?" Millie asked.

"He worked at Morgan Innovations for several years as a head of security. I didn't know much about him." Gabe said. "He was just… collateral damage."

"So Cartwright and Jenkins were Dr. Savage's first victims?" Pete asked.

"Maybe they weren't," Cassie stated.

"Cassie's right. If Dr. Savage is on a path of revenge, she isn't going to start there or stop here." Freddie said.

"I'll see if I can find the other members of the think tank," Gabe said as he goes to the hub. "I also managed to do a little research on Dr Savage. She graduated from Harvard at age nineteen with a Ph.D. in thermal science and cryogenics. By age twenty-four, she got her doctorate."

"So basically a genius," Millie asked.

"Basically," Gabe said. The computer beeps. "I got a hit on Dr Rogers. He'd relocated to the Hamptons two years ago."

"Interesting. Almost everyone in this think tank is living the good life." Cassie stated.

"Probably because my dad bought their silence," Gabe said as he looked at more of the info and he seemed more and more horrified.

"You found something else?" Freddie asked, noticing the look on Gabe's face.

"Yeah," Gabe said grimly, he feels nauseous. "Dr. Rogers is dead."

A figurative chill ran through the room. "When did it happen?" Cassie asked.

"About a month ago. He was on his yacht with his much younger girlfriend and the boat capsized. They found the bottom hull of the ship frozen solid and cracked to pieces." Gabe explained. "The girlfriend survived but they didn't find Rogers' body until a few days later... completely frozen."

"Oh, my god." Millie gasped.

"Now there's only one person left in the think tank. Dr. Kavita Suresh." Cassie said. "We have to find her before Savage does."

Freddie finds several discs with the documents. "I think I got something."

This catches the attention of the others. "What is it?" Cassie asked.

Freddie hands Gabe the discs. "Think you can see what is in these?"

Gabe nods as he takes the discs. "Should take a couple of seconds."

"Good to see you're so modest about your skills." Millie quips.

Gabe ignores her comment and gets to work. "It looks like several video files. I'll pull them up."

He clicks on one of the files and it shows a very different-looking Gwyneth Savage speaking on a webcam. She had jet-black hair and soft brown eyes.

"This is Vlog 432012. Progress is moving quicker than expected. The flash freezing effects of HM-178 are incredible." Dr. Savage explained with surprising enthusiasm. "I can only hope that we can limit unwanted casualties."

The gang watches the footage. Freddie stares back at the screen, this wasn't the woman who had tried to kill David Morgan. She was happy. Showing actual emotion.

Gabe clicks on another video file of another one of Dr. Savage's Vlogs.

"This is Vlog 5132012. We haven't been able to find a way to transfer HM-178 into a visible component that won't degrade under the extreme conditions of the substance." Dr Savage explained, her demeanor seemed rattled. "Major Lowell and Mr. Morgan keep debating whether HM-178 is even worth the testing. I trust Mr Morgan but Lowell is a glorified ape in military regalia. Couldn't trust him to do anything ethical with it anyway which is ironic considering we are constructing a weapon to be used by the military. There's a part of me thinking Ryan was right and I shouldn't have taken this job."

"Ryan?" Pete asked.

"Ryan Moore was Gwyneth's live-in boyfriend and the one who reported her missing," Millie explained.

Cassie smirks "Guessing working at the precinct wasn't a bad idea."

"Especially since Leo is also working there too," Millie commented.

"Does your dad know?" Freddie asked.

"Not yet but I'll tell him. Not going let him tell me who I can or can't date." Millie said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Guys, I found something else," Gabe said. "And it isn't a Vlog."

They focus on the screen and see it was security footage of a laboratory. Dr. Savage was roughly arguing with a man in an army uniform. The members of the think tank tried calming her down.

"I'm guessing the guy in the uniform is Major Lowell." Cassie estimated.

The gang continues watching the video and sees Major Lowell grabs Dr. Savage by the shoulders. She got in his face and spat words at him.

"Does anybody know how to read lips?" Millie asked.

"Do it," Freddie spoke up and caught the gang's attention. He was saying the words as if he were reading from a piece of paper. "You don't have the guts. Do it."

They look back at the monitor and watch as the major push over a railing. They see Gwyneth lands in a large vat of chemicals, cringing at the sight of the doctor trying to get herself out of the vat.

"She absorbed those chemicals," Freddie said, shocked.

"I can't believe he did that," Millie said aghast.

"What's worse is that the think tank stood back and did nothing," Cassie said with a sickened expression.

"Guessing that's why she is killing them. She wants them to pay for what happened." Gabe replied. "But why go after my dad?"

"Blame the man in charge. His company was in charge of this and put her in this position." Pete said. "She wants anyone she feels is responsible to pay."

"Now we have to find both Dr. Suresh and Major Lowell before Dr. Savage adds them to her hit list," Freddie stated.

"That shouldn't be too hard." Gabe said typing "I found the doctor. She's speaking at a symposium on the NYU campus."

"When is the symposium?" Cassie asked.

Gabe sighs. "Tonight."

Freddie lets out a deep breath. This was going to be a long night.

•••

Outside of a lecture hall on the NYU campus, a thirty-year-old woman of Indian descent walks towards her car. She wore a dark blue turtleneck sweater underneath her long white overcoat and black pants. She goes to open her door but stops when someone calls out to her.

"Dr. Suresh!"

Kavita Suresh turns to find a familiar face walking towards her - Freddie's friend Brad Warner. He was in casual clothing and was bundled up in a jacket.

"You forgot your eyeglasses on the podium," Brad told her as he handed her the glasses.

"Oh. Thank you." Kavita said gratefully. "I always seem to forget things like this. I'd honestly lose my head if it weren't attached."

"No problem," Brad said. "I did enjoy your lecture."

"Thank you. Most people your age assume I'd be talking about self-aware machines or how to build a sexbot." Kavita joked.

"You weren't talking about that?" Brad said, playing coy.

Kavita grins "I would save the flirting for someone your age."

"I'd let him do it." A voice called out.

Kavita and Brad turn and see Gwyneth Savage standing a few feet away. Her frightening and icy visage worried the two.

"Might be the last human interaction you ever have," Gwyneth said, making her way toward her. Each footstep leaves an icy imprint.

"Do you know her?" Brad asked Kavita.

"I-I-" Kavita began until she got a good look at the strange woman. "Gwyneth? Is that you?"

"Did you miss me?" Gwyneth said coldly.

"I-I thought you were dead," Kavita said.

"That's the same thing Cartwright and Jenkins stated," Gwyneth said. "Surprised them too... Right before I killed them."

Kavita looks at Brad. "Go get help. Hurry."

After some hesitation, Brad goes to run but Gwyneth fires a blast of ice at his right foot, stopping him dead in his tracks. He struggles to get his foot free.

"Leave him alone! He has nothing to do with this!" Kavita replied, trying to remain composed.

"You are right, Vita," Gwyneth said. "He's just collateral damage." She places her hand over Kavita's neck. The cold air chilled Kavita to the bone. "Besides, I only have eyes for you."

Kavita sobs with pure terror on her face.

Suddenly a blast of electrical energy hits Dr. Savage and knocks her backward. Gwyneth, Kavita, and Brad look up to see Pulse standing on top of a delivery truck.

"Here I was expecting some horrible ice pun." Freddie joked as he leaped down from the vehicle. "Thanks for not lowering my expectations."

Gwyneth stares at him as Kavita runs behind Pulse. "I take it you're Pulse. The masked vigilante everyone has been talking about."

"Guess my reputation precedes me," Freddie said. He walks toward a trapped Brad and frees his foot from the ice with a strong punch. "Are you all right?"

Brad rubs his ankle in pain and nods as Pulse hands him to Kavita.

"Get inside," Freddie ordered Kavita and Brad.

"No one's going anywhere," Gwyneth said, getting to her feet and pointing at Kavita. "We have unfinished business."

Gwyneth unleashes a blast of icy energy at Kavita but a Pulse uses electrical energy to block the attack and prevent it from hitting Kavita.

"Sorry, but no one is getting hurt on my watch," Freddie said. He turns to face Kavita. "Get out of here! Go!"

Kavita carries Brad inside the lecture hall without hesitation.

"This doesn't concern you," Gwyneth stated. "Go chase some purse snatcher or carjacker and stay out of my way."

"I know what happened to you. What HM-187 did to you." Freddie said. "I know you want those responsible for it to pay. But this is not the way to go. You don't have to do this."

Gwyneth stares at him with a stoic wonder.

•••

Inside the lecture hall, Kavita and Brad place furniture in front of the door. Brad looks out of a window and pulls out his cell phone.

"Are you calling the police?" Kavita asked.

"Not yet. First I'm gonna get footage of Pulse." Brad said as he aimed his camera phone at the window.

"Is that important?" Kavita asked, annoyed.

"There's a 100,000 dollar reward for anyone who gets footage of him. This kinda takes precedence." Brad said as he films what was going on.

•••

"You're attempting to reason with me?" Gwyneth said. "You assume that I am irrational. Fueled by my emotions?" She unleashes a blast of icy energy at Pulse which he barely can roll out of the way of. "HM-187 robbed me of any kind of emotional responses. So in other words, I feel nothing."

Before she could unleash another blast, Gwyneth is hit in the chest by a blast of electricity from Pulse. She rears back in pain and looks at Pulse.

"You might be able to feel emotions, but I'm guessing you can still feel pain," Freddie said as he hit her with another stream of electricity.

Gwyneth howls in pain and falls to her knees. She glares at him and with a fluid motion, encases Pulse inside a shell of ice. He pounds on the thick ice shell to get free.

Police sirens are heard in the distance. Gwyneth sees two squad cars pull up to the scene. She stares at them as the men pull out their weapons.

"Freeze!" One of the policemen said.

Gwyneth tilts her head to the side. "Oddly enough, I was going to say the same thing to you."

With that comment, she blasts at the men and their cars with a powerful blast of ice. All of the officers were able to get inside the cars to safety but get sealed inside the car.

Gwyneth looks back at the trapped superhero and the police officers and simply walks off into the night.

From across the street, a shadowy figure standing on a rooftop. They were observing the situation go south for Pulse and he pulled out a bow and arrow. He fires the arrow at the icy shell that slowly starts to crack on impact;

As the shell cracks, Pulse manages to break out of his shell using his strength. He gasps for air and looks around and sees the arrow laying in front of him. He pockets it and sees Gwyneth was gone but the police officers were trapped inside their cars.

Pulse rushes towards the cars and sees the terrified men trapped inside. "Get down!" The men did as instructed and got down, covering their heads. He places his hands on both hoods of the cars. With a stream of lightning, it cracks the ice and shatters the windows.

The officers look up and see they are no longer trapped and Pulse offers his hand to help the nearest officer out of the car. The officer stares at Pulse but takes a helping hand as he and the other officers got out of the cars.

Kavita and Brad ran out of the lecture hall and she ran into the arms of one of the officers.

Brad focuses his camera on Pulse who runs off and jumps onto the delivery truck and the roof of the lecture hall, disappearing.

"That was... awesome!" Brad exclaimed.

•••

The following day, Danny and Victor examined the area outside the lecture hall where Pulse and Savage's elemental fight took place.

"Savage tried to murder another scientist," Victor stated. "Dr. Ravita Suresh."

"Only she survived... Thanks to the Walking Lightning Rod." Danny stated. "We got several witnesses including a couple of uniformed officers who responded to the scene who Pulse saved after being ice sealed in their cars."

"Where is she now?" Victor asked.

"Back the precinct, under close watch. We'll interview her as soon as we get there." Danny said, still observing the scene.

"Do you still think Pulse is dangerous?" Victor asked.

Danny snaps at him. "I'm not really in the mood for a philosophical argument with you about whether or not this guy is doing the right thing!"

Victor was thrown by the outburst "Is everything all right? You've been acting like this since you talked to your mom."

"I don't want to talk about it," Danny stated but Victor didn't back off. "The reason my mom came to visit was to tell me that she found something out about my dad."

"What did she find out?" Victor asked.

"Apparently after he abandoned us, he married this other woman and had two children with her," Danny told his partner.

"But that's not what made you so upset?" Victor stated.

"She told me she and my father were never married so I'm the bastard son of some deadbeat lowlife," Danny said quite heated. "And now I have two siblings I don't even know about. I want to find out who they are but I wouldn't know where to start."

"I assumed your detective skills were good?" Victor joked.

"They are but I'm emotionally compromised. I could end up making a mistake and let my emotions cloud my judgment." Danny said. "Miss something important in my search."

"Wish I could help," Victor said and he thought for a second. "But I might know someone who can."

Danny looked up at him, and his curiosity peaked.

•••

Back at the dorm, Freddie was covered with a blanket, still shivering after being in the ice shell. He was now in a blue T-shirt and pajama bottoms.

Cassie sat on the bed in front of him, holding a cup of warm liquid in her hands. She wore a sleeveless red top with blue jeans and black high-heeled ankle boots and her blond hair was in a ponytail.

"I-I o-officially h-hate that woman, s-so m-much." Freddie shivered.

Cassie chuckles at this as she hands him the warm beverage. "Here, this ought to warm you up."

Freddie raises an eyebrow after taking a sip. "Umm… this isn't coffee."

Cassie shakes her head. "It's hot chocolate. I even had them put two big marshmallows in it."

Freddie smiles a bit as he takes another sip. "Thanks... but how did you know that's how I liked my hot chocolate?"

Cassie sighed and looks down, taking him by the hand. "Lenny told me. Said he managed to get Marissa to let him give you hot chocolate. Said the first time you tried it, he put two huge marshmallows inside. That there was a huge smile on your face on your first sip."

Freddie gives her a small smile and he gently squeezes her hand. "Thanks. This time it's for telling me about my dad. My mom doesn't like to talk about him too much. And by that, I mean never."

"I get why your mom was upset by having Lenny. If it were me, I would react the same way... well without the borderline psychosis." Cassie said which made Freddie smile.

"I love my mom but she does drive me nuts," Freddie said. He then pulls out something he had been hiding, the arrow that freed him from the ice.

Cassie looks at the arrow and then at her nephew. "Where'd you get that?"

"Found it on the ground after I got free from the ice," Freddie told her, still shivering. "I think that's what broke the ice."

"May I see that?" Cassie asked as Freddie handed the arrow to her. She checks it and seems odd to her. "What kind of person uses arrows?"

"An assassin or mercenary? Maybe that Raina lady-"

"No," Cassie said adamantly. "I doubt she would've saved you. Even if she was paid to, she doesn't use arrows. She uses bladed weapons."

Freddie takes the arrow back and hides it. "Looks like I have a mystery on my hands."

Before Cassie could say anything, Gabe, Millie and Pete walk through the door. Gabe was wearing a gray button shirt with an unbuttoned black vest, black pants, and black boots. Millie wore a long-sleeved vertically striped pink and gray top with tight black pants and heels. Pete wore a long-sleeved black shirt with dark jeans.

"What happened?" Freddie asked as he tucks the arrow away.

"They said they're postponing classes to let students recover from Professor Jenkins' 'untimely passing'." Gabe said holding up quotation marks over 'untimely passing.'

"I'm starting to wonder if anyone will graduate at the rate things are going," Freddie said jokingly, still shaking.

"You okay?" Millie asked.

"Yeah, just not used to being trapped inside a block of ice," Freddie said.

"Wait till you get to December. It'll make you appreciate that the worst weather you got in Seattle was a lot of rain when it's like ten degrees below zero." Gabe retorts.

"And it could've been a lot worse," Cassie stated.

"Thanks, Mom." Freddie retorts sarcastically.

"Take that back!" Cassie said, pointing her finger at him, which made the others laugh. Cassie looks at Pete, "How'd recon go? Did you see where they took Dr Suresh?"

"Yeah, they took her back to the precinct. Got her under close watch." Pete stated.

"Same with my dad. Police have been guarding him since last night and he's stepped up his security." Gabe said but a small smirk came upon his face. "Although he did sound rather frantic over the phone. Something about some masked punk breaking into the Archives."

Millie stares at him, grinning. "You must be loving seeing your dad squirming like this?"

"That part doesn't suck," Gabe said. "If he is behind all of this, he deserves the indirect level of torture."

"Guys, we've got bigger things to worry about right now," Cassie said.

"Cassie's right. The next step is to find Savage and stop her before she hurts any more people." Freddie replied, getting back to business.

"Only problem is we don't know where she goes. Where she's hiding out." Gabe said.

Millie has a thought. "Maybe someone does?"

"What do you mean?" Freddie asked, getting up from the pillow he had been reclining on.

"Her boyfriend, Ryan Moore, reported her missing two years ago. I think he might be protecting her or know where she is." Millie said. "We should keep a close eye on him. He might tell us where she is or leads us straight to her."

The boys and Cassie look at each other and then at Millie. "That's not a bad idea," Cassie stated smiling.

"Guess the best idea is usually the simplest," Gabe said which caused Millie to smack him in the shoulder. "Ah! That was a compliment!"

"Sure didn't sound like one," Millie said smiling.

"Gabe, were you able to locate Major Lowell?" Freddie asked.

Gabe shakes his head. "I tried looking him up in all government records. Military intelligence, CIA, NSA, the guy is nowhere to be found."

"How is that possible?" Millie asked.

"I'm not surprised. There are government agencies whose job is to make people disappear." Pete stated. "Some agencies most people don't even know about."

The other four look at him curiously.

Gabe finally breaks the silence and looks at Pete then at Cassie "If THAT doesn't scare you, you're a braver person than I."

Cassie rolls her eyes.

Freddie's eyes furrow and suddenly his Pearphone vibrates. "It's a text from Brad." He said without looking at the caller ID.

"Didn't he go to the hospital after his foot got iced?" Millie asked.

"Yeah, he might've just sprained his ankle," Freddie said, opening the message. "Just happy my punch didn't cause the ice to shatter his ankle altogether."

"What does he want?" Gabe asked curiously.

"Wants me to turn on the TV. Says they're talking about Pulse." Freddie said.

Cassie goes over to the TV and turns it on where a news program was playing with a blond-haired female anchor speaking.

"In local news, the mysterious masked vigilante known as Pulse has been caught on video." The anchor said.

Freddie, who had taken a sip of his hot chocolate, swallowed too quickly and coughs a bit after nearly choking on the hot liquid.

The rest of the gang reacts with a mixture of looks ranging from panic to excitement and mild amusement.

"The footage comes courtesy of the internet news site 'The Spotlight' who had been holding a contest called 'Hunt For Pulse', a viral marketing contest with a prize of 100,000 dollars" The anchor explained as they aired the footage.

The footage was of Pulse fighting Dr. Savage from a vantage point that appeared to be from above a high-rise building. They show Gwyneth trapping Pulse inside the ice shell and then trapping the cops inside their police cruisers.

"Authorities will not comment on the identity of the woman in the video but warn the public that if they see her, do not approach under any circumstances." The anchor said. "She is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous."

"'Armed'? Guess that's what you say when you can't say she can shoot icy blasts from her hands." Millie said jokingly.

"Brad didn't send that in," Freddie stated, still stunned. The gang looks at him. "He was in the lecture hall close by. I know him well enough that he could've gotten much better footage from close range, even with a camera phone."

"Priorities, kiddo. We got a job to do." Cassie stated.

Freddie sighs and starts handing out assignments. "Gabe, go back to the hideout and see if you can look up more on Project Sub-Zero."

"Can't go back to the Pulse Cave," Gabe stated as the others look at him. "What, the name isn't that bad. Rather catchy."

Millie smirks proudly.

"Why can't you go back?" Cassie asked.

"After Dr. Suresh was attacked, my dad decided to have some of his security detail follow me and my mom around to make sure Dr. Savage didn't come after us," Gabe explained. "But I managed to upload some of the info on the discs onto my Pearbook and I'll work on it here. I'll just need a flash drive that can directly connect me to the hub."

"I'll stop by the... Pulse Cave-" Cassie snickers which causes Millie to glare at her. "Sorry. I'll pick it up for you. Maybe give a bit of a hand with my investigator skills since my tech skills are lacking."

"Thanks," Gabe replied.

"Can you also try another search for Major Lowell," Freddie asked Gabe. "There's no way a person just falls off the face of the Earth like this without leaving a trace of a trail."

Gabe nods "Never hurts to look again. I'll see what I can find."

Freddie looks at Millie. "I want you to take Pete back to the precinct. The two of you can keep a close watch on Dr. Suresh."

"Works for me," Millie said.

"What do I do if Savage does show up?" Pete asked.

"Contact me as soon as you can. I'll try to get there quickly then she and I can have round two." Freddie said bitterly.

"A little overconfident considering she nearly turned you into Freddie-icle." Gabe quips. Freddie scowls at him. "And what you gonna be doing, oh fearless leader?"

"I have to look into something," Freddie said. "Something important."

•••

At St James Hospital, Freddie walks into the urgent care wing, wearing a blue button-up shirt with dark blue jeans and black Chuck Taylors, where he sees Brad. His ankle was bandaged and he was on crutches.

"Hey," Freddie announced which caught Brad's attention. "Got your texts. How are you doing?"

"Better. The doctor said it was just a sprain." Brad said, indicating his bandaged left ankle. "I'm just thankful I didn't get frostbite and probably would've lost my foot."

Freddie takes a deep breath, knowing the injury could have been worse. "I still can't believe you saw Pulse."

"I know. He just showed up out of nowhere. It was awesome." Brad said.

"Y-you manage to get him on camera?" Freddie asked. Part of him wasn't sure if Brad did get him on camera.

"I did. I was close enough to get some really good footage." Brad stated excitedly. "But I didn't send it to The Spotlight."

Freddie raises an eyebrow. "Why not? It was 100,000 dollars. If it were me, I would've sent it in."

Brad motions for him to sit in the chairs in the waiting area. He hobbled there on his crutches while Freddie followed him and sat down next to him.

"Because of this." Brad pulls out his camera and shows Freddie the video he took.

Freddie watches the video and moments from the night before playing back in his mind. The last part of the video he sees is Pulse freeing the police officers from their iced-over cars and him reaching out to pull one of the officers from the car.

"I don't get it. This is good." Freddie said, playing a part. "You could've easily won with this."

"Because this guy isn't just a vigilante. Dude's a hero." Brad stated as Freddie stared at him a bit puzzled. "The police have been looking for him to bring him in and he saved them. He could've easily taken off to protect himself from being caught. But he didn't."

Freddie hands Brad back his phone. "So that makes him a hero?"

"You don't think so?" Brad asked.

Freddie stares at the floor for a moment until his eyes furrow.

Brad gets a text and reads the message. "It's my roommate. He's giving me a ride back to campus."

Freddie nods as he helps his friend back to his feet. "So, what are you going to do with the video?"

"Don't know. Maybe I'll post it SplashFace." Brad said, looking at his phone. "Won't get any money off it but the world needs to know Pulse isn't just some vigilante who beats up thugs."

"He's a hero. Got it." Freddie said smiling "When you do post it, I'll view it more than once."

"Awesome," Brad exclaimed. "Text ya later."

Freddie nods as Brad leaves the urgent care wing. He walks to leave the hospital but stops to see Jane Louis walk inside.

"Oh. Hey, Freddie." Jane exclaimed in a surprised manner.

"Hey," Freddie said nervously.

"What are you doing here?" Jane asked.

"I was visiting a friend. He was in the urgent care unit." Freddie said.

"Is he okay?" Jane asked.

"Yeah, it was just a sprained ankle. Told me he had a run-in with Pulse." Freddie replied.

"No way." Jane retorts. "That's so cool."

"Yeah," Freddie replied with a nervous laugh. "So, why are you here?" He cringes at his remark, though he sounded rude.

"My dad is meeting with a specialist to discuss his condition," Jane said.

"Is he getting any better?" Freddie asked.

Jane looks down. "I wish I could say yes but that'd be lying." She begins to tear up.

Freddie nervously reacts by pulling out a travel pack of tissues from his back pocket. "Here."

Jane laughs through her tears and accepts the tissues. "I'm not even going to ask why you have tissues in your back pocket."

"Despite my mother's insanity, she did teach me a few things," Freddie said. "One of them being that a smart boy always comes prepared for anything."

Jane smiles as she wipes the tears from her eyes. "Thanks." She looks back at the boy she had broken up with and sighs. "I need to apologize."

"For what?" Freddie asked.

"For the way things ended between us," Jane said and Freddie sighs. "It's not that I didn't want it to work, it's just-"

"You don't have to apologize," Freddie said, putting his arms up. "You were right, we're both in different places in our lives. A relationship was just complicating things for the both of us."

Jane smiles at him. "I think so. I just wanted it to work out. I've never really had a serious relationship so this was a little new to me."

"I've had one serious relationship and I still don't have a handle on it," Freddie stated which made Jane laugh.

"I think we're just better off as friends," Jane said.

"I'm pretty good at that whole 'just friends' thing," Freddie said smiling.

Jane notices the wristband on Freddie's wrist - the wristband she had given him. "You kept it."

"Uh, yeah. Guess I did." Freddie said and he began to take it off. "If you want it back-"

Jane stops him, holding his wrist. "Keep it. Think of it as a gift from a friend." Freddie smiles. "I've gotta go. See ya around."

"Yeah, see ya," Freddie stated.

Jane walks off and Freddie begins to leave but she calls out to him. "Hey!" He turns around to face her. "Whoever your next girlfriend turns out to be, she's gonna be one lucky girl."

Freddie smiles sheepishly and she enters the elevator. His eyes furrow then pulls out his Pearphone before it rings, it was Gabe. "What did you get?"

"Found Ryan Moore. He's living in an apartment on the Lower East Side." Gabe said. "Another piece of info, he owned a restaurant called 'The Ice House', which served high-end frozen entrees but it closed down last year. The place was touted for having the city's largest industrial strength freezer and an air conditioning system that kept the place extremely cold."

"I think that Moore knowing where Savage is sounding more and more likely," Freddie said.

"Seems that way," Gabe stated. "He's now working as a chef for an upscale restaurant called the Lakehouse. He's known for making the best Gelato in the city."

"Starting to notice a theme here." Freddie retorts. "Got an address and a phone number for the Lakehouse?"

"Both actually, why?" Gabe asked.

Freddie smirks, an idea forming. "Thinking of placing an order."

•••

Cassie, now sporting her tan leather jacket over her red top, was on her phone talking to Gabe. "I got the flash drive. Yeah, it's where you said it was. Just gotta pick up something at my apartment." She rounds the corner and finds Danny standing in front of her apartment. "I'll call you back. Don't worry. I'll be there soon."

She hangs up and walks over to them. Danny sees Cassie approach "Where were you?" Danny asked.

"Sorry my life doesn't revolve around you, Danny Boy," Cassie said, mildly amused.

"I don't have time to engage in a war of words, Natasha," Danny said as Cassie folds her arms over her chest. "I need professional help."

"Might I suggest a therapist?" Cassie said sardonically. She walks past Danny to go to the door to her apartment and goes to unlock it.

"I'm being serious," Danny stated. "I need your help. As in, help from a private investigator."

Cassie looks back at him. "Why do you need a private investigator?"

"Can we talk in private? I r-really don't feel like airing my d-dirty laundry out here." Danny said, stammering a bit. Cassie began to speak again but he stopped her. "I w-wouldn't have come to you if it w-weren't important. P-Please."

Cassie stares at him and sees the sincerity in his eyes. Noticing the anxiety in his voice. She finishes unlocking the door and opens it then extends her arm to welcome him inside. "Come in."

Danny breathes a sigh of relief and walks inside.

Cassie takes a deep breath, walks inside, and shuts the door.

Danny inspects the condition of the apartment, a coffee mug sitting on the counter with a bit of coffee left over. Some of her rejected clothing choices on her couch.

Cassie notices his seemingly judgmental eye. "Don't you even make comments on how I am messy? I am not in"

"I-I told you that's not why I-I'm here," Danny told her.

Cassie raises an eyebrow at his speech patterns. "Didn't figure you for having a stutter."

Danny scoffs as he clears his throat to regain his composure. "I don't let people know much about me. Especially strangers and, no offense, but I don't know much about you."

Cassie nods. "I get it. I'm not the most open person but that doesn't mean I wouldn't mind hearing people out. Even you."

"Gee thanks," Danny said dryly.

"So, whatever you want to hire me for, out with it," Cassie replied whilst sitting on her couch. "I'm all ears."

"Sure about that?" Danny said, surprisingly snarky.

Cassie gives him a spiteful glare and bites her bottom lip. "You gonna make smart mouth comments or do you want my help?"

Danny gulps and clears his throat. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"That's more like it, Dan Dan," Cassie said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Tell me how I can help you."

Danny takes a deep breath. He had to get this off his chest.

•••

Pete pulls up to the precinct on his motorcycle with Millie riding with him. He turns off the bike and turns to see Millie clutching onto him for dear life.

"We're here," Pete announced. "You can let go."

Millie realizes she still had a vice-like grip on his abdomen. "Oh." She lets go. "Sorry."

Pete makes a pained expression, takes a breath, and smiles. He and Millie remove their helmets as he notices her anxiety. "You all right?"

"Yes. Maybe. Not really." Millie said, not sounding convincing. "With Savage out for blood, I don't feel safe being in the same building as one of her targets."

"Don't worry about it, Sunshine," Pete reassured her. "I'll be close. Make sure nothing bad happens to you or the doctor."

Millie grins a bit but quickly looks down to hide her blushing face. "My dad's gonna ask what you're doing here? You know that, right?"

"I can handle your dad. I like him but I'm not afraid of standing my ground." Pete simply said.

Millie nods as the two head inside.

•••

Inside the precinct, Millie walks inside with Pete close behind. She looks around and finds Leo reviewing data then walks over to him. "Hey!"

Leo looks up and smiles "Hey.."

"So, how are things with the Savage case?" Millie asked.

"Well, things have gotten a lot more interesting since this morning," Leo said. "There was a fight between two people with superpowers, never thought it would ever happen in my lifetime."

Millie laughs nervously. "That so?"

Pete looks around and sees Victor speaking with Captain Thompson inside his office. Victor seems to be explaining something to him, a conversation Pete can't hear. The words Pete could make out were 'ambush', 'SWAT team', and 'Pulse'.

After a moment, Victor comes out of the office as Pete acts nonchalantly and begins to walk away. Victor notices Pete trying to make his exit. "Hey!"

Pete stops and turns to look at Victor. "Yes?"

"You're a friend of Cassie, right?" Victor asked.

"I am," Pete answered.

"What are you doing here?" Victor asked.

"Cassie asked me to watch out for Millie," Pete told him.

"Why did she tell you to do this?" Victor asked.

"Because you have the target of a madwoman bent on revenge in a holding cell with your daughter within range," Pete explained. "Millie's worried about her well-being as well as yours."

"Are you telling me how I should be protecting my daughter?" Victor asked bitterly.

"No sir. Just expressing some concern, that's all." Pete said as he walked off.

Victor plans to follow Pete but his attention focuses on Millie talking with Leo. He sees Millie laughing and touching Leo's shoulder which causes Victor to walk over to them.

"Oh, hi Daddy," Millie said.

Victor glares at Leo and remains silent for a moment until Leo speaks up. "So, this is your dad?"

Millie nods. "He is."

"You have the nerve to make a move on my daughter, Mr Maxwell?" Victor said with a hushed but angry tone.

"Sir-" Leo anxiously began.

"It's okay, Leo. I'll tell him." Millie said confidently. "Dad, remember the rave from the other night? The reason you're now stepping up the overprotective father act?"

Victor takes a deep breath. "Yes."

"Well, before everything went to crap, I met a boy. Leo is that boy." Millie said as she goes over and links her arm to Leo's. "Leo and I are dating."

"Are you?" Victor said, thrown by the revelation.

"Yes, and if he loses his job with the CSU to dissuade him from dating him, I will never forgive you." Millie threatened.

"I didn't have plans-" Victor said but Millie gives him a look of 'Please don't stand there and lie to me.' "You must like him."

"I do," Millie stated bravely.

"And I like her too," Leo announced to Victor. "A lot."

Millie blushes.

Victor looks at Leo who stood by Millie. He approaches the young man and whispers in his ears. "If you so much as think of breaking her heart, there will be no place to hide from me. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Leo said nervously.

"Good, now you two get back to work," Victor stated and the two young people did so.

Millie goes over to the desk where Oswald was waiting. She looks back at Leo who smiles at her while he goes to sit at his desk.

•••

Meanwhile, back at Cassie's apartment, Cassie sat on her couch watching Danny pace a bit. She remained quiet to let Danny finish his story and decides to speak up once she knows he was completely done. "So that's it?"

Danny stops and looks at her. "What else do you need to know?"

"Not much, I got the gist of it. Your mom found out your deadbeat dad married and had children with another woman." Cassie stated in a matter-of-fact manner. "Now the other woman decided to contact your mother out of the blue for some unexplained reason. Am I missing anything?"

"No, you pretty much got it," Danny said, continuing his pacing.

Cassie had quickly become annoyed by the constant pacing and calls out. "Hey, Dudley Do-Right, want to watch it with the 'back and forth'. Going to wear a hole in my floor and I would like to keep the safety deposit."

"Right. Sorry." Danny stops and goes to sit next to Cassie on the couch.

"So you want me to find out who this mystery woman is?" Cassie said.

"Not just that," Danny stated. "She told my mom she has two daughters and that my dad abandoned them just like he abandoned me and my mom. I want to find my sisters."

Cassie smiles at him. "You sure you want ME to find them?"

"Vic said you were the best PI he knew," Danny said.

"Funny because a month or so ago, he said I was just a discount gumshoe." Cassie scoffs.

"Well, he thinks highly of you now. I think it's because of how close you are to Millie." Danny said.

"Probably." She retorts. "Here's what I don't get, couldn't you just use your own detective skills to find them? You seem fairly decent at your job."

"Um thank you." Danny said in a mildly insulted tone "I can find her but I think I need someone who can work outside the system." Cassie scoffs at this. "I'm not saying you should break the law but I'm restricted by my badge."

"And I can go places you can't?" Cassie said.

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't desperate," Danny said with genuine worry. "I need to find them."

Cassie sighs and looks up at him smiling. "I'll do it... but I'm not working for free. Got it?"

Danny shakes his head and drops his shoulders. "All right, fine."

Cassie's Pearphone vibrates and she looks to see a text message from Gabe that reads 'Where r u?!'

"But we'll discuss payment later, I've gotta go," Cassie told him as they both got up from the couch. "Case I'm working is gonna keep busy for the rest of the day."

"Anything serious?" Danny said.

"Nothing like what the police deal with," Cassie said. "Like people who can shoot ice from their hands."

Danny smirks "You obviously saw the video?" Cassie nods. "Makes dealing with Pulse look like a cakewalk, huh?"

"I'd say so," Cassie said as she walks him out the door. "Once we're both free, we can discuss locating your half-sisters."

"Thank you," Danny said as he left.

Cassie shuts the door and lets out a deep breath. She walks to her bedroom and grabs her hunting knife and holster that hung on the headboard of her bed.

Cassie checks the blade and places it back in the holster. She straps the holster on her leg, covers the knife with her pant leg, and goes to leave her apartment.

•••

At the Lakehouse restaurant, a hostess was looking at the front of the restaurant. She was blond and perky and seemed like the perfect hostess.

Suddenly, the phone rings and she answers it with almost a smile in her voice. "Hello, this is the Lakehouse, this is Jordan. How can I help you?"

"Hello there Jordan, this is Peeta Goodwin." A man with a British accent spoke on the other end. "I'm looking for one of your chefs, Ryan Moore?"

"Oh, um, he's actually not here until dinner. Can I ask why you'd like to speak to him?" Jordan asked.

"Well, I'm the producer from the Food Channel and I would like to discuss with him the prospect of making a show with him as our host," Peeta told her.

"Oh wow. That's amazing." Jordan said excitedly.

"Yes, I would actually like to speak with him personally regarding this matter," Peeta told her. "Tonight if possible."

"Um, okay," Jordan said.

"Tell him to meet me in the parking lot of the restaurant around 7 o'clock tonight. I'll be waiting for him wearing a dark suit." Peeta told her.

"Okay, I'll make sure he gets the message, Mr Goodwin." Jordan said, writing down the information.

•••

On a pay phone in a subway tunnel, Freddie was speaking in a British accent. He was Peeta Goodwin. "Excellent. Tell Chef Moore I'll be looking forward to meeting him."

Freddie hangs up and sees a train arrive. He goes up to it as an elderly Hispanic woman nervously tries to cut through the crowd. "Let me help." He said to the woman in his normal speaking voice.

"Thank you." The woman said as the doors to the train opened and passengers stepped inside. He sits her in a seat and he remains standing up. "You're a good boy, mijo."

Freddie laughs nervously as the doors close.

•••

Back at the precinct, Victor and Danny question Dr Kavita Suresh who was still rattled by her ordeal.

"Just tell us, why Dr. Savage wants you dead?" Victor asked.

Kavita looks at him and bluntly states. "That's classified."

"Doctor, we can't help you unless you let us in on her motives," Danny stated. "Why does she want you dead?"

"I-I can't," Kavita said.

"Why not?" Danny asked.

"Because we were sworn to secrecy. We were told to keep everything under wraps." Kavita stated.

"By whom? David Morgan?" Victor asked bitterly.

"No, he only gave us what we needed to start over. He felt as guilty as we did." Kavita stated.

"Then who told you to cover it up?" Victor asked.

Kavita stares at him straight in his eyes. "Major Lewis Lowell. He was the military head supervising the testing for HM-187."

"What is HM-187?" Danny asked.

"It's a chemical Dr Savage had created and the Major wanted to turn it into a military weapon," Kavita said. "But the project was shut down after-"

"After what, Doctor?" Victor asked.

Kavita sobs, she tries catching her breath. "There was an accident. Dr. Savage... Gwyneth fell into a vat of HM-187."

"Oh, my god," Danny uttered.

"We thought she died. We thought she was dead." Kavita said bursting into tears, overcome with grief and shame over her actions.

•••

Victor and Danny walk back to their desk and recover from what they heard. "Sure as hell wasn't expecting that," Danny said.

"I know I wasn't." Victor nods as his phone rings and he sees the caller ID.

Danny notices the uneasiness of his partner. He mouths 'Is it him?'

Victor answers the phone in a low voice "Is this Loki?"

"Not this time." The disguised voice was Freddie's digitized Pulse voice.

"What can I help you with?" Victor said.

"Ryan Moore. I believe he is hiding Dr. Savage." Pulse stated.

"How do you know this?" Victor asked.

"Come to the corner of Lee and Kirby by eight, back alley," Pulse stated.

•••

At the dorm, Freddie was talking on a specialty phone with Cassie and Gabe looking on. "I'll have a present waiting for you."

He hangs up and looks at the others.

"Why eight?" Cassie asked.

"If I know Detective Flores, he's going to show up much earlier than that," Freddie said.

"Which means you'll have to-" before Gabe could finish the sentence, Freddie had taken off. Gabe seems impressed. "He's getting better at that."

Cassie just shrugs. She was impressed too but she hid it a bit better.

•••

At the Lakehouse, a man in a chef's coat and hat work the kitchen line during the dinner rush. He had short brown hair and soft brown eyes.

Jordan rushes into the kitchen. "Ryan!"

"Can't you see I'm busy? Trying to keep these sorbets from melting before they get to table nine." Ryan said in an agitated state.

"I forgot to tell you that some guy from the Food Channel called this afternoon," Jordan said which caught Ryan's attention. "Said he wants to meet you at seven."

"What's his name?" Ryan asked.

"It was... Peeta Goodwin." Jordan said reading it off a piece of paper. "He said he was a producer."

"Peeta? What kind of name is that?" Ryan said in disbelief.

"He had a British accent. Guessing he's foreign." Jordan said.

Ryan looks at the clock on the wall and sees it's 7:01. "And you could've told me half an hour ago?"

"I'm sorry. Look, maybe he's still out there." Jordan said hopefully. "He said he'd be wearing a dark suit or something."

Ryan tells one of the sous chefs to continue with his dish and he takes off his hat, handing it to Jordan. "You'd better be right."

•••

Ryan heads into the parking lot and looks around for a limousine or a fancy-looking car. "Mr Goodwin? Are you out here?"

"Yes and no."

Ryan looks in front of him and finds Pulse leaning against a car. He became terrified at the sight of the vigilante.

"I need to ask you something concerning your girlfriend," Freddie said in his disguised voice.

Ryan wasted no time and took off running but Pulse unleashes a mild shock ball at Ryan which knocks him out cold.

Pulse stands over him and hauls him over his shoulder.

•••

"I got him." Freddie is heard saying to Cassie on the com link.

"Well, you better hurry and interrogate him," Cassie said to him.

"Roger that," Freddie stated.

Cassie turns off the link and continues sharpening her hunting knife.

"Um, could you not get the metal shavings away from the carpet," Gabe said anxiously. "Those are a pain in the vacuum cleaner."

Cassie raises an eyebrow. "Like you're the one doing the vacuuming."

"Doesn't mean I don't respect good housekeeping," Gabe replies as he continues to type manically on his computer as Cassie looks on.

She silently watches the visibly shaken young man's typing become more erratic until she speaks. "Hey, Richie Rich." The words catch Gabe's attention. "Everything is going to be fine."

"A homicidal ice queen bent on revenge wants to kill my dad. How am I supposed to relax?" Gabe asked.

"Freddie is going to interrogate Ryan and find out where Dr. Savage is," Cassie assured him. "He's going to stop her."

Gabe exhales. "I don't know why I'm getting worked up about this. My dad spent my entire childhood treating me and my mom like we were some expensive designer watch he bought and never wears. Why do I even care whether or not this psycho turns him into a human Popsicle?"

Cassie pulls him onto the bed and sits him next to her. "Because he's your dad." The statement shakes him out of his apathy. "Look, I understand that parents aren't perfect, and from what I've heard, your dad sounds like a real jackass but that doesn't mean you don't love him. We expect our parents to be the best example for how we should live and it's difficult to face the idea that they aren't perfect."

"So, I should just forgive and forget?" Gabe asked. "Sweep everything under the rug and forget it ever happened."

"I'm not telling you to do anything, okay?" Cassie said. "He may be a colossal jerk who treated you and your mom like accessories but at the end of the day, he's still your dad."

Gabe looks up at her and smiles "I'll keep that in mind."

•••

In the lobby of the St George Hotel, the doorman sits reading a newspaper as three of David Morgan's bodyguards remain on guard.

Just then, a woman wearing a hoodie with platinum blond walks into the building. She walks up to the doorman. "Excuse me, can you tell me where I can find Gabriel Morgan?"

The doorman looks up and is horrified at the sight of the woman. "You- you're that woman from the news!"

Gwyneth grabs the doorman's shoulder and flash freezes him before he could even react.

The bodyguards in the lobby point their guns at the superpowered being.

"Guess I am," Gwyneth said to his frozen corpse. "Now who is going to tell me where he is?"

"Why would we do that?" One of the bodyguards asked.

"To be frank, I don't have time for this," Gwyneth said without turning around.

The three bodyguards get ready to open fire but she blasts them with several icicle projectiles which strike them all to kill them.

Gwyneth looks at the receptionist who was huddled behind the desk, looking terrified. "Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to search every single room to find him myself?"

The receptionist shivers from the cold and fear, nodding in agreement.

•••

In a back alley, Pulse had Ryan on the fire escape from the top of a building. "Gwyneth Savage, you know where she is and you're going to tell me."

Ryan looks behind him and scoffs. "I don't think you get the whole intimidation thing? If you want to scare somebody, pick a better spot. Fall from here isn't gonna kill me."

A smirk was hidden underneath Pulse's mask but not in his tone of voice. "I'm counting on it."

Pulse shoves Ryan backward, causing him to land hard on the ground below. The fall nearly shattered both of Ryan's ankles but he was seemingly okay.

Pulse jumps over the railing of the fire escape and lands on the ground gracefully as he goes up to Ryan and grabs him by the shirt collar.

"Where is she?" Freddie demanded.

"I don't know," Ryan said terrified. "I-I swear."

"You're lying!" Freddie stated. "People's lives are at risk if you keep protecting her."

Ryan laughs through his pain. "Lives of people who don't deserve to be saved. They thought they killed her, they covered it up and now they're all going to pay."

"Tell me where she is." Freddie retorts. "Do you care about her?"

Ryan stares at him. "I love Gwyneth. I always have, always will."

"Then tell me where she is, I can find a way to help her," Freddie said sincerely.

Ryan looks at him. "S-she said she needed to teach him a lesson."

"David Morgan?" Freddie asked, realizing he was the only man who still remained alive or accounted for who knew about Dr. Savage's accident.

"Y-yeah. She said she'd hit him right where it hurts." Ryan said.

"His checkbook?" Freddie assumed.

Ryan shakes his head. "His family."

Freddie realized what she meant and with horror in his voice said. "His son."

Pulse wasted no time and tied a rope around Ryan's ankles.

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked as police sirens were heard in the distance.

"You're gonna be a peace offering," Freddie said as he launched a grappling hook into the top of the building. "Hang tight."

A confused Ryan watches as the ripe he was tied up with quickly launches him in the air and leaves him hanging upside down.

"You crazy freak!" Ryan shouted.

Pulse ignores the remark, and takes off running at nearly blazing speed to save his friend.

•••

Back at the dorm, Cassie's com link activates and she responds. "Hey, Freddie, how'd it go? Did Moore tell you where she is?"

"Get Gabe out of there!" Freddie frantically yelled.

"Wait. What is it? What's wrong?" Cassie asked.

"Savage is coming for Gabe!" Freddie shouted.

Suddenly, the door began to bend from pressure and intense cold and it cracked and split open. The door flies open in shards as Cassie shields Gabe from the projectiles.

"Cassie? Cassie" Freddie's harried voice is heard saying but the link went dead.

"Cassie?" Gabe coughs at the debris in the air. "Are you all right?"

Gabe goes to check on her as Cassie tries to get up but the effort fills her with intense pain and he sees two large pieces of the door sticking in her back. He is shocked as Cassie instinctively reaches behind her and starts pulling out the shards

Gabe is startled by this impossible display as the wounds in her back start to heal.

The debris settles and Dr Gwyneth Savage stood at the door.

"Hello, Gabriel," Gwyneth said coldly. "Would you be so kind and come with me?"

Gabe was figuratively frozen in fear as he looked at Cassie. He quickly gets to his feet and defends himself by using his Pearbook as a shield.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Gabe snapped.

Gwyneth grabs the computer and it freezes and shatters in his hands. He is both disappointed and horrified.

"That's quite enough of that," Gwyneth said. "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Cassie slowly gets to her feet and pulls out her knife. "Honestly, Ice Queen, I prefer the hard way."

"Cassie, don't!" Gabe yelled.

Cassie goes to stab Gwyneth and slashes her across the face but the woman doesn't flinch. Gwyneth grabs Cassie's wrists and the pain causes her to drop her knife.

"Huh, impressive," Gwyneth said with no change in emotion.

Cassie recoils in pain as Gwyneth kicks her in the stomach to make Cassie slam hard against the wall. Gwyneth forms two long icicle spears in her hands and stabs Cassie in the abdomen.

"Cassie!" Gabe screams in horror as the spears pin Cassie to the wall.

Cassie grabs the spears in shock as she leans against them and drops into a seated position.

Gabe watched in horror as Cassie weakly slips into unconsciousness. Gwyneth walks over to Cassie's body and examines it.

"Hmm, she's quite durable. Fascinating." Gwyneth said as she balls up her first which radiates with cold. "Wonder if she stays that way if I freeze her as well."

"No!" Gabe yelled which caused Gwyneth to stop. "I'll go wherever it is you want me to go. Just… don't."

Gwyneth stares at him, her stern expression remaining unchanged. "Follow me."

She walks out the door as Gabe reluctantly walks past Cassie's body. He felt a pang of guilt over the loss of his friend.

"Move or I will change my mind about sparing her form." Gwyneth's voice called to him.

Gabe inhales deeply and follows the doctor out of the room.

•••

Freddie, now wearing his civilian clothing and his battle armor inside his bag, leaps onto the roof of the St George and opens the door to the roof access stairwell.

Freddie runs down the hall and sees an icy path leading to his and Gabe's room. Shock stops him dead in his tracks but he quickly shakes it off and goes into his room.

Once in there, Freddie finds a disaster area as well as the beaten and bloody body of his Aunt Cassie pinned against the wall by two ice spears.

He was horrified at the sight as he made his way toward her. He kneels down and touches her face and neck but it and her entire body was ice cold.

"No." Freddie said, shaking his head in refusal "No. Please, no." Freddie becomes overcome with emotion as tears run down his face and begins to cry.

Suddenly, Cassie snaps awake and takes a deep breath which startles Freddie. She catches her breath and looks over and sees Freddie next to her.

"F-Freddie?" Cassie breathed, still feeling the cold and her skin returned to its natural color.

"Cassie? Are you okay?" Freddie asked, still thrown by what happened.

"I-I think so. The feeling is starting to come back to my legs." Cassie said as she wiggled her legs and toes. She pulls out the spears from her stomach and tosses them aside, "That… freaking hurt."

Freddie watches as the two open stab wounds fully heal as Freddie helps her up. "Are- are you okay?" he asked.

"I've been better but… I'm fine-" Freddie hugs Cassie tightly overjoyed she was alive. "Um, Freddie... Super strength... making it... hard to... breathe."

"Oh. Sorry." Freddie pulls away from her as he realizes something. "Not that I'm not glad you're alive but how ARE you alive?"

Cassie bites her lower lip and says "I heal, it's what I do."

Freddie is thrown by this revelation until he realizes something else. "Where's Gabe?"

"I think he went off with Savage. I don't think he had much choice." She said as Freddie helped her to her feet. "I think she wants to send Gabe's dad a message."

"I figured, why go after Gabe?" Freddie questioned.

"If I wanted revenge on the man you feel is responsible for an accident that doomed me to living with a condition where I could no longer touch another living being ever again without killing them, go after the one thing he loves the most." Cassie estimated

"His son." Freddie breathed.

Cassie wiggles her fingers. "What's our next move?"

Freddie thinks as he looks around the room. "Millie said they were already looking for Dr. Savage so we'd stand a slightly better chance of finding him if we had a little help."

"They help us without them knowing it," Cassie stated. "Good call." She looks to her left and finds the shards that she had pulled from her back then holds them up. The shards had traces of her blood.

"Um, where were those?" Freddie asked, staring at the bloody pieces of wood.

"Sticking into my back," Cassie said as she stared at the blood.

Freddie shudders in horror as he tosses the sticks aside. "Okay, after we rescue Gabe, we are going to have a long and serious discussion about you being a female version of Wolverine!"

Cassie raises an eyebrow. "No problem... bub." She looks at the sticks and the bloody ice spears. "But let's clean up my blood so that the cops aren't suspicious."

Freddie stares at her as she does some minor housekeeping, seeing her take the spears and dispose of them in the bathroom. "Why do I get the feeling that you've done this before?"

"We'll discuss this later!" Cassie called out from the bathroom.

"Yeah, okay," Freddie said nervously.

•••

In the alley, Ryan was captured in, two police cars are parked as a figure on the rooftops watches from above. Danny and Victor stood by a squad car where Ryan Moore stayed in the back. "Think he'll actually talk?"

"After what he experienced at the hands of Pulse, he'll be singing like a canary," Victor said.

Danny's phone rings and he answers. "Parker."

Captain Thompson pulls up in his car, gets out, and confronts Victor. "What is this? I thought you weren't going to let that vigilante do your job for you."

"Now isn't the time," Victor said. "I said I had a plan and I will handle it."

"For your sake, you'd better." Thompson spat.

Danny walks over to them. "Savage was spotted at the St George Hotel. She killed three of Morgan's bodyguards and took Gabriel Morgan hostage."

"Anyone living witnesses?" Victor asked.

"Cassie Sinclair." Danny gulped.

Both Thompson and Victor appear very worried.

•••

Thirty minutes later, Freddie and Cassie stood in the hallway outside the dorm as the CSIs finished their assessment of the scene. They both were in a panic over what had happened. Cassie was now wearing a dark blue sweatshirt over her top to hide the bloody shirt.

Victor and Danny step out of the room and walk over to the pair. "Are you two all right?" Victor asked.

Cassie looks to Freddie who nods and she looks back at the detectives "W-we think so. Yeah."

"How was this woman able to get the jump on you?" Danny asked.

"Y-you do realize I'm NOT really Black Widow, right?" Cassie stated.

Danny notices Cassie seems to be shivering. "You sure you're okay?"

"Y-yeah. I-I'm fine." Cassie stammered but before she could say anything else, Danny grabs her hands which catches Cassie off guard. "W-what are you doing?"

Danny feels her hands and stares at her. "Your hands are freezing."

"Poor circulation. Need to see a doctor about that." Cassie joked as she wiggled her fingers.

Danny touches her neck with his hands, caressing her with his palms. This surprises Cassie as well as Freddie and Victor. "So you also have poor circulation in your neck too? You're like ice."

Cassie grabs his wrists and grins playfully. "You trying to find an excuse to touch me, Dan Dan?"

Danny realizes what he is doing and backs away a bit. "Did Savage blast you?"

"Almost but Gabe got her to spare me and he left with her," Cassie said.

At that moment, David Morgan walks into the hallway. "What happened? Where is my son?"

"Calm down," Victor ordered. "You are supposed to remain in your penthouse until it is safe."

"I can't sit around and wait. Not when some psychopath has my son." David said, "What are you going to do to find him?"

"We'll do what it takes to find him," Danny informed him.

David turns to face Cassie with anger on his face. "Were you the one who was with my son when that woman burst in?"

"I was," Cassie said, not unnerved.

"Who are you?" David asked.

"This is my Aunt Cassie. Cassie, this is Gabe's dad David Morgan." Freddie introduced them.

"I gathered that," Cassie said.

All of a sudden, David roughly pushes her against the wall which catches everyone off guard. Especially Cassie.

"Now isn't the time for sarcasm," David said. "My son is out there and all you can do is make jokes."

Cassie scowls at him and manages to get free from his grasp. "And if it weren't for the fact that I know you're attacking me because you're upset, I would drop you right here." She said threateningly. "Don't use me as a scapegoat, Mr Morgan. Never works out well for those stupid enough to try."

David slowly backs away from Cassie as Freddie grabs his aunt by the hand.

"Is it alright if we go?" Freddie asked.

"I do recommend you stay away from the dorm for a while," Victor said. "This is technically still a crime scene."

"Then I'll take Freddie back to my apartment," Cassie said.

"Don't worry, Mr Morgan. They'll find Gabe, I know it." Freddie said.

"Thank you for the kind words, Fredward," David said.

Freddie and Cassie head down the hall towards the elevator as they got out of earshot. "And by 'they', you mean us."

Freddie nods as they enter the elevator. "I just hope we aren't too late to save him."

"Couldn't agree with you more, kiddo," Cassie said as the elevator doors closed.

•••

Inside a nearly frozen building, Dr. Gwyneth Savage marches around a large industrial-strength freezer. "Your father is responsible for this. Do you know that? He's responsible for what happened to me as well as what's going to happen to you."

She spoke to Gabe who was tied to a chair in the middle of the freezing room. He shivers from the cold air and looks up at Savage. "T-that might b-be t-true but at l-least h-he isn't s-some murdering psycho."

Savage gets in his face "You are lucky that I need you alive for the time being. Otherwise, you would be as dead as your blond friend."

Gabe sniffles and tries to keep his composure. "W-why?"

"Because I want your daddy to know what it's like to lose someone he loves," Savage stated.

Gabe scoffs. "He doesn't give a crap about me."

"You'll find out nothing isn't what it seems," Savage said.

Gabe glares at her. "H-he's gonna m-make y-you pay-"

"Who? Pulse? Why would HE care about you?" Savage asked. "He'd probably let you die."

"P-Pulse is one of the good guys and he's gonna stop you," Gabe said, staring at her with pure determination.

Gwyneth looks at him and smiles "I hope so. I want an audience."

Gabe gulps, trying to breathe.

•••

The gang was back in the Pulse Cave, Freddie is in front of the hub, typing madly on the keys of the computer as Cassie looks on.

Pete stood next to Millie and was on the phone with someone.

Freddie frantically types but stops in frustration. "Dang it!"

"Take it easy. It's okay." Cassie said to comfort him.

"I shouldn't be in front of a computer monitor right now," Freddie said, agitated. "I should be out there looking for Gabe."

"We don't know where to start looking," Cassie told him. "First we find out where Gwyneth is hiding, then you can go save the day. Okay?" Freddie nods and is about to go back to typing but stops. "What is it?"

"Maybe instead of looking for it, I can get it to tell me what I need to know," Freddie stated.

Cassie seems confused. "Okay, I'm lost."

Freddie places his right hand over the monitor and sparks come from his hand. Cassie was surprised by this as the computer started pulling up random information. His eyes spark with electricity as the info pull stops.

Freddie catches his breath as he sees what he gathered. "I think I got something."

"I'll call you back as soon as I hear anything," Millie said to the person on the other end. "Lucy, I promise. Okay, bye."

"Lucy knows Gabe's missing?" Cassie asked.

"I had to tell. Don't think she needs to be the last to know." Millie said.

"Technically she is," Freddie said frankly.

"Well, she doesn't need to know that." Millie retorts. "You said you found something."

"Yeah, Gabe told me Ryan Moore owned a restaurant that was shut down last year," Freddie said. "I think I got the address."

"Why would Savage hide there?" Pete asked.

"The place has a high-quality air conditioning system and… an industrial-strength walk-in freezer," Freddie stated.

"If I had ice powers, that'd definitely be my choice for a hideout for Wynter," Millie said, a statement that made everyone turn their heads. "What? Her name is Gwyneth, and she has ice powers, seems like a good fit for her."

Pete shrugs and says "She's not wrong."

"Anyway… Do you want to handle this on your own or do you want police backup?" Cassie asked her nephew.

Freddie stares at the screen with determination "No. Savage is mine."

As he goes to grab his battle suit, Millie speaks to Freddie. "Hey… do a favor?"

"I'll make sure to get Gabe back in one piece," Freddie told her.

"I know… but can you make sure to hit her extra hard for me," Millie said, a bit of malice in her voice. She doesn't like Wynter for what she's done.

Freddie turns his head and nods.

•••

Danny and Victor interrogate Ryan Moore who looks disheveled and annoyed. "I don't know why you're keeping me here. I haven't done anything." Ryan stated.

"We have reason to believe that you know Dr. Gwyneth Savage's whereabouts," Victor said.

"Dr. Savage is responsible for the deaths of five people, two counts of attempted murder, and now kidnapping," Danny stated. "If we find out you have been hiding her, you could be in serious trouble."

Ryan looks up at the detectives. "She's- she can't feel anything. Joy, sadness... love. That chemical robbed her of any kind of emotion. The only thing keeping her from becoming an ice automaton is her quest for revenge."

"You care about her, don't you?" Victor asks and Ryan nods. "Then tell us where she is and we might be able to help her."

Ryan laughs at the statement. "You sound like that guy in the costume." Victor glares at him. "I'll tell you where she's hiding as long as you promise not to hurt her.

"You have our word," Danny said.

Ryan writes down something on a sheet of paper and hands it to them. "Keep your word."

•••

Back at her hideout, Savage watches Gabe who was breathing hard and trying to remain calm. "Mr. Morgan, do you know what today is?"

Gabe looks up and glares at her. "Is that supposed to be a threat?" His words sound a bit slurred.

"Just curious. What day is it?" Savage asked.

"I-it's... Monday. No, Tuesday." Gabe said, struggling to remember.

"Memory loss. Slurred speech." Savage listed off symptoms. "Have you noticed you've stopped shivering? Do you know what that means?"

Gabe thinks and realizes what she meant. "It's y-your b-body c-conserving energy. One of the f-first signs of hy-hypothermia."

"Smart boy, just like your father," Savage stated.

"I thought you wanted me to live?" Gabe asked.

"For a while. See, I gathered the police apprehended my boyfriend Ryan. He's probably given them the address to this place." Savage said as she got in his face. "When the police go to try to stop me, your father will follow them. You know what's gonna happen when they do get here?" She blows an icy breath in his face. "I'm going to kill you in front of him."

Gabe gasps for air and glares at her, in pain.

Suddenly, the sound of metal clanging on metal is heard.

"They're early." Savage smiles as she steps out of the freezer.

Savage looks around the large space to find not the cops but Pulse standing in the middle of the room. He was holding a long pole which he throws to one side.

"You know, it's rude to brag into someone's home?" Savage said.

"Where is he?" Freddie demanded, not caring for her crap.

"Gabriel? Don't fret, he's in cold storage." Savage stated.

The two stare each other down, a classic Mexican standoff. Pulse's hands spark with electricity as Savage's hands had an icy aura around them.

"Can I ask you something?" Freddie asked. Gwyneth stares at him. "You decide on a name for yourself? You are basically a supervillain, right? You got some idea for a name."

Gwyneth seems amused. "Go on."

"Wynter." He replied,

"Winter?" Gwyneth asked, puzzled.

"Winter with a 'Y' instead of an 'I'." Freddie explained. "Because poor literacy is 'kewl'."

Savage, or Wynter, unleashed a blast of icy energy toward him which he narrowly avoided. "That all you got? Agility and snappy one-liners?"

Pulse shoots a powerful stream of electrical energy at Wynter which knocks her backward at a wall, making a huge dent.

"Also got that." Freddie joked.

•••

While several police cruisers speed out of the parking garage, Victor and Danny go to get into Danny's car but are approached by a concerned David Morgan.

"Morgan, we told you to go home!" Victor said to him.

"I only listen to authority when it benefits me." David said. "You've found him, haven't you?"

"We may have," Danny said.

"Then I'm coming with you." David insisted.

Victor didn't have time to argue with him. "Fine, get in!"

David got in the backseat and the car sped off.

•••

Pulse and Wynter waged an elemental war against one another. Pulse threw another blast of electricity at her which sent her to her knees.

Wynter grabs onto the ground and stares at him. "I don't just produce ice. I can control it as well."

All of a sudden, the ice near Pulse's feet moved and formed spikes and spires of ice that point at him but he managed to get out of the way.

"Pulse, you okay?" Cassie asked via the com link.

"Little busy trying not to get impaled, Athena," Freddie said as he tries avoiding the spires and spikes of ice.

Pulse takes a step and a spire forms underneath his foot but he uses momentum to leap into the air where he lands perfectly back on his feet.

"Very impressive," Wynter stated. "It's a shame I have to kill you."

"I tried to reason with you and I only got trapped in an ice shell for my troubles," Freddie said. "You don't respond well to logic, so I'll answer it with a more direct approach."

All of a sudden, two arrows fire in between the two super-powered individuals and unleash a small explosive blowback when they land on the icy floor. The shock wave knocks Pulse and Wynter off their feet. The blast causes the ice to create a cloud of fog as a figure jumps down from the ceiling.

Wynter looks at the figure and aims an icy blast at them which they dodged out of the way.

As Wynter is focused on the new adversary, Pulse places his hands flat on the ground and unleashes a powerful wave of electricity all over the floor.

The wave hits Wynter and she screams in agony at the intensity of the energy. She falls to her knees and then onto the ground.

Pulse takes in several breaths as he stares at the doctor. "I'm really sorry this happened to you." He looks around for the figure and sees the figure jumping out of a window. He sees the figure wearing a mask as they leave the warehouse.

He quickly gets to his feet and walks over to the freezer door. He pried the door open with a strong yank and pulled the door aside. He looks inside and sees Gabe tied to the chair.

Gabe looks up at him and smiles weakly. "Cutting it a little close, don't you think?"

Freddie smiles behind the mask as he goes to free him from the restraints. He helps Gabe to his feet and out of the freezer.

Police sirens are heard coming from outside.

•••

Police cars and an ambulance pull up to the abandoned building and so does Danny's car.

Danny, Victor, and David get out of the car and witness Pulse bring Gabe out of the building.

"Easy, you're all right," Freddie said to a weak Gabe.

David rushes towards the two as he looks at the vigilante. "Is he okay?"

"He should be," Freddie said to David as he hands Gabe to his father.

Out of subconscious reflex, Gabe holds on to his father and hugs him. David tightly hugs his son.

Before the police officers could swarm on him, Pulse takes off with lightning speed.

"Forget him!" Victor yelled. "We have bigger problems."

The officers and Victor walk inside the building and find Wynter still unconscious.

•••

"Another appearance made by the vigilante Pulse. This time, he's responsible for helping police apprehend known murderer Dr. Gwyneth Savage and the rescue Gabriel Morgan, son of tech magnate David Morgan."

Back at Cassie's apartment, Freddie watches a news broadcast in front of the TV wearing a blanket over him with Cassie standing over him. He was shivering a bit, sipping a cup of hot chocolate.

"Pete took Millie to the hospital to see Gabe. She told me she'd call and tell us how Gabe's doing." Cassie said. "You did good, kiddo."

"Guess so," Freddie said somberly.

"Hey, Serious-McMopey, what's wrong?" Cassie asked.

Freddie smiles at the name but gets to the point. "I feel bad for Dr Savage, she wanted justice for what happened to her. Now she's going to some high-security government lab where she's going to be kept under observation for the rest of her life."

"She made her choices, Freddie," Cassie said. "But that isn't the only thing that's bothering you."

Freddie nods "Dr Savage got her powers because of a science experiment gone. Sound familiar?"

"Yeah," Cassie replied.

"I keep thinking that if circumstances had been different, that could've been me." Freddie said, "If I hadn't had you, Gabe, or Millie, this power would have driven me insane."

"Then you should count your blessings. We've got your back." Cassie said smiling.

Freddie grins and hugs his aunt tightly. "So, think it's time we talk about your powers, the Indestructible Private Eye."

Cassie sighs. "Sorta was hoping you forgot about that. It's gonna be interesting to see Gabe's face when he sees I'm alive."

The remark makes Freddie laugh.

Suddenly, the Pulse phone, the phone used to call Detective Flores rings. The pair seems surprised by this and Cassie motions Freddie to answer the phone.

"Detective?" Freddie asked.

"This is Pulse?" Victor's voice is heard saying.

"It is. How can I help you?" Freddie asked.

"It's concerning the Wynter case. I need to speak to you." Victor said.

Freddie looks at Cassie and then says "You have a meeting place in mind?"

"Meet me at the precinct. The place is empty, I'll be alone." Victor said.

"I'm on my way," Freddie said as he hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" Cassie asked.

"Mr. Flores wants to meet Pulse at the precinct. It's about Wynter." Freddie told her.

Cassie sighs "This sounds like a trap, Freddie."

"What if it's not? If Wynter got away, I need to know." Freddie said as he grabs his bag. "I'll message you on the com link."

Freddie runs out the door and slams the door.

Cassie thinks for a second and walks over to her closet and pulls out the wig she wore on the night she was used as bait for Jackie and Novak. She also pulls out a black domino mask.

•••

Inside of swanky hotel room, Rita Parker was packing for her flight back to Chicago when there was a knock at her door. Rita walks over to the door, looks throw the peephole, and smiles. She opens the door and finds Danny on the other side.

"We need to talk," Danny stated.

Rita invites him inside and closes the door once her son is inside. "I was really hoping I'd get to see you before I left. Not this late, mind you."

"I just got off a major case I had been working on and a lot of stuff was weighing on my mind," Danny said. "I was wrong for snapping at you like that. It was just a lot to process."

"I know. I just wanted you to know." Rita said. "You have to understand that if I lie to you, it's only to protect you."

"I know, I get it." Danny told his mom. "Mom, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Rita asked.

"I hired a private investigator," Danny told her.

"You aren't going to try to find your father are you?" Rita asked, sounding concerned.

"No. Of course not." Danny reassured her. "I'm going to try to find my sisters. The ones from dad's other 'marriage'."

"Why do you want to find them?" Rita asked.

"Because I want to know if he abandoned them when they were as young as I was," Danny said. "I want to know what they're like. Be their big brother they never knew they had. I just need to know if I had your blessing to do so but if I don't, I'm going to do it anyway."

Rita smiles. "You have my blessing."

Danny grins and the mother and son share a warm embrace.

•••

Victor sits at his desk in a darkened precinct. He pensively thinks as he stares at a picture of Millie at age five that sat on his desk.

"You wanted to see me." A voice called out in the darkness.

Victor looks up and finds Pulse emerging from the shadows. "I did."

"You said that this is about Wynter? Did she escape?" Freddie asked.

"No, she's still on her way to Evergreen," Victor stated.

"Then what's this about?" Freddie asked.

"It's about how people shouldn't take the law into their own hands." Captain Thompson stated, coming around the corner.

"What is this?" Freddie asked Victor, thrown by this.

"You can call it an ambush," Thompson said as he pushed a button on a device in his hands.

Suddenly, about a dozen officers in SWAT gear swarm into the room and surround Pulse. They all hold up their assault weapons and point them at the vigilante.

Pulse looks around and notices several red lights from the rifles pepper his body.

He was surrounded. Nowhere to run.

•••

•••

Main Cast

Fredward 'Freddie' Benson - Nathan Kress

Cassandra 'Cassie' Sinclair - Sarah Michelle Gellar

Millicent 'Millie' Flores - Ashley Argota

Gabriel 'Gabe' Morgan - Landon Liboiron

Peter 'Pete' Sawyer - Charlie Hunnam

Also Starring

Detective Victor Flores - Daniel Dae Kim

Detective Daniel 'Danny' Parker - David Giuntoli

Guest Starring

Dr Gwyneth Savage/Wynter - Krysten Ritter

Nina Roberts - Tamara Tunie

Leopold 'Leo' Maxwell - Dylan O'Brien

Alec Grayson - Colin Donnell

Lucy Shepard - AJ Michalka

Captain Irving Thompson - Ernie Hudson

Rita Parker - Mary McDonnell

Jane Louis - Vanessa Morgan

Fiona Morgan - Mary-Louise Parker

David Morgan - David Morrissey

Professor Leslie Jenkins - Camryn Manheim

Dr. Kavita Suresh - Reshma Shetty

Brad Warner - Justin Prentice

Ryan Moore - Joel McHale

•••

Okay, so it is not my best. I know and I apologize for that.

I do hope you guys like it anyway :)

Also, if you've read this far, you have noticed the changes I made. Yeah, I kinda wanted to have fun and add a certain masked archer here. I feel like he just randomly appeared and I wanted to have fun with it. Hope you guys liked it.