Gordon arrived at the beach to find the situation already dire, as massive waves had engulfed nearly all the docks, capsizing every ship moored against the shore.
Fortunately, a typhoon had already been forecast, so the fishermen were aware not to go out and instead took shelter in their homes in the East District. The buildings, reinforced by Wayne Enterprises, held strong without any known casualties thus far.
However, if this continued and the East District was submerged, even if the buildings could protect the people, they couldn't save the industries above ground. Gotham had no excess funds to repair the city; should the already stretched-thin financial chain break, the city might fall into a deep trough once again.
"Can we get in touch with Professor Victor Fries?" Gordon turned to ask his subordinate, who, looking at his phone, said, "We contacted Professor Fries the moment we noticed the abnormality in the ocean; he and his wife are on their way back through a Teleportation Portal, but it will take at least 10 minutes..."
"James! James! I'm here!"
Gordon turned to see Victor and Nora hustling over. He quickly pulled them under a makeshift awning and had someone fetch them hot coffee.
"We just got back from Mercury. What on Earth is happening? Why is there a sudden tsunami in Gotham?"
"We're not sure; it might be Atlantis..."
"It's not Atlantis; it's the Sea God Poseidon." Victor interjected upon realizing he had more information than Gordon, "We need to figure out why Poseidon has gone mad all of a sudden."
"Where's Diana? Isn't Poseidon her uncle?"
"We've run into a problem; he can't come in person. Arthur has already led people back. Let's deal with the situation on the coast first."
"Do you have a way to freeze this water?"
"That's just it; I need to fetch a freeze device generator from my lab. You'll have to provide an escort, and starting the device will take time..."
"No problem." Gordon immediately began to mobilize his forces. He knew this operation could be dangerous, as confronting the gigantic waves was inevitable to position the freeze device generator where it could freeze the waters; sacrifices were unavoidable.
A scientist as valuable as Victor was crucial, and more so for adjusting the device later. Firm in his resolution, Gordon decided to lead the team to deploy the freeze device himself.
Police cars raced through the storm and soon arrived within the Gotham University campus. Victor's new laboratory was built there, and while retrieving the device, he took the precaution of including two extra freeze pods in the trunk of the police vehicle.
When they returned to the coast, the situation had worsened: the waters had reached waist level in the residential area, the caution tape retracting time and again, with police now only able to stand on the second floor, monitoring the situation below.
Victor and Nora froze the ground with a Freeze Gun so the police cars could approach. As Victor entered the residential corridor, he was surprised to smell food being cooked.
The officers were gathered in groups, eating. Victor saw that a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl was delivering the food, and approached Gordon to say, "I've got the equipment; next, I'll attach a miniature freeze device to the tops of two police cars. You clear the path for me; once we reach the target, drop the devices. I need to monitor them from no more than a kilometer away."
"No problem." Gordon was entirely accommodating to Victor. Then, turning, he grabbed a sandwich from a nearby table and handed it to Victor, saying, "However pressing the situation, you have to eat first; only with a full stomach will you have the energy to work."
"Did the residents bring these?"
Gordon nodded, "Yes, they're very hospitable. The whole building's residents are making sandwiches, some even baked bread, and we borrowed the coffee machine..."
A broad smile appeared on Victor's face as he said, "It must feel good, right? Chief?"
Gordon also smiled, "Yes, there's no one in this world not worth protecting."
Suddenly, commotion arose from below, and a purple figure swiftly appeared before Gordon, chased by another figure.
"Rachel! Rachel! Slow down!" Dick managed to grab Raven's cloak, bringing her to a halt.
"You've arrived." Gordon wasn't the least surprised, as Raven urgently said, "I've brought all the clones I can control; do you have any use for them?"
Dick patted Raven's shoulder — he knew she had been troubled since the clones inadvertently startled a lead during a child abuse investigation. As soon as she heard the coastal police needed help, she'd rushed over.
"Perfect timing, we could use your help here," Victor interrupted before Gordon could refuse, "Not the clones, though, but your Magic Power. I hope you can help me carve a path through the waves."
"What are you planning to do in there? It's dangerous!" Raven spoke hurriedly, "This isn't just any wave, I can feel a strong Magic Power..."
"Yes, and that's precisely why I need to get closer to the waves; the closer the device is to the Deep Sea, the stronger the freeze will be, reducing the risk to residential areas."
"No problem." Raven agreed at once, "I can't guarantee my power will bypass all the waves. Give me five minutes; I need to make a call to the Sanguine Demon."
"What a remarkable girl." Gordon joined Dick, both watching Raven's retreating figure. While Dick showed some concern, he predominantly exuded proud satisfaction.
Whatever Raven discussed with her father, the Demon eventually agreed to lend her more power. With this additional strength, the freeze plan now held greater promise.
Ever since the last Sanguine Demon incident, under the guidance of Dick and others, Raven's thought process had opened up. She began behaving like a doting daughter to the Sanguine Demon, constantly tricking her father for power and taking freeloading to a new level, effectively becoming the Earth's representative for the Sanguine Demon.
You could say the Sanguine Demon was a pushover for soft tactics but resistant to force. When his daughter resisted him, he insisted on twisting her arm. But once she developed a career-oriented mindset, sometimes planning out domains of rule for him, other times demanding funds, he started to get annoyed. He began to slack in inspecting the progress of Raven's work, and generally paid her little mind.
"We're still short a driver," Victor spoke up, "No, James, you can't go; you have to stay here and monitor the residential area situation. In case there's trouble, we need someone to organize an evacuation promptly."
Gordon was about to argue, but Victor interrupted him again, "More importantly, your driving skills aren't up to par. You've been a cop in Gotham for years, chasing fugitives past Gotham University over a dozen times, and I've never seen you catch one. It's always the helicopter backup that gets them. You can't deny that, can you?"
Gordon was left speechless; he touched his nose and said, "I have caught one or two..."
"Only because they were dumb enough to ditch their cars halfway through the chase," another voice chimed in from the staircase entrance. The tall figure of Jason walked over first, followed by another person who was as expected as he was surprising—Joker Jack.
Jack always seemed half-asleep, but everyone had to admit that out of all of them, Jack had the most driving experience and the best driving skills—he was the seasoned driver.
Furthermore, although the Freeze Gun device wasn't large, it came in large quantities, and they definitely couldn't move them in a sedan. Driving a truck was a whole different story from driving a sedan, and here Jack was the only one proficient with trucks.
"Alright, let's start planning the route," Victor said as he pulled out a map and began tracing a route.
Midway through, he paused and then said, "It won't work. It looks like we'll need to split up. If we drive inside and then turn around, the delay will be too long, and it's too dangerous. It's better to have two teams set off, one from the south side, and the other from the north..."
"I can lead one team by myself," Jason said. "But we can't part the waves, and we're short a driver."
"We can get Waylon," Dick suggested. "When he was running the moving company, he used to drive trucks all across the city; his skills should be pretty decent."
Gordon immediately pulled out his phone to call Killer Croc Waylon. Just as the call connected, he could hear Killer Croc wailing on the other end.
"Chief, my storefront's flooded! Can you issue me an insurance claim form?!"
"Sure, of course, but we need to survive this first," Gordon said. "We're short a driver here, are you in?"
"I knew you guys would figure something out, of course I'm willing, but right now, my house is surrounded by water, I'm trapped..."
Gordon looked incredulous and exclaimed, "What?!"
"I said, my house is surrounded by water, I can't get out..."
"You're a damn crocodile!!!"
"Oh, hold on, I've been walking upright for so long, I forgot."
Minutes later, amid the panicked screams of a group of police officers, Killer Croc's eyes and back emerged from the waters. He burst out with a roar, sending everyone scattering in fright.
He laughed heartily and was promptly smacked in the face with a piece of clothing. Gordon spoke with a disgusted tone, "Hurry up and get dressed, or else I'm arresting you for sexual harassment!"
Soon, the team was assembled, and now they needed to find another being capable of parting the waves. After considering for a moment, Jason called Tim, and quickly, the sound of a helicopter was heard atop the residential building.
Aisha jumped straight from the helicopter, her chubby little arms spinning faster than the rotors themselves. She swam to the door quickly and ran up, soaking wet.
Gordon quickly picked her up, but Aisha casually waved it off, saying, "I can use the power of the Yellow Lantern to part the waves, but after it's done, you have to give me two police cars!"
"What do you want police cars for?"
Aisha revealed sharp teeth in a sly smile.
Although Gordon cherished the police cars, he knew desperate times called for desperate measures. Besides, Aisha was already cutting them a deal; normally, considering her appetite for destruction, she would ask for dozens more.
In the end, the team was divided into two. On one side, Joker drove, Raven cleared the path, and Dick handled the deployment of the devices. On the other side, Killer Croc drove, Aisha cleared the path, and Jason deployed the equipment.
The discussion and gathering took just over ten minutes. Then two vehicles drove into the stormy seas amidst gusting winds and pouring rain.
Accompanied by the small Freeze Gun devices fixed to the fronts of the cars, the road ahead was continuously transformed into solid ice slabs. The vehicles split into two directions, north and south, and charged forth.
One yellow and one purple light cut through the massive waves surrounding the East Coast, reminiscent of Moses parting the Red Sea, magnificent and awe-inspiring.
Countless Freeze Guns were deployed, encasing the hundred-kilometer coastline of Gotham in ice.
As Victor adjusted the devices, a dense layer of ice kept spreading towards the sea, even raising a thin veil of cold mist in the center of the hurricane clouds. In a blink, between heaven and earth, only the vastness remained.