When my wealth was depleted, when I hit rock bottom.
When I looked up at the towering Wayne Tower, huddled in a cramped apartment less than 5 square meters.
When I stood by shop windows in the early hours, watching people on TV shine brightly.
Life had become a parole granted by the world. Day after day of misery passed. Why didn't I give up?
Why continue to fight? Why grit my teeth and live on, even if it meant scraping by in the darkness?
—"Everything I do, I do it for you."
For the ones we love, we willingly endure harm and hesitate not to hurt others.
"You see, the Penguin wants to control me," Victor Fries lowered his freeze gun, speaking slowly. "But I don't believe in hearsay."
Jose's feet were frozen to the ground by huge ice crystals. His face was pale, teeth clenched. "Y-yes, I provided the information about the doctor to the Penguin. Just release me, and I'll tell you."
"I'm running out of patience." Mr. Freeze's blue face was icy, raising the freeze gun again, this time aiming at Jose's heart.
"No!" Jose hoarsely shouted, then quickly blurted out an address. "Don't kill me. She lives here. She's not just an ordinary doctor, she might be a metahuman. I was almost dead, and she saved me in less than ten minutes!"
To save his life, he exaggerated the abilities of the doctor.
Mr. Freeze showed a hint of irony. "And this is how you repay her."
The gun representing death did not move an inch.
"Please, I beg you. You just want her to heal people, right?" Jose pleaded. "I just want Polly and me to have a better life. My girlfriend... no, my wife. She's pregnant."
Two pairs of eyes locked, one cold as ice, the other filled with fear.
"If that's true," he said, "the only reason you're still alive is because you love your wife."
Victor Fries kills. But rather than call it his purpose, it's his means. When unnecessary, he doesn't particularly enjoy it. So, he holstered the freeze gun and walked away without looking back. As for whether this young man, driven by greed, can save his severely frostbitten legs, that's not his concern.
His Nora couldn't wait a moment longer.
An ice cream truck parked outside Yanshi's Garden, but it was too late now. Moonlight spread over the rose branches, making it hard to tell whether it was frost or moonlight. Only from certain angles could one see the thick layer of ice crystals.
Frost crept in through the door crack.
The frozen door lock was extremely fragile. Mr. Freeze tapped it heavily with the handle of his gun, and the lock fell off with a crisp sound.
Unable to survive above zero degrees Celsius, Mr. Freeze always wore heavy armor. Most of his body was mechanical, and his head was protected by a bulletproof glass helmet, which also gave him strength and defense far beyond ordinary people.
In Gotham, Victor Fries wasn't the most troublesome enemy of the Bat family, nor was he the most dangerous patient. He didn't enjoy killing, and like Harley, he was a graduate of a prestigious university. Sometimes, he even had philosophical discussions with Batman. The only reason he had fallen this far was his insane love for his wife.
Nora, a sleeping beauty afflicted with an incurable disease, had been frozen into eternity.
Mr. Freeze spent a long time in Arkham thinking and reminiscing. Sometimes, he felt that this eternal beauty wasn't so unacceptable.
But now, this eternity was about to shatter.
The first one to notice something was amiss was a certain black-furred guardian, who at that moment was carrying a two- or three-pound heavy rat in its mouth, leaping into Baia's room from the window sill.
Ever since Match Malone showed off his rat-catching skills in front of Baia, the detective's treatment in this house had plummeted.
Though it didn't know why Baia wanted rats, the great detective decided to prove its excellence. That day, the rat was just an accidental intruder. In fact, with Selina's cat around, there were considerably fewer rats in the neighborhood. So, it had to trek through three blocks to finally catch the plumpest and largest rat in the area, intending to bring it back to Baia.
As its paw landed on the frost-covered window sill, it immediately felt the pain.
The great detective dropped the rat and jumped onto Baia's bed. The girl had wrapped herself tightly in thick blankets due to the sudden drop in temperature, curling into a small ball, with only her long black hair spilling out.
"Wow!" The black cat roared loudly in Baia's ear, trying to wake her up by clawing at her hair.
"Ugh, stop it," Baia groggily pulled back the covers, thinking the great detective was also cold, and despite its struggles, she bundled it up in the blankets.
However, she quickly realized something was wrong.
The system also belatedly exclaimed, "Something's not right!"
Baia scolded cautiously and irritably, "I know something's not right! Let's first see what's going on."
However, heavy footsteps outside the door were getting closer and closer, as if the person had no intention of concealing themselves.
Holly, on the other hand, was more alert and woke up earlier than Baia. Trained by Selina, she immediately opened the window, ready to climb to the second floor and escape with Baia. But just as she grabbed the frost-covered iron railing outside the window, she was frozen stiff. Taking advantage of the ice not being solid yet, she pulled hard, crying out in pain as her hand immediately bore a large bloody mark.
Jumping from the third floor to the first floor to escape wouldn't be difficult for her.
But what about Baia?
Holly hesitated for a second, biting her lip.
For her, she would stay.
It was she who indulged Baia, she who supported Baia's ideas. She was the older and stronger one, she was responsible for their safety.
She sent a distress message to Selina first, then wrapped a towel around the frozen door handle, pulled hard, and walked out proudly.
"Is it you? The doctor." Mr. Freeze faced the girl in front of him.
"It's me." Holly said proudly.
It took longer to unlock the door than Baia had imagined, and the great detective kept running around her anxiously, constantly whimpering and biting Baia's pants, trying to drag her to the window.
Baia was not Holly. If she jumped from the second floor, she would probably break her legs.
Moreover, she looked out the window and didn't see Holly. She hadn't escaped yet.
She could escape from this house anytime using cat steps, but she had to make sure of Holly's situation first.
When Baia opened the frozen door, she happened to overhear Holly and Mr. Freeze's conversation.
"It's me," Baia controlled her frostbitten lips and fingers with great effort, "don't listen to her, she doesn't even know how to invigorate blood circulation."
"Oh?" Mr. Freeze said lightly, the muzzle of his freeze gun shifting between the two young doctors, "which of these two young doctors should I believe?"
He casually fired a shot at Baia's feet, and the spot hit was immediately covered in thicker frost.
The great detective's fur stood on end, and at the moment Mr. Freeze pulled the trigger, it pounced on him.
"No!" Baia screamed.
Mr. Freeze didn't even bother to defend himself. His armor couldn't be damaged by a cat. He just swung his gun forcefully at the great detective.
The cat was thrown against the wall, whimpering with its ears flattened, struggling to get up.
Baia held back her tears.
"I'm a doctor," she said softly, almost pleadingly, as she slowly walked towards the great detective, "let me prove it to you, okay?"
"Baia!" Holly anxiously whispered.
The great detective was probably suffering from a broken bone.
She pressed her hands against its furry body, absorbing some warmth. Soft white light emanated from her body.
Mr. Freeze watched intently, almost forgetting to breathe.
Baia didn't feel cold.
In fact, she hardly felt anything at all.
Except for the great detective, who was slowly licking her hand, one lick at a time.
Baia asked the system: Why?
Did I really do something wrong? What did I do wrong?
Should I just watch others die?
The system found these questions difficult to answer, so it remained silent.
The great detective's serious injuries quickly improved, and Mr. Freeze, impatient, didn't wait for the remaining minor injuries to heal. He just wanted to give Baia some time to prove herself.
Baia picked up the great detective, looked into its round blue eyes, and then forcefully threw it out.
The great detective landed, turned back to look at Baia, and didn't move.
"Get going, dumb cat!" Baia scolded.
The black cat growled at Mr. Freeze again, limping away.
Baia felt a little relieved. She secretly wiped away her tears with her backhand and slowly turned to look at the person encased in icy armor. "Although I don't know what you want me to do, I'll listen to you. Just don't hurt anyone else."
Baia wasn't so much afraid as she was aggrieved. After repeatedly confirming with the system, she found that she still hadn't entered combat mode, that is, she couldn't use [Cat Steps]. This meant that perhaps intact as she was, she might be useful to the madman in front of her. Therefore, he didn't have immediate intentions of attacking her.
She glanced at Holly with a slight nod.
After living together for so long, they still had some degree of understanding. Holly, who was prepared to fight to the death, immediately grasped Baia's meaning - that she should not worry about her and should escape immediately. Holly didn't like this, but Baia was firm, even managing to smile reassuringly, which made Holly hesitate, suspecting if Baia had any tricks up her sleeve.
Mr. Freeze looked down at Baia, able to sense her fear, yet she still displayed composure far beyond most people her age.
A hint of a smile appeared on his face. "Alright."
Regardless, she would come back to save her, she vowed.
With Mr. Freeze's tacit approval, Holly mouthed something to Baia, stepping back one step at a time, skillfully escaping out of the window.
"Let's go," Baia said.
And beneath her collar, there was a small black communicator tethered.
The black bat was flashing with frantic blue light.