After calculating the lead time and accounting for adverse factors like wind speed, the arrow shot out with a sharp whoosh.
The cooling effect of the liquid nitrogen was impressive. Though Thea's purification techniques weren't yet flawless, they were more than sufficient to deal with ordinary criminals.
The arrow struck the wheel hub, and a burst of cold air spread instantly.
The rear car's wheels quickly froze into a solid block of ice. The driver, unaware of what was happening, kept pressing the accelerator. Before he could react, the car had already lost control, flipping violently several times before crashing onto the road. The passengers were slow to emerge. Watching from above, Thea felt a twinge of concern. Had they been seriously hurt?
She was about to wrap up and head home when she saw the car in front swerve and crash into a roadside billboard, as if it had suddenly lost control.
What was going on? Was there an invisible threat? She activated her infrared vision, but nothing out of the ordinary appeared.
"Felicity, did you see who attacked the car in front?"
On the other end of the headset, Felicity took a moment to respond. After reviewing footage from several angles and analyzing it frame by frame, she finally replied, uncertainly, "It looks like while you were shooting, a sniper hit one of the front car's tires. There was no one else nearby."
What a coincidence… Thea was taken aback by the driver's terrible luck. So many shots, so much chaos—and it was that one stray bullet that landed?
In the car ahead, Michael, though injured, managed to stumble out. He staggered a few meters, and surprised by the lack of pursuit, turned around. He saw the overturned car, half-covered in ice, and looked bewildered.
Should I run? Or stay? What if they're still after me? The dilemma left him frozen in place.
At that moment, the door of the overturned car creaked open and a badly injured man crawled out. From her vantage point, Thea saw that one of his legs was bent unnaturally, leaving a vivid trail of blood behind him.
She muttered, "Felicity, call an ambulance. They need medical attention."
Thea glanced back at Michael, still standing there in shock. Why aren't you running? That was your chance… she thought. He looked disoriented and overwhelmed, not someone driven by violence or resolve. Just scared and lost.
She tried not to judge others hastily. Maybe Helena, her friend, had her reasons for getting involved with him. Even so, the whole situation felt out of balance.
With the threats neutralized and injured, Thea chose not to intervene further. Michael finally moved, grabbing a cloth bag from the car and taking off on foot. Thea considered stopping him to recover funds for her mission—but seeing the condition of the others, she decided to let him go.
After a few more rounds through the city, she spotted a young boy selling suspicious substances and a homeless man stealing food. Tragic but minor incidents. Thea didn't blame them—her frustration was with the system that led people to such choices. After a brief scolding, she headed back to base, empty-handed.
"Felicity, what are we going to do? The world's a mess, and our budget's running dry." Thea resented the corporate structure that restricted access to her own money, held up in a tightly controlled trust fund.
The liquid nitrogen had worked well that night, but the costs were steep. Purification, compression, storage—all expensive processes. With no way to divert company funds, Thea had been covering everything herself.
She thought of Tony Stark. Maybe his decision to reveal himself as Iron Man had something to do with finances. After all, the cost of building a high-tech suit was enormous.
Felicity, being more of a homebody, didn't have a quick fix either. So, the two continued their nightly patrols, hoping they'd get lucky.
Over the next few nights, Thea went out regularly, hoping to catch serious criminals. But all she found were minor offenders. She detained a few but chose not to call the police—too minor to warrant using public resources.
She imagined her face someday appearing on a wanted poster. But that day never came.
Star City remained quiet. Too quiet.
She felt almost invisible. Her routine continued: crime-fighting by night, training with Lady Shiva in the morning, and sleeping through the day while others were heading to work. Felicity managed the daytime operations.
"Wake up—someone's here to see you," Felicity said one morning, leading a tall woman into the room.
Thea blinked the sleep away. The woman looked familiar.
"Ms. Queen, we need your help." The moment she spoke, Thea recognized her. Selina Kyle—Catwoman.
She wasn't wearing her iconic leather suit or mask—just a simple skirt. Still, unmistakable. There was an elegance about her, something that reminded Thea of Anne Hathaway, though Selina had a presence all her own.
"Selina Kyle. You can call me Catwoman."
"Thea Queen. You can call me Red Arrow."
The two shook hands, warriors recognizing one another.
Thea noticed Selina eyeing Felicity, as if wanting a private word. But Thea spoke up before anything could be said. "She's my teammate. You can trust her."
"Alright, straight to the point then. Batman's in trouble—and I need your help. Now."