Director Green stood in her office, phone in hand, listening to the man reporting on the other end.

“Warehouse is secure. One of the special bulbs, but mostly normal stuff.”

Londyn nodded.

“Our intel says that’s the last of them. Once you’ve wrapped up you can head on home.”

“Got it, I’ll check in with the kid one more time on my way back.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Londyn hung up the phone and let out a sigh. She walked over to her assistant.

“Transfer our intel over to the federales and the DEA, and let them know we're pulling out now.”

“Is that all right, Director?”

“We’ve destroyed an entire cartel at this point, and the super-drugs are accounted for. This is no longer the ILS’s fight. But between Icy Falcon and ourselves, the cartels should stay quiet for a bit, the smart ones at least. We bought them some time and quiet, the rest is up to Mexico. Speaking of our fight, how are we looking?”

The assistant nodded and typed into her computer.

“I have the files you requested, as well as your schedule for the hearings.”

Londyn let out another sigh. Now came the hard part.

“Good evening, all you denizens of the planet Earth. This is GNN and I’m your host, Brendan Baird, bringing you all the updates you need. Tonight we are here to discuss the latest developments on the now infamous Icy Falcon question.”

“The man himself still remains in ILS custody, as it is clear sending him to a Mexican prison is a recipe for disaster. Yet, the international community could not let this case remain in the ILS’s house. Mexican authorities were long at a loss on how to approach this case, but the deaths of Mexican politicians and police officers at Icy Falcon’s hand have made this a question of Mexico’s sovereignty and national security.”

“After countless public hearings and closed-door discussions, it seems the United Nations and the International League of Superheroes have reached an agreement. The UN released a resolution tilted the Code of Conduct for Extra-normal Actors, which has been approved by both the General Assembly and the Security Council as well as signed by Director Green.”

“While the international community could not agree on the situations that justify a response by supers, the Code does outline red lines that will determine when a hero has gone rogue and the consequences of such infractions. Conversely, the Code also identifies specific scenarios where organizations such as the ILS are empowered to take action in order to protect one of their members, including certain non-super threats. The Code thus both limits what actions heroes may take on their own while also officially sanctioning ILS action, the first time either has been officially coded into law. The hope is that such safeguards will prevent future cases like the Icy Falcon and Icy Swallow, where neither the local government nor the ILS were certain when, how, or if they should intervene.”

“The Code is now in the hands of individual governing bodies, as each nation moves to ratify it for themselves. As only a handful of nations voted against or abstained from supporting the Code, it is expected that most of the world will sign it into law with only minor adjustments. As for the ILS, Director Green has laid out revisions to the ILS’s internal structure and rules in order to comply with this new standard. She will be discussing the exact details of these changes within the ILS, but heroes interviewed by GNN said they will defer to her judgment.”

“As for the Icy Falcon, Mexican authorities and Director Green have come to an agreement. Icy Falcon shall receive several years in confinement, specifically for the vigilante killings of Mexican government and police officials and for the assault on Icy Swallow. The rest of the charges against him were dropped due to the murky status of violence between a super and a criminal organization as well as in light of his overall contributions to Mexico and the world. He has also been suspended from the ILS, which will only be lifted upon review and will last at minimum for the duration of his incarceration. He will remain in ILS custody for this time period given that the majority of his victims had connections to current inmates of the Mexican prison system, with Mexican authorities possessing the right to inspect his condition at any time.”

“For more on this story, join us later tonight as GNN consults the experts on what this might mean for heroes, for the world, and for you. And now for a quick word from our sponsors.”

Bob leaned back in his chair as the channel transitioned to commercial break. He let out a sigh.

He would do what he had to.

But it was not pleasant watching children go to war.

Suddenly the door slammed open. Bob barely had time to turn his head before he found himself floating in the air.

“You are going to tell me everything.”

Bob raised an eyebrow as Xiong Huang held him by the collar.

“About what?”

“Don’t play dumb! I watched that girl’s interview. She described things in exact detail. And there’s only one person in this entire world who would give a Thousand Star Ice Heart to a brat who doesn’t even cultivate!”

“And? Why does that matter to you?”

Xiong Huang’s face twisted in a snarl.

“It changes everything, Bob! Fine, you want to play dumb?! Then let me explain! A Thousand Star Ice Heart can kill a cultivator below the Fourth Realm whose dumb enough to use it. And I investigated the girl. Not a cultivator within a thousand generations of her line! She should’ve died if she so much as sniffed it, and now you’re telling me she successfully cultivated it? So either she’s the Empress of Heaven reborn, or you found a trick that would revolutionize cultivation forever. Either way, I want in on it, Bob.”

“The trick is she didn’t cultivate it at all.”

“Explain. Now.”

Bob held up his phone, showing an image of an Adranis Bulb illuminated by beams of sickly green light.

“Professor Mutant’s work. He found a way to induce rapid genetic mutation with a specific focus by imbuing plants with specialized radiation. He limited himself to Adranis bulbs as he thought their relaxing psycho-active properties were necessary to retain the subject’s sanity. He was not aware there are other, more suitable bases for his project.”

Xiong Huang let Bob down to the ground as she stared at the phone.

“So what, we shine this glowy light on an elixir and then anyone can take it?”

“Not exactly. When subjected to the process the Thousand Star Ice Heart no longer passes its energy directly to the subject, but utilizes it to rebuild the subject from the base up.”

“So? We do that with body cultivation, get to the point.”

“She probably can’t cultivate. At least not like you do.”

“Huh?”

“Her powers are more innate and biological. Her body was fundamentally transformed, including its energy pathways. She would interact with Qi differently than a regular human would, including cultivators.”

Xiong Huang’s brow furrowed.

“So she can’t use Qi at all?”

“If she can, it would be in an entirely different manner, such that all current known cultivation methods would likely be useless to her. She would have to build one from scratch.”

Xiong Huang took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as she let it out.

“So you found a second Thousand Star Ice Heart, and then burnt it to turn a mortal into a fridge and the method you discovered would destroy the user’s cultivation, maybe permanently?”

Bob nodded. Xiong Huang swore.

“You’re really annoying, you know that?”

Bob simply smiled at her. Xiong Huang turned to leave with another curse.

Villains are so annoying.

“Dang it! Can’t I win just once?!”

“Calm down, it’s just a game.”

Voidspeaker opened his mouth, and then closed it. Remember, she’s your girlfriend. You’ve always loved her. The blue shell is the enemy. Do not be seduced.

“Pink, please. I said I was sorry.”

“Hmph!”

The door opened, Voidspeaker and Chronolock turning their heads from the game. Pink Star walked into the room, arms crossed, cheeks puffed, and head turned up and to the right. Behind her came in Wonder Knight, hunching over and pleading with the girl.

Voidspeaker turned to Chronolock.

“What’s up with them?”

“They both had a crush.”

“And?”

“The same crush.”

“Oh?”

“Guess who won.”

“...oh.”

As Wonder Knight continued to plead with Pink Star the door opened again. All four teens rose to their feet. Director Green walked into the room.

“Relax.”

Wonder Knight stood up straight but Voidspeaker chuckled at the brief flash of relief on his face.

“Director, you have a mission for us?”

“In a sense.”

Director Green stepped to the side and a teenage girl stepped in after her. She had dark skin, white hair, and blue eyes behind a blue domino mask. She shyly waved her hand.

“I’d like you bunch to welcome your new teammate. Go ahead and say hello.”

The girl nodded her head.

“...Hi, I’m Icy…Rose. Nice to meet you all.”