By: Jay Winger (jay_winger_2k@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: The characters, concepts, and locations from Batman Beyond are the property of Warner Bros. Television and DC Comics. They are used without permission, but not to make a profit. The characters of the Stranger, as well as Victoria Eckels, are my own creation and may not be used without my permission.
Timeline: This takes place after the end of my previous fanfiction, "Complete Stranger," and thus after "Ascension" and Season I. It is supposed to be set during January.
Victor Fries wished he was dead.
His body lay immobile deep in the sewers of Gotham. He'd lied here since he'd destroyed part of Wayne-Powers, intending to kill himself and end his immortal pain. The pain of being permanently cut off from the world around him. The pain of the crimes he'd committed. The pain caused by Blight's radioactive poison. The pain of losing ... Nora.
He'd restored his wife to life years ago, only to lose her again as his tragic condition began to cruelly deteriorate. He'd hoped to die when Batman had foiled his reverse hydrogen bomb those years ago. Unfortunately, Bruce Wayne -- despite his good intentions -- had thwarted that by rescuing his frozen head and attempting to find a cure.
The years had passed. Fries' DNA continued to degrade, but Wayne's people -- and soon, Powers' people -- continued to keep him alive. It wasn't until Dr. Stephanie Lake had come to him that he'd actually begun to gain hope again. But the treatment failed, and Derek Powers decided to kill him.
Oh, God, if he had the ability to relive those moments when Stephanie cranked up the temperature in his cell! He would not have tried to escape. She would have given him the very thing that had always escaped him -- death. Instead, in his delusion of maintaining a normal life, he'd broken free and sought his revenge.
Pain shot through Fries' body, a reminder of Blight's radiation poisoning. Fries didn't know what Powers had done to the man Blight used to be, but he at once felt sorry for Blight and feared him. The man's condition was possibly worse than his own; where Fries couldn't touch the world around him because his condition had deadened his nerves, Blight couldn't touch the world around him because his condition caused him to destroy everything around him.
So now Victor Fries lay here. The power pack in his armor had failed upon his fall here, and his poisoned body was to weak to move it without assistance. Now he just lay here, unable to eat and at the same time not needing to, waiting for summer to come and end it all. That, alas, was several lonely months away.
There was a faint noise. The sound of gravel and broken cement crunching underfoot. Fries turned his head toward it. A man stood there in a jet black duster and equally dark clothing. He stood with one foot crossed in front of the other, one gloved hand in his pocket and the other hanging at his side. A blue scarf and silvery goggles covered his face. Hair that matched his coat topped his head. The man stood there looking at him for several moments, then said in a quiet voice, "Dr. Victor Fries?"
Fries replied in a weak voice, muffled by his cracked helmet, "Yes, that was my name."
"Thought so," the man replied. He stepped off the pile of debris and walked over. He crouched beside him. "How ya feelin'?"
Fries blinked. "Why do you care?"
The man shrugged. "Just makin' conversation." He placed one of his hands under Fries' armored shoulder. The immortal scientist was mildly surprised when the man gently pulled him to his feet. The man braced Fries' arm against his shoulders, then asked, "Think you can walk a bit?"
"I ... think so," Fries said. "Who are you?" he asked as they began to stagger off. His head swam, a combination of his weakness and Blight's poisoning. He began to black out.
The man seemed to smirk beneath his scarf. "My name's not important. I'm just a stranger.
Terry McGinnis slurped his hot chocolate as his mother came out of the electronics boutique, carrying a bag. He sucked up the last of his drink, then tossed it in the trash. "All right, can we go now?" he asked.
"Yes," his mother said, "but I want to stop by the clothes store and check something."
Terry sighed, exasperated. This trip to the mall was turning into an all-day excursion. Wayne wouldn't be pleased. Why are you late? he'd ask. Because my mom went to mall for an hour and stayed all day, Terry would reply. "Should I meet you there in an hour?" he asked his mother sarcastically. She shot him a look. Terry held up his hands. "Kidding."
"It's just for a minute," she promised. "Come on."
For once, Terry observed, she was right. It was only a minute. They paused by the exit to make sure they were bundled up. A cold nor'easter had swept into Gotham, and it was easily in the teens today. Terry winced at the sharp wind outside.
"It must be twenty below with the wind chill," he muttered.
"At least," his mother agreed.
The crowds were thin -- due to the weather. Terry ducked his head to shield his lips from the wind which threatened to chap them. As a result, he didn't see the man until he collided with him. Terry staggered back, looking up.
"Sorry," he apologized.
"No," the man said, "it was my fault." He wore silvery goggles -- almost resembling a snowboarder's -- and a blue scarf. He wore dark gloves, and he carried a box.
Terry blinked in recognition, then stepped aside. He watched as the man stopped at the curb for a light blue car. The car door opened, letting a blond woman with a strong jawline -- an odd appearance, Terry admitted -- step out. The man climbed into the car, setting down the box, then looked at the woman as she got back inside, the box between her and the man. The car drove off.
Terry stared after the car, then blinked as his mother called him. He turned back, then looked back after the car before running to catch up.
"Why are you late?" Bruce asked his protégé as he came in.
Terry sighed. "My mother dragged me to the mall today, and I was stuck all day." He pulled the suit from its place on display and began to don it. "By the way, guess who I ran into there?"
"Who?" Bruce asked. He wasn't in the mood for guessing games.
"The Stranger," Terry replied. "He left with a woman. I don't know her. Blond hair, dark eyes, this odd-looking jawline..."
Bruce entered the information into the computer, a CGI composite appearing. Terry looked at it. "No, her face was more narrow." Bruce entered the information, then changed the picture. "The jaw was straighter than that." The picture changed again. "Yeah, that's her."
Bruce punched in the search command. The result shocked them both. "I don't believe it," Terry said.
"Neither do I," Bruce said.
Victor Fries slowly opened his eyes. He sat up, then realized his armor had been removed. He wore a tight-fitting jumpsuit, light blue in color. He looked in a nearby mirror, frowning at the slight burn scar on his jaw -- another gift from Blight. When he breathed, his breath clouded the air. Fries went to a thermostat. The temperature was set at exactly 0° F.
"Ah, you're awake," a voice said from the other side of the room. Fries turned to see the Stranger leaning against a doorway. Icicles hung from the frame. The Stranger's breath also fogged through his scarf. "Nice to see you're okay."
"Where am I?" Fries asked.
"That's a question for your host," the Stranger said. "I'll let 'em know you're up." He turned to an intercom, then tapped a button. "Hey, he's awake."
"I'll be right there," came a woman's voice.
"What am I doing here?" Fries asked.
The Stranger held up his hands. "Even I don't know everything, Doc. Just wait for my employer to show up." He looked out into the hallway, then seemed to smirk under his scarf again. "Ah. Here she is now."
A tall, lean woman stepped into the room. She had pale blond hair, dark eyes, and a strong, straight jaw. She wore a parka to protect herself against the cold. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties. Her soft lips curved upwards in a smile. The Stranger stepped away from the doorway and said, "Allow me to do the introductions. Dr. Victor Fries, I'd like you to meet my employer, the woman who paid me to find you and bring you here -- Miss Victoria Fries Eckels." He leaned forward. "Your daughter."
"My ... daughter?" Fries said.
"Yes," Victoria said. "Mother said you'd put some of your things in ... cold storage, shall we say. That included sperm samples." She smiled again. "You were out of reach, and she still loved you enough to want a child. So she had me."
"Where does the 'Eckels' come from?" Fries asked.
"I did get married a few years ago," his daughter replied. "It didn't take."
Fries blinked quietly, wishing -- no, wanting -- tears to come to his eyes, but unable to. He stepped forward and held out his arms. "Let me hold you."
Victoria stepped forward and happily did so. "I've wanted to meet you my entire life," she whispered. "Mother always talked about you."
Fries stepped back. "She did?"
Victoria shook her head. "Never in a bad way. She understood everything you went through -- your attempts to bring her back, and the lengths to which you did."
"But what about after she came back?" Fries asked.
His daughter just shook her head again. "She never talked about that, even after I asked about it. But I began to study up on your condition." Seeing the look of surprise on her father's face, she said, "Didn't you know that Wayne Enterprises wrote papers on it? I read every one, then found out about the degradation of your DNA. I started to piece it together -- you were unable to join Mother again, so you kinda lost it."
Fries nodded gravely. "That's ... one way to put it."
"I was never able to convince Wayne Enterprises to let me visit you, and after Derek Powers came in, it was impossible. 'Authorized personnel only' and stupid bureaucratic phrases like that," Victoria said. "I moved to Coast City, then tried to get on with my life, married Charles, then divorced him. It wasn't until I saw the news report about the treatment and then your opening the Nora Fries Foundation that I began to prepare to come back. But then you disappeared again."
Fries nodded. "The treatment wasn't permanent. I turned back into ... Mr. Freeze," he said sadly. He cursed at mentioning that name.
"You're not Mr. Freeze," Victoria said. "You're Dr. Victor Fries, scientist. I wouldn't except the fact that you were dead. That's why I hired him to find you." She turned to gesture at the Stranger, who had resumed his post at the doorway.
"Who's he?" Fries asked, looking back at him.
"Just a stranger doing a job," the Stranger said.
Victoria said, "He doesn't give out his name."
"I've got a lot of people mad at me," the Stranger said. "Especially people here in Gotham. But it was nice to get a job that has a happy reunion like this."
Victoria said, "Could you give us a moment alone?"
"No problem," the Stranger said. He stepped out into the hallway, the door closing behind him.
"Victoria," Fries said, "I -- " He broke off, then started again. "I can't be with you. My condition -- "
"I understand, Father," Victoria said. "I'm trying to find a way for you to go out in public without needing to wear that bulky armor. There have been large advances in technology. We can make a suit that maintains your body temperature at 0° without needing all the machinery that made up your last suit."
"But I still can't touch anything!" Fries insisted.
"I know," Victoria said. "But with your condition, you'll be around until they perfect the treatment that brought you back the last time."
"With my condition," Fries grated, "I might just be a head again by that time comes."
Victoria hit him in the chest. "Don't talk like that! Be optimistic. We don't have to wait for Wayne-Powers. Besides, since Derek Powers died, they're probably not going to continue the research."
"Powers is dead?" Fries asked. He hung his head. He killed the man during his vengeful rampage -- just as he had Stephanie Lake.
Victoria nodded. "It was all over the news. Turns out he was this radioactive creature that wore a synthetic skin to protect against the radiation."
Fries' head snapped up. Powers was Blight? That was even more frightening. But if what Victoria was saying was true, then Powers/Blight was dead, and he didn't have anything to fear. Furthermore, it explained Powers' actions in the first place -- he had pushed for the treatment to find a cure for his own condition, then terminated it when it went wrong.
"Paxton Powers has cancelled the project, says it's a waste of money now that his father is dead," Victoria went on. "But I think I know somebody who can restart it."
"Who?"
"The man who began the project back when you were first brought in," his daughter said with a smile. "Bruce Wayne."
"So the woman at the mall was Fries' daughter?" Terry said.
"Yes," Bruce said. "I'd forgotten about her. Fries had had samples of his sperm frozen, and Nora Fries had a child with it after he 'died.' His daughter, Victoria, expressed an interest in her father for a while, but she finally moved out of Gotham and married someone. That's when I stopped tracking her."
"Why didn't Fries try to contact her after he was freed?" Terry asked.
"He didn't know she existed," Bruce replied. "Besides, Powers wasn't known for being that sensitive."
"But why come back to Gotham now? Fries died," Terry said.
"I'm not so sure he did," Bruce said. "In his condition, Fries is virtually immortal."
Terry stepped back, leaning against a stalagmite. "So you think Victoria Eckels'll try to find her father?"
"Either that," Bruce said, "or she'll try to get more information out of Wayne-Powers about him."
"That doesn't explain what the Stranger's doing here," Terry said.
They both stopped as a light on the computer console lit up. Bruce looked at it. "The phone upstairs."
Terry understood, stepping over to a speaker and pressing a button. "Wayne Manor," he answered.
"Yes, can I speak to Mr. Wayne please?" a woman's voice said.
"May I ask who's calling?" Terry inquired.
"My name is Victoria Fries Eckels," the woman said. "I have a request to ask of Mr. Wayne."
Terry shared a glance with Bruce, who leaned forward. "This is Wayne," he said.
"Mr. Wayne, I have a request to make of you," Victoria Eckels said. "It concerns my father."
The next day, Victoria Eckels sat in the study in Wayne Manor, facing the aged tycoon. Terry stood off to one side. The woman had just finished explaining the situation.
"So I wanted to ask if you could convince your company to reopen the project for further research," Victoria finished. "For my father's sake."
Bruce steepled his fingers. "I'm not so sure I can, Miss Eckels," he said. "I've lost a great deal of the influence I have with the company, and with Paxton Powers in control, I've lost even more."
"But according to the news reports, Paxton has been very gracious toward you," Victoria said.
Bruce said, "He's also the son of Derek Powers, who was adept at saying one thing to the public and doing the opposite behind his back."
"Like father, like son," Terry quipped from the side.
Both Bruce and Victoria glanced at him. Bruce said, "However, I can make a request to Lucius Fox, Junior at Fox Technologies. I'm sure he'd be glad to follow a request from me."
"What about the research at Wayne-Powers?" Victoria asked.
Bruce frowned. "That might be more difficult. I'll see what I can do."
"I'm sorry, Miss Eckels, but the research is gone."
Paxton Powers sat behind his desk, smiling the oily smile he'd inherited from his father. Victoria and Bruce stood on the other side of the desk. "After the failure of the experiment, my father had the project liquidated. Much of the notes were destroyed immediately. What was left I had removed to make room for new projects."
Victoria's fists curled. "But my father -- "
" -- is a dangerous man," Paxton finished sharply. Then he smiled again. "It's nice to know he's still alive, so I can press charges."
"What?" Bruce snapped.
"Victor Fries caused $20 million worth of damage to Wayne-Powers property," Paxton said. "He did so out of pure malice, and I intend to get everything I can out of him."
Victoria stepped forward, seething. "You slimy, backstabbing, son of a -- "
"Careful," Paxton said, raising a finger. "The courts are very strict about slander."
"If you want money for repairs, why don't you contact the Nora Fries Foundation?" Victoria hissed.
Paxton laughed. "Please. Don't insult me. It's not the money. It's the principle of the thing."
Bruce stepped forward and leaned forward to glare at Paxton. "If you send so much as one process server after Victor Fries," he said, "I'll do everything in my power to have the Board block the action."
Paxton gazed at him coolly. "Forgive me if I don't feel threatened." He sat back in his chair. "This concludes our discussion. Good day, Miss Eckels, Mr. Wayne."
Outside the office, Terry waited for them. "How'd it go?" Victoria grumbled and kicked the wall. "Guess that answers that."
"He deleted the research!" Victoria said in disbelief. "How could he have done that? Doesn't he realize the research could have led to new medical technology?"
"Evidently not," Bruce said. "My sincere apologies, Miss Eckels. I wish I could have Paxton produce the back-up copies of the research, but he would never give in. Not even to me or the Board."
Victoria fell silent for a moment. Terry said, "What about the Stranger?"
"Who?" Victoria asked.
Bruce shot Terry a look, and the youth amended, "Uh, the man you hired to find your father."
Victoria shrugged. "He left as soon as I paid him. He's not in town any more."
Terry nodded, glancing at Bruce. The old man said, "Can we give you a ride back to your hotel?"
"No thank you," Victoria said. "I'll walk."
"In this weather?" Terry said.
Victoria shrugged again. "It makes me feel like my father must feel."
-=RING=-
"Hello?"
"Is this line secure?"
"Yes."
"Good. I have a job for you."
"This will cost you extra."
"Money is not a problem."
"Then start talkin'."
"Quiet night," Batman commented over his comm.
"It's the weather," Bruce said. "Not even the hardened criminals will go out on a night like this."
"Should I come back, then?"
"Finish your route," Bruce said. "Then you can call it a night."
Batman continued to drive the Batmobile through the city, then glanced at his console. "Looks like there's a break-in at Wayne-Powers. Should I check it out?" His tone said he didn't want to; he supposed it was because Paxton had snubbed Victoria's request.
Bruce paused before answering. "Yes."
Batman drove toward the Wayne-Powers facility and parked just outside its perimeter. Paxton didn't trust him entirely, not even after he helped catch Blight, and Batman didn't trust anyone who was related to Powers by blood. He climbed out of the Batmobile and glided toward the building.
"The break-in's in sub-basement three," Bruce reported. "The archives."
"Hmm, white-collar crime," Batman commented. "Don't get that too often."
"That's because it usually happens during daylight," Bruce observed.
Batman snuck to a freight elevator and dropped down the shaft to the appropriate level, then went inside. He switched on his camouflage and switched on the infrared sensors in his cowl's goggles. The results were disastrous. The mainframe computers down here put off a great deal of heat, and as a result his goggles' readout was awash of red. Batman turned it off and listened closely. There was a faint sound of a keyboard. Batman crept in that direction and stopped as he saw a light. He stepped closer, then blinked in surprise.
The Stranger was bent over a laptop computer which was connected to one of the mainframes. He was totally absorbed. Batman stepped back into the shadows and switched off his camouflage. He took out a Batarang, then stepped out and threw it at the Stranger. Almost as soon as he did so, Batman regretted it.
The Stranger turned toward the Batarang and deflected it with a sweep of his arm. Blue energy enclosed his fist as he did so, and this energy knocked the projectile away. The thief looked at Batman. "Holy geeze, what the hell are you doing here?" he said, sounding more annoyed than scared.
"I might ask you the same thing," Batman said. "I know you work for Victoria Eckels. She hire you to do this?"
"Need you ask?" the Stranger said. "Look, I'm not stealing anything. I'm making a copy of all of Wayne-Powers research on the Victor Fries project, and taking that. Nothing's getting corrupted, sabotaged, or destroyed. Wayne-Powers is not going to lose any money over this."
"It's not that," Batman said. "You're breaking in and trespassing."
"So are you," the Stranger pointed out. "I happen to know that the Gotham P.D. is looking for you almost as much as they're looking for me."
"Just get out of here," Batman advised. "Just get out Gotham before I have to bring you in."
"Kid," the Stranger said, "you couldn't stop me last time. You're not going to stop me this time."
A heavy fist struck Batman between the shoulder blades, then on the head. With a cry, the hero fell to the ground, his vision spinning. A metal boot stepped into view. Batman was able to look up briefly to see the titanic form of Victor Fries in his 'Freeze' armor looking down at him. The Stranger shook his head. "Sorry, kid. See you around."
Batman blacked out.
"Did you get all of the information?" Victoria asked as the Stranger passed her the laptop. They were back in the cold lab where Fries stayed.
"I think so," the thief said. "Batman tried to stop me, but fortunately your dad decided to tag along. Don't worry, I didn't kill him. I don't do that."
"His actions were noble," Fries said, removing his armor. "I didn't see the need to harm him further." He looked at his daughter. "But he knows you're involved, Victoria. You should leave."
"I'm not leaving without you," Victoria said. "I came this far to get you back, I'm not going to give up now!"
"Please, Victoria," Fries pleaded. "I lost your mother to my condition, I'm not going to lose you because of it."
Victoria set her jaw -- the trait which she'd inherited from him. "No."
"Should we contact Wayne?" the Stranger asked.
Victoria hesitated. "He'll want to know where you got the informaton," Fries pointed out.
"I can just say I convinced Paxton to give it to me," she said.
"He'll call Paxton to verify," Fries said.
"I don't care!" Victoria snapped. "I just want to help you!"
Fries sighed. "Victoria, I'm not worth going to prison for."
"Yes, you are!" she insisted. Tears began to come to her eyes. "I love you, Father. I don't want you to go through this torture for another minute!"
"Victoria, I've learned to live with it," he said. "God knows, I hate it, but I've learned to live with it. With the suit you've designed, I can go out into public without my armor. You've done more than you need to."
"But you're trapped in that cold immortality," she sobbed. "It's not right."
"I know," Fries said. "I wish I could correct it -- by God, I wish I could -- but I cannot. It's not worth wasting your life over this."
"Father..."
"I'll take the information to Wayne," Fries said. "I already have a record. I've been to prison before, and I can go back. I'm not afraid of it. But I won't subject you to it."
Victoria sobbed again, then began to wipe her already-freezing tears from her face with a hand, gloved to keep her hands warm here. She hugged her father one last time. Fries put his arms around her and then bent down to kiss her gently on her head. He looked up at the Stranger. "I wish I could clear you of the crime, but Batman did see you."
The Stranger just shrugged. "My payment's been sent to my account, hasn't it?"
"Yes," Victoria said.
"Then I'll just skip town," the Stranger said. He spread his hands. "I wish this could have a happier ending, but nothing's perfect in this world."
"You've been a tremendous help," Fries said.
"All part of the service," the Stranger replied. "It was nice meeting you two. Hope things work out."
Fries and Victoria shook his hands before the mysterious thief disappeared into the hallway and out of their lives forever.
Terry walked to the door of the manor as the doorbell echoed through the great house. He opened it, then stepped back in alarm as he saw the titanic figure of Victor Fries standing on the step. Barbara Gordon and a large squadron of police officers stood behind him. Terry was even more surprised when he saw that a pair of hypercuffs circled Fries' wrists.
"Hello, Terry," Fries said. "I have something to give to Mr. Wayne."
* EPILOGUE *
"...and in other news, Fox Technologies revealed a new partnership with the Nora Fries Foundation. FoxTech will contine the research begun by Wayne-Powers on the restructuring of damaged DNA." A man in the far corner, dressed in a dark suit and blue tie, looked up. "The project was responsible for the release of Victor Fries from his degrading condition of more than twenty years."
The man sipped his drink and smiled into it. Well, that's nice, he thought. They were able to complete the deal after all.
"There was some speculation that the project might not continue," the reporter was saying, "due to the origin of FoxTech's new research, which was stolen from Wayne-Powers by Victor Fries. All legal matters, however, were dropped. The project will be funded by the Nora Fries Foundation, now headed by the Fries' daughter, Victoria Eckels."
The man finished his drink and stood up as many of the businessmen in the bar began to dial their stockbrokers. He merely glided out of the bar and adjusted his tie. He handed a bill to the concierge, who had dialed for a taxi. The concierge glanced at him. "Say, I've seen you around here before. What's your name?"
"It's not important," the man said. "I'm just a stranger."
* END *