Frozen Angels
By Spunky0ne
Chapter 1: The Chamber
Sousuke Aizen sat quietly at his computer, his sedate brown eyes scanning a screen in front of him. Slowly, he perused the charts of data on one page and the next, his fingers stroking the keys gracefully and his expression calm and focused. He might have been in that same place, doing that same thing for hours, even days, but the research in front of him had piqued his interest, and when something caught this man's eye, it would never escape his closer examination.
The subject might not have been interesting to any but a scientist, such as himself...the presence of odd bacteria on a set of sea plants in the Caribbean, but to Sousuke Aizen, things that violated the normal rules were of great interest. And the current obsession, he suddenly realized, had caused him to remain at his desk, ensconced in his research until late into the night. He blinked slowly and chuckled softly at his inattention to the mundane things, but as he came back from his removed world of science, all of the normal things like hunger, thirst and the need to expel waste all arrived together in a tumble of uncomfortable sensations. Sighing, he rose from his desk and moved out of his office and into the darkened hallway.
It wasn't the first time that he had lost track of time and found himself alone in the research department and it was doubtful it would be the last. Luckily, the nearby lounge provided for all of his human needs and he quickly saw to them, then yawned and stretched, looking at the clock and wondering if it was even worth going home. In the end, he decided a few hours of rest was enough reason, and he returned to his office, gathering up his keys and locking the office before heading down to the elevator.
The doors opened in front of him and he stepped into the elevator car, yawning again and reaching for the button to take him down. But, to his surprise, the doors closed and the elevator went up before he could touch anything. He frowned and started to reach for a button, but then realized...
This car is going up to the restricted level! Only scientists with special clearances are allowed. I wonder...
His heart flickered with anxiety as the doors opened and he stepped out into a darkened corridor. He looked around and spotted an illuminated office down the hallway, and he heard a male voice speaking.
No one else is talking. He is on the phone.
"Yes, I was just about to leave," the voice said, "I will pick it up on the way down."
Aizen looked around and swiftly found a small, darkened conference room to duck into and disappeared just as the person who had been talking emerged from his office, turned off the lights and closed and locked the door. He walked to the elevator and pushed the button to go down. The doors opened and he stepped on, letting them close behind him and proceeding down.
After waiting a few minutes and listening carefully to make sure he was alone, Aizen slipped out of the conference room and re-entered the corridor, then scanned the area and letting his eyes rest on the reception area. A sly smile crawled onto his face and he made his way to the area behind the reception desk. Cautiously, making sure he didn't disturb any of the items within, he began a search of the drawers. But before he could find what he was looking for, his ears picked up the sound of the elevator returning.
He ducked down behind the desk, concealing himself hastily as the doors opened and he heard the squeaking of wheels.
"What should I do with him while we go get the others?" asked a female voice.
"Just leave him there," a male voice answered, "I doubt he'll run off while we're gone. And there's no one here. The last guy checked out a little before we got here. It'll be fine. Besides, we don't want to just leave those others out on the back dock where anyone can find them."
"Right."
Aizen waited until he heard the elevator doors close and the car moving downward again before emerging from behind the reception desk and approaching the cart that the two had left behind. With curious eyes, he studied the blue chamber, then he looked through the glass and felt his heart beat faster as he encountered a male face and body more pale and lovely than any he had ever seen. The man looked to be in his mid to late twenties and was graced with fine, almost delicate looking features and an unsmiling, but peaceful looking expression. Shining raven black hair framed the angelic face and his naked body was slender, without being too gaunt or angular anywhere.
"What a pity you are dead," Aizen mused sadly, shaking his head.
I wonder how such a young and visually healthy looking man died.
He looked around, frowning, and found the man's chart. A small sound of surprise escaped him as he recognized the name.
"Byakuya Kuchiki," he whispered, "Ginrei Kuchiki's grandson? But...?"
Byakuya Kuchiki and his younger cousin, Tetsuya, were killed in an explosion after a terrible car accident, four months ago! I saw the articles in all of the papers. It was on all of the TV stations. They said that the bodies...
"...were so badly burnt that they were beyond recognition and had to be identified through dental records," Aizen mused, "Well, he doesn't look any too burnt to me."
He opened the chart and frowned in deeper curiosity as he read.
"Presence of spirit core confirmed. Potential deadly. Termination date, May second...tomorrow? Termination date?"
He broke off and ducked back behind the reception desk as the elevator returned, and the two who had brought the first chamber wheeled two more out of the elevator. He watched as the two pushed Byakuya's chamber down the hallway to a code protected room, then returned for the second. He slipped out to steal a glance at the third person's identity and evinced even more shock.
"Renji Abarai, guitarist and background vocalist for Division Six?"
He died in a plane crash a month ago...again, the bodies in the crash were burnt beyond recognition. Both high profile deaths, both investigated by the government and both confirmed identities of the victims. Interesting...
I want to get a closer look at them.
It only took a moment for him to decide to use his special ability to give himself the opportunity. He concealed himself behind the last chamber, waiting until the two scientists returned, then stood and held up a small green crystal that he took from his pocket.
"Will you take a look at this?" he asked, watching the eyes of the two scientists round and then go dull and blank looking.
Aizen chuckled softly and motioned to the final chamber.
"Why don't you two move this inside with the others?" he suggested.
The scientists continued to look blankly ahead, but took up positions at either end of the chamber and wheeled it down to the room where they had placed the others. They entered the room, making no comment as Aizen entered with them.
"Go and make a copy of your card keys," Aizen ordered the female scientist, "and bring them to me."
The woman left the room and Aizen turned to the male scientist.
"Tell me, why are these people here?" Aizen asked.
"They have been identified by the government as being a threat, due to the emergence of magical abilities that are considered dangerous enough to be deadly," the man explained dazedly.
"How do you know that they have these abilitites?"
"They went to psychologists about these emerging abilities and those psychologists were required to report this to the government under secret act 444-911Target."
"I see," Aizen answered, looking at the three chambers, then noticing suddenly, the presence of several more chambers, "How many people have been identified and killed through this program?"
"There have been twelve thousand, six hundred fifty-three eliminations, taking place in twenty-six countries," the scientist told Aizen.
"And why, exactly, does the government want them to be killed? Surely, their abilities could be useful."
"Identified mages of less than four inches diameter measured on their spirit core are allowed to live and returned to the population. Those with more than a four inch diameter on their spirit core are terminated to prevent them causing deaths."
"And how do you determine the size of this...spirit core? Where is it in their bodies?"
"It is here," the man said, pointing to place a few inches beneath his belly button, "We measure the spirit core through spirit sensory mapping. I can show you."
"Oh?" Aizen said, smiling more widely, "Please do. Tell me, what is the size of my spirit core, if I have one?"
He nodded briefly to the female scientist who had returned and accepted the two card key copies.
"I am going to need you to make some copies for me," Aizen said, looking into her eyes, "I will need copies of all documents, explaining and outlining this project...a mission statement, records of early experimentation, records of everyone associated with the project, all subjects located and their current status and locations."
"The sensory unit is right here," the male scientist went on, "Just lie down on the table. You needn't remove anything. It will see through your clothing."
"Hmmm, very well," Aizen said, lying down on the table and watching as the man moved to a control panel and pressed an array of buttons. A moment later, his eyes darkened and his face contorted into sudden anger.
"Harribel, get in here!" the man shouted to his absent colleague, "This man's spirit core is...it is... the largest I've ever seen! Harribel!"
"She isn't coming back just yet," Aizen said, calmly sliding to his feet and starting towards the man.
"Get back! Don't come any closer!" the man ordered him.
"You are too loud," Aizen said, focusing his eyes on the man's, "Why don't you sit down and forget what you just saw."
The man's face twitched uncomfortably, then relaxed and became benign again. He sat down in a chair and watched Aizen expectantly.
"What does it mean if someone has a very large spirit core?" the brown-eyed man asked.
"It means that their capacity for developing their inherited ability is great."
"An...inherited ability?"
"All magical abilities discovered so far are attributable to one of five families...the Kuchiki family, the Shihoin family, the Abarai family, the Kurosaki family and the Ishida family. All people known to be, in any way related to these five families are tracked and watched, and as soon as they evince magical ability, they are tested."
Aizen walked him over to the machine that had just been used to measure his spirit core.
"Can you tell me what family this last sample is related to?"
The man looked down at the sample and gasped.
"Sir!"
"It is just a test example.
"Oh! Ah, I see," the man said, looking relieved and addressing the sample.
He pressed several more buttons and watched the display on a screen in front of him. After several minutes of study, he frowned.
"This matches none of the five families," he reported, "One moment, I will check it against one last group."
"And that is?"
"Well," said the man, "It doesn't happen often, but sometimes there are a few that do not match the five known families. We call them 'anomalies.' Anomalies are always killed, no matter what size their spirit core. They are a sign of mutation of the abilities, and therefore, dangerous."
"Interesting," Aizen breathed, looking up as Harribel reutrned, "Oh, thank you, Harribel."
"Yes, sir."
The female scientist sat down next to the male and waited silently. Aizen looked through the files she had brought, studying them briefly, then he looked up at the two again.
"Can you wake these three?" he asked.
"What? But sir, they are very, very dangerous people!"
"Do not worry," Aizen said, intensifying his power, "I can control them using the new device that we developed."
"Oh yes!" said the woman, looking embarrassed, "Of course."
Aizen followed her to Byakuya Kuchiki chamber.
"He will be groggy for several hours," she explained, "so you will need to save interrogations for later."
"Good," said Aizen, "You there, Szayel Aporro, wake the other two. Don't worry, I will control them."
Aizen moved closer to Byakuya's chamber, watching as Szayel touched an array of buttons and the glass top slid back. Several minutes passed, then the young man in the chamber flinched and opened his eyes. He was immediately met with Aizen's solemn, bespectacled face and the sight of the small green crystal.
"Will you look at this for a moment?" he asked, moving from Byakuya's chamber to Tetsuya's, then to Renji Abarai's and hypnotizing each of them, "Climb out of those chambers and wait for me by the door."
The three young men complied instantly.
Aizen smiled in amusement as he realized they were all still naked.
"Go and take some clothes from that closet," he ordered them, "Dress yourselves, then wait by the door, there."
While they dressed, Aizen returned to the two scientists and carefully wiped their memories, replacing them with memories of simply arriving, conducting the terminations and leaving. He then instructed them to leave and watched them go. Finally, he moved to join the three intended victims and met their eyes warmly.
"The three of you will come with me," he said calmly, "You will stay close to me and you will avoid all other people. You are wanted for a crime you did not commit and I am the only one who can protect you."
"And...you are?" Byakuya asked, surprising Aizen with a deep, lovely voice and a pair of highly intelligent gray eyes.
"I am Sousuke," he said, smiling, "I am Sousuke Aizen. You may call me Doctor Aizen."
"Doctor Aizen, I am rather confused," said Byakuya.
"I'm damned confused!" said the red-haired guitarist, "How the hell did I get here? I don't know you..."
"I am going to protect you," Aizen said, intensifying his power.
Ah, perhaps their ability makes me have to work harder to maintain control. They are exceptional!
"Doctor Aizen?" queried Tetsuya, "When you said that you would protect us, were you just talking about the three of us? We saw others before..."
Aizen's brown eyes glittered warningly as he looked back at the blue-eyed Kuchiki.
"I am going to save as many as I can, and then we are going to put a stop to the killings...whatever means I have to use."
He opened the file for a moment, then looked back at the three.
"First," he said, we are going to my 'thinking place.' After, we will be going to find a man...named Kisuke Urahara."