Jonathan arrived outside the door to Freezes' lair. Victor had set himself up inside an old ice cream factory and Jonathan was struck by how genuinely stereotypical both himself and the rest of the masked rogues were when it came to choosing locations for lairs. He had never known a city in his life to have so many old and decrepit buildings which were so perfect for the various themed villains which had come crawling out the woodwork as the years had ticked by.
He knocked quietly on the rusted door and waited to be admitted entrance. If it were pretty much anyone else he had a meeting with he would have simply entered unannounced and made himself comfortable while he waited for the other individual to prepare themselves but Freeze was one of the few exceptions. The majority of the rogues gallery had a respect for Victor Fries which they rarely afforded to anyone else and even Jon himself admired the man. Jonathan was an individual who was dedicated to his work and was willing to die to further it and he recognised the same instinct and determination in Freeze. The main and obvious difference being that Victors' entire self was dedicated to protecting and saving his wife Nora, whom he still continued to love with every fiber of his being even after all the years they had been separated, while Jonathans' aims were much more selfish.
The door opened slowly and Jonathan allowed himself to slip inside. Turning to face the other man, Jonathan nodded in greeting, "Hello Victor." He pulled his jacket tighter against his body as he tried to acclimatise himself to the suddenly low temperature, the lower Victor managed to keep his lair the less effort he had to make to keep himself at sub-zero and while it was much more efficient for him it didn't really make for a fun visit.
"Hello Jonathan." Freeze responded in his deep voice which always held a foreign lilt to it even though the man had lived in Gotham for the last few decades. "How are you today?" He asked politely.
"Excellent. No complaints. And you?" Jonathan replied as he was led into the main room which Freeze was using as his headquarters and lab.
"I am fine. I can feel the beginnings of a breakthrough in my research and it will hopefully be a step forward in my goals." Freeze lowered his helmet so that he could give Jonathan eye-contact. "I will find myself in need of test subjects soon, if you would be so kind as to deliver me some in exchange for my help today? And yes I do remember that you released me from Arkham."
"Test subjects?" Jonathan contemplated the request. "Human or non?"
"Rats or rabbits will be sufficient for the moment."
"I will have Edward order some up for you the next time we meet. His connections for those services are much vaster than my own." Jonathan nodded again to let Freeze know that the terms were acceptable.
"Ahh yes. Also send Edward my regards the next time you two meet since I understand that he also assisted in my release from Arkham."
"I will Victor." Jonathan agreed. How much Freeze knew about the relationship between Edward and himself was a mystery to Jonathan but Freeze generally took nothing to do with relationships which existed between the other rogues. He was a very solitary figure and was known for avoiding getting involved with the various in-fighting which occurred. "And how is Nora?" He asked in response, decided that it was only polite to enquire.
Freeze hesitated before responding. "There was an incident a week ago. Nora and myself were attacked inside this very lab."
"Someone attacked Nora?" Jon asked in surprise. It was common knowledge that any perceived attack on Nora Freeze would result in Freeze himself completely abandoning his calm demeanour in favour of utter fury which was almost biblical in its nature. And Freeze also knew how to hold a grudge. The Joker had made an attempt on Noras' life about a decade previously and Freeze had been responsible for the deaths of over twenty different Joker henchmen before he realised that his attempts to kill the clown would be futile. In lieu of the Jokers' demise, Freeze had sworn to never help or offer assistance in any of the clowns schemes until his dying day and he had increased the amount of security he had protecting his wife.
"Yes." Victor frowned as he recalled the incident. "I was working on developing a new type of cryogenic formula when two men broke in silently and attempted to murder us both." He glanced over at the cryogenic tube which housed Nora with a sad glance before his face hardened considerably. "They were, obviously, unsuccessful."
"Were they acting of their own accord?"
"I...was unable to ask. They were dead before I had time to consider my actions." Freeze admitted quietly. "But on a more positive note, I was able to test out my new freeze ray and it works spectacularly."
"Do you think they were send here by someone? Who would be idiotic enough to attack you in your own lair?" Jonathan asked curiously.
"That I do not know. But their deaths were quick and the same will happen to anyone else who is foolish enough to try."
"Last week you say? That's odd. There was also an attack on Harley and Ivy in Ivys' lair last week. Ivy was taken and almost buried alive but she wasn't able to identify her attackers."
Freeze frowned again. "That is odd. Do you think the two incidents are related?"
Jonathan shrugged. "With the amount of enemies that each of us have built up over the years it could just be coincidence. I mean, those who fear us make attempts to kill us on a regular basis."
"Coincidence is possible but still, I would advise caution."
"Noted." Jonathan sat in one of the available seats and produced a few vials from his front pocket. "Now I believe I was here to discuss the effects of sub-zero temperatures on the development and dispersal of my toxin." Freeze nodded and pulled a small book off a nearby desk as he prepared to spend the day working with Jonathan.
x-x-x-x-x
Returning back the apartment, he found it empty. Edward apparently had business to attend to and had obviously chosen not to inform him. Jonathan made a mental note to inform Edward of the attack on Freeze and his wife since something about it was not sitting right with him. Since his night was apparently going to be a lonesome one, Jonathan decided to put the new information he had obtained from Freeze in relation to his toxin to work immediately. Quickly changing into his 'work' clothes, he headed directly downstairs into the basement. Standing at the base of the stairs he paused for a moment to observe the room around him and his eyes eventually settled on the dentist chair which had been giving him so much trouble recently.
After seeing Edwards' reaction to the torture chair in the museum exhibit Jonathan realised that the chair itself was obviously acting as a trigger for the younger mans' fear and as long as the chair remained in the basement, Edward would not venture down here. This knowledge was incredibly irritating. Jonathan really loved the aesthetic which the dentists chair provided the large space but was also forced to admit that he missed Edwards' presence down in the basement with him. When Jon worked on his toxin Edward usually used his own section of the basement to either further develop his plans or use the training mannequin to practise his self-defense techniques. Things were completely different however when Jonathan had a victim in the basement for testing. It was one of the few times when the darker facets of Edwards' personality shone through as he watched with obvious fascination as Jonathan slowly dissected the minds of the poor souls who had been unfortunate enough to be selected for testing.
Edward liked to pretend that Jonathan was the only sadist in their relationship but Jonathan knew that such a statement wasn't exactly true. Edward had tortured his own father to death many years previously and he still regularly watched people die as a result of their inability to answer a few simple questions. And usually with a cruel smile on his face. Edwards' inner darkness was one of the things which had initially attracted Jonathan to the man in the first place and catching Edwards' calculating gaze with his own while he was in the middle of destroying some fools mind always sent a flood of warmth through his system. They really were much similar than either would like to admit. Sighing deeply and with regret, he came to a decision. Picking up a large screwdriver, he rolled his sleeves up and beginning the long and difficult task of dismantling the dentists chair.
x-x-x-x-x
Arriving home much later than anticipated, Edward strolled up the street towards his apartment. He had been called out on sudden business, an issue with one of his real estate developments, and he had been forced to see to the problem himself. His casual whistling was interrupted as he caught sight of the large skip which lay outside the apartment block. Not that the skip itself was anything new but Edward could see a very familiar looking piece of furniture sitting inside it. Why would Jon throw out the dentist chair? He wondered vaguely, he knew that Jonathan legitimately liked it. Not that he was complaining of course since that chair now filled him with a genuine unease that he was unable to shake.
Moving past the skip, he hurried up into the apartment to find that the lights were off and he discovered that Jonathan was already in bed. Stripping off his suit, he quickly changed into his night clothes and slid into the outrageously comfortable space. "Jonathan?" He inquired in the darkness and waited for a reply. After a minute of no response he sighed and rolled to the side as he prepared to sleep.
"Yes?" Asked the allegedly sleeping man.
"Why did you throw the dentist chair out? You loved that damn thing and it cost me an absolute fortune."
Jon hesitated. "I decided that a change was needed. I have a replacement item coming tomorrow. Do not concern yourself with it."
"Okay then." Edward responded softly as a small grin made its way onto his features. He knew damn well why Jon threw that chair out. "Good night Jon." He was silent for a few moments before whispering as quietly as he possible could. "Thank you." He was unsure if Jon had even heard him or not but after a second he felt a bony hand brush his wrist as two fingers lay gently on top of his pulse point. This was a new habit which Jon had developed since Edwards' near-death experience at Scarecrows' hands and Edward suspected that this action was Jons' way of comforting himself as he kept a conscious track of Edwards' pulse. Moving his arm slightly to give Jon easier access, Edward shut his eyes and soon fell asleep.