Meltdown
Nick and Terry were in uniform tonight after Bruce gave them a tip about possible illegal dumping of chemical waste in Gotham Harbor. They swung/glide down to one of the closed down industrial section of the harbor before making it to the water's edge. Batman pulled out a device and held it above the water's edge, causing static to be heard from it.
"You hear that?" Batman said over his ear piece and to his hero partner.
"Yikes." Spider-Man said with a cringe as he looked at the readings from this device. "That's over 1,000 mSv. Take a dip in this pool and you'll develop fatal cancer in less than five years."
"Water's pretty hot to. Practically poach an egg in there." Terry added.
"That must be where they're loading the radioactive waste before dumping it out at sea." Bruce said over the comms.
Before anything else could be said, the two heroes looked back to see a truck drying in up to their location. Thinking that it may be whoever was dumping the waste, Spider-Man launched a web line at the top of the crane pulled himself and crouched in position. Batman used the shadows to his advantage as he hid among the rafters of dock above them. The truck pulled in close before the back opened up to reveal men in white hazmat suits and safety pole forks, before another man wearing a brown suit and coat, who appeared to the ring leader of this operation, came out and stood along with them.
They waited for just a few seconds before a carrier boat was heard coming in and slowly docked itself where the men stood at the pier. The man in the suit smirked, before snapping his fingers, ordering them on the boat. They used their forked poles to start unloading canisters onto the dock and into the truck.
Seeing as these were the guys they were looking for, the heroes prepared for action as Batman turned invisible to move in closer, and Spider-Man flipped upside down on the crane and used a web line to slowly lower himself closer.
The captain of the carrier ship watched all of his cargo being carried out before checking his watch, gaining a troubled look. "Make it snappy. We've got twenty minutes before the next harbor patrol." He warned.
All of a sudden, a glob of web came from above and hit the captain, pinning him to the boat. Everyone stopped what they were doing in shock as Spider-Man leaped down and landed on the boat. "We may not be harbor patrol, but we're just effective." Spider-Man joked.
The three hazmat men tried to hit Spider-Man with his fork pole as a makeshift weapon, but the hero flipped back and delivered a kick to the guy's chest. "Can't you guys find any other evil job that's less cliche?" Spider-Man joked. Another one came and tried to hit him, but Spider-Man web-yanked the pole out of the guy's hands and twirled it around before letting it go, causing it to hit the guy on the head, knocking him down. A third guy came running at him, but Spider-Man simply launched a web line at the guy's head before giving a pull, sending his head crashing to the floor, knocking him out. "I mean, radioactive waste dumping? That's evil, sure, but it's just so old school."
Batman, still invisible, leapt down in front of another one of the hazmat guys and grabbed his fork pole. The man tried to resist, but Batman threw the guy right into three more of his buddies. The ring leader of this operation pulled out his gun and tried shooting at him, even though he couldn't see him, but Batman used his fork pole to pick up one of the canisters and toss it at him and hitting him in the stomach, knocking him down and out.
Seeing as how things were going south, the driver of the truck hit the gas and sped as far as he could. He didn't get far as Spider-Man launched a couple of web lines that connected to the gears of the back wheels of the truck and attached the other end to the crane. The tension from the web line caused the back wheels of the truck to break right off, causing the truck to swerve out of control and crash right into a wall.
"Ouch." Spider-Man cringed as he saw the wreckage. "I would say insurance would cover that, but I don't think he's gonna have any in prison." Spider-Man and Batman, who turned visible, heard a groan and noticed that the ring leader of this operation started to regain consciousness. "So, last time we interrogated someone, I was good Spider-Cop first, so do you want to be bad Bat-Cop for this one?"
"Works for me." Batman said as he walked up to the leader and hoisted him up, while giving him a dangerous glare. "Who hired you?"
"Think I'd tell you?" The leader responded smugly, causing Batman to pull his fist back, which made the guy flinch.
Before Batman could make due on his threat, he noticed a phone hanging from inside the man's coat. He took it out and casually tossed the man to the side, which was followed by Spider-Man shooting some webs at him that pinned him to the wall, while he also got to work by webbing up his cohorts up in the air by their feet. Batman, meanwhile, decided to give a little call to whoever was responsible for this operation.
/
Powers sat patiently in his office, watching the discussion between four executive heads about the new buyout business deal he's offered them. It was late at night, but that was all part of the plan. They're tired, they're desperate to leave and get some sleep, which' lol make it all the easier for him to 'convince' them to accept his deal.
One of the executives gave a tired sigh as he spoke to the CEO. "Mr. Powers, it's been a long night. My clients would like to go back to their hotel and rest a little, and think about your offer."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the buyout offer is out on the table. Leave this room and I withdraw it." Powers said calmly, but with a threatening hint to it. This caused the executives to whisper amongst themselves again, making Powers inwardly smirk, knowing that he has them hooked.
RING! RING!
Hearing his phone ringing, Powers pulled it out of his coat and answered it. "Powers."
"Amazing the numbers people put on their speed dials." Batman said over the line, causing Powers to gain a look of shock. "Just wanted you to know tonight's boat ride has been cancelled, though your goons are still going up the river. Wish you could join them."
"Is that Powers?" Spider-Man asked over the line. "Hey, Powers, just wanted to say hi and say that you're going to need to update your evil corporate shady deal, cause radiation dumping? Seriously? How cliche are you? Okay, byeeeee!"
Powers growled in anger as the heroes hanged up on him. Once again, they've ruined another of his operations, which is going to setback his plans a considerable amount, which was really testing his patience. His anger was rising so much that his artificial skin around his eyes began to crack, revealing his green energy body.
Powers' secretary silently gasped when she saw this. "Sir, your eyes." She whispered to Powers, before handing him a mirror, allowing him to see that his skin was failing.
Powers quickly put on a pair of sunglasses and turned back to look at the executives. "My friends, perhaps you're right. It is an ungodly hour, and we'll continue this conversation tomorrow when we're refreshed."
With that said, Powers left his office, leaving behind the executives who looked at each other in confusion.
/
Powers was back in his laboratory, sitting down as a machine scanned his genetic makeup, trying to find out what went wrong. Working on him was his head scientist Octavius plus two more scientists on his pay roll, who worked on a console that gave the readings on Powers' condition.
"It's useless. It barely lasts a day anymore." Powers angrily got up and started tearing away his skin. "What am I paying you people for?!"
"W-Well, sir, i-it's not just the skin that's failing. The radiation you're emitting is getting stronger." Octavius tried explaining.
"Is that supposed to pacify me, Otto?!" Powers exclaimed as he grabbed Octavius by his shirt.
"Mr. Powers." A female voice spoke up. Everyone turned to look at a woman with long brown hair and wearing a lab coat and glasses walking up to them. "I may have a suggestion."
"Who are you?" Powers asked.
"She's new here, Mr. Powers." Otto said nervously. "Please, she really shouldn't..."
"I'm Doctor Lake. Stephanie Lake." The woman introduced.
"What's this suggestion of yours?" Powers asked curiously.
"I could use your baseline DNA to build you a new body, then transfer your neural patterns into it." Lake explained.
"What?!" Octavius said in shock. "Doctor Lake, that kind of procedure is too danger-"
"A new body?" Powers said with intrigue.
"Theoretically it should work, of course I would want to test the process first on someone who also has systemically damaged DNA." Lake further explained.
"Do you have someone in mind?" Powers asked expectantly, causing Lake to smirk as an idea formed in her head.
/
Stephanie walked down a dark corridor into an old science facility she was given access to. This facility's sole purpose was for the study of the patient she would want to test her procedure on before Powers. A door opened up and she walked into a really cold room, though she didn't mind, as she came face to face with her future patient.
The living head of Victor Fries, aka Mr. Freeze.
"Take a good look, doctor." Freeze said solemnly. "I've been like this for nearly fifty years and I haven't aged one day. I had become what many men dreamed of...an immortal. And yet, there hasn't been a day, an hour, a minute, I haven't thought about death." Freeze's face became sad as he thought about the choices that led him to this point in life. "It obsesses me, even now."
"What if I said I could give you life." Stephanie offered. "A normal life."
"Bah!" Freeze scoffed instantly, not believing it for a second.
"Victor, an incredible mind such as yours deserve a body." Stephanie enticed, shocking Victor by what she was suggesting. Stephanie smirked, knowing that she had him hooked.
Not long after, Victor's living head was taken to a lab over at WaynePowers where Octavius, Lake, and various other scientists were gathered around an operating table where the artificial body for Victor was being looked after. It looked exactly like how Victor was when he was completely human, before he had the accident that made him Mr. Freeze.
Powers approached Victor's head as he was placed on a contraption and had wires attached to his head, waiting for the transfer process to begin. "Doctor Lake and I have taken every precaution, Victor. Let me assure you..." Powers tried speaking, but was interrupted by the former villain.
"Save your breath." Victor said as he glared at Powers. "I am neither afraid nor capable of being comforted by your banal words." Powers frowned at the disrespect, but had to keep calm as this experiment was for his benefit just as it was for Victor's.
"Remember, there might be some momentary discomfort." Lake cautioned as she walked up to a control panel.
Lake pressed a few buttons and flipped a switch, as the machines flared to life. Sparks of electricity flowed through the wires attached to Victor's head, causing him to grit his teeth in pain, before he couldn't contain his screams anymore.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
/
Victor gasped as he sat up from his bed and panted heavily. He covered his face with his hands as the light from ceiling wears a little overwhelming, but then he realized something; he had his hands again. He opened his eyes and noticed he was in some kind of hospital room, with Powers and Lake sitting across from him in his room.
"Welcome back to the living." Powers said.
Victor could hardly believe it. Here he was with a body he longed thought he would never have again, no longer plagued by his condition or that suit he used to wore. He needed to be sure of one thing, as he turned to the window and saw that it was snowing outside, before getting up from the bed and walking towards it.
Lake got worried as she tried to stop him. "I don't think you should-" Lake was haunted when Powers held her back.
"Let's see what he can do." Powers said with interest.
Victor walked up to the frostbitten window, watching as the snow fluttered down outside. He placed his palm on the glass, and breathed in the sensation of actually touching something with his bare skin again. "Cold." Victor said as he smiled softly. "It feels...cold."
Lake and Powers smiled in satisfaction at this. The experiment had been a success.
/
Hamilton Hill High School
The end of the day came for the students as they all exited the building, getting ready to head on home, which was good on their part since it was pretty cold out tonight. Terry and Dana were next to walk out, wearing heavy winter clothing, as the former held his girlfriend close.
"So, Dana, you got time for a fizz or something?" Terry asked, wanting to spend some time with Dana.
"I do, but you don't." Dana said with a smirk, before gesturing behind him. Terry looked back to see Bruce, who brought Ace on a leash with him, standing ways back and looking straight at him. "You're keeper's here."
Terry gave Dana a regretful look, before he set his sights on Nick, who was on the phone as he was walking out of the building next. Based on the smile on his friend's face, he could already tell who Nick was talking to.
"Yeah, I was thinking that after the movie we could get some smoothies or something." Nick said as he was talking to Melanie over the phone.
"Sounds good to me. What movie do you think we should see?" Melanie asked.
"I'm not really sure. I haven't thought that far ahead." Nick said sheepishly.
"Well, maybe we could see a horror movie." Melanie said in a teasing amend flirty tone. "Don't you want to live the cliché of the scared girlfriend leaning into her boyfriend for comfort?"
Nick couldn't hide the blush that spread across his face. Despite having been officially dating now, Melanie still felt the need to tease him every now and then, saying she finds amusement in the face he makes. Still though, Nick couldn't help but smile at that, happy that he actually found himself an amazing girlfriend.
Nick, however, paused when he noticed Terry looking at him, before gesturing towards the side and showing that Mr. Wayne was waiting for them. Nick got serious as he spoke on the phone again. "Actually, Melanie, something just came up now and I don't think I can make it tonight."
"That's alright." Melanie said in understanding. "We'll try again for next time."
Nick smiled as both he and Melanie ended the call as he walked with Terry to Bruce. That's another thing he liked with Melanie, that being that whenever he had to cancel a date due to his time as Spider-Man, she would always understand and never hold it against him. In fact, she would sometimes cancel a date as well, but they both made sure there would always be a makeup date to try and get back where they left off.
Pretty soon, the three of them, plus one dog, walked down the sidewalk and the young men couldn't help but noticed the troubled look on the retired hero's face. Without being needed to ask, Bruce passed them a handheld device that started playing a news conference that showed Powers on a pedestal with Victor by his side.
"Victor Fries has payed his debt to society and now, with the help of the great medical minds of WaynePowers, has returned to a normal life." Powers said in the microphone.
"Whoa, wait, Victor Fries, as in MR. Freeze, the ice villain you tangled with in the past?" Nick said in shock and awe. "I get that he looks young because his condition halted his again, but according to your files, you said that he was now nothing but a head."
"He was, but apparently, according to Powers, he used science to restore his body, but I have my doubts." Bruce said with a hard stare, more-so than usual.
"When was this on?" Terry asked curiously.
"This morning." Bruce answered as they continued to watch the footage.
"My fervent hope is that the technology used to help Victor will serve to help millions more." Powers said, before Terry turned off the device and hand it back to Bruce.
"I want you two to follow Freeze." Bruce ordered. "Don't let him out of your sight."
"Why?" Terry asked curiously.
"I don't trust him." Bruce said strongly.
"Which one? Powers or Fries?" Nick asked.
"Neither." Bruce said as he walked away, leaving Terry and Nick to head off to work.
/
Spider-Man and Batman remained hidden on the rooftop of a building across from the train station, watching Fries like a hawk. He seemed to be on a tour of the city with a woman, though they didn't know who she was. It made sense though, as this was a different Gotham, so it'd be best to get to know the new layout of the city you once lived in.
"You really think that Fries would really try something?" Spider-Man asked his partner.
"I don't really think so, but the old man seems pretty sure about it." Batman answered as he used his masks built-in scopes to get a closer look at Fries.
"Honestly, I think he's just being more paranoid than usual." Spider-Man said. "We don't like Powers, that much is certain, but he did say one thing that was true. Fries has paid his debt, so I think he should at least be given a chance."
The two heroes soon noticed that a train was making it's way towards the station, but then a cat fell into the tracks and was helpless. The two heroes were about to spring into action, but then Victor reached down and grabbed the cat before the train could run it over. He then handed the cat to a little girl, most likely owner, who looked up at the former villain with admiration and relief.
The heroes saw all this in silence before Batman spoke up. "Yeah, there's a menace to society." Batman said sarcastically.
So they continued to watch over Victor, on the off chance that Bruce was right and he might try something, but the more and more the two heroes watch over him, the more they think that this was a waste of time. All throughout their time watching over him, he has done nothing but show that he was a changed man. This could be the day that Bruce may be wrong, though the two heroes wouldn't say that to his face.
They continued to follow him and the woman he was with, until they ended up at Gotham Acres Cemetery. The two heroes hid themselves behind some tombstones as they watched Victor and the woman approach a single tombstone. Batman zoomed in on the tombstone and noticed the name etched into it.
"'Victor Fries?'" Batman read out loud in surprise.
"He's visiting himself?" Spider-Man said in confusion. Batman held up his two fingers that had microphones in them to listen in on what they were saying, with Spider-Man leaning in close so that they both could hear what was being said.
"How fitting that that diseased skull of mine should be buried like this." Victor said as he gazed upon the tombstone.
"Frankly, I couldn't think of anything else to do with it." Lake said.
"It was the right thing." Victor said as he and Lake looked into each other's eyes with the former having a grateful and endearing look in his eyes. "It symbolizes the end of a life, and the beginning of a new one."
Spider-Man heard all this and he couldn't help but voice his opinion. "Man...that's pretty heavy."
Before Batman could even voice his opinion, he and his partner noticed a figure in the distance hiding behind a tree, but they were soon put on high alert when they noticed that the person had a gun and was aiming it directly at Fries.
Batman powered up his rocket boots and shot straight at Fries and Lake, tackling them down before bullets started flying right above them. "Stay down!" Batman ordered, before tossing a baterang at the still firing assassin.
The baterang hit the assassin's gun, creating an explosion that caused a plume of smoke, causing the assassin to count his losses and take off. That wasn't the case, however, when Spider-Man came in from behind and launched a web line that attached to his back, before pulling him right towards a tree that he impacted back first. Batman then threw a bola at the assassin, wrapping around him and pinning him to the tree.
"No! You don't understand!" The assassin pleaded desperately as he tried to escape. "He's gotta die! The monster's gotta die!" Batman and Spider-Man approached the assassin before the former removed the mask the assassin was wearing, revealing an older man who appeared to be in his late fifties. "How could you two save him, after what he did? What he did to me?!"
Victor soon approached them and looked at them man in surprise and confusion. "What did I do?" Victor asked honestly.
"You destroyed my life." The man said as he glared at Fries, on the brink of tears. "Years ago...gone...frozen...forever." By now the man just let the tears flow as he looked down in sadness.
Spider-Man looked at the man with regret, really feeling sorry for the poor guy. Batman felt the same, but he needed to stay on track as he turned towards Victor. "We'll let the police take care of him."
"No. I've done this man enough damage." Victor said, with a look full regret, before he untied the bola and released him. The man looked had a look of surprise as Victor gave him a sad and regretful look before speaking to him. "No words can express my sorrow for the pain I've caused you. I beg your forgiveness. It was another life, though that's hardly an excuse. I can only promise you this, I will do the best I can to make reparations to you and everyone I've ever hurt."
The man looked at Fries for a moment, unsure how to respond to that, before he simply walked away without even looking back. Spider-Man was surprised by what he just witnessed, how Victor was the target for an assassination attempt, and he just let him go with no ill will.
"Wow." Spider-Man said in awe. "You really have changed, haven't you?"
"I know that some may say that, but in my heart, I know that there's a lot for me to make up for. That man is only the first step needed towards true redemption for all the horrible things I did." Fries said, before he set his gaze on the heroes. "Thank you for saving us, Batman, Spider-Man."
"You're welcome." Batman said with a nod.
"I feel you should know this, Batman. I harbor you no ill will for my past encounters with your predecessor, and I just want to say that you wear that symbol proudly." Fries said, pointing to the logo on Batman's chest, before turning his sights to Spider-Man. "And you, Spider-Man, though you are a complete enigma to me, I know through your past deeds that you are truly a remarkable hero. You both do this city proud as it's protectors."
"Wow...um, thanks..." Spider-Man said a little sheepishly. Victor and Lake decided to leave, leaving behind the town heroes as the spider-themed hero turned to his partner. "I'll say this, I think Bruce really dropped the ball on this one."
"I think you might right." Batman said in agreement, before they to left the scene.
/
The next day, Terry and Bruce were in the Batcave, watching an interview that Victor was taking part in on a television news outlet. Victor was just announcing a new organization he was building up, in order to help the families of past victims during his time as Mr. Freeze.
"I'm calling it the Nora Fries Foundation, named after my former wife." Victor announced.
"And you plan to fund it yourself?" The interviewer woman asked.
"Before I went to prison, my legitimate earrings were put in blind trust. After all these years it comes to quite a significant sum." Victor explained.
"A half-billion, I hear. That's some charity." The interviewer said humorously.
"Not charity, justice." Victor said strongly.
Bruce has heard enough as he turned off the monitor and glared at it. "More like blood money." Bruce said in an almost snarling tone.
"Come on, can't you cut him a little slack?" Terry asked, thinking Bruce was being a little too hard. "Me and Nick thinks he's legit now, and like my mom said, he's just a guy trying to get his house in order."
Bruce stared hard at an old file picture of Victor from the past when he was in that armored suit and pale-white skin. "It's a cold draft in that house."
/
At the same time as that interview was going on, Nick and Melanie were just walking down the sidewalk, wearing heavy jackets over their clothes to protect themselves from the cold, on their way to their next date. Both of them paused from their walk as a building with a window that had a TV on it was playing the interview and they decided to watch it.
"You know, good on Victor Fries." Nick said with a smile as they both continued walking. "It's nice to know a guy who's had so much pain throughout his life is finally getting some closure."
"I don't know." Melanie said skeptically. "I mean, I've read the stories of Mr. Freeze, and he's done some pretty crazy bad stuff in the past. How can you be sure that he can change just like that?"
"Well, I think that he's really genuine about changing his life for the better." Nick said confidently. "He was just a guy trying to help his dying wife in the past, and when you do things for the people you care about most, yeah, sometimes it can cloud your judgement, but I don't think it truly makes you evil, just misguided."
Melanie smiled as she held on to her boyfriend's arm. "First your friend with the whole robot thing, and the former Mr. Freeze? Some may say that you're naively too trusting." Melanie teased softly.
"I like to think I see the best in people." Nick said as he stopped and lightly cupped Melanie on the cheek. "I mean, I've met you, and I don't regret a single thing."
"Same here." Melanie said as the couple kissed each other on the lips. After they separated, they continued walking down the path towards their destination, but Melanie couldn't help but give a worried side glance at her boyfriend, feeling really guilty.
'Oh, Nick, would you still say that if you knew the real me?'
/
Meanwhile...
Victor stood up from his seat, as the interview concluded. He felt really proud by his announcement, knowing that he was really turning his life around, something he thought would never be possible.
"Good job, Victor." The interviewer woman congratulated.
"Thank you." Victor said, before he felt some sweat staring to flow down his head, and he began to tug his collar. "My, it's a little warm in here."
"It's the lights." The interviewer simply said as she checked herself in a mirror. "And they say we don't work hard for our money."
Victor soon left the studio in order to head on home, but he still could not save himself from the supposed heat he was feeling. He started breathing heavily as started to feel weaker for some reason, so he took off his jacket, thinking that'll help. It didn't work, though, as he stared up at the sky and at the partly clouded sun, still feeling that weak feeling, so he took his over shirt off, leaving him with his pants and shirt on only.
Victor crossed the street and finally found a place to sit on a bench. He continued to breath heavily, still feeling that wave of nausea and weakness spread throughout all his body. Sweat poured down his head as it dripped into the sidewalk, but then something else fell down to, a flurry of snow. Victor looked up and could see the snow falling down, and he started to feel some relief when the cold snow hit his skin, and that's what worried him.
Not knowing what else to do, Victor returned to WaynePowers and sat down in a lab, hoping to find an answer on what was going on. He sat on a table in the lab in nothing but his shorts, where the temperature was brought down to 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Victor may have kept calm on the outside, but on the inside he was in utter turmoil. The last time he had to remain in a room this cold was when he needed his old Freeze armor to survive, which didn't bold well for his mindset.
In the hallway monitoring him, Stephanie Lake was on the phone with Powers, giving him the news on what she discovered. "No doubt it, he's reverting." Lake said with a troubled tone.
"Why? How? Don't you know what this means to me?!" Powers exclaimed angrily. If the experiment didn't really work for Freeze's condition, then it'll never work for him, and that's what really matters.
"There must be some kind of nemonic agent within the DNA." Lake theorized.
"If only we could biopsy his organs at this stage." Powers offered.
"That might be doable." Lake said with a smirk on her face. After Lake hanged up the phone she went back into the lab and pressed a few key on a control panel, causing a glass wall to come down and isolate Victor from her.
"Stephanie?" Victor voiced with confusion. She didn't respond to him as she turned the heat up on thermostat, causing the room to increase from 35 degrees to 91 degrees, making Victor panic. "What are doing?!" She still didn't speak to him as she just stared at him coldly, with no emotion on her face. Victor started pounding on the glass wall, trying to get out, but it was just too strong and too durable. "No! NO! Stop, please! Please..." As the heat washed over him, Victor started to fade until he succumbed to unconsciousness, but he tried reaching out to her, but she still held her emotionless exterior, before he finally collapsed.
Stephanie continued to stare down at Victor without even a hint of remorse to what she was doing. While she did enjoy her time with Victor for a brief moment, she was a scientist first and foremost. When it comes to making discoveries, you have to use every resource at your disposal to achieve the next level of ingenuity, even if it means making necessary sacrifices to those resource.
Victor, despite being a genuine nice guy, was just another resource to her for the sake of science.
Thinking that he was finally out for good, Stephanie was about to open the glass barrier so she can due a full autopsy, but that was quickly denied when Victor sprang back into action and tossed his medical bed at the glass barrier with all his strength. The glass shattered and Lake was sent to the floor before she looked up to see Victor standing above her with a furious expression on his face. She slowly backed away thinking that he was going to kill her, and Victor really wanted to at this moment, but this was neither the time or the place, as he could still feel his body weakening from the heat.
Deciding to save this for another time, Victor ran off down the halls until he managed to make it to the exit. He felt a rush of relief as the snowfall was picking up and the cold winds washed over his skin. With new found rejuvenation, Victor had only one destination in mind, wanting to get something he'd thought he would never use again...
But they forced his hand, and now it's time to show Powers and Lake that revenge is dish best served cold.
/
It was the next night and the snowfall seemed to have died down exponentially. The ice started to melt, and the streets were littered with puddles from all of the melted snow.
Nick and Terry were called in by Bruce to do a stakeout over the WaynePowers research lab. Apparently, Bruce had got a tip that Fries escaped from here because he was about to be lethally experimented on against his will. When asked about how he knew all of this, he said that some workers within his old company were still loyal to the Wayne name, and decided to keep him in the loop on whatever they hear in the company.
"Even if he ran away like you heard, it doesn't mean he's going to come back." Batman said over the comms, as he and Spider-Man were perched on the side of a building.
"He'll be back. Count on it." Bruce said with conviction. "He lives for revenge."
"Not the Victor Fries we met." Batman argued.
"What you met was a ghost." Bruce countered.
"But we've interacted with him, we've spoken to him." Spider-Man argued back. "He genuinely wanted to change for the better, so why would he give that up?"
"Because people can only change if they want to change." Bruce said melancholy, causing Nick and Terry to look at each other, really pondering those words.
Meanwhile...
Lake walked down the halls of the research lab with Powers and Octavius, discussing the current situation about Victor, his supposed whereabouts, and his progressing condition.
"Security's checked every meat locker, deep freeze, and cryogenic plant in town. No sign of him." Lake informed her employer.
"We never should have started this experiment." Octavius said with regret. "Science cannot be used to go against the natural order of things."
"Sometimes you find the wrong answers before you find the right ones. That's what science is all about." Lake argued.
"Don't bother talking about scientific ethics to him, Doctor Lake." Powers said as he glared down at his head scientist. "Octavius claims to be a brilliant scientist, but the one thing he's truly lacking is a spine." That remark caused Octavius to look down sadly, having already been used to his boss' verbal abuse.
"Anyway, if he's still hiding in Gotham, he's fried." Lake said confidently.
"What makes you so sure?" Powers asked.
"We're about to have a heatwave, Mr. Powers. Today it hit seventy." Lake said with confidence.
RUMBLE!
That confidence was shattered when the ground started to shake uncontrollably, nearly making them lose their footing.
"Where's that coming from?" Powers asked. The ground started to shake again, causing Powers to tumble to the side and hold onto the wall to keep his balance.
The danger didn't stop there as a large ice spike rose from ground and nearly hit them. Otto started to run in fear in one direction down the hallway, while Powers and Lake ran down the other direction. Along the way, they had to constantly avoid even more ice spikes that pierced all around the building, nearly killing them in the process.
The same thing was happening outside as well, as all throughout the surrounding area of the building, giant ice spikes started piercing upwards everywhere. The two resident heroes watched all of this in disbelief, as this could only mean open thing.
"Oh God, no..." Spider-Man whispered with dread.
"Oh, Fries." Batman whispered with regret, before he took flight towards the destruction and Spider-Man swung in from behind.
Back inside the building, Powers and Lake continued to run down the hallway and avoided the ice spikes that continued to pierce all around them. They managed to find the exit, but before they could even get near it, a wall of ice sprouted from the ground to block their exit, sending them falling to the ground. Both of them looked to see a large gaping hole in front of the ice wall, before someone rose from it.
That someone was Victor Fries, now sporting a large, bulky, blue and black armored suit with domed helmet to constantly give off a deep freeze temperature to him. The gauntlets he wore shot out ice beams to create a platform of ice that rose him up from the ground. He wore a pair of red goggles on his head to complete his menacing look, as he stared down the ones who orchestrated his demise, the ones he trusted the most and paid the price for.
Mr. Freeze was back.
"Freeze...how?" Powers whispered in disbelief at the armor.
"It's something I've kept in cold storage." Freeze said. Powers and Lake tried to run and get away, but Freeze fired an ice beam from his gauntlet at the floor, causing it to be coated with ice, and made Powers slip and hit the wall.
"You've got this all wrong." Powers tried to plead as Freeze approached him.
"Do I?" Freeze asked as he was about to fire upon him.
"Victor, don't do it." Lake called out, causing Freeze to stop and look at her. "Please." She begged, trying to call upon his better nature.
Thinking this was his chance, Powers got up and ran straight for the exit, but Freeze saw this and held up his gauntlet, firing a beam of cold that hit Powers straight in the back.
"AAAAAAHHHHH" Powers screamed in pain as ice coated his entire body, leaving him frozen in place.
With Powers dealt with, Freeze set his sights on Lake as he menacingly advanced towards her, causing her to back away in fear. "We were only trying to help you." Lake begged for her life again, but much like what she did to him, Freeze just stared at her with an emotionless expression.
"Remember, there may be some momentary discomfort." Freeze said coldly as he held up his gauntlet and fired a cold beam at her.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Freeze didn't feel a thing as he looked at the frozen section of the wall, staring into the lifeless frozen form of Stephanie Lake. Now that his revenge has been dealt with, there is only one thing left to do.
Freeze fired a beam of cold that destroyed the closed exit doors and made his way out the building, only to be met under fire by Powers' private security force. The energy shots in their rifles didn't damage his armor, so Freeze retaliated by shooting a beam of clod around the force, trapping them in a prison of ice. An armored vehicle contains more security soldiers drove in close, but Freeze just shot a cold beam from his gauntlets that sent it crashing to the ground, and trapping it and the security force inside it in ice.
With that taken care of, Freeze continued on his way towards his objective.
/
Back inside the WaynePowers tower, Powers continued to remain in his frozen state, but then something begin to happen. Steam started to form around him and the ice began to rapidly crack and melt. Just then the ice exploded with a sudden surge in heat, as Powers' mutated form was activated to its full effect, revealing glowing green see-through body.
His skeleton eyes narrowed in anger as radioactive heat coursed through him. In his mind, Mr. Freeze just made the biggest mistake of his life.
/
Freeze eventually made it to his destination, the central power generator building within the grounds. He burst through the generator room and barricaded the door by coating the opening with ice. After that was done, he made his way to the generator's control panel and pressed a few keys to activate it. Soon, his suffering will finally be over.
He paused, however, when he noticed the shadows of Spider-Man and Batman behind him. "There's enough energy here to destroy the whole compound, you two." Freeze said as he turned towards the heroes. "I suggest you find a way out."
"Freeze, think." Batman pleaded. "This can't be what you want. You'll only cause more pain, more suffering."
"No, I end it." Freeze argued. "When this reactor goes, I go to."
"Think about it, Victor, you've been given a second chance at life." Spider-Man continued to argue. "Don't throw it all away because of the decisions others have made. You can still do good, you can still change for the better."
"Cold is in my nature, Spider-Man. I cannot change it, no matter what anyone says." Freeze finished before he fired a beam of cold at the two heroes, forcing them to jump out of the way.
Both of them split up, causing Freeze to fire both his ice gauntlets at the heroes, before they both tried to get to higher grounds above the catwalks. Freeze fired upon them again, but the impact of the ice beams caused part of the catwalk to fall towards him, before pushed it aside by firing another ice beam at it.
Spider-Man swung in from behind and delivered a swing kick on Freeze's back, pushing him forward slightly, but he still remained on his feet. Freeze turned around and fired a few more ice beams at the spider hero, which he managed to dodge, but just barely. Spider-Man shot a few globe of web nets at Freeze, tying up his gauntlets together and pinning him to the ground, which he struggled to break free from.
"Please, Victor, I don't want to fight you." Spider-Man continued to plead.
'And that is why you will fail." Freeze stated before he flared up the cold in his gauntlets, causing his web prison to be turned to ice, which he shattered to free himself.
Spider-Man launched a web line to try and swing away, but Freeze shot a beam of ice at the hero's legs, pinning him to the ground. Freeze turned around to see Batman leaping down towards him in an attempt at a sneak attack with a baterang, but Freeze fired a cold beam that hit him square in the chest, pinning him to the wall in a block of ice. Batman and Spider-Man struggled to get out of their icy restraints, but they were helpless as Freeze held up his gauntlet at Batman.
"You had your chance." Freeze stated as he prepared to fire upon the hero.
"So did you."
Freeze turned around to see where that voice was coming from, only to be met with a green skeletal hand reaching out and grabbed him in the chest.
"AAAAAHHHH" Freeze screamed in pain as he could feel the hand painfully burn right through his armor, as if the heat was eating away at his armor and body. The glowing green skeleton figure reached in with his other hand at Freeze's chest, causing another surge of radiated heat to eat away at Freeze, as his armor started to spark and steam from the radiation and he continued to scream in pain.
"Yeah, you feel it don't you, right through your suit The heat is on, Victor." The skeleton figure said evilly, as the heat became too intense that Freeze's domed helmet began to crack.
As Spider-Man and Batman continued to struggle out of their icy restraints, with Batman at least able to free his arm, Bruce called them over their comms. "Terry, Nick, I can't maintain video link. What's going on?"
"Oh, you know, Freeze getting into a fight with Skeletor, of all things." Spider-Man quipped as he managed to free ones of his legs. Freeze raised up his gauntlet to try ice blast this new foe, but the skeletal man reached and grabbed the gauntlet, melting it down and causing it to burn, making Freeze scream even more in pain.
"And behold I shall be a blight upon the land, and everything I touch shall wither and die." The figure was about to finish Freeze off, but Batman kicked him right in the back, sending him crashing right into a railing, where Spider-Man shot out a couple of webs to tie his hands to the railing. "Batman and Spider-Man." The figure said with so much hate.
"And who are you, sunshine?" Batman asked.
"Let me guess, it's either gonna be Glowstick-Man, or something really creepy from the Necronomicon?" Spider-Man quipped.
The figure just looked at his bound wrists, before the webs started to melt under the heat from his wrists, as he lifted his hands up and they were coated in green fire. "Blight, will do." The now named Blight said eagerly.
Spider-Man's spider sense flared up like crazy as Blight threw the green fire balls at the heroes, to which Spider-Man pushed his friend out of the way of one fireball and he dodge the other one. Blight fired a stream of green fire at Spider-Man, forcing him to swing out of the way, before he ran up and tackled Batman to the ground and brought him into a headlock. One of Blight's hands started to glow green as he held it close to Batman's face, in an attempt to melt it right off, but thankfully his suit managed to protect him.
"Terry, there's something hot in that room." Bruce said as on his end, he was picking up extreme levels of radiation.
"No kidding." Batman said as he managed to throw Blight over his shoulder, causing him to hit a pipeline before getting back up.
Spider-Man swung in from behind and shot a web net that coated Blight, but the heat was too much that it burned the web up and freed him. He shot multiple fireballs at the heroes, which they managed to avoid, before Spider-Man web-zipped right in front of him and punched him in the face multiple times, before his wrist was caught by the glowing green villain.
"Feel the burn, you pestering bug." Blight threatened as his hand that held the hero's wrist started to glow green with radiation. He expected the hero to start screaming in pain, but to his surprise he only gave off a little grunt, but still held strong.
Spider-Man then delivered a punch that sent Blight back and freed him, much to Blight's shock. "Sorry pal, Unstable Molecular Fabric. Perfect for rainy days, snow storms, and those ungodly radiation days." Spider-Man quipped. Blight growled in anger as he started throwing more and more green fireballs at the hero duo, forcing them to jump out of the way and find cover.
As this was going on, nobody noticed Otto hiding behind one of the many machines in the upper level, with a look of utter fear on his face. He may have been involved with most of Powers' schemes, but he always did his best to never get caught in the middle of them. Now, here he was, caught in the crossfire of a battle hue wanted no part of.
"T-This is g-getting too much." Otto stuttered in fear as he slowly crept away, before taking off in a sprint. "I need to get out of here!"
Blight growled in anger at his inability to land a single blow to Spider-Man, before he gathered a large radiation ball in his hands and threw it at the hero. "Yikes!" Spider-Man yelped as he maneuvered his body mid-swing to avoid getting hit by it...
...but in doing so, it went straight towards Octavius.
"AAAAHHHH!" Otto screamed as the green radiation flame ball impacted him in the back. In doing so, the mechanical harness that housed his metal tentacles started to spark and his entire body was shocked with green electricity. When the sparks stopped shocking him, Otto collapsed to the ground unconscious, but a few sparks of green electricity remained on his metal harness.
Meanwhile, the heroes continued avoid getting fried by their new foe. "This guy's like a walking meltdown." Batman said over the comms.
"Keep your distance. Both of your suits can give you some protection, but they're not designed for such high levels of radiation." Batman advised.
Batman and Spider-Man leapt out of their hiding spots, with Batman launching his grappling hook to wrap around him and Spider-Man doing the same with a web line. Blight growled in anger before his entire body began to glow green and he sent out a shockwave of radiation that sent both heroes flying up the second level of the building.
"You only got a tan that time, heroes." Blight said menacingly as he walked up the stairs to the level they landed on, holding large green fireballs in his hands. "Here comes the real burn."
"BLIGHT!"
Blight looked down to see Mr. Freeze down below, holding up his gauntlet as he fired a powerful ice beam at the radioactive skeleton man. The hit Blight square in the chest and sent him flying right out the building, all the way across the city, until he ended up crashing right into the frozen lake of Gotham Park.
With Blight taken care of, the two made their way to Freeze, who collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, due to the injuries he sustained. "Stay where you are." Freeze said as he threateningly held up his gauntlet towards them, halting their movements. The heroes soon heard creaking noises coming all around them, and looked to see some of the ice capsules and bits of the ceiling were starting to break off.
"Freeze, you've got to get out of here." Batman said urgently.
"If we stay here any longer, the whole building will collapse on top of us!" Spider-Man added urgently.
"Believe me...you two are the only ones who care." Freeze said forlornly.
The heroes heard the rumbling getting louder as they looked up to see large pieces of ice started to break off and collapse to the ground. One large chunk managed to land destroy one of the generators, causing it to explode.
"Terry, Nick, get out of there now!" Bruce exclaimed over the comms urgently, seeing all of this through Terry's suit.
"Not without Victor!" Spider-Man said as he ran to help Freeze, but the ice villain fired an ice beam from his gauntlet, creating a large ice wall that blocked his path completely. "NO!" Spider-Man tried pounding the ice wall, but it was too thick.
Freeze breathed a sigh of relief, accepting his fate, as he collapsed to the ground. He looked up slightly to see Spider, and although he couldn't see his face, he could tell that he was broken hearted by his choice. "Spider-Man...thank you, for never giving up on me." With that said, Freeze looked calmly as pieces of the ceiling collapsed all around him.
Spider-Man's spider sense flared up as he jumped back to avoid falling debris from crushing him, before Batman grabbed his shoulder and looked at him solemnly. "We have to get out of here." Batman said.
"But...but Freeze..." Spider-Man said as he looked back to where Victor was, seeing nothing but rubble, with even more collapsing all around.
"Nick, there's nothing we can do." Batman said as her took off out of the building, with Spider-Man reluctantly following after him.
The two heroes eventually made it outside the building and swung/flew away from the vicinity and made it to the roof of a distant building. They watched as multiple explosions occurred throughout the building, before it completely collapsed.
The two heroes looked at the pile of dust and rubble that was once the generator building of WaynePowers, not feeling the sense of accomplishment they should have. Blight was taken care of, the day was saved, but at the cost of a good man, who just wanted his pain to stop.
With nothing left to say, the two of them left as the fire department started to arrive.
/
Back at Gotham Park, a hover cruiser straight down towards the park, where Blight stood patiently waiting. Blight looked calm and collected on the outside, but inside his blood was boiling. Today did not go according to plan, and he needed to get back to his lab to reattach his artificial skin again. Today, Batman and Spider-Man really sealed their fates, as he vowed he would never stop working until they were finally dead.
The hover cruiser landed just in front of him and a ramp was lowers, before an opening appeared and two of Powers' scientists walked out. "Mr. Powers, thank heavens." One of the scientists said with relief.
"We used an infrared scan to locate you." The second scientist said.
"Not that you wouldn't have been hard to spot without it." The first scientist said as Powers walked up the ramp.
"We also brought these; in case you were cold." The second scientist said as he held up some blankets, but all this did was cause Powers to glare at him angrily.
"You are idiots." Powers said before walking inside the craft. He paused when he noticed Octavius covered up on a hospital bed on the side, still unconscious. "What happed to Octavius?"
"We found him in the wreckage, sir. He's alive, but he's unconscious." One of the scientists said.
"Pathetic." Powers spat as he took his seat, leaving behind the still unconscious Octavius.
/
Bruce, Terry, and Nick stood along a bridge as the sun began to rise up, watching the tower of smoke from where the power complex was still being worked on by the fire department.
"With all his injuries and that cracked helmet, no way he could have gotten out." Terry said.
"It could have been worse, he could have blown up the whole compound like he intended. Killed hundreds." Bruce stated.
Terry looked down in thought by what his mentor meant. "Guess you were right about Freeze all along." Terry said.
Instead of feeling satisfied at that, Bruce looked on with an almost sad expression. "We all were." Bruce said as he looked at Nick, who didn't say word yet. "I think, at one point, he truly did want to change."
"Yeah, he wasn't a bad man." Nick said as he decided to walk off. "He just had bad luck."
"Nick..." Terry called out, but Bruce stopped him by placing his hand on the teen's shoulder.
"Let him go." Bruce said as he gave Nick and understanding look. "He just needs time to himself right now."
/
At the Gotham Acres Cemetery, Nick stood all by himself as the cold wind blew over him, but it didn't bother him. He had a sad expression on his face as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a single flower from his jacket pocket, before placing it on a single tombstone.
The tombstone of Victor Fries.
"I hope you're at piece now, Fries." Nick said sadly as he patted the tombstone. Nick sighed as he walked off, before he came upon a double set of tombstones that laid right next to each other.
Here lies Billy Styles, beloved Husband and Father.
Here lies Pam Styles, beloved Wife and Mother.
"Hey mom, dad, I miss you." Nick said with a sad smile.
/
Hey everybody, and Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! I know it's not Christmas yet, but I feel that this chapter and the time it's coming out was perfect timing.
So, after careful planning, I decided to do a Batman Beyond centric episode chapter, because some of your made clever points. So, I decided that since I did two Batman Beyond chapters, the next two chapters I'll do will be Spider-Man centric. I've already teased who the next villain will be, and trust me when I say, it's going to be exciting when I get to him.
I really loved this episode when I watched it, as Mr. Freeze was always my favorite Batman villain growing up, next to the Joker. I like how this episode was his final send off in the DCAU, and it really showed that he really did want to change for the better, but circumstances always brings him back into the fold.
Anyway, that's all I have to say at the moment, I really hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I really enjoyed writing it.
See you all next time! Stay healthy, and stay safe!