"Mr. J, I…" Harley was absolutely devastated, as she broke down into tears.
Batman's showdown with the Joker had ended with his falling into the Gotham River, leaving a devastated Harley who had watched it all.
Her Puddin' was dead.
Dead.
His body nothing but shark bait in the body of water that the bridge stood on.
There was only thing she could do now.
Spreading her arms out she took one final jump and dived down into the river, seeking to join her beloved Mr. J in his watery grave.
That was something Batman could not allow.
Despite her being an accomplice to the Joker's plans, Harley Quinn was still human and he would not let her die.
With his mind made up, Batman jumped over the edge, free-falling past the catwalks to rescue her before she hit the water.
He barely managed to grab her and pull out his grappling hook in time. The grappler pulled them back up to the bridge and Batman gently let the woman down.
"Murderer." Harley muttered in a broken voice as she knelt down, staring at the ground.
"Harley." Batman said.
"No, leave me alone. I'm through." Harley stood up and looked over her shoulder, showing tears falling down her face which started to ruin her makeup. "No more love. No more crime. No more nothing. I'm through."
Turning around the heart-broken Harley Quinn slowly walked away crying with Batman watching in silence as she left.
Xxx
PART II: In Cold Blood
Xxx
The video started showing the image of a man next to the female reporter as she spoke. "Brain child of renowned scientist Isaac Evers."
The only person watching the video was a man in a mechanical suit with a glass dome surrounding his head. He opened his red eyes, glaring harshly at the screen.
"Liquid Promethium has been over four years in the making. Though originally developed for industrial applications," The man turned away from the screen, taking a few steps to the door. "It wasn't long before Evers discovered the compound's medicinal qualities."
He stopped at the door, grasping the gun at his hilt.
"Promethium represents a new hope for cryogenic research."
He spun around and aimed at the screen, pulling the trigger.
"Restoring life to people frozen in-"
A single ice shard was fired and in an instant the screen was shattered. Alarms blared as the man lowered his gun, glaring harshly at the destroyed screen before composing himself.
"Hope is death." Was all Mr. Freeze had to say in response to the video.
Xxx
"Any news on Harley?"
It had already been a few weeks since the night on Gotham Bridge and if one were not Batman they would believe that everything was indeed different. Crime had reached an all-time low in Gotham since that night and things were almost…peaceful.
Only Batman felt differently.
After all, this wasn't the first time they had believed the Joker had actually perished. The Clown Prince of Crime seemed to have a very strange relationship with death.
No matter the circumstances which included explosions and falling into shark infested waters, the Joker had always managed to survive.
"Still nothing." Batgirl said, sitting dutifully at the Bat-computer.
Despite letting Harley walk away, Batman had been keeping her under surveillance. If the Joker was still out there Harley would likely be the first to know.
"She hasn't left Funny Bones Warehouse since that night on Gotham Bridge. She's acting like the Joker's really…dead." Batgirl said quietly.
Now far be it for Batgirl to show empathy to Harley for all she had done or to mourn the Joker who had been a criminal psychopath but that doesn't mean she took any joy in it.
They were meant to be defenders of Justice.
Not enactors of vengeance.
"Keep a close eye on her." Batman said, watching the monitor that showed the Joker's former hideout. "There's more to this."
While Batgirl was keeping an eye on Funny Bones Warehouse she had been trained in the fine art of multi-tasking and thus was quick to notice something. "Wait, Batman. Look at this."
"What is it?"
"The security at Gotham Industrial. The cameras are failing in sequence. Like a blackout traveling from room to room." Batgirl explained, watching as nearly all the cameras went dark.
"Gotham Industrial uses heat imaging. That's not darkness." Batman narrowed his eyes. "That's cold."
Cold.
One name popped up in his mind on who could be responsible.
He quickly turned and headed for the Batmobile…then changed his mind at the last second.
Xxx
By the time Batman had arrived via the Batplane it was clear that Mr. Freeze had turned Gotham Industrial into a giant ice box.
The dark knight hopped out of the airship and pulled out his communicator to get in touch with Batgirl. "What's the situation with civilians?"
"The facility's been almost entirely evacuated but it looks like some security guards were flash frozen. They're sealed in blocks of ice but they're still alive. You've got to save them."
"I will. In the meantime try and find a way to monitor what is going on in there." Batman replied. "I don't plan on walking into this blind."
"I think I know a way. The security cameras in Gotham Industrial aren't all thermal. It might be a good way to find Freeze." Batgirl mused.
"Look into it and let me know what you find."
"Be careful. We still don't know what Mr. Freeze is up to."
"I wll." Batman said putting the communicator away.
Batman proceeded to the entrance which happened to be a frozen elevator with a security guard frozen next to it. A couple of karate chops and the guard was free and the ice blocking the elevator was smashed to bits. Once he made sure the guard was still breathing Batman jumped down the elevator, using his cape to glide down.
There was already a guard, an Ice Maiden on guard near another frozen security guard.
"Who's there?" The woman called out as she turned around.
Batman had already flung a batarang to knock the freeze gun out of her hand. He then slammed her down and cuffed her. Once she was taken care of he quickly freed the frozen guard who fell out, gasping, coughing and desperately inhaling much needed air. He then walked up the stairs and came upon a lobby with a giant desk as well as some lounging chairs.
Just as he was at the door a voice caused him to freeze(metaphorically speaking) and he spun around to see Mr. Freeze's face on the monitor of the desk's computer.
"Show me Isaac Evers or no one gets out of here alive." The cold themed villain spoke in his usual matching tone.
Once he had made his message clear the monitor was filled with static and Batman pulled out his communicator. "Batgirl, Mr. Freeze is looking for a doctor named Isaac Evers. Find everything you can on him."
"The Promethium guy? I remember him from television. A chemist, I think." Batgirl replied before focusing on the task at hand. "I'll see what I can find."
Batman put the communicator away and opened the door to the next room. He was now in the video surveillance room and there was an Ice Maiden there with another frozen security guard. She aimed and fired a barrage of ice shards at him. Dodging the shards Batman knocked the gun out of her hands. She swung both hands together at him which he ducked under and retaliated with an upper cut, knocking her off her feet.
He quickly turned her over and cuffed her arms behind her back. Once she was neutralized he turned to freeing the guard and then looked over the numerous monitors on the computer wall. It showed many hallways and rooms in Gotham Industrial but none showing where Freeze or this Isaac Evers might be. These were likely the only security cameras still working.
A beep from his communicator caught his attention which he immediately answered. "Batgirl, did you find something?"
"It looks like Isaac was working on some sort of cryogenic wonder drug. That must be what got Freeze's attention." Batgirl answered.
Made sense.
Mr. Freeze had cryogenically frozen his wife to keep her alive long enough to find a cure to her terminal illness. In fact it was the very cryogenic technology that turned him into the literally cold hearted criminal he is today.
The question was what did Freeze want with Evers?
His wife was no longer frozen and had been cured before she married her doctor and left Gotham. So there was no point in going after a man who had supposedly created a drug for the cryogenically frozen.
It wouldn't even be of any use to Freeze himself because of his condition.
Not long after his wife had made a full recovery Freeze had disappeared, having never come to see her despite all he had done to keep her alive. Little did anyone know the effects of the accident that had turned the once gentle Victor Fries into the criminal Mr. Freeze had caused his body to deteriorate. By the time Freeze had kidnapped enough doctors to halt the deterioration's progress, only his head had remained intact.
It was a very unfortunate thing to happen to a man who could have regained the normal and happy life he once had.
However none of this was relevant to the current crises at hand.
"Anything else?" Batman asked.
"I've got a police report on Freeze's helicopter outside of the facility. Outside of that there's not a lot of personal information on Evers." Batgirl replied.
"We'll find out more once I save him from Freeze." Batman said as he put the communicator away.
A small bit information but it was a start.
Now that he knew what Freeze's objective was he could work on finding both him and Evers to solve this crime.
He just needed to make it in time.