Ice

Pain

Water

Darkness...

"I've got him secure now, Mr. Terrific. Thanks for sending the help."

"It's no problem. Are you sure you don't want to lock him up in the Watchtower?"

"Thanks, but he's not going to cause anymore problems. It's the initial transformation that's the problem."

"The offer stands."

"I appreciate it."

Eric's head throbbed as he came back to awareness. In fact his whole body throbbed. He felt maybe a little like he had been through a kick boxing match and come out on the losing side. With a groan he tried to raise his hand to his face, but realized that he was restrained. That brought him to a state of full awareness and his eyes shot open.

The first thing he realized was that he was in a large well lit room. He was strapped to some kind of table with thick metal bands over his chest and limbs. The table was in an upright position allowing him to see everything around him. There were computers and equipment lining the wall opposite him as well as all sorts of gadgets on a table to his right. To his left was a big large monitor that took up a large portion of the wall and went black just as he looked over at it. He was sure there were more things behind him, but he was unable to twist his head far enough.

But when he spotted a familiar figure all other thoughts fled from his head. A big burly white furred bi-pedal wolf turned and was walking toward him. He tried to keep the look of awe off his face, but he had to admit to himself Icewolf was an amazing being. But what was he doing in the ice hero's presence? The last thing he remembered was working a crime scene.

"Hey sleeping beauty. How do you feel?" Icewolf asked in that amazing deep rumble of a voice.

"Um...okay?" Eric said. He let his eyes roam and suddenly realized where he was. He was in Icewolf's secret base. "Why am I here?"

Icewolf smirked and crossed his arms. "You went on a little bit of a violent spree earlier. I'm sure you probably don't remember."

"Last thing I remember is being at a crime scene."

"Anything else?"

Eric's eyebrows scrunched up as he thought hard. He couldn't think of anything. There were flashes of things that didn't make sense, but nothing to explain his lack of memory or why in the world he was in Icewolf's secret base.

"You touched a power amulet and it found you to be suitable," Icewolf explained.

"Suitable for what?" Eric asked. Icewolf had said it in a very nonchalant way, but for some reason that struck Eric as ominous.

"Suitable for the powers of course," the white wolf replied. "You're now an honorary Wolf. You haven't displayed your elemental power yet, but your first transformation to your hybrid form was fun."

Eric's mind went blank. "Honorary Wolf?"

"Yup," Icewolf flashed his front teeth in a wolf-smile. "I'm not the only one you know. There was a Firewolf, and I met the Terrawolf once."

"I'm not a wolf," Eric said, mind still not catching up with the facts.

Icewolf laughed. "You are. When you touched the amulet and it transferred the power to you it triggered an automatic transformation to your half human-half wolf form. We call it the hybrid form. You then ran wild around the neighborhood until a few League members helped me stop you."

"You—can't--"

"You're not a wolf, Eric. You're human. Focus on that. Hold on to that."

Eric jerked, the sudden memory assaulting his mind. Suddenly like a flood he remembered everything. He remembered touching the amulet. He remembered the painful transformation and then...oh no. He struck Ryan, struck him hard. It could have been hard enough to kill.

"Delko?"

"How do you know my name?" Eric demanded in an attempt to distract himself from morbid thoughts.

"Oh, we know each other better than you think," Icewolf replied and Eric was frustrated by his obvious attempts of being mysterious. "What we need to talk about is what you plan to do."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a Wolf now, Delko. You've got powers and abilities you didn't have before," Icewolf explained calmly. "You can catch the criminals before they commit the crimes instead of after."

That idea definitely had its appeals. Eric, like most CSIs, wished sometimes that he could have stopped a crime instead of just avenging it. Now maybe instead of just investigating the crime scene he could prevent it. He could--

Wait a minute. Eric narrowed his eyes at the white wolf who cocked his head in response. "How do you know so much about me?"

Icewolf snorted. What could have passed as a mischievous smile crossed his features. "You know me and yet, you don't."

"Quit being so damn cryptic! Give me a straight answer damnit! And let me out of these restraints!"

"Temper, temper, Delko. I'm not letting you out of there until I'm sure you're not a threat anymore," Icewolf retorted. He turned his back to Eric and started to walk back toward his computers. "And you haven't earned the right to know my true identity."

Eric opened his mouth to argue, but snapped it shut. It was obvious the superhero wasn't going to answer any questions he didn't want to and pushing wasn't going to get him anywhere. Instead he changed his tactic and asked some other questions he wanted answered.

"Did you...did I...When I transformed I was with a colleague..."

Icewolf turned to face Eric again and the wolf's features seemed to soften just slightly. "He had a headache, but otherwise fine."

"Oh, good," Eric didn't really know what else to say. He wasn't fond of Wolfe, but he was glad to know he hadn't killed the guy. "Did I hurt anyone else?"

"You scared a few police officers pretty badly and gave me a run for my money, but no. No one was seriously hurt."

Eric breathed a sigh of relief at that. If he had hurt innocent bystanders he never would have forgiven himself.

"You weren't in control of yourself. You can hardly be blamed for anything that happened and thankfully nothing did," Icewolf said, sounding strangely comforting. "My first transformation was the same way. Thankfully, Firewolf was there to knock me out."

"Who knocked me out?"

Icewolf snorted. "That would be Hawk. Guy has a temper. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if he didn't have Dove to keep him under control."

Eric blinked and did his best to absorb that information. Maybe he needed to get more familiar with the superhero community. He had no idea who Hawk and Dove were. In fact, Icewolf was about the only superhero, other than the big names of course, that he was familiar with. And that was only because Icewolf was almost always in the news for one thing or another. Not to mention since the night that he was held hostage and saved by Icewolf, Eric had done some research on the superhero. There wasn't much to find. All he could find was that Icewolf had been protecting Miami for almost three years and that before that he worked in the north with Firewolf.

"At some point, Delko, you're going to have to focus and make a decision," Icewolf said, bringing Eric out of his thoughts.

"About what?"

Icewolf sighed and shook his head. "What are you going to do with your new abilities?"

"Do I have to decide now?" Eric asked. "I really kinda need time to absorb all this."

"Take your time. I'm going to ask the League to transport you to your home," Icewolf replied. He turned to walk away, but Eric called out to him.

"Wait, what do I tell my boss about my disappearance?"

"We've told him you were transported to the Watchtower for injuries sustained during the monster's attack," Icewolf explained. "Just tell him the injuries weren't as bad as originally suspected and you were released early."

"Oh, um, okay."

Eric was just slightly stunned by how efficiently Icewolf had taken care of the situation. At least he wouldn't have to make any awkward explanations to Horatio or anyone else for that matter. It was very much appreciated, but he didn't get a chance to say thank you or anything else to Icewolf. He heard the white wolf's deep voice speaking to someone. Then there was a tingly sensation and he found himself standing in the middle of his living room.

Huh.

VvVvV

Work was difficult for Eric. He couldn't think about anything except the memories of his rampage and Icewolf's statements about what he could do with his new abilities. The idea of fighting crime in a new way was intriguing to say the least. He couldn't focus on the evidence he was supposed to be examining with all the thoughts of possibilities that crowded his mind.

"Delko."

Eric jerked in surprise at the sudden and unexpected voice. His heart pounded hard in his chest as he spun to face the speaker. The frown on his face deepened into a glare when he realized it was Wolfe. And Wolfe was smirking at him.

"Daydreaming on the job, Delko?" the younger CSI questioned with what could have been a teasing tone, but was more likely mocking.

Eric's glare intensified and before he realized it a growl built up in his throat and rumbled out. "Do you need something, Wolfe?"

"I just wondered if you found out who the fingerprints on the porch railing belonged to," Wolfe replied, seemingly unshaken by Eric's anger. "You looked so intensely concentrated I thought maybe you found something."

"No, I haven't found anything," Eric retorted. "Don't you have something you should be doing?"

"I got shoe impressions outside, but without anything to compare them to they don't lead anywhere," Wolfe said. "Other than that those fingerprints you're working on are our only lead. The killer was too good about not leaving anything behind."

"Maybe you should go back to the crime scene and look again," Eric grumbled, turning his attention back to the fingerprints.

He heard Wolfe sigh and then leave.

Suddenly the computer kicked up a name. Eric groaned. Of course. The fingerprints belonged to the victim. Damn.

"Eric?"

Eric turned and nodded to his boss. Horatio watched him for a moment and Eric felt mildly like a bug under a microscope.

"The fingerprints, Eric, belong to the victim, don't they?"

"The only real evidence isn't really evidence," Eric muttered. "This is looking more and more like a professional hit."

"Eric, we have been offered help on this case and given the circumstances I have decided to take it," Horatio said. "Come with me please."

Eric shed his lab coat and followed Horatio out of the lab. As they walked he noticed the lab techs were acting odd. They were talking amongst themselves like excited school children. It made sense a moment later. When Horatio led him into the break room Eric felt his heart skip a beat.

Leaning nonchalantly against a counter with his arms crossed was Icewolf. The white wolf stood straight and walked toward them. Eric was amazed by the grace with which the superhero walked. Actually, since the night Icewolf rescued him Eric had found himself increasingly intrigued by everything about the wolf-hero.

"I trust I don't have to introduce you two?" Horatio said, his face not reflecting the slight amusement in his tone.

"No, Lieutenant Caine, I believe we are familiar with one another," Icewolf replied. "I appreciate you accepting my help, Lieutenant. I believe I have information and more that I can offer."

"Thank you for offering your assistance," Horatio replied. "You two will be working together on this case."

"What about Wolfe?" Eric asked without thinking.

Eric noticed Icewolf's eyes darted to Horatio and then back to him. Horatio apparently didn't notice. "I sent Mr. Wolfe home."

Eric wanted to ask why, but then realized he didn't really care. He was going to get to work with Icewolf without the replacement getting in the way. He could rub it in Wolfe's face later.

"Good luck, gentlemen."

With that Horatio was gone. Eric stared at Icewolf for a moment before he moved forward and took a seat at the table. Icewolf approached the table, but stayed standing.

"There's no evidence left at the scene," Eric said. "All we've got are shoe impressions and those are useless without a sample to compare them to."

"I'm not surprised," Icewolf replied. "It was definitely professional. I've managed to contact several other Wolves. Apparently, someone is trying to collect the power amulets."

"And willing to kill for it," Eric added. "They left without it though and it didn't look like there was a search. Why?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I'm not even sure how someone knows about the amulets," Icewolf replied. "They're a closely guarded secret by those of us who have gained our abilities from them."

"Another wolf then?"

"That's not a pleasant thought," the wolf-hero said with a troubled look. "As far as we know right now there are only a limited amount of elements. So far we have ice, fire, earth, shadow, and whatever your element is."

"Could it be the shadow wolf?" Eric asked hopefully.

"That's a bit too cliché, Delko," Icewolf retorted. "Dark Wolf isn't a villain. She hasn't even been working as a hero lately. She's got kids and husband who she's quite content to be with."

"What about the others?"

"I've worked with Terrawolf so I know it's not him. As for Firewolf...he's been missing for quite some time."

"So, not one of the known wolves. You don't know them all though, do you? Can you sense when there's a new one."

Icewolf sighed and rubbed his muzzle, but Eric wasn't exactly sure what emotion that was expressing. "No, we don't sense when there's a new one. Yes, there could be more and if there are we have no way of tracking or finding them."

"So what exactly are we going to do?" Eric asked. He was frustrated by the wolf-hero's incredible lack of helpfulness.

"You're going to examine the crime scene again, closer. I'm going to bust some heads in this city's underworld," Icewolf replied calmly.

"There's nothing more to find there," Eric argued. "The crime scene is a dead end."

"Then you'll have to wait and see if I can turn anything up."

"The hell I will. I'm going with you."

"You're inexperienced and don't even know what your element is yet."

"I can take care of myself," Eric shot back stubbornly.

"You—are a stubborn man who is going to get himself killed," Icewolf growled. "You--."

"Are going with you no matter what you say."

The wolf growled with annoyance, but when the glaring didn't work Icewolf relented. "Fine, but don't make me regret it."