A/N: In response to DP-fan's review, yes Mary's got quite a target on herself, but it's not like she's doing it willingly. And I like your use of the title in your review. Thanks!

The Knight of the Cold and his Ice Princess

Mary stared up at gazed up at the sight in front of her in wonder. She'd seen many different prisoners of the professor, from rabid ravers and weed women, to mad milliners and crazed clowns, but she had yet to see someone almost literally frozen in ice. That is, until she met Nora Fries. Mary pulled her warm black hooded jacket the Strange had given her closer around her body as she moved toward the frozen female. The woman in the ice was hard to make out but Mary could tell if unfrozen, she would be beautiful. Mary smiled to herself and leaned against the glass.

"Mary! Step away from there!" the Professor ordered from behind her. Mary ignored him and continued to press more and more of her body against the container.

"So cold, for something so warm," she murmured.

"Mary!" the Professor shouted again, heading toward her to pull her away from his leverage. Mary ignored him and sighed.

"What must it be like, to sleep forever, undisturbed?" Mary wondered aloud, tapping her finger on the surface. "Does she dream? Is she plagued by nightmares? Or is it just a long, cold, unending darkness, like a lone cell long forgotten by all?" Mary was pulled out of her contemplation by Strange grabbing her arm and pulling her away, Mary flinching slightly as he did so. She'd been flinching or cowering in fear ever so slightly when the Professor was around since the Joker incident.

"Come along Miss Noble. Another patient will be arriving soon," Strange informed her, leading her away from the woman in ice. Mary looked back at the woman.

"Who is she?" Mary inquired.

"Leverage."

"Against who?" Strange smiled sinisterly to himself.

"You will find out soon enough my dear."

After seeing the woman in ice, Mary was not so surprised to see a man who looked like he was made of it in a suit that made him look like a cross between an astronaut and a robot.

"Miss Noble, this is Victor Fries, also known as –"

"Mr. Freeze," Mary finished, walking away from the Professor and sitting in her designated seat without instruction. Strange frowned.

"Yes. You may begin now."

"Who is this girl Strange?" Freeze inquired. The Professor was about to respond when Mary cut him off again.

"He calls me his assistant though I can assure you I am not so willingly," Mary stated, causing the Professor's frown to deepen.

"Miss Noble, I believe we agreed that you would keep the conversation to a minimum during these sessions," Strange reminded her.

"I hardly believe that a few comments here and there will cause me to slip something that would cause the patient I am surveying to attack me Professor. At least, as long as the comments are directed toward insulting you." Mary looked into Mr. Freeze' eyes and saw a young boy, absolutely fascinated with science, freezing sick pets with a look somewhere in between curiosity and hope on his face. Then an older boy, though Mary could easily tell it was the same one, was sitting alone in the corner of a crowded cafeteria, reading, brief echoes of insulting voice echoing in his mind. The memories shifted to see a beautiful young woman, dancing gracefully with the boy who was now a young man, her in a wedding dress and him in a suit. Nora, a voice whispered to Mary. Nora was her name. But then a chilling cold swept over Mary like a shadow, and Mary could almost feel her heart turn cold and blue. She was then greeted with the sight of Freeze holding the hand of his wife's hand as numerous readouts flashed by on the screen, and while Mary wasn't a doctor of any sort, she could tell that it wasn't good. The scene then shift to Fries apologizing to his wife as he pressed the button and froze her in time. Mary could sense something that might have been hope for a moment, only to have it shattered by the next memory. She could feel Fries' rage rolling off of him in loads as Ferris Boyle talked down on him and claimed Freeze's wife and love belong to him, along with the rest of his research. The combined pain of having to freeze Nora, the fear of losing her, and his absolute fury at Boyle for threatening to take her away made Fries finally snap and he attacked the cold hearted businessman. His guards grabbed Fries and pushed him back into the table covered in vials and chemicals. Mary watched, feeling tears well up in her eyes, as Fries lay helpless on the floor, his wife being dragged from the room by Boyle's guard, while the CEO stood above the injured scientist, taunting him. The next few memories were mere flashes of the past few years: him attempting to kill Ferris Boyle, Batman stopping him and returning Nora, Mr. Freeze fighting Batman on many other occasions, occasionally spending time in Arkham Asylum but always escaping, but most of all, his attempts at curing Nora's disease and his continued devotion to saving her. Mary shook her head sadly.

"I am so, so sorry about Nora, Mr. Freeze," Mary apologized and Mr. Freeze's eyes widened behind his goggles.

"What?"

"That's enough Miss Noble," Strange decided. He nodded at the TYGER guard in the room, who nodded back and started to pull Mary out of the room.

"I'm sure you can cure her one day! Don't give up hope!" Mary shouted as she was dragged out, the door slamming shut behind her.

"Can I have some paper and pencils?" Mary asked Professor Strange that night in the Security Control Center after dinner.

"Why?" the Professor asked without looking up form the file he was studying.

"Because I want to write," Mary explained.

"Very well." Mary smiled slightly. "On one condition." Mary's smiled slipped off.

"What?" she asked hesitantly.

"I will read your writing once you have finished." Mary raised an eyebrow.

"Is this an attempt to further your understanding of my psyche?" Mary questioned. Strange smiled, still surveying the file.

"I think you already know the answer to that." Mary sighed.

"Unfortunately." Strange motioned toward the blank pages on the table next to him and Mary took them and a pencil from the Professor before a sitting herself at a table and beginning to write.

Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom called Gotham City, there lived a great and terrible knight of the cold who lived in a fortress of snow, who went on many quests, in attempt to find the magic that could save his ice princess, Mary began. Years earlier, when the princess first fell ill, the knight spent many days and many nights, searching the lands far and wide, attempting to use many different spells and enchantments, but all for naught. In a desperate attempt to keep her alive, the knight put his princess to sleep, until he could find the magic to save her. However, an evil king was angry at having his magic used to help the knight, and used the knight's own magic against him, before taking the princess away. The knight's body and heart turned cold as a result of the attack, necessitating he wear armor of ice to keep himself alive. He sought out revenge against the king who took his princess and changed him into the knight of the cold. The great dark knight interfered and saved the horrible king, but returned the princess to the knight. The knight has since sat in his fortress, practicing his magic and hoping, praying, that one day, his princess could be reawakened.

"Why did you choose to write Victor Fries' story in the form of a fairytale?" Strange inquired as he finished reading her story.

"Because he wishes more than anything for his wife to be cured, and in many fairytales that is the main motivation of the hero; to save the person they love," Mary explained.

"This is reality child, not a fairytale," Professor Strange said, looking over her story again.

"That does not mean I cannot wish for a happy ending," Mary shrugged.

"Happy endings do not exist."

"They do if you work for them, want them with all your heart, and are the hero of the story." Strange slammed down Mary's story, grabbed her arm, and pulled her toward him, Mary wincing as he did so.

"You believe that Mr. Freeze is the hero? He's a criminal. You've seen that haven't you?" Mary sighed exasperatedly.

"Yes. I have. But I believe that out of the many of the criminals I have met, he is the most likely to leave the life of crime, if only Nora was cured."

"But he has done terrible things," Strange maintained. Mary raised an eyebrow at him.

"You do not believe in redemption."

"Why should I? For years the Batman has let these criminals run free, instead of finding the courage to do what is necessary. And have any of them changed their ways?"

"Some of the lesser criminals have and yet you have had them thrown in Arkham City with the rest of the scum," Mary pointed out. "'Once a criminal, always a criminal,' seems to be your philosophy, in spite of the fact that as a psychiatrist it is your job to believe these people can be cured and help them toward it. Instead, you play with them, abuse them, and treat them like a spoiled child would his toys. You are hypocrite." Strange's grip on her arm tightened and Mary hissed in pain.

"Remember the warning I gave you during your session with the Joker my dear, and remember that it still stands," the Professor warned her. Mary gulped, looked down at her feet, and nodded. As much as she despised the Professor, Mary feared him more and wasn't desperate enough to fight him… yet.