Chapter Three
Ice Station Zero
Grossman's Ice Rink had been a place of joy in its heyday, the late fifties and early sixties. Bundled angels danced on its smooth ice. Every Christmas, Ira Grossman erected a giant tree in the center of the rink. The locals would bring presents for needy children. It was a place of joy, and magic.
Ira Grossman died in 1976, leaving no heirs and no will. It stood empty, save for the occasional squater, until 1985 when an ambitious entrpeneur named Jahnathan Cox attempted to convert the massive building into a nightclub. Mr. Cox mysteriously disappeared shortly after renovations started. Again the giant sat silently, untilwhen, in 1991, a group of Gotham University students "discovered" the building. They immediately realized the potential and organized a huge Rave party.
The Raves were hugely successful. Every Halloween the students, and eventually, locals, would congregate in the Rink and party until sunrise or until the police broke it up, which only happened once.
It was at one of these Halloween Raves that a tall thin man called Ratface realized the true nature of the Rink's mass appeal. He left and quickly returned with two friends, a stark horror of a girl called Morticia and a young man simply called Boy. The party was reaching a fever pitch, and the three could feel the Magickal energies barely being surpressed by the thin Guantlet of rationality.
Without a second thought the three clasped hands and began to chant nonsense words and spin around on the thin wood covering the Rink floor. They spun faster, grunting loudly, catching the attention of the other ravers. Soon the three had a huge group of Revelers, spinning and screaming. As they did, Ratface, a Mage of the Hollow Ones, freed the spirit of the place in which they stood. The unbridled passion of the Ravers shattered the thin layer between this world and the world of pure spirit. Raw Magickal energies flooded the hall. The passions intensified to the point where the Rave devolved into an orgy of epic proportions. That night is still whispered of in the halls of Gotham University.
Soon after, Ratface, happened upon the needed funds to buy the Ice Rink. He promised to hold the Annual Halloween Rave every year. The rest of the year he spent turning the Rink into a Chantry for the Hollow Ones. He also allowed the students to throw the occasional smaller Rave.
It was a week before classes started up for the Fall semester, and the returning students decided to start the year off right. The festivities finally died off about three AM, pathetically early for a Rink Rave, but still, not bad. Ratface was cleaning up the rink when Boy ran in, gibbering maniacly.
"Tin Man! Tin Man!"
Ratface dropped his pushbroom and ran across the Rink floor, grabbing Boy by the shoulders. He shook Boy violently.
"Calm down!" He shouted, "What are you talking about?"
"I believe he means me."
Ratface spun when he heard the sterile, toneless voice. Mr. Freeze stood in the seating section of the Rink. He was encased in a metal suit, topped with a large glass dome, which showed his narrow, bald head. Cradled in his large metal gauntlets was a chrome rifle with a hose snaking into the back of his suit. He slowly walked onto the Rink floor. The boards creaked under him as he walked.
Ratface's arms went limp at the sight, releasing Boy, who ran off into the back of the building. Mr. Freeze stood before Ratface, Raifle pointed to the floor. Rat face tried to regain his composure.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Ratface sputtered.
"The direct approach. Commendable. This should proceed smoothly. I am Mr. Freeze, and you are...?"
"Uh..., Ratface."
"Charmed, I'm sure." Freeze sneered, glancing around the Rink, sizing up the space, "I have come to discuss rental options."
Ratface stared blankly at Freeze. He then looked around the Rink to see if Freeze had come alone or with friends. All he saw was Morticia staring out from the back rooms. he nodded at her and turned back to Freeze.
"What he fuck are you talking about?" Ratface said with a slight swagger.
"I wish to establish a Laboratory on your property." Freeze said, stiffly. Ratface shook his head.
"A what?"
"A Laboratory! A place to work my Science. Your particular locale has the raw resources I require for my experimentation."
Ratface held his hands up in front of him.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! You're saying that you want to build a Chantry her in the Rink? Get the fuck out of here!" Ratface screamed. Freeze shook his head.
"I'm afraid I've miscommunicated by intent."
"Then what the hell are we talking about here?"
"What we are talking about," Freeze said, pointing the rifle at Ratface, "is that I AM going to build my Laboratory on this site. I am kindly offering you a peace offering on your way out. What would you require to leave peacablly."
Ratface backed up several paces.
"I'll have your head on a plate!" He barked.
"Unacceptable." Freeze said, bringing his rifle up to his shoulder.
Ratface began to move his hands in strange patterns. He mummbled arcane words. His face pulled tight in intense concentration. He began to pull Magick out from the air itself to power his spell. Light began to dance around him, coalesing in his hands, which shone brightly.
Freeze sneered and pulled the trigger. A beam of blue light shot from the barrel, engulfing Ratface. Thick ice formed around him, locking his body into position. Freeze held the beam on him for a full three seconds. When he cut the beam, Ratface was buried in two feet of ice.
"Your Foci are slow and outdated." Freeze said to the block of ice, "Magick, like all things, must evolve. Were you worthy, I would teach you, but you are not."
Freeze began to cross the Rink floor to find the girl he had spied earlier. There was a burst of static and the ancient speakers came to life.
"You should be careful in that heavy suit, Tin Man." Morticia said, sharply, "The Rink covering is old and brittle."
Freeze spun towards the speaker booth, positioned above the seating area. There he saw Mortia, Moving her arms about her body.
"Clever girl." Freeze said, swinging his rifle towards her. There was a loud crack and Freeze felt the floor give waybeneath him. He fired the rifle as he fell, hitting the overhead lights. The lights shattered, plunging the Rink into darkness.
Morticia cackled over the loud speakers. She got him, she knew she got him. She grabbed a flashlight from under the consul and ran down the stairs. She rushed onto the Rink floor towards the spot where Freeze had been standing. Apparently she had done it. The wooden floor covering the ice makers had eroded into dust. She shinned her light onto it, seeing Freeze's rifle, now with a bent barrel.
"Hah!" She shouted in the dark, "What are you gonna do without your gun, Tin Man?" She stood ready for an answer in the form of an attack. She was met with silence. She began to shine her light on the floor around her.
"Maybe I did get him?"
There was aburst of static and the speakers came to life.
"Hello, my dear," Freeze said cordially, "I must commend you on your ingenuity. Very clever. I too, am clever. While you have been down there celebrating my early demise, I have rewired the ice maker controls. I believe you find the effect quite..., accelerated."
Morticia pointed her light down and saw that she was standing on the bare metal of the ice maker. She screamed, dropped the light, and began running across the Rink floor.
Upstairs, Mr. Freeze threw the switch controlling the ice makers. There was a flurry of sparks and the sound of heavy machinery coming to life under the Rink. The panel continues to spark, then smoke began to pour from it. Mr. Freeze reached over and switched the controls off. When the smoke cleared, Freeze turned on the emergency lights and looked down on the Rink.
A field of ice covered the rink, the seats and the Walls, five feet up. From the booth he could see the block of ice that held Ratface. There was also an ice statuette that looked vaguely like Morticia. A smile crept across Mr. Freezes face as he left the booth, headed for the stairs.
he searched the building, finding a small sleeping area, a fully stocked bar, a strange collection of small toys and a meager arcane library. Mr. Freeze did not find the young man who had first spotted him. The boy had simply disappeared. Freeze wasn't sure how to feel about that. The boy had not looked much older than his own son, Kyle. Freeze contented himself with the fact that, at least for now, he had the place to himself.
Home
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Freeze Chapter Two
Chapter Two
The Iceman Cometh
Dr. Jeremy Black checked the control consul for the twelfth time. The tempature gauge had not changed. It was a steady fifty degrees.
"Oh, Victor, what have you done?"
He checked the video monitor that showed the cold storage room. Mr. Freeze was laid out on an examining table that Dr. Black and Prof. Dimitri had hastily thrown in there. Freeze appeared to be sleeping. Dimitri entered the Control room.
"How ist the patient?" Dimitri asked, his Russian accent rolling smoothly. Dr. Black shook his head.
"He seems fine, but look at this." Dr. Black adjusted the video controls, enlarging the video image of Freeze's sleeping form.
"It's fifty degrees in there." Dr. Black said.
"My God!" Dimitri swore, "He is still sveating. I'll vork on the climate controls."
"Thank you, Proffesor." Dr. Black said. "I still find it amazing that he actually made it all the way to the Chantry in that rigged up van. And he brought Kyle in his containment unit here, too."
Dimitri nodded grimmly.
"It is a shame about Marie" Dimitri said, "I did like her."
"We all did." Dr. Black said.
A hollow, toneless voice cut in across the loudspeakers. It chilled Dr. Black with it's lack of human emotion.
"Hello. Is anyone listening?" Mr. Freeze was sitting up on the bed, staring into the video camera. Dr. Black hit the microphone button.
"Hello, Victor. This is Dr. Black. How are you feeling?"
"It is very warm in here." Mr. Freeze said.
"Dimitri is working on that right now. how cool do you need it?"
"Ten degrees cooler to start with." Freeze sighed, ""It is hard to tell anymore. What is the current room tempature?"
"It's fifty degrees in there, Victor. What happened to you?'
"A major Paradox backlash, obviously."
"I could guess so much." Black sneered, "But, what caused it, Victor? When you arrived all you would say was that they would pay. Who will pay?"
"The Nephandi." Freeze said, any emotion masked by his sterile tone, "I thought I could control the situation."
"My God, Victor! Nephandi! What did you think you were doing?"
"I didn't know at first.Ii would not have willingly worked with those devils. When I found out, I kept the knowledge to myself, so that I could finish my research."
"You should have informed us. You have endangered the Chantry with your negligence."
Mr. Freez lowered his head in shame.
"In my Hubris, I have slain my Marie. In repentence I shall destroy those who destroyed me. I shall destroy this Wyrm, this Nephandis, this Max Schreck."
"How do you plan on doing this?"
"First," Freeze began, "I must establish a new Chantry. I cannot risk discovery here. My Laboratory was destroyed. I must find a Node somewhere near Gotham to tap."
Over the speakers, Freeze could hear Black chuckling.
"What is so amusing, Doctor."
"My dear, Mr. Freeze," Black began, using his lecturing voice,"I had forgotten that you did not hear my findings on the spiritual structure of Gotham City. It seems that the Nephandi's efforts to pierce the Guantlet have greatly affected the division between worlds. The Guantlet is so thin here that Quintessence is literally leaking through. I have discovered the evidence of no less than seventeen major power fonts within the city limits.
And I believe the number may be growing"
Mr. Freeze was in shock.
"How is that possible?"
"The Technocracy is losing their grip on Gotham City, and the Nephandi have turned it into their own little nightmare playground. The Traditions seem to all have been infected with apathy or they are being torn apart by infighting. They all stand by as The Fallen Ones tear Reality apart. Never did I think I would miss the Technocracy."
"Has the Technocracy given up on Gotham?"
"Hardly," Dr. Black sighed, "They still send us their spies."
"Spies? Here?"
"Do you remember the young apprentice I took on a few months ago."
"Nygma?" Mr.Freeze was startled, "He was a Technocrat Spy?"
"A poor excuse for one. He was a Pattern Mage about as much as I'm a Verbena. That boy was a Scientist trapped in the Technocratic Paradigm. We taught him True Science and sent him bact to his masters."
"They probably killed him as soon as he walked in, Jeremy."
"No, he was a time bomb. After a month, he snapped back at his masters. He may have become delusional or even gone Marauder. Either way, he is now calling himself The Riddler."
"Nygma is The Riddler? Amazing. Perhaps he could help me in my mission."
There was a burst of static over the speakers and Professor Dimitri's voice cut in.
"How is the tempature, Mr. Freeze?"
"Still a little warm."
There was a long silence and then the sound of steam under great pressure being released. After a minute or so of other strange sounds, the voice came back in.
"How is that, Victor?"
Mr. Freeze waited for the tempature to stabilize, then smiled
"That feels wonderful. What is is at?"
There was a long silence.
"Dimitri?" Freeze asked.
"Thirty degrees, Victor."
Mr. Freeze sat down on the cot, trying to asssimilate the information. Thirty degrees. Two below freezing. It felt around seventy to him. Normal room tempature. First Marie, then this. They would pay. Every last one, all the way to Max Schreck himself.
"Victor?" Dr. Black was asking, "Is there anything we can get you?"
Mr. Freeze was silent for more than a minute before he answered.
"Dimitri. Could you adjust the tempature of my old Laboratory to suit me now?"
"Of course, Victor. I can do that right now."
"Perfect. Dr. Black. Do you think I could get a look at that report of yours?'
"The Power Fonts? Of course, Victor, but why?"
Mr. Freeze smiled on the monitor, sending a chill down Dr. Black's spine.
"I need to look into some real estate."
Chapter Three
The Iceman Cometh
Dr. Jeremy Black checked the control consul for the twelfth time. The tempature gauge had not changed. It was a steady fifty degrees.
"Oh, Victor, what have you done?"
He checked the video monitor that showed the cold storage room. Mr. Freeze was laid out on an examining table that Dr. Black and Prof. Dimitri had hastily thrown in there. Freeze appeared to be sleeping. Dimitri entered the Control room.
"How ist the patient?" Dimitri asked, his Russian accent rolling smoothly. Dr. Black shook his head.
"He seems fine, but look at this." Dr. Black adjusted the video controls, enlarging the video image of Freeze's sleeping form.
"It's fifty degrees in there." Dr. Black said.
"My God!" Dimitri swore, "He is still sveating. I'll vork on the climate controls."
"Thank you, Proffesor." Dr. Black said. "I still find it amazing that he actually made it all the way to the Chantry in that rigged up van. And he brought Kyle in his containment unit here, too."
Dimitri nodded grimmly.
"It is a shame about Marie" Dimitri said, "I did like her."
"We all did." Dr. Black said.
A hollow, toneless voice cut in across the loudspeakers. It chilled Dr. Black with it's lack of human emotion.
"Hello. Is anyone listening?" Mr. Freeze was sitting up on the bed, staring into the video camera. Dr. Black hit the microphone button.
"Hello, Victor. This is Dr. Black. How are you feeling?"
"It is very warm in here." Mr. Freeze said.
"Dimitri is working on that right now. how cool do you need it?"
"Ten degrees cooler to start with." Freeze sighed, ""It is hard to tell anymore. What is the current room tempature?"
"It's fifty degrees in there, Victor. What happened to you?'
"A major Paradox backlash, obviously."
"I could guess so much." Black sneered, "But, what caused it, Victor? When you arrived all you would say was that they would pay. Who will pay?"
"The Nephandi." Freeze said, any emotion masked by his sterile tone, "I thought I could control the situation."
"My God, Victor! Nephandi! What did you think you were doing?"
"I didn't know at first.Ii would not have willingly worked with those devils. When I found out, I kept the knowledge to myself, so that I could finish my research."
"You should have informed us. You have endangered the Chantry with your negligence."
Mr. Freez lowered his head in shame.
"In my Hubris, I have slain my Marie. In repentence I shall destroy those who destroyed me. I shall destroy this Wyrm, this Nephandis, this Max Schreck."
"How do you plan on doing this?"
"First," Freeze began, "I must establish a new Chantry. I cannot risk discovery here. My Laboratory was destroyed. I must find a Node somewhere near Gotham to tap."
Over the speakers, Freeze could hear Black chuckling.
"What is so amusing, Doctor."
"My dear, Mr. Freeze," Black began, using his lecturing voice,"I had forgotten that you did not hear my findings on the spiritual structure of Gotham City. It seems that the Nephandi's efforts to pierce the Guantlet have greatly affected the division between worlds. The Guantlet is so thin here that Quintessence is literally leaking through. I have discovered the evidence of no less than seventeen major power fonts within the city limits.
And I believe the number may be growing"
Mr. Freeze was in shock.
"How is that possible?"
"The Technocracy is losing their grip on Gotham City, and the Nephandi have turned it into their own little nightmare playground. The Traditions seem to all have been infected with apathy or they are being torn apart by infighting. They all stand by as The Fallen Ones tear Reality apart. Never did I think I would miss the Technocracy."
"Has the Technocracy given up on Gotham?"
"Hardly," Dr. Black sighed, "They still send us their spies."
"Spies? Here?"
"Do you remember the young apprentice I took on a few months ago."
"Nygma?" Mr.Freeze was startled, "He was a Technocrat Spy?"
"A poor excuse for one. He was a Pattern Mage about as much as I'm a Verbena. That boy was a Scientist trapped in the Technocratic Paradigm. We taught him True Science and sent him bact to his masters."
"They probably killed him as soon as he walked in, Jeremy."
"No, he was a time bomb. After a month, he snapped back at his masters. He may have become delusional or even gone Marauder. Either way, he is now calling himself The Riddler."
"Nygma is The Riddler? Amazing. Perhaps he could help me in my mission."
There was a burst of static over the speakers and Professor Dimitri's voice cut in.
"How is the tempature, Mr. Freeze?"
"Still a little warm."
There was a long silence and then the sound of steam under great pressure being released. After a minute or so of other strange sounds, the voice came back in.
"How is that, Victor?"
Mr. Freeze waited for the tempature to stabilize, then smiled
"That feels wonderful. What is is at?"
There was a long silence.
"Dimitri?" Freeze asked.
"Thirty degrees, Victor."
Mr. Freeze sat down on the cot, trying to asssimilate the information. Thirty degrees. Two below freezing. It felt around seventy to him. Normal room tempature. First Marie, then this. They would pay. Every last one, all the way to Max Schreck himself.
"Victor?" Dr. Black was asking, "Is there anything we can get you?"
Mr. Freeze was silent for more than a minute before he answered.
"Dimitri. Could you adjust the tempature of my old Laboratory to suit me now?"
"Of course, Victor. I can do that right now."
"Perfect. Dr. Black. Do you think I could get a look at that report of yours?'
"The Power Fonts? Of course, Victor, but why?"
Mr. Freeze smiled on the monitor, sending a chill down Dr. Black's spine.
"I need to look into some real estate."
Chapter Three
Freeze Chapter One
Victor Von Freis turned onto the street where he lived, to see a number of Vans
parked in front of his house. The Schreck cat logo was easily recognizible from
a block away. There were at least half a dozen large men moving large crates
from the house to the Vans. The crates also had the Schreck logo printed on
them.
"Not yet." Victor moaned.
He pulled his BMW into the manicured lawn and clammored out of the car. He was dimly aware that his long time neighbors were standing in their lawns, watching the loading. One man yelled at Victor from his driveway.
"Hey, Vic! You want me to call the cops?" Victor stared at the man as though he were speaking a foreign language.
"What? ...Yes ..No." He stammered. "I'll take care of this. Just go inside."
Victor entered his home on legs filled with lead. Strange men were in his living room, packing boxes. They were all wearing coveralls with the Schreck logo on the lapel. Hired help, he passed them by. They were not who he sought. Victor entered his den, to find three men working in there. Two of them were wearing the coveralls. They, he ignored. It was the third man he approached.
The man was wearing a dress shirt and suspenders. He turned when Victor entered the room. He was a small Oriental man with a thin mustache. His bright blue tie was loosened and he held a clipboard in his arm. He looked at Victor with no surprise.
"Mr. Shirato," Victor snapped. "What is the meaning of this?"
"I think you are well aware of what is going on." Shirato said dryly. "You have been stealing company equipment for your own experiments. You are no longer in the employ of Schreck enterprises. Criminal charges will follow. I suspect this time next year, you will be cooling your heels in prison. Mr. Freis."
"My experiments were fully sanctioned by Maximillian Schreck himself." Victor protested. Shirato shook his head, as if sad.
"The Cyrogenics division was shut down five weeks ago. You were to begin in the Mutagenics Laboratory two weeks ago, Dr. Freis. Who do you think you are fooling?"
Victor felt his chest tighten, panic threatening to overwhelm him.
"You can't! Don't you see, I've done it!" Victor shouted. "I have found a way to completely stop decomposition in living tissue! I can hold a living being in a suspended state, indefinitely."
Shirato leaned towards Victor and whispered hoarsely at him.
"No one is interested in your mad Magick!" With that, Shirato stormed off.
Victor bellowed after him
"You can not stand in the way of True Science! My research will better all of Humanity!" Shirato stopped short in Victor's hallway.
"We are not in the business of bettering Humanity. We are in the business of profit, something you obviously can not comprehend!"
"I comprehend enough to know your only business is serving your dark master! Serving your Wyrm!" Victor watched with satisfaction as Shirato's mouth moved limply, trying to form words. "That's right, Shirato. I know about your company's Infernal backers. You can not keep such a secret from a Mage of my standing, a Scientist of True Science!"
Shirato shook his head with the same sad expression as before.
"You should have kept quiet, Wizard." He said evenly, "We would have left you alone. Prison would have satisfied my superiors. But, now..." Shirato shook his head, "Hell has a place for Mages, Son of Ether."
Before either could speak, a large man in coveralls spoke from behind Shirato.
"Mr. Shirato, we found a Laboratory in the basement."
"Scrap it." Shirato said, staring at Victor.
"We've already started, sir."
"Fine then, Donald, would you please escort..." Shirato stopped when he saw Victor's face contort into an awful grimace. A low noise was coming from Victor, which quickly rose to a roar of rage.
"noooooOOOOOO!!" Victor lunged towards the door that led to his Laboratory. Shirato jumped back and Donald grabbed Victor by the shoulders. Victor struggled in vain against the man's titanic strength. Victor continued to scream.
"NOOO! MARIEEE!!"
Donald slammed Victor against the wall. Victor was stunned by the force of the blow. Donald placed his forearm against Victor's throat and pressed. Victor fought for air, striking the huge man in his barrel chest. Black dots began to form in Victor's vision. Somewhere he could hear Shirato speaking evenly to him.
"The experiment is over, Mr. Freis."
Victor knew that he had only one chance. He grabbed Donald by the ears and unleashed the power he held within him.
There was a flash of blue light and a sound like an arctic wind. A thick layer of frost spread across the man's head and shoulders. It spread quickly down his torso and arms, finally stopping at his elbows. Victor heard Shirato gasp. He shoved the frozen man away and turned toward Shirato. Behind Victor, Donald struck the wall and his head shattered like a fragile ice sculpture. Shirato spun on his heel and started shouting down the hall.
"Code Alpha Blue! Code Alpha Blue!"
Victor started after him and was met by three large men nearly bursting out of their coveralls. Victor usually distained Vulgar displays of Magick in favor of his Techno-Magick, but the situation was extreme.
With a thought Victor sent a super-cooled gust of wind at the men. The men fell to the hardwood floor, breaking into large pieces of ice. Victor could feel the Paradox building up inside of his Pattern, but he could not think of that now. All he could think of was Marie and Kyle.
Another man jumped out at him, only to receive a two foot shard of ice though his heart. After three more men had met similar ends, Victor entered his Laboratory.
Eleven months ago, Victor von Freis's wife, Marie, and their twelve year old son, Kyle, were in an auto accident. The damage was bad, but they would survive. Two months ago Victor learned the truth. The impossible, according to Gotham General, had happened. Victor's wife and son had received blood tained with AIDS.
Victor knew about the impossible.
With all his knowledge of Science and Magick, Victor could not help them. So he made a radical decision. He would freeze them until the time came when he could help them. Then five weeks ago, his funding was cut. So he stole the necessary equipment and continued his experiments in his home laboratory. Five days ago he successfully placed his wife and son in suspended animation.
And now these intruders were in his laboratory, dismantling his equipment. Two men were disconnecting heavy cables connected to a large, upright, glass and metal containment unit. Victor could see Marie's slender form floating in the super cooled mists of the unit.
"Stop" Victor screamed, "You're killing her!"
Victor lashed out at the men with another blast of his cold Magick. When the men rushed at him, Victor realized something had gone wrong. His Magick had failed him.
As the men fell on top of him, Victor felt the Paradox inside of him expled out of his Pattern. Victor looked up and saw the glass of the containment unit began to crack and splinter. Cold mist began to fill the Laboratory. The sensitive control board began to crystallize from the intense cold. Victor saw what was going to happen and began to scream.
"NOOO, MARIE!!"
Sparks began to fly from the control board. The Schreck men saw the flames start and jumped to their feet, but they were too late.
The explosion shook the foundation of the house, filling the basement with the intense cold of the containment unit. Shirato peered into the mist from the basement stairs. The very foundation of the house had crystallized from the cold and the house was begining to settle.
"I told you Hell had a place for Mages, Mr. Freis!" Shirato yelled into the mists. "You should find it nice and warm there!"
A voice drifted up from the basement, chilling Shirato's heart more effectively than the mists ever could.
"You know very little of Hell, Mr. Shirato." Victor said, his voice hollow and toneless. "Hell is cold."
The mists parted and Shirato saw Victor walking leisurely towards the stairs, a shattered end of a Nitrogen hose in his right hand.Victor's dark hair was frost white. He absently ran his left hand through his hair, only to have it crumble in his fingers. He stared at the fragments in his palm, smiling coldly.
"The price of power, my dear Mr. Shirato." Victor sneered. "Paradox demands its cost, as do I."
Victor raised the hose and a ray of pure cold shot from it, hitting the ground at Shirato's feet. His feet froze instantly to the floor and began to crystallize. Shirato struggled to free himself, but it was too late. His legs were starting to crystallize, the process slow and painful.
Victor smiled at the sight.
"You tell your masters when you meet them, that their Hell will be a cold one." Victor said. "A cold Hell that Mr. Freeze will bring to them."
Chapter Two
parked in front of his house. The Schreck cat logo was easily recognizible from
a block away. There were at least half a dozen large men moving large crates
from the house to the Vans. The crates also had the Schreck logo printed on
them.
"Not yet." Victor moaned.
He pulled his BMW into the manicured lawn and clammored out of the car. He was dimly aware that his long time neighbors were standing in their lawns, watching the loading. One man yelled at Victor from his driveway.
"Hey, Vic! You want me to call the cops?" Victor stared at the man as though he were speaking a foreign language.
"What? ...Yes ..No." He stammered. "I'll take care of this. Just go inside."
Victor entered his home on legs filled with lead. Strange men were in his living room, packing boxes. They were all wearing coveralls with the Schreck logo on the lapel. Hired help, he passed them by. They were not who he sought. Victor entered his den, to find three men working in there. Two of them were wearing the coveralls. They, he ignored. It was the third man he approached.
The man was wearing a dress shirt and suspenders. He turned when Victor entered the room. He was a small Oriental man with a thin mustache. His bright blue tie was loosened and he held a clipboard in his arm. He looked at Victor with no surprise.
"Mr. Shirato," Victor snapped. "What is the meaning of this?"
"I think you are well aware of what is going on." Shirato said dryly. "You have been stealing company equipment for your own experiments. You are no longer in the employ of Schreck enterprises. Criminal charges will follow. I suspect this time next year, you will be cooling your heels in prison. Mr. Freis."
"My experiments were fully sanctioned by Maximillian Schreck himself." Victor protested. Shirato shook his head, as if sad.
"The Cyrogenics division was shut down five weeks ago. You were to begin in the Mutagenics Laboratory two weeks ago, Dr. Freis. Who do you think you are fooling?"
Victor felt his chest tighten, panic threatening to overwhelm him.
"You can't! Don't you see, I've done it!" Victor shouted. "I have found a way to completely stop decomposition in living tissue! I can hold a living being in a suspended state, indefinitely."
Shirato leaned towards Victor and whispered hoarsely at him.
"No one is interested in your mad Magick!" With that, Shirato stormed off.
Victor bellowed after him
"You can not stand in the way of True Science! My research will better all of Humanity!" Shirato stopped short in Victor's hallway.
"We are not in the business of bettering Humanity. We are in the business of profit, something you obviously can not comprehend!"
"I comprehend enough to know your only business is serving your dark master! Serving your Wyrm!" Victor watched with satisfaction as Shirato's mouth moved limply, trying to form words. "That's right, Shirato. I know about your company's Infernal backers. You can not keep such a secret from a Mage of my standing, a Scientist of True Science!"
Shirato shook his head with the same sad expression as before.
"You should have kept quiet, Wizard." He said evenly, "We would have left you alone. Prison would have satisfied my superiors. But, now..." Shirato shook his head, "Hell has a place for Mages, Son of Ether."
Before either could speak, a large man in coveralls spoke from behind Shirato.
"Mr. Shirato, we found a Laboratory in the basement."
"Scrap it." Shirato said, staring at Victor.
"We've already started, sir."
"Fine then, Donald, would you please escort..." Shirato stopped when he saw Victor's face contort into an awful grimace. A low noise was coming from Victor, which quickly rose to a roar of rage.
"noooooOOOOOO!!" Victor lunged towards the door that led to his Laboratory. Shirato jumped back and Donald grabbed Victor by the shoulders. Victor struggled in vain against the man's titanic strength. Victor continued to scream.
"NOOO! MARIEEE!!"
Donald slammed Victor against the wall. Victor was stunned by the force of the blow. Donald placed his forearm against Victor's throat and pressed. Victor fought for air, striking the huge man in his barrel chest. Black dots began to form in Victor's vision. Somewhere he could hear Shirato speaking evenly to him.
"The experiment is over, Mr. Freis."
Victor knew that he had only one chance. He grabbed Donald by the ears and unleashed the power he held within him.
There was a flash of blue light and a sound like an arctic wind. A thick layer of frost spread across the man's head and shoulders. It spread quickly down his torso and arms, finally stopping at his elbows. Victor heard Shirato gasp. He shoved the frozen man away and turned toward Shirato. Behind Victor, Donald struck the wall and his head shattered like a fragile ice sculpture. Shirato spun on his heel and started shouting down the hall.
"Code Alpha Blue! Code Alpha Blue!"
Victor started after him and was met by three large men nearly bursting out of their coveralls. Victor usually distained Vulgar displays of Magick in favor of his Techno-Magick, but the situation was extreme.
With a thought Victor sent a super-cooled gust of wind at the men. The men fell to the hardwood floor, breaking into large pieces of ice. Victor could feel the Paradox building up inside of his Pattern, but he could not think of that now. All he could think of was Marie and Kyle.
Another man jumped out at him, only to receive a two foot shard of ice though his heart. After three more men had met similar ends, Victor entered his Laboratory.
Eleven months ago, Victor von Freis's wife, Marie, and their twelve year old son, Kyle, were in an auto accident. The damage was bad, but they would survive. Two months ago Victor learned the truth. The impossible, according to Gotham General, had happened. Victor's wife and son had received blood tained with AIDS.
Victor knew about the impossible.
With all his knowledge of Science and Magick, Victor could not help them. So he made a radical decision. He would freeze them until the time came when he could help them. Then five weeks ago, his funding was cut. So he stole the necessary equipment and continued his experiments in his home laboratory. Five days ago he successfully placed his wife and son in suspended animation.
And now these intruders were in his laboratory, dismantling his equipment. Two men were disconnecting heavy cables connected to a large, upright, glass and metal containment unit. Victor could see Marie's slender form floating in the super cooled mists of the unit.
"Stop" Victor screamed, "You're killing her!"
Victor lashed out at the men with another blast of his cold Magick. When the men rushed at him, Victor realized something had gone wrong. His Magick had failed him.
As the men fell on top of him, Victor felt the Paradox inside of him expled out of his Pattern. Victor looked up and saw the glass of the containment unit began to crack and splinter. Cold mist began to fill the Laboratory. The sensitive control board began to crystallize from the intense cold. Victor saw what was going to happen and began to scream.
"NOOO, MARIE!!"
Sparks began to fly from the control board. The Schreck men saw the flames start and jumped to their feet, but they were too late.
The explosion shook the foundation of the house, filling the basement with the intense cold of the containment unit. Shirato peered into the mist from the basement stairs. The very foundation of the house had crystallized from the cold and the house was begining to settle.
"I told you Hell had a place for Mages, Mr. Freis!" Shirato yelled into the mists. "You should find it nice and warm there!"
A voice drifted up from the basement, chilling Shirato's heart more effectively than the mists ever could.
"You know very little of Hell, Mr. Shirato." Victor said, his voice hollow and toneless. "Hell is cold."
The mists parted and Shirato saw Victor walking leisurely towards the stairs, a shattered end of a Nitrogen hose in his right hand.Victor's dark hair was frost white. He absently ran his left hand through his hair, only to have it crumble in his fingers. He stared at the fragments in his palm, smiling coldly.
"The price of power, my dear Mr. Shirato." Victor sneered. "Paradox demands its cost, as do I."
Victor raised the hose and a ray of pure cold shot from it, hitting the ground at Shirato's feet. His feet froze instantly to the floor and began to crystallize. Shirato struggled to free himself, but it was too late. His legs were starting to crystallize, the process slow and painful.
Victor smiled at the sight.
"You tell your masters when you meet them, that their Hell will be a cold one." Victor said. "A cold Hell that Mr. Freeze will bring to them."
Chapter Two
Mr. Freeze
Mr. Freeze turned out to be the most tragic of my “creations”. His concept was fairly simple: Son of Ether mage suffers a massive Paradox backlash. His story was another thing altogether…
Freeze was a late addition to the actual game, but I had began writing him from the start. For the most of the characters I wrote a simple one page write up, so the player could get the concept. Freeze on the other hand, inspired me…
Chapter One: Origin
Chapter Two: The Ice Man Cometh
Chapter Three: Ice Station Zero
The Joker
This is where the Chronicle was really born. My friend Eric was making a Malkavian for a game and he asked me if he could make him “like the Joker”.
“How about, you just make THE Joker?”
Jack Napier was an aspiring Chemistry student at Gotham University. A fellow student sabotaged a project of Jack’s, causing an explosion. The chemicals turned Jack’s hair white and skin green. Jack had been a A-type personality all his life. The ‘accident’ spun him into a murderous rampage. He killed his rival and was caught by the police trying to burn down his parents house.
Jack was taken to Arkham Asylum for observation. There he was put under the care of Dr. Jonathan Crane. Director of the Asylum. Dr. Crane experimented on Jack using his unproven “Fear Treatment”. The experiments pushed Jack farther into his psychosis. Dr. Crane recommended more treatments and an extended stay.
Jack was locked in the sub-levels of the Asylum, where Dr. Crane kept his pet projects. It was here that Jack met the character that would change him forever.
The Jester had lived in Arkham for centuries, feeding on the inmates. He was a Malkavian antitribu of elder blood. The grounds of the Asylum were his personal domain, and he had picked Jack to be his new Childe.
He visited Jack many times, feeding off him, feeding him his own potent Vitae and twisting his mind. By the time The Jester embraced him, Jack’s mind was contorted beyond human limits. Becoming a Malkavian just made him more fun. The Jester dubbed his new Childe The Joker.
Joker stayed in the Asylum for another 2 years, learning his new powers and making new ‘friends’. One of them was his new Psychiatrist, Dr, Harleen Quinzel. Joker spent countless hours in therapy sessions with Dr. Quinzel. Needless to say, they didn’t work out as the good doctor expected they would.
After sufficiently twisting Harley to his purposes, strolled out the front gates of Arkham. He had unfinished business. He started with his parents. He was no longer of the Human Race and their existence annoyed him. After feasting on his parents and burning the house down, Joker set out on his new life…
“How about, you just make THE Joker?”
Jack Napier was an aspiring Chemistry student at Gotham University. A fellow student sabotaged a project of Jack’s, causing an explosion. The chemicals turned Jack’s hair white and skin green. Jack had been a A-type personality all his life. The ‘accident’ spun him into a murderous rampage. He killed his rival and was caught by the police trying to burn down his parents house.
Jack was taken to Arkham Asylum for observation. There he was put under the care of Dr. Jonathan Crane. Director of the Asylum. Dr. Crane experimented on Jack using his unproven “Fear Treatment”. The experiments pushed Jack farther into his psychosis. Dr. Crane recommended more treatments and an extended stay.
Jack was locked in the sub-levels of the Asylum, where Dr. Crane kept his pet projects. It was here that Jack met the character that would change him forever.
The Jester had lived in Arkham for centuries, feeding on the inmates. He was a Malkavian antitribu of elder blood. The grounds of the Asylum were his personal domain, and he had picked Jack to be his new Childe.
He visited Jack many times, feeding off him, feeding him his own potent Vitae and twisting his mind. By the time The Jester embraced him, Jack’s mind was contorted beyond human limits. Becoming a Malkavian just made him more fun. The Jester dubbed his new Childe The Joker.
Joker stayed in the Asylum for another 2 years, learning his new powers and making new ‘friends’. One of them was his new Psychiatrist, Dr, Harleen Quinzel. Joker spent countless hours in therapy sessions with Dr. Quinzel. Needless to say, they didn’t work out as the good doctor expected they would.
After sufficiently twisting Harley to his purposes, strolled out the front gates of Arkham. He had unfinished business. He started with his parents. He was no longer of the Human Race and their existence annoyed him. After feasting on his parents and burning the house down, Joker set out on his new life…
The Batman
Bruce Wayne. The Dark Knight.
This is the character that changed the least. The central conceit to the game was that all the character were now supernatural in some aspect…
…except Batman.
Batman had near unlimited resources, gadgets & contacts. But, he was just a man. To me that is the mystique of Batman. He has no superpowers. He’s not from some far-flung world. He is a man, an extraordinary man, but just a man.
In our Chronicle, Batman was played by Joe Dutro. I picked Joe for his practical, down-to-earth nature. Together, we explored Batman’s world, and Bruce Wayne’s. What happens when the Batmobile breaks down? Does Bruce have a Day Job? A Girlfriend? These things came up and we either had to look at the comics, or make them up ourselves. Most often, it was us…
This is the character that changed the least. The central conceit to the game was that all the character were now supernatural in some aspect…
…except Batman.
Batman had near unlimited resources, gadgets & contacts. But, he was just a man. To me that is the mystique of Batman. He has no superpowers. He’s not from some far-flung world. He is a man, an extraordinary man, but just a man.
In our Chronicle, Batman was played by Joe Dutro. I picked Joe for his practical, down-to-earth nature. Together, we explored Batman’s world, and Bruce Wayne’s. What happens when the Batmobile breaks down? Does Bruce have a Day Job? A Girlfriend? These things came up and we either had to look at the comics, or make them up ourselves. Most often, it was us…
COMIC BOOK RULES!
The only way a game like this was going to work was by setting some ground rules. If the Joker was a vampire, what was to stop him from just tearing Batman’s head off? If The Riddler was a Mage, why wouldn’t he just melt Batman’s brain? For that matter, why didn’t Batman just KILL the villains?
Hence, Comic Book Rules:
· No PC Killing! You could do what ever you wanted to the Non-Player Characters, but the other Player Characters were off limits. Not that you couldn’t get creative…
· If a Villain caught Batman, he had to place him in an elaborate Death-Trap, AND THEN, tell him your plans. This was set in stone. This was the loophole to rule one: If Batman couldn’t get out of your Death-Trap, he was dead. But that leads to Rule Three
· The Storyteller will always side with Batman. Fair? No. Comic Book? Absolutely! It’s his title, you’re just a guest star.
Hence, Comic Book Rules:
· No PC Killing! You could do what ever you wanted to the Non-Player Characters, but the other Player Characters were off limits. Not that you couldn’t get creative…
· If a Villain caught Batman, he had to place him in an elaborate Death-Trap, AND THEN, tell him your plans. This was set in stone. This was the loophole to rule one: If Batman couldn’t get out of your Death-Trap, he was dead. But that leads to Rule Three
· The Storyteller will always side with Batman. Fair? No. Comic Book? Absolutely! It’s his title, you’re just a guest star.
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