-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[40 years ago...]

Oceana had shattered into a hundred pieces, sinking into the sea,
scattered amongst the currents of the deep. 

He cared not. 

The millionaire Walker was a fool to try it.  He cared not of what
became of the eccentric idiot.  The fool wished to live forever?  He
would soon know that there was no happiness in eternal life.

However, there were more... important things in life to think about. 

"Nora... at least... we can be together..." 

His hand gently caressed the icy monolith.  Deep within was his
beloved, forever beautiful.  Nora couldn't be saved.  Not by him.  Not
by modern science. 

But he couldn't just let her die.  He did the only thing he could do,
and preserved her.  Perhaps one day, if the fates were merciful on
her, there would be hope.

But there was no hope now. 

He turned the gun to his own body... 

"Together... forever." 

...and he found peace eternal. 

Almost. 

=====================================
Megatokyo is about to freeze over...


          ----------------
          Bubblegum Crisis
           Frozen Knights
          ----------------

  A BGC/Batman:The Animated Series
              crossover

               Part 1
            Hearts of Ice

=====================================

"How goes progress in the Atlantic?" asked Quincy, his chair swiveled
around to look over the city.  HIS city. 

"It's confirmed sir.  The wreckage is a piece of the 'Oceana'.  The
dive boomers will begin the extraction in 30 minutes.

"Good." 

"Ah... sir?" 

"Yes, what is it?" 

"Is this such a good idea?" 

"You question my judgement?" grumbled Quincy.  He wasn't really
offended, but he liked his lackeys to sweat every now and then.  Best
to make sure everyone knew their place around him - under his heel.

"N-no sir!  It's just that... er..." 

"Well, go on!  Explain yourself!" 

"I-it's just that... well... wasn't this individual... incredibly
dangerous?"

"Yes, he was.  What is your point?" 

"Well, I mean, isn't this risky?  I know his scientific knowledge is
priceless, but-"

"We can control him.  I've taken steps to make sure of it." 

*

Slowly, ever so slowly, he pushed through the cobwebs of 40 years of
sleep.  He tried to stand but found that his body wasn't willing. 

//'Don't try to stand.'//

'W-who...'

//'Do not struggle, you'll need your rest.'//

"N... Noraaa..." 

//She is in our care.//

He panicked.  No!  They didn't understand!  They'd kill her! 

"nuh... nuh....NO!" 

//Nurses, room 6 please.  Sedation.//

"NO!  NO!  NORAAAA!" 

He struggled, damning his body's weakness, ignoring the fire in his
limbs telling him that he would not be moving, not caring that his
heart rate was skyrocketing beyond healty levels.  He felt hands
holding his arm and the sharp sting of a needle.

The world faded once more... 

*

"So, what's going on out there?" asked Sylia. 

Typical, he thought, she went straight to business.  Didn't even
notice his new suit! 

"Genom's gone fishing," replied Fargo. 

"Oh?" 

"Yeah.  There was a big expedition in the atlantic, near the north
pole.  They were looking for something underwater." 

"What could that be?  And what makes you think it wasn't just a search
for new oil rig sites?"

"Oil rig searches aren't normally accompanied by military boomers and
deemed classified."

"Good point." 

"As usual, I'll contact you if anything else comes up." 

"Thanks." 

He sighed and took a deep drink as she strode off.  Sylia Stingray,
the ice queen.  It should be a crime someone that beautiful be that
cold hearted.

*

He gave Madigan the chills. 

She'd heard of him of course, but had only thought it was just some
sort of urban myth.  But now he was here, in the tower, and she was
responsible for him. 

And the look in his eyes... so cold... 

'Dr. Fries.'

She looked in her monitor as the man in cell 6 lifted his head. 

'Dr. Fries, answer me.'

He looked dead into the camera's lense.  Unlike his first moments
awake, he now was totally unreadable.  She could see little signs of
emotion at all.

//'They call me 'Mr. Freeze'.//

'Oh.'

//'I wish to see Nora,'// said Fries. 

'You will, Doctor.  But first you must be rehabilitated.  After all,
you've been frozen for 40 years.  Your muscles are weak from misuse.'

//'Forty... years?'//

'That is correct.  It is now 2033.'

Dr. Fries seemed lost in thought for a moment. 

//'Interesting.'//

'Are you feeling well, Mr. Freeze?'

//'What have you done with Nora?'// asked Fries. 

'She is still in stasis.  We don't have your expertise in crygenics,
so we wanted you to be the one to awaken her.'

//'Surely after 40 years,'// he mumbled.  //'There must have been a
cure found for her by now.'//

'If anyone can cure her, we can.'

//And who might you be?// asked Freeze. 

'We are GENOM," she said with pride, "the largest multinational
corporation on earth.  Our scientific facilities and resources are
unmatched in all the world. You are currently in the international
headquarters in...  ' She trailed off after noticing a growing scowl
on his face.  'Is there something wrong, Mr. Fries?'

//'Corporations like yours I have dealt with before,'// he replied. 

'Ah, you speak of Gothcorp and Mr. Walker?'

Freeze nodded. 

'You needn't worry.  There won't be another 'Oceana' incident.'

//'Let us not waste each other's time.  What would you have me do?  I
find it unlikely my benefactors would aid me for nothing.'//

'We want the secrets of your technology.  Your knowledge of cryogenics
and ice lasers.  It has been 40 years, but none have been able to
duplicate fully what you have done.'

//'Indeed.'//

*

"Has he agreed?" asked Quincy. 

"Yes, he has," answered Madigan, "but it's hard to tell how displeased
he is with the situation."

"Aside from matters concerning his precious Nora, he is rather
emotionless, isn't he?" 

"Eerilly so, sir." 

"I wonder," said Quincy, rubbing his chin.  "Would he possibly smile
when he sees the power suit we've designed for him?"

"Probably not," said Madigan. 

"Ah, well.  It should make for a wonderful show when we incorporate
his technology with our boomers."

*

Mr. Freeze was displeased. 

It wasn't the lab facilities, not at all.  They were actually rather
impressive.  Technology had moved well in the 40 years that he had
slept.  He told the purple-haired one that they'd have to allow him a
week to get acclimated to the advances in science.

They wondered if he needed only a week. 

He restated, he needed _only_ a week. 

It wasn't his new location that bothered him.  Indeed, he'd been
hoping to travel a little, before... it happened.  But now he was in
Tokyo. 

MEGATokyo. 

Such an egotistical designation. 

'Perhaps,' he said to Madigan several hours earlier, 'I should brush
up on my Japanese.'

This caused her to raise an eyebrow.  'You knew how to speak
Japanese?'

'No,' he said flatly, 'not at all.'

What was bothering him at the moment was this pitiful excuse of an
exo-suit that he wore.  Yes, it kept him comfortably below the
freezing point, but it was otherwise useless.  There was no strength
to the suit at all.  He was wearing, essentially, chilly pajamas. 

'Miss Madigan.'

'Yes?'

'Where is my suit?'

'We're currently upgrading it with the latest in robotics technology.'

'No.'

Madigan frowned.  'No?  What do you mean no?'

'I shall upgrade the suit myself.'

'But our technicians-'

'I have no doubt your technicians are skilled and competent, Miss
Madigan.'

'Then what-'

'My suit, as my wife, are to be left to me.  Should I need your
assistance, I will let you know.'

'Very well.'

'Leave me,' said Freeze, sitting at a compter terminal.  'I have much
reading to do.'

'Don't forget, you have more rehab sessions in three hours.'

'I am well aware of that.'

Madigan gladly left the lab and wondered if there was anyone out there
as cold as the infamous Mr. Freeze.

*

Sylia Stingray stood in silence. 

This was always a solemn place for her.  She reflected on her life
often, here, in this quiet spot.  At the moment, she was worried. 

She knew of her reputation as an 'ice queen'.  Even her own team
occasionally referred to her as one, although not intending to be mean
to her.

They didn't understand, the people.  She hoped at least her teammates
did. 

Everyone had their purpose.  Nene was the tech, Linna the grace, Priss
the muscle, and Sylia... she was the _focus_.  Maybe she sometimes was
a little harsh in her criticisms, and maybe she seemed aloof and
emotionless at times, but if she didn't take charge and make sure what
needed to be done was done then someone might make a mistake.

In her line of work, mistakes get people killed. 

She really hoped that the team understood that. 

Sylia's hand reached out, caressing the cold stone marker. 

"Father... it's the anniversary of your passing.  The war goes on." 

*

Madigan made sure her suit was sealed and functioning, then took a
step into the incredibly cold environment that was Mr. Freeze's
personal laboratory.  The Temperature of the environment was ten
degrees below celsius, a tad warm by Freeze's standards but it had to
do.  Structural integrity was a concern, after all. 

She'd spent two weeks working with the man, yet she was still not
comfortable at all dealing with him.  She was used to dealing with
people with emotional masks.  She was good at peeking under the
surface and taking advantage of what she saw. 

Aside from Nora, Mr. Freeze seemed to have very few emotions at all. 
The few he did have were usually of the negative degree. 

"Good evening, Miss Madigan," said Mr. Freeze, not turning away from
his work table. 

"Good evening," said Madigan in return.  "Your Japanese is almost
flawless now." 

"Of course." 

"How goes the laser?" 

"It goes well.  You shall have all the data adjusted to today's
technology completed in two days.  This," he said, pointing to a mess
of metal and cables, "shall be operational as well." 

"And what do you think of our resources in cybernetics and robotics?" 
asked Madigan, eyeing a half-complete dark blue mech suit that was
strewn in the back. 

Freeze blinked, eyed the suit, then resumed his work. 

"Interesting," he said. 

"Of course," said Friese, "we shall resuscitate Nora in two days." 

"Of course, Mr. Freeze." 

"Everything is being set up as per my instructions?" 

"As we speak." 

Fries blinked.  "Good." 

*

"Where IS she?" grumbled Priss.  "For once I show up on time and
_she's_ late."  She glared out the window, leaned back on the couch,
and gulped down her second coffee of the hour.

"Come on, Priss, she's only human," said Linna. 

"She chews _my_ ass off when I make mistakes, but-" 

"That's because your mistakes are generally worse," said Sylia, right
behind Priss, causing her to nearly spit out her coffee. 

"SHIT!"  Priss said between coughs.  "You scared the hell outta me." 

"Sorry I'm late everyone," she said in that unreadable expression of
hers.

Sylia moved to her desk and began the meeting with the usual routine. 
There was first yet another recap of the last mission (to which Priss
squirmed uncomfortably), a full tally of damage on equipment (through
which Nene and Priss looked terribly embarrased), division of pay from
the last job (through which Linna grinned like a maniac, until she
heard what Sylia was deducting to keep the Sabres maintenance finances
afloat). 

Finally came the time to vote on new assignments. 

There were a few from USSD (which were generally viewed with much
trepidation ever since their last dealings with that entity were... 
unpleasant. 

There were a few offers from GENOM, which wasn't unusual.  Of course,
they declined. 

There were a few miscellaneous companies wanting the Sabres to do a
little industrial espionage, but the risk/reward factor was terribly
balanced in the negative direction.  Embarrasingly so in some cases. 

"Shit, what is this?!" said Priss.  "For a limited time only, Knight
Sabres fifty percent off!  Blue light special on office document
theft!" 

Sylia tossed the offers aside, then stopped and gazed at one for a
moment. 

"I think," she said, "you're going to like this one." 

"Tell me this one pays well," said Linna. 

"Here, I'll let you see for yourself." 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
TO: The Knight Sabres 
FROM: J. Grant 
ASSIGNMENT:  There have been rumors of a new high-powered laser
             being developed by GENOM.  We wish to acquire detailed
             information on this laser.  
PRICE: $80,000,000 American Dollars for the data on the laser.
       $20,000,000 American Dollars for an actual ice laser unit. 
       $100,000,000 American Dollars for the capture of the scientist
        leading the project. 
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Nene just stared.

Priss whistled.

"WE'LL TAKE IT!" yelled Linna.

-end part 1-




-rpm
http://www.uh.edu/~rpm/fanfic.htm


WRITER'S NOTES
1) anyone catch the 'in the heat of the night' joke? :)
2) pt. 1 title a tip'o the hat to the kapter's "Hearts of Ice"
   ranmafic.  ^.-
3) at the moment I can't forsee anyone else from Gotham getting
   into the action of this story.  Besides, in a way, there's
   a sort of continuity going on here.  From Dark Knight to
   Knight Sabres, ne?