WRITER'S NOTES:
Okaaaaaaay, keep in mind this is NOT the final version.
However, if you've read the version I originally sent to
the ffml, you should know that things have been _considerably_
changed.
Part 1 is, for the most part, complete, and only awaits error
checking (unless there's any more cannon/ic/plot goofs I missed).
Part 2 is about 35% complete and also drastically rewritten.
anyways, C&C appreciated, especially on characterization and style.
Positive, negative, I'm willing to listen.
-rodM
http://www.uh.edu/~rpm/bgc
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:
' ' denotes English
" " denotes Japanese
// // denotes use of electronic communication of sorts
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[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
=====================================
[Somewhere in the Atlantic]
The crew of the 'Poseidon' watched with awe as a gargantuan chunk of
ice was lowered into their storage bay. To all, it contained
something from a time of legend, the age of heroes. It confirmed that
once upon a time giants walked the earth.
Unfortunately (thought the crewmen), what they were hauling was a
legend of the darker variety.
Professor Freys, a member of the 'resurrection crew' as it was
nicknamed, eyed the giant ice monolith warily.
"I remember him," he said to another crew member standing nearby. "I
remember how he managed to almost instantly encase an entire city
block in ice."
"He really did?"
"I should know. I was in the builiding."
"Hey, no kidding?"
"It's true. Back then I was working for Gothcorp, and he had quite a
grudge against the company on that day." He stared in silence for a
moment more, then said, "I really do not like this."
"Why the worry, doc? It's not like he's going to burst out of there
and kill us all."
"No, he won't. But I still feel as if we were opening Pandora's box."
He sighed, rubbed his hands together to keep warm, then headed towards
the cargo bay. "Come on, let's make sure our guest is intact and
healthy."
A single crewman made his way to the other side of the ship, unnoticed
since everyone else was watching the ice monolith loading into the
cargo bay, and from his pockets pulled a very small white non-descript
bird. He looked around one more time to make sure there were no
unwanted watchers, inserted something metal in a slot on the bird's
belly, flicked a switch hidden under some feathers on its back, and
watched it fly away.
*
"How goes progress in the Atlantic?" asked Quincy, his chair swiveled
around to look over the city. HIS city.
"It's confirmed by our mole at the site, sir. The wreckage is a piece
of the 'Oceana'."
"Good. And our extraction team?"
"They're on standby."
"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..."
"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 know the risks. There won't be a repeat of
the 'Oceana' disaster."
Quincy smiled, for he had reason to. He was the King of MegaTokyo.
And far away, deep in the atlantic, his army came to life...
*
[a week later]
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...
*
Meanwhile, elsewhere, certain board members of a rather powerful
corporation were fuming.
"I don't believe they did that!"
"We must have had a leak in security."
"Surely they can't get away with this? They killed the entire crew!"
"What are we going to tell the authorities? Besides, there's nothing
proving Genom has him. They did this one clean, the bastards."
"They probably do have him."
"Yes, probably."
"Besides, who the hell would dare mess with Genom at all?"
"If it was Genom."
"Which it might have been."
"Or might not."
There was a simmering, angry sort of silence.
"Oh. Wait. I have an idea. How about... the Knight Sabres?"
There was another moment of silence.
"Don't be stupid. Once they find out _who_ they're rescuing, they'll
reject the deal."
"Well now... not unless we arrange things right. Get me the list of
men on the Oceana cruise."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Trust me."
*
It was a drive-in movie, and a good one at that.
Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in 'Roman Holiday'. Love, honor,
duty, and all that great stuff rolled into one film. Still a classic
in Japan after all of these years.
"Great movie, one of my favorites," said Fargo.
"I've seen it already," said Sylia dismissively.
He slowly attempted to put his arm around Sylia. "Say, maybe later we
can go to this nice bar I know and-"
"Or maybe not," cut in Sylia as she twisted a digit on his hand and
moved his arm away. "Second time you tried this in a drive-in.
You're starting to get repedetive."
Fargo grinned ruefully. "Next time I'll rent a room in a love motel."
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a box of cigarettes and a
lighter.
"Smoke?" he asked her.
"No thanks."
He shrugged, put one in his mouth and lit it.
"Genom might have fishing," he said.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. There was a big expedition in the Atlantic, near the North
Pole."
"Scouting for oil patches," dismissed Sylia.
"Oil patch searches aren't normally classified and accompanied by
military boomers," countered Fargo.
"True."
"Anyways, a rival company, Johnson & Gruber, had set up this
expedition. There's no word of what they were looking for. Whatever
it was, it was stolen, and the crew slaughtered as well."
"Let me guess, boomers were behind the attack."
"That's what everyone suspects. Johnson & Gruber aren't talking,
though. It's as if they didn't want anyone to know they were ever
there."
"And what makes you think Genom was behind this?" asked Sylia.
"A Genom freighter was some miles away at the time of the attack. It
came and went at approximately the time of the attack. They were
within range to send a pack of boomers to fly in, hit, and fly out.
I'm not saying they _were_ behind it, mind you. They're just really
strong suspects."
"Interesting." Sylia opened the door, putting a foot out of the door.
"Let me know if anything else turns up on this."
"Right."
He sighed and took a deep drag on his cigarette as she strode off.
Typical, he thought, she was all business. Didn't even notice his new
suit. Sylia Stingray, the ice queen. It should be a crime someone
that beautiful be that cold.
*
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, and Quincy himself had
assigned Madigan with the task of making sure Mr. Freeze didn't become
a threat to Genom.
The look in his eyes... it was 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 chillingly calm. She could see little signs of
emotion at all.
//'They call me 'Mr. Freeze'.//
'Oh.'
//'I wish to see Nora.'//
'You will, Doctor. But first you must be rehabilitated. After all,
you've been frozen for 40 years. Your muscles are still weak from
being idle for all this time.'
//'Forty... years?'//
'That is correct. It is now 2033.'
Mr. Freeze seemed lost in thought for a moment.
//'Interesting.'//
'Are you feeling well, Mr. Freeze?'
//'What have you done with Nora?'//
'She is still in stasis. We don't have your expertise in cryogenics,
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?//
'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... ' 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, and all of your notes and
equipment have been lost.'
//'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.//
"Sir? Is there not someone else more suited to this duty?"
//You dislike your current assignment?//
"It's not a matter of dislike sir, but I am in charge of information
security. I feel that I can't do my job adequately from this
remote outpost."
//Do not be concerned about our security. Your staff has been
attending to those matters you cannot, due to your current assignment.
For now, I wish for you to watch over Mr. Freeze until we get what we
want. If he were to... say... become violent, the potential backlash,
while not fatal to Genom, would still be a black eye to our image. I
trust no one else to this job, Madigan.//
"Yes sir, I understand."
*
Mr. Freeze was not happy.
It wasn't the lab facilities, not at all. They were actually rather
impressive, even though there weren't any windows (he never was much
of a scenery lover anyways). Technology had moved well in the 40
years that he had slept. He told Madigan 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
cruel 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 matters concerning Nora, Mr. Freeze seemed to have very few
emotions at all. The few he did have were usually of the negative
degree, and not terribly complex.
"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 several days, perhaps a little more than a
week at the latest. Given the new technology I have to work with, it
may be better than the original."
"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.
He blinked, eyed the suit, then resumed his work.
"Interesting," said Freeze. He worked in silence for a moment,
adjusting a few odd parts here and there, then looked at Madigan.
"We shall resuscitate Nora soon."
"Of course, Mr. Freeze."
"Everything is being set up as per my instructions?"
"As we speak."
"Good."
*
As promised, this time they met in a love motel.
It was the Cute Cute Room.
"Why Fargo, I never realized you were into this sort of thing," said
Sylia, tossing aside a frilly pink pillow.
"Come on over and check out the bed," said Fargo, who was already on
it and staring at the ceiling. "The thing vibrates! And hey, a
mirror on the ceiling!"
"Stop being stupid."
"Okay, okay." He sprang up from the frilly white and pink monstrosity
that served as a bed, got a beer from the refrigerator, and sat down
on the couch.
"Well, here's the offer," said Fargo. He handed a small envelope to
Sylia. "It's basically a missing persons case."
"So why didn't they just go to the police if it's a missing persons?"
"He knows some very sensitive information, and they don't want him
giving it away to any rivals."
"Or the officials, it sounds like."
"That could be the case too," said Fargo.
Sylia lit a cigarette, then took a long drag and exhaled. "You do
recall the incident with USSD."
"Hm?"
"The one where the USSD had us believe we were rescuing people."
"Oh, that."
"And you recall how badly that incident was concluded," said Sylia.
"Well, yes." He heard about it. Apparently, the Knight Sabres were
risking life and limb to rescue a military boomer of sorts that was
disguised as a little girl. The whole event left a sour taste in
Sylia's memory.
"I don't need a repeat of that," she said firmly.
"Well," said Fargo, "the guy checks out as a real person. Unless they
had an expert hacker make up his history records."
She'd have to have Nene double-check the information later, she noted
to herself.
"Double-check those records, will you?" asked Sylia. "I want to be
sure."
"Okay, I'll do what I can," said Fargo.
Sylia opened the envalope and eyed the initial offer.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
FROM: J. Grant
AFFILIATION: Johnson & Gruber Incorporated, A technology &
weaponry developer based in the United States with
major fascilities in Gotham, Germany, and Osaka.
Competes with Genom in North and South American
regions. Moderate market penetration in Europe and
recent expansion into Asia with the Osaka site.
ASSIGNMENT: Prof. Victor Freys and his wife Nora were kidnapped
from the Poseidon, a science research vessel, several
weeks ago. Prof. Freys has knowledge that the company
does not wish to have shared with others. Information
on Prof. Freys, his wife, and the Poseidon are enclosed
on the data disk.
PRICE: $15 million in advance.
$40 million for the safe return of Prof. Fries and his wife.
-please respond as soon as possible if interested-
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"Our starting rate is usually $20 million in advance," said Sylia.
"And considering that this is a missing persons case involving a
scientist with dangerous information, I want $25 million in advance."
"I'll deliver the message."
"Is there anything else?"
"Well, as long as we're here," said Fargo, grinning, "we really
shouldn't let this wonderful atmosphere go to waste."
Sylia rolled her eyes up. "Goodbye, Fargo."
*
"Quincy, sir?"
//Yes, Madigan?//
"There... seems to be a problem."
//Is it serious?//
"Our control on him may be in jeapordy."
//The reason?//
"Sir... we ran a few preliminary scans on his wife, and what we found
out is going to upset him, possibly to a violent degree."
-end part 1-
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Note:
' ' denotes English
" " denotes Japanese
// // denotes use of electronic communication of sorts
-----------------------------------------------------------------
BOOMERSERIESIIPOINTXPOWERRATING8POINT5PEAKPERFORMANCE9POINT2
WEAPONDESIGNATEKNUCKLEBOMBERDAMAGERATINGOF99POINT8VSNONMETAL
ANDLOWERGRADEALLOYS-
Information... too much information...
POWERAMPLIFICATIONRATIO:1:9.96TO20.50XULTRALITEALLOWSECONDARY
0POINT25CMOFCARBONFIBERCOMPOSITE-
Stop... make it stop...
GENOMMULTINATIONALCORPORATIONBRIANJMASONKILLEDMETHEYKILLEDME
AVENGEMEAVENGEMEAVENGEMEAVEN-
_stop_
Sylia's eyes flickered open briefly. She blinked, went through some
breathing relaxation techniques, then opened her eyes. After a few
more minutes, she got out of bed and prepared to face the day.
Couldn't afford to be rattled by silly nightmares.
Not today. Not ever.
=====================================
Megatokyo is about to freeze over...
----------------
Bubblegum Crisis
Frozen Knights
----------------
A BGC/Batman:The Animated Series
crossover
Part 2
Avalanche
http://www.uh.edu/~rpm/bgc
=====================================
Normal cases allowed the Knight Sabers to prepare at their luxury.
Missing persons cases, by their very nature, weren't as generous.
This was yet another reason why Sylia generally disliked them.
At the moment, she was in the Knight Saber headquarters, standing
behind Nene, who was, in turn, was doing a background check on Johnson
& Gruber, as well as the missing Dr. Freys. All around them, the
multi-screens flickering with various files and records on them.
"How goes the background check, Nene?"
"Well, all records seem to indicate he existed, worked for Johnson and
Gruber, and was on the Poseidon on its final mission. All records
_seem_ authentic." As she spoke, images of a bald, thin man wearing
red goggles emerged on several screens. "This is our man Freys,
according to the records. The only way to confirm the validity of
these records further is to see the original documents, but they're
over in America."
Sylia frowned. She had many contacts that ran deep, but those
contacts were mostly in Europe and Asia. She hadn't developed a very
strong information network in the Americas just yet. Then again,
Johnson & Gruber had a clean slate so far, and she had no reason to
suspect they were up to something.
"Sylia, this is for a potential job, right?" asked Nene.
"Yes, yes it is."
"You know how the last 'missing persons' case went."
Sylia sighed. "I remember all too well how that turned out, Nene.
That's why I'm being thorough this time. You're not the only one
checking if this is valid or not."
"Oh. That's good."
Sylia paced around idly, rubbing her chin. Fargo said things looked
clean. Nene didn't find anything suspicious. Her other sources
couldn't find anything wrong.
She still had a nagging feeling.
"Just paranoid," she muttered.
"Hm?"
"Nothing. I guess we'll take the job."
*
Carefully, gently, as if a sudden movement would shatter it, Dr.
Fries moved his hand over the ice monolith that imprisoned his beloved
Nora. So close, and yet again he was forbidden from her touch by the
cold, the bitter cold...
"Mr. Freeze, sir?" said a GENOM technician meekly, shivering from the
brutal cold of Freeze's lab.
"Speak," commanded Freeze.
"All the equipment you requested has been moved here."
"Good." He took a moment longer to gaze upon his wife, then
turned away.
Freeze went to his hardsuit. The one he donned today was, in
appearance, a replica of his original suit. It was far more advanced
than that. He designed it well, and unsupervised, just in case
certain parties became hostile.
He had other suits, but those were in case he ran into some
opposition, especially that of the Dark Knight variety. It might have
been 40 years, but he still felt paranoid about _him_.
With a reptilian hiss Mr. Freeze's suit snapped shut, securing him
within its chilly confines. He flexed an arm and allowed himself a
grim smile as he felt the power of the suit hum around him.
He checked the instrumentation, making sure that the coolants were
functioning.
He looked at Nora one more time.
"No."
"Pardon me, Mr. Freeze?" said the lackey.
"I wish to do this right. The doctors have yet to discover how to
cure what ails her. Until they do, Nora shall stay in cryogenic
sleep."
"Yessir."
"Leave me. I wish to be alone."
*
[Johnson & Gruber offices, North American HQ]
In a dark and totally empty office, several individuals were
discussing the fate of their little world. Such was the miracle of
holo-conferencing.
//I have good news, gentlemen. The Knight Sabers have accepted.//
//Splendid.//
//They're asking that the up-front fee be increased to $25 million.//
//Pretend to be reluctant, haggle a little. We can't look too eager,
now can we?//
//Quite correct.//
//They ran some checks, of course, but our job was thorough enough.
Freeze and Freys both were Gotham born. Freys was just slightly
younger than Freeze. Both of their records from Gotham were wrecked
as a result of the Cyber-Riot of 2021. We had a blank slate to work
from.//
//It sounds all too easy.//
//Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.//
//Is our extradition force ready?//
//They're on standby as we speak.//
//Good.//
//What if it _is_ Genom that has him?//
//We're not ready to go to war with them. If the first extradition
team can't get Freeze, we cut our losses and quit.//
*
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Madigan was also holding a business conference.
This one, though, wasn't quite as cheerful.
"Sir, how long until it arrives here?"
//Another two days. Can you prevent Mr. Freeze from taking any action
until then?//
"Of that I am certain. He insists on waiting for a cure to be found
before resurrecting his wife."
//Good. How goes progress on the laser?//
"We wanted him to rebuild his original model, but he refuses."
//What?//
"He's acclimated himself with modern technology and believes that it
can be done better than before."
//I see. How about the remains of his old suit?//
"Our analysts had a look at it, and have a rough idea of what he was
doing."
//Can they replicate the effects?//
"Given enough time, sir, probably. But Mr. Freeze is improving upon
that model anyways, so I don't think we'll need-"
//Best to be prepared anyways.//
"Of course sir."
*
Oh, the wonders of future... ah... modern technology.
So interesting.
Mr. Freeze couldn't help but grin slightly. With the old gun, he had
to lug around two annoying large tanks to his back, which served the
dual purpose of ammunition and coolant. Those cursed tanks were
always an obvious weakness, bulging out and practically begging to be
hit. He still had two large tanks on his back, but they were better
protected... and they were jump jets.
With _this_ technology, not only had he been able to build a suit that
kept the temperature down, but also protected him far better and gave
him far superior strength and agility than the old suit. The coolant
systems were also _much_ more compact, making it far less of a target
than it once was.
The addition of the chain gun, laser, and vibro-blade was a nice touch
by the Genom techs, he had to admit.
The biggest potential change, however, would be with the gun. Lasers,
back in the 1990's, weren't _that_ powerful in general. The one that
powered the sub-zero effect in his freeze gun was almost harmless by
itself. But _now_, lasers were incredibly deadly, even the smaller
ones.
The potential freeze capability of an orbital satelite had him idly
wondering how many minutes it would take him to freeze the world.
The coolants he used in the gun could now be created with a much
higher potency. No more dependence on tubes that linked with his
suit. If all went well, it would merely be done with a conventional
looking clip that slid into the shoulder of the rifle.
Yes, this was interesting.
*
o/" I did it... myyyyyyyyyyyyy waaaaaaaaaaaaay o/"
Sylia clapped, although not enthusiastically. "Good singing, great."
"Thank you, thank you ladies and gentlemen!" crowed Fargo. He bowed
to the imaginary crowd in this private room of the kareoke bar.
"Can we get to business now?" asked Sylia.
"Oh no, not yet."
"Why not?" asked Sylia. She was beginning to get mildly irritated.
"Your turn to sing!"
"How much did you drink before I got here?"
"Nothing, I swear!"
"Sure."
"Don't tell me you don't like kareoke bars," he replied in a mock-hurt
tone. "I went through so much trouble to arrange this."
"Pity. Now do you have the information or not?"
"Okay, okay." He did his customary light-a-cigarette routine, took a
deep drag, and settled into the chair. "There seems to be some
activity going on in the faultline on the east side. Here." He
pulled out a small map of the city and pointed to a particular stretch
of faultline. Sylia remembered it. That was the location of one of
their earliest clashes with boomers.
Coincidence? Probably, but she still felt paranoind anyways.
"What makes you think our man might be there?" asked Sylia.
"Supply trucks have been moving around that area lately, during the
time periond Mr. Freys disappeared, right? According to my sources,
those trucks were hauling, among other things, liquids and parts used
for cryogenic purposes."
"And our man Freys is a cryogenics specialist," said Sylia. "I see.
When do these trucks usually come and go?"
"They blend in with the traffic of dump trucks that go there every
afternoon on the weekdays. You can pick them out because they never
dump anything. They go in, disappear, and come back out."
-more to come-
-rpm
http://www.uh.edu/~rpm/fanfic.htm
WRITER'S NOTES:
1) anyone catch the 'in the heat of the night' joke? :)
2) title of part 1 is a tip'o the hat to Krista Perry's
Ranma fanfic 'Hearts of Ice'. Check it out at
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/1519/hearts.html
or e-mail her at kapster@mokamo.com
3) I don't forsee Batman entering the picture. No reason to.
Besides, Freeze is still contending with dark Knights.
They just happen to be high-tech, armored, without the
bat fetish, and women.