Cold, cold heart [Freeze]

[The Joker]

The heavy rain was hitting on the Joker's hat and not only he was wearing his usually coat, but a raincoat with a scarf too. The weather wasn't right for a cold meeting like this, but it had been raining for a while now so the Joker didn't want to wait anymore. He wasn't the waiting type, if he wanted to do something then he would have done it, whatever the circumstances. That was a positive quality indeed...unfortunately for the innocents out there. Some of those innocents were walking with the clown prince of crime, some of them were running because of the rain and others had an umbrella...too Penguin style for the clown. Some kids were playing outside regardless of the rain because they played under some sort of shelter...however, the weather was horrible and their parents let them play outside...then the clown was crazy.

Strangely, the Joker didn't want to raise attention even though his hat and coats were purple so he looked like a walking aubergine. However, all his figure was hidden by the heavy clothes, his porcelain face was like a dark shadow because of the hat and the purple scarf. No umbrella, he thought that would have been too Penguin, he seemed like an unlucky man who suddenly was hitten by the rain and didn't have the occurrence to take the umbrella. So now his raincoat and hat were all wet and the bottom of his trousers too, without talking about the shoes.

Some kids were playing on the same street where the clown needed to walk on. These kids were playing with a ball that fell down in a puddle near the clown, now the mud was on his clothes too. Like a magic trick, a little dagger came out from his sleeve and he made a hole in the ball. It was quick and nobody saw him do it. He listented to the kids' craying when they took the ball back...music for the clown's ears, a smile showed up on his face. The Joker, in a good mood now, started whistling a song and imagined that the pounding of the rain was an outburst of applause.

His green eyes were glowing when they finally found the house he was looking for. It seemed a fine house from the outside, but the appearance deceives...like the magic tricks...the clown felt the coldness of the dagger beneath his sleeve where he put it back after using it.

Joker kept observing the house and stopped in front of it. People passed by him in a busy way...the clown felt something inside...like a killer instinct. He didn't like being ignored even if he decided it. Yeah, clown-logic. The Joker shrugged smiling because just thinking about of a simple knocking at the door was hilarious for the clown for some reason, nevertheless the Joker took out his gloved hand from the raincoat pocket and knocked at the door, ringing the bell too...he repeated this few times. If he hadn't received an answer then he would have opened a window and entered in the house. It wasn't a smart move with Freeze, but hey, the clown here was hating the rain because too much rain could melt his make up...no, wait, nope, this clown didn't use greasepaint, Joker was all natural...and any references to a melting disney character was a coincidence.

The Joker started whistling that song again, waiting.

[Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze]

It doesn't matter at all to Victor what the weather outside is like. Whether rain or shine, he only ventures out when he needs to and any weather is the same to you when you're in a Cryo-Suit. The only exception is those relatively rare times when Gotham gets cold enough for him to venture outside without his suit on for more than a few minutes. It doesn't happen every year, but he enjoys taking advantage of those moments to truly be outside for a time, even if it's still rather hot to his perception. Most people would probably move to a colder climate if they had his condition, but Gotham is home - and, much more importantly, it's Nora's home. And what's best for her is always far more important to him than his own comfort.

Though right now the temperature inside his townhouse is quite comfortable, at least to him. It's at -28ºF (-33ºC), which is cold enough to throw boiling water into the air and have it freeze before it hits the ground. It's not a very comfortable temperature for his henchmen, but they're used to it and there's not very many of them around today. Intending to spend the day at work in his lab, he only needs a few of them around to run errands and do other things that aren't worth his time. The rest live nearby, able to be present in an instant if he needs them, but naturally they prefer to hang out somewhere warmer than their boss's place when they're not needed.

It's actually not that bad of a gig to work for Victor. True, he'll kill you without a second thought if you fail him, but pretty much all of Gotham's rogues do that. Unlike many of the other rogues, he won't kill you for no reason or for quitting the job. In fact, if he fires you then you're more likely to end up in police custody than dead, and you may even find yourself leaving his employ with no consequences other than the loss of a paycheck.

And it's a decent paycheck - Victor learned a long time ago that you get what you pay for with henchmen. Though one of them immediately begins questioning whether or not he's getting enough hazard pay when he sees who's knocking on the front door.

"There's someone at the door," he reports.

"I do not wish to be disturbed," Victor instantly replies, not bothering to ask who it is or even glance up from his work before saying so. He can't think of anyone who would be welcome to interrupt him right now.

"It's the Joker," the henchman adds, figuring that detail is important.

And it is, as the name is enough to give Victor some pause. He most certainly does not welcome the idea of the Joker paying him a visit, but it's not difficult to guess that if the clown is here in the first place that means that he's also wanting to discuss something badly enough that a closed door will only stop him for so long. Therefore, it's in his best interest to let the Joker in and hope that it's a short visit. With obvious reluctance in his tone, he says, "Very well, let him in and direct him here."

Directions which the henchman is fairly reluctant to follow. He certainly wouldn't put it past the Joker to kill someone for opening a door for him - in fact, he's pretty sure he heard of that very thing happening once - but someone has to do it and he's the closest one. Opening the front door, he's quick to step aside and motion inward. "If you'd like to come in, I'll show you to Mr. Fries," he says, hoping that his politeness will do the trick.

The front hallway is the only room in the townhouse that has been spared from the extreme cold found in the rest of the building, though it's noticeably cooler even here than it is outside. It's used like a giant mudroom - the only difference is that people bundle up to go inside rather than outside. Hooks line the walls, most of them holding up thick winter wear, with boots arranged neatly underneath. Victor himself has no use for the room and only sees it when he comes or goes, but he insists that his henchmen keep it clean. The door that leads further in is thick but not as heavy as it looks, as it's full of a special insulation. It opens into a larger space - a living area with some couches and a TV, with a few doors and a staircase leading elsewhere, but the doorway that leads to the lab is fairly obvious - it's larger and the equipment inside glows blue. Victor is seated at one of the lab tables, peering into a microscope and surrounded by vials, pages of notes, and with a tablet within reach. He doesn't look up at the sound of people walking around, and is in fact unlikely to react to anyone at all until they break the ice first.

[The Joker]

Joker's foot beated in rhythm on the welcome doormat that was wet bad because of his wet shoes. His foot was beating along with the song he was whistling. Joker rose the sleeve and watched the wrist as if he were looking for the hour on a watch, but there was no watch to watch. Finally, someone opened the door, the clown made a big smile noticing the politeness of the henchman. Joker knew how to recognize a tail between your legs when he saw one and in this case the tail was the henchmen's politeness. A funny tail.

Joker came in and shivers covered his body because of the coldness, it was more cooler here than out. The clown was bothered about the shivers, but he took them into account because he knew of entering in the cold-man realm. Joker rose his green eyes and looked into the henchman's eyes seeing his uncertainty about the clown's future actions...would he have killed him or hung him up on a hook? Joker giggled moving his gaze on the hooks with the winter wear suitable for this cold, cold place. He had to take off his wet coats before putting on the winter wear, luckily the two coats had protected his shirt and the other clothing, those were dry...a little more than the coats at least. Joker started taking off his wet clothes, instead of hunging them up the clown throwed them onto the henchman as if he was a living hook and maybe he became exactly that for the Joker's crazy mind. He took off his ha, the two coats and his wet gloves. Taken them of, Joker wore one of the winter wear, he didn't like it, but it wasn't so important considering that they kept him warmy "I'll bring some from home next time" he thought.

He laid a hand on the door that separated him from the rest of the house, ready to go ahead "Don't crumple them" Joker said to the henchman then he opened the door. The coldness hit the clown's face, but the rest of the body was sheltered by the heavy clothes, unfortunately the scarf wasn't enough for protecting his face, but the neck was fine. Green hair straightened up under the winter hat. Green eyes saw the condensation of his breath. There were other henchmen, but the clown didn't pay them any attention, not even with a gaze, they were like forniture because he was searching for someone more important, their cold boss.

The blue was the color to follow in this coldness cold and Joker saw where to go. There was a doorway bigger than the others, the walls were bluishy the classic blue of the working equipments. However, it was evident that was the doorway leading to the cold lab, it missed a neon arrow pointing there saying  for the freezed lab this way...the clown would have put on one actually.

Joker walked in the doorway with a decisive pace, but calm. The clown always liked the coldness calm of Freeze, it suited well on him, it gave him a coldy fashion "Thank you for letting me in when the days are cold and the cards all fold" Joker smiled "How is your lovely wife?" he was going to say a pun about her coldness attitude, but he kept his mouth shut, a clever choice...well a real clever choice would have been not talking about the cold wife at all.

There was something to notice by the way that Joker didn't enter in the lab, but he was waiting for the permission...a very kind thing especially from the Joker because he didn't take permission from nobody. The clown was waiting at the threshold, he put his hands in the winter coat's pockets observing Freeze.

[Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze]

Compared to what the Joker could have done to him, being treated like a coat rack is no big deal so the henchman is counting his blessings when the rogue does so and shows himself the rest of the way in - later the Joker will find his things hanging neatly and the henchman who greeted him nowhere to be seen.

With the cold inside the building so severe that its bite can easily be felt on any unprotected skin, and even some of it that isn't, the sight of a man enduring it easily without so much of a hint of visible breath while wearing nothing but a button-up shirt, khakis, a thin lab coat, and loafers can seem a bit odd. And so can the sight of Victor outside of his Cryo-Suit if one normally sees him outside of his own home. It's easy to miss the fact that his skin is completely white underneath that glass dome, and that he's not simply bald but completely hairless. Otherwise, he looks surprisingly... normal.

Hearing the Joker's greeting, at first Victor's only reaction is only a slow exhale - and that mostly because he didn't appreciate the question at all. A pointless, unwelcome question that he's not going to dignify with a response. Instead he simply straightens away from his microscope and calmly asks, "What do you want?" Because he's assuming that this is not simply a social call - if it is, he'll promptly see the clown out. It's not that he dislikes the man so much as he views him as a massive waste of his time. An unavoidable waste of his time that can't be ignored, only managed in such a way as to ensure that the disruption is as short as possible.

He does notice that the Joker is waiting in the doorway, and can hope that's a sign of respect. Something that he's already shown in return by allowing the clown into his home after only a knock - it's not just anyone who gets welcomed in. Or at least as welcomed as he is towards anyone - Victor is not known for his hospitality, which is also why he makes no motion to encourage the man to come any closer. It's possible that he might later, if he feels it's necessary, but for the moment all he wants to do is determine the fastest way possible to rid himself of this distraction so that he can get back to more important things. Unless, of course, the Joker is here for a reason that's actually useful, but it doesn't take a man of his genius to know what the odds of that are.

[The Joker]

Joker wanted to make a thing appear in his gloved hand, but it was difficult with the winter clothes he was wearing "No, ok, it doesn't work" he sighed and a puff of condensed breathing came out from his mouth. Then he tried to roll up his sleeve for taking what he wanted to take "Close enough..." so he did, but the coldness hit the unclothed wrist and little part of the forearm right away, thus his skilled hand quickly took a small bottle with something green inside and rolled down the sleeve right after "Oh...it's not a weapon or anything...well...not in this moment" he said while taking the little bottle "Something is wrong with this" he admitted pointing to it.

"Look" the clown wanted to say something clownish, but the cold took its tool even on that part so he simply showed what he meant. Joker opened the little bottle and moved it on a side making some of its greeny drops fall down. The drops didn't even touch the floor because they freezed before touching it. The now-freezed-greeny-drops fell down on the floor without breaking into pieces "This is acid...it shouldn't do that" it wasn't his acid or not only his, but it was the final product of his acid bonded with Bane's venom. However, a bit of the acid's characteristic was still there...something was wrong.

Joker had closed the little bottle right after pouring out the drops because he didn't want to risk freeze the rest of the liquid "If it does like that....it means...the compound isn't stabilized..." the Joker observed the little bottle "...instead...I was sure to have completed it" he half-closed his green eyes, rarely he was wrong about chemistry stuff "Can you fix it?" he asked Freeze rising a green brow while laying against the wall still staying on the threshold without entering in the lab because Freeze still said nothing about that and Joker knew the cold-man noticed his respectful gesture "What would you want in return?" the clown crossed his arms on the chest and smiled.

Joker believed, hoped, that the curiosity was enough for convincing Freeze to use a little bit of his precious time on resolving the acidy-freezing problem. Joker was asking Freeze to take some of his well spent time on working for his wife...actually...the fact that they were talking was a waste of time for Freeze, so Joker had started bad already. If Freeze had accepted then Joker would have given him the little bottle.

Meanwhile, the Joker moved his gaze on the freezed drops. Even though it was a compound, the acid's characteristc was there...with another effect of course because it was bonded with Bane's venom, but the acid should have kept the liquid from freezing anyways. Joker had bonded the two green liquids together in a way that the freezing shouldn't have been a problem...among other things. Instead there were technical problems and the clown had to resolve them before administering the medicine to his Batsy. But, but, but...he had to listen to the end users' feedback first. Joker had all the intention to bond his compound with cosmetics and other daily-used stuff. The final product had to be perfect because it was for his Batsy! The Joker had already administered it on his henchmen and it didn't end well.
Oh, well, you couldn't make an omelette withtout breaking some eggs.

[Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze]

Watching the Joker with a completely impassive expression, Victor's impatience to get this over with is more easily assumed than actually seen on his face. He notes that the cold seems to be hampering his guest more than a little bit, but unlike most of the other rogues he takes no particular pleasure in seeing that - instead this fact is simply noticed like so many other facts that are not relevant but may become so in the future.

Observing the demonstration of the compound's reaction to the cold temperature, he gives no particular reaction to it. He is, however, very quick to note that what the mixture needs is a third element to stabilize it properly - something that he knows more than a little bit about. After all, he's not simply a chemist, but one whose lab is in a sub-zero environment. This means that he has to adapt many of the compounds he's working with - especially if they're water based - so that they won't freeze while he's working with them. It's a hassle, but he's used to it and there are other chemical reactions that are actually made easier at this temperature. So stabilizing the mixture would be a simple task for him. "Yes," he answers the first question simply.

A simple task, but likely a time-consuming one, since he's certain this isn't a mixture that he hasn't worked with before so he'll have to figure out the right stabilizing agent and the right proportions for the new mixture. All for something that he's certain has nothing to do with his own research. "Compensation for my time," he answers the second question just as simply. He won't go on to explain what form that compensation should be in, since pretty much everyone knows that short list: money, diamonds, or something that may help him in his quest to save Nora.

Of course, it does occur to him that the very substance that the Joker is showing him now may be the latter. It's unlikely since the man, while quite the inventive chemist himself, seems to enjoy substances with absolutely no positive uses whatsoever. Still, there are many examples of extremely toxic substances that turn out to be quite beneficial if used in exactly the right way so he won't call it an impossibility. But while it's quite likely that the Joker has guessed his interest, it's better to pretend that he has none in case the man hasn't guessed as much. After all, though he's even now debating within himself whether or not the opportunity to study the substance will be worth the time the task being asked of him will take, he suspects that he can get something more than just that out of this request since the Joker seems to be quite interested in it too.

And just because he's a dispassionate scientist doesn't mean that he doesn't know a thing or two about business negotiations - he's had to go through them a large number of times by this point, after all. So for now he simply waits to see what the Joker offers.

[The Joker]

Joker's crazy mind started a journey by its own after Freeze's simply answers. The clown kept looking at the little bottle in his gloved hand, the green liquid made a little dance waving at him inside the little container "I just want to melt his cold, cold heart" the clown whispered at some point smiling, it seemed that he forgot where he was, but the coldness reminded him anyway. Joker shook his head with a sigh, the clown always wanted to drive the Bat to the crazy road.

His acid-green eyes looked at Freeze. The Joker was here even because of the place's coldness, Freeze had to work in cold ambients so the acid had to be adapted, that was already a good chemistry thing. Then a little smile showed up on his porcelain face when he felt the business-time atmosphere in the cold air. The clown straighted up from the wall and made a little bow, bending down as much as the winter clothes allowed him, these clothes were heavy and unwieldy. Now, at this point the clown would have stopped bowing only after an applause, but he wasn't with his henchmen now or with his hostages, ahem spectators, so he just put a hand in front of himself and another behind him straighting up again in a elegant gesture fashion. Joker felt the urge to say a pun about the compensation thing, but instead just said "I offer the most valued compensation..." he pointed to himself with still the little bottle in his hand "...myself!" he smiled. Joker was proud of himself while saying this because if he could propose himself as proposal then it meant that he had importance. Oh...and the clown knew how important he was, Narcissus as his best.

The Joker could do pretty much everything that he pleased...having fun too "You can ask me a favor, no question-asked" this was a rare opportunity especially from the Joker. This wasn't an offer to throw away so easily, Joker's favors were rare goods, in particular if Joker didn't ask favors in return. The smile from his face disappeared "Or you can always ask something specific...if it's not one of the same things that you usually need then you don't have to speak for it because I would know what to do" he said this with a quick tone, making clear that the second offer's value wasn't as much powerful as the first one that was the only and unique clownish himself. 

The Joker freezed his gaze on the ice-man, waiting for a comeback while his body couldn't help but feeling the surroundings. Staying on the same spot in a cold place like this wasn't the ideal, shivers kept running up and down and his face's white skin had gooseflesh, his lips were cold at the touch but still red and not only because of the lipstick actually he had natural very reddy lips...like Snowhite...skin white as snow, lips red as blood. The Joker laughed for five minutes when someone-bynow-dead made him notice the resemblance with Snow White...after the clown thought to give to his Batsy a poisoned apple. However, the Joker tried to not care about his body heat and kept looking at Freeze.

[Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze]

Figuring that the clown's whispered words have nothing to do with him, Victor ignores them. He's found that the best way to cope with most of the man's eccentricities is to simply wait until he says or does something that's actually relevant - the Joker usually gets back on topic eventually. In fact, that's how he handles most of the other rogues: waiting out all the irrelevant nonsense, keeping his focus upon only that which pertains to his own goals, makes finding his way through such chaotic personalities quite easy. It only requires some patience. And, though he doesn't enjoy having to actually use it, he has a lot of patience.

There's certainly not any applause to be found here: Victor does not applaud anything, or at least he hasn't since Nora became ill, and what few henchmen were around have already made themselves scarce by this point. So the bow is greeted by complete, dead silence. Which may be an unusual experience for the Joker, but such quiet is a normal thing for Victor. In fact, he prefers it.

Perhaps equally dispiritingly, Victor doesn't seem to be particularly impressed by what he's offering. However, this time it's not because he's not interested, it's because he's simply not a very reactive person. The signs of his interest are more subtle, showing only as a thoughtful pause as the man weighs it in his mind against what he'd be doing in exchange for it and the possibility of getting a better deal with further negotiations.

A favor from the Joker is certainly not something to be taken lightly, mostly because the rogue is infamous for his ability to accomplish things that both seem impossible and wouldn't occur to anyone in their right mind in the first place. It's indeed a valuable offer, especially since Victor can trust that it will actually be carried out fairly. Everyone knows that Mister Freeze does to those who try to take advantage of him - it does not end well. Therefore the idea is immediately interesting, and he's quick to conclude that he's unlikely to get an offer that he'd consider better if he continues to haggle.

So it only takes him a few moments of thought before he says, "If I'm not required to ask you this favor immediately, then I agree." Because, though a favor from the Joker is valuable, he can't think of anything he needs right now that would be worthy of it. At the moment he has everything he needs, and though he'll need to secure more funds soon that's a simple enough task for him to do himself - it would be a waste of the favor to use it for something so trivial. No, the wisest course would be to save it for later - wait until he has a need worthy of it.

The gaze cast in his direction is easily returned. In contrast to the man he's looking at, he's quite comfortable with the surroundings and this situation in general - his pale blue eyes are calm and observant. And the most normal-looking part of him - if it weren't for those clearly human orbs he might easily be mistaken for a statue, especially since he tends to hold quite still without fidgeting even when he's doing nothing. The uniform whiteness and hairlessness of his skin has an almost stone-like appearance - an effect only spoiled when he does move and proves to be just as mobile as anyone else.

Which he does now, breaking the Joker's gaze to open one of the drawers next to him. Anticipating that the other man will agree that the deal has been struck, he pulls out a glove that he uses when handling hot glassware - 'hot' being relative to what's normal to him. Anything that the Joker has been holding is likely too hot for him to handle with his bare skin for more than a few seconds without being burned by it, so that precaution needs to be taken if he's going to take the bottle from him.

[The Joker]

The Joker kept his words because he didn't want to face the possible consequences. Well, okay, actually facing the consequences could be very funny, but not with Freeze and not in these circumstances. It was not a wise thing to dislike one of the other fellow villains if you were making business with them, so it was better if he kept his words for business reasons too. The marketing with others was always a funny thing to do...if both kept their words. Joker could count on Freeze about that.

The Joker showed his smile when Freeze accepted, of course he would have accepted, the clown was the most valued offer...actually...he didn't know how he would have reacted if Freeze hadn't accepted the offer...because it was like not choosing him...and the smiling clown here didn't like to be ignored. However, Freeze accepted so the Joker nodded still smiling "You can ask whenever you want...I would find a way anyway" the Joker smiled, indeed the challenge always was amusing.

The Joker watched Freeze wear a glove "So little heat can burn that iced-hand..." the clown couldn't keep himself from thinking that, but the smiling-villain wasn't here to hurt the freezed-one. He had to keep that in mind, especially now that he had to enter in the room to give the bottle to Freeze and the ice-villain had to know it or maybe he would have taken the little bottle by himself. The Joker decided what to do and shrugged suddenly for apparently no reason and handed out the little bottle stretching his arm, but still staying at the threshold so this way he was going to give the bottle to Freeze...carefully, must remind that. The Joker wasn't surprised that Freeze accepted...the clown here was the prince of crime afterall...with no modesty...and so now he was in a cold cold situation, handing out an acidic-stillunderdevelopment-compound to the real snow-man.

It was difficult to see emotions on Freeze, it was like he had always a freezed expression on his face and manners, usally the Joker would have been bothered by that, but not about Freeze because he was supposed to be like that, to be as cool as possible, actually the Joker really liked the iced-reserved-attitude of his...it reminded him of Bats.

The Joker asked himself how much time this would have taken...it's not because of Freeze...it's because of the freezing. Damn, he hated suffering the coldness like everyone else...he was not like the others, but his body was telling another story at least about the cold.

[Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze]

It's true that Victor's unique biology makes him quite vulnerable to many things. The world is a hostile, forbidding place to him, which certainly plays its own part in how quick he is to anger and how violent he gets when that happens. In a way, every day is a struggle to survive for him - even this building, kept at just the right temperature for him, needs constant maintenance or it would be just as lethal to him as anywhere else in Gotham. Without that protection, the natural elements would quickly kill him - not out of cruelty or hatred, but simply because he was caught in a situation that he could not survive. Should he be any kinder to anyone else than the world is to him?

The deal now struck, he rises from his chair and walks over to retrieve the bottle from the Joker's hand. Once he does so, he takes half a step back again because, while most of the heat that the Joker produces simply by being there is carefully being contained by the warm clothing he's wearing, from Victor's perspective the man is nearly boiling hot so the heat that does escape into the air around him is just slightly unpleasant. The reverse would not be true, however - Victor is actually a bit warmer than the room they're in, so the Joker would not notice any temperature difference based on his proximity.

He can't tell much of anything about the substance by simply looking at it, but he does so anyway as he asks, "Are you willing to tell me what this is, or am I required to stabilize it without knowing it's origin? I'm capable of the latter, but it would take more time." Hopefully the Joker is in a hurry, because the less time it takes for him to solve this problem, the better.

And he has to admit that he's curious about it. The Joker called it an acid, but that hardly tells him anything at all. But what he does know is that it must be a most unusual substance or the Joker would not need his expertise and probably wouldn't be developing it - as chaotic as the man is, there's that definite tendency toward the extreme. Victor himself dabbles in extremes, but only when a more moderate approach isn't giving him the results that he needs. His Cryo-Suit, for example, would hardly be the impressive monstrosity that it is if he didn't have to make it as Bat-proof as possible. The first version merely maintained his temperature and resisted gunfire, which proved to be inadequate to say the least.

[The Joker]

"Oh emh...you know...about that...I have got different results..." nodded "...I have some pictures if you want to see the results, but it isn't the same from person to person....it's complicated so in few words: I dont know yet...maybe after the compound will be stabilised then the acid finally would have its purpose" the Joker put a hand on the winter-coat while talking about the photos, however he didn't want to take them becaise he had to open the winter-coat, but he remembered another thing while doing this.
 
Joker unzipped the winter-coat just a little, the space to put his hand into the shirt's pocket, then he gave to Freeze a little white book, however the cold hit him violently anyway. In the white book there were writings about the compound. Sometimes the writings were written with a simple pen, other times the writings were written with green color, others were written with a kind of paint and using a brush....in the end the writings were in red ink, but it didn't look like ink really.

The pen-writing was elegant and very clear, but sometimes it became unintelligible especially the paint-writing like if he had written them in different moments while he was doing something else, as if while he was occupied in something he suddenly stopped doing what he was doing for writing in the little white book...like writers when an idea came up in their minds and they had to write them down immediatly.

However, all the writings had always a logical thread: they were chemicals compounds, always the same, but in progression so there was the final composition at the end and it was the one that now Freeze was holding "Hope this will help" Joker didn't want to stay here any longer, this cold, he hated this cold and especially he hated the coldness of his Batsy's heart. Look what he did for him and never a bat-smile as a thankful gest for Joker's efforts.

When he spoke, he noticed that his throat was itching, he needed something to drink, another reason to go away as soon as possible, the coldness always made him feel thirsty "I need something to drink...May I go to the kitchen and have a glass of water on the rocks?" in reality it wasn't just because of that, he wanted to find the henchman too, while Freeze was having fun with the acid then Joker wanted to have fun with the hencheman or something because he found the henchman's attitude funny.

Joker didn't bother to notice if Freeze was having problems with the body's heat, well, he could notice something, but he registered it in a unconscious way, because he settled his mind in a non-violent mode, his mind had a lot of different modes like everyone, but he could choose what mode because his mind was crazy enough to settle in every situation when instead a normal person had to face problems.

[Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze]

"The results are immaterial," Victor replies immediately, "It's the composition of the substance that matters." Or in other words, no he doesn't care to see the pictures. Not that he'd be bothered at all to see whatever likely horrific thing it does to people, but he wouldn't enjoy it either so viewing them would simply be a waste of time.

Similarly, he's not at all disturbed by the possible interpretations of what the Joker used for paint. Really, the only things that ever disturb him are things that may harm Nora - which is a fairly big category actually, since he counts things like harm to himself, but it does not include whatever the Joker may have done to people that neither him nor Nora know. Things like that simply do not matter at all.

Holding the bottle while looking at the book is overly complicated, so he steps back into the lab and places the bottle into what looks like a small refrigerator, though it's function is actually the opposite. While he's an expert at keeping things from freezing when he doesn't want them to, he does have a need to store items that would be ruined at the temperature of his home so he has a heater to store things at what anyone else would consider to be a normal room temperature. And with both hands available, he begins to skim through the book - not really reading it yet but just getting an idea of its contents. "Yes," he says after a few moments, as the formulas especially will aid him.

In fact he's so focused upon them that he doesn't look up until the Joker asks for water. And even then it's just a glance, his eyes returning to the book before he speaks. "There is no water. I do, however, have plenty of 'rocks'," he dryly remarks, "Perhaps you would be more comfortable if you returned when I'm finished - this will likely take several hours." And he's noticed the signs of the Joker's discomfort with the cold, even though he hasn't responded to them. Not that he's pointing out the fact that the man doesn't need to stay out of concern for his comfort - no, he'd just rather work without an audience.

[The Joker]

Joker felt a thing inside of him when Freeze spoke about the results and the porcelain clown made a face type rising a brow, that face was trying to say: you are traying to tell me how my acids work?! The scientificlown here knew that the visual results counted too, because with the visual results Joker could see how an acid reacted effectively...he was going to open his mouth to say it, but then he decided to not do it because it would have been a waste of time. Joker could have pointed out that he showed him what was wrong, but again, waste of time.

Joker didn't let his eyes look away at the acid when Freeze handled the little container putting it into something that looked like a small refrigerator, but Freeze didn't need a refrigerator in here so it had to be something else. Then his eyes observed Freeze reading the little white book like it was a very good book, Joker didn't succeed to hold a smile seeing that. well, it was really difficult holding smiles anyway...for the Joker at least...the snow-man here didn't seem have problems about that. The clown didn't envy him...keep on smiling and the world will smile with you....he heard that in a song and the Gothamites knew how that was true. Oh anger grew inside of him...how could Batman be so blind? Bat-blind. He surely had had a bad day too, but that didn't change him...well...he put on a carnival-bat-suit every night...but that wasn't creazy enough...but Batsy didn't need to worry about that! Doctor Joker will give him the right medicine to make him feel bat-better! batter...No, wait. Joker shook his head with a sigh remembering where he was, he had to stay calm, but after this a walk to the park, the amusement one, was a must, he needed a stress relief.

Joker laughed when Freeze talked about the rocks, but then he sighed to take enough breath after the laughing "Can't do that, pal..." he snapped his tongue, catching a flu wasn't the right thing right now, he had too much things to accomplish. A Blue-Plan was working. The curtain will open soon. Joker tilted his head "...but I could wait in the living room if you let me" the clown added crossing his arms. It was true that the coldness was a problem, but he could handle it...just the thought that some henchmen could handle this cold gave him enough willpower. The henchmen couldn't be better than the Joker.

The clown looked behind him for a sec, remembering if he had seen the living room and where he was, then he looked at Freeze again, waiting for the permission. This time the clown didn't feel inferior or something because he had to have the permission to do something. Freeze was working on the acid so kindness and respect were a duty in this business agreement.

[Victor Fries - Mr. Freeze]

Given how expressive the Joker is, it's not at all difficult for Victor to read the man's reactions. And he's quite pleased that he'll not have to endure an argument about the merits of the photographs, even though he would quite clearly win it since the unimportance of the photographs is practically self-evident. Well, as long as the length of the argument didn't exceed his patience with it - which wouldn't take very long at all, actually, since his desire to correct others when they're wrong is quite small when compared to his desire to remain focused upon his research. So it's a good thing all around that the Joker holds his tongue.

Victor wouldn't at all describe the Joker's notes as a 'good' book - the characters are interesting but the plot is terrible. Still, he does get absorbed in it quite quickly and once the bottle is out of danger of becoming frozen while he's reading it, he sits down at his lab table. His microscope and the other parts to what he was doing are pushed aside - he can get to that later - and he pulls out a piece of paper so that he can write down notes as he reads.

The comment about the rocks hadn't been meant to be funny. Well, perhaps it had been very slightly, but it certainly wasn't the sort of funny remark one laughs at. So when the Joker does anyway, he ignores it and simply waits for the outburst to be over. What the man says when he's finished gets an uncaring shrug and the comment, "If you freeze to death while you're waiting, the deal is off." And, having said that, there's a certain dismissal in his body language as he continues to collect the information he most needs from the Joker's notes. He has work to do now, and he's not very concerned at all about what the other man does with himself while he's working as long as it doesn't interrupt him.

The living room is just outside of the lab, featuring a couple of stark white couches that are actually quite soft and comfortable. There's also a television, though it's a cheap model since Victor isn't one to watch it very much - he's more into books. His henchmen use it a lot more than he does, though none of them are in the living room at the moment. Nor are they anywhere within sight, actually - the odds that they'll be able to make themselves useful are quite low right now, and none of them are much more eager than the first one was to hang around with the Joker in the building.

[The Joker]

The clown faked an emotional burst taking away invisible tears "You are always so caring" the Joker stayed there for few seconds, looking at Freeze, observing his work. The fact that Freeze was working for him gave to the clown a sort of proudness or something, but he looked away little after because he knew that Freeze didn't want to be disturbed when he was working and he made it clear with his body lenguage too. So the clown turned back and looked around finding the living room, but he was searching for someone too: the living-rack-henchman, but the living room was empty...didn't they know that the cown liked playing hide and seek? The Joker made a soft giggle remembering that he couldn't make too much noise. He thought that not all the henchman could be gone, some of them had to stay inside despite of him.

The Joker here just wanted to do some chitchat with a snow-man's hanchman, just zip down the winter-coat a little, take out the photos then zip back the coat and catching a cold while doing that, after this he would have just said something like: they are beautiful, arent they? showing the photos at the henchman, making them appear in front of his eyes while he was behind him so it woud have been a surprised seeing those photos all of a sudden. The clown giggled again, thinking about the possible henchman's reaction. The photos showed horrible scenes that Joker called art-attack or art-work or art-joke or art-something really, the point was that the photos showed some of his bad henchman, former henchmen that did something wrong, with scarfaces and skin so damaged that the bone could be seen.

The shivers took him back in the reality world and so he decied to drink that russian-remedy to the cold. Vodka. He went in the rack's room and noticed how his purple clothing had been treated well. Another giggle escaped from his lips. While he was taking the vodka he heard some noises from the main door, Joker opened the door with a smile on his face beleving that was a henchman. Well, it was a henchman, but not Freeze's. The clown caught the henchman while he was writing a message, maybe to his gang-rich-boss, signalling Joker's location. The two made eye contact for few seconds than the Joker grabbed the hencman's phone and smashed it to his head then he grabbed his head and pushed his body violently against one of the racks. the clown slammed the henchman's head against the rack until it made a kind of hole in the forehead and Joker hang up the henchman there. The clown did all of this as if it were the most normal thing in the entire world.

The clown didn't notice, but he had started laughing very noisily. The Joker tried to stop laughing, but he couldn't so he put a hand on his mouth. He looked at the hanged up henchman, he was one of his before the mutiny. Ah, a long unfunny story. Joker wondered where Freeze's henchmen were, didn't they see the guy in front of the main door? He hoped that they weren't hurt or something, not because he cared about them, but about the acid. Freeze was working so nothing had to happen...well...now there was a man hanged up on a rack instead of clothing stuff, but hey see the funny side, the man wore clothes too, bloody clothes now, but still.

Joker closed the door before people noticing something, but he knew, saw, that there were no witness around the street "Did freeze hear something? I have to tell him about this..." he thought "...I should have taken the camera with me" he thought too with a sigh, the laughing was gone now. Joker came back to Freeze "There is a problem, boss..." Joker acted like a henchman, his crazy sense of humor found it suitable with the situation "...a dead man on a rack...mh...nice name for an artistic photo" all this situation was so surreal...like the Joker was.