A Trail of Blood and an Icy Reception Pt. 2/2

"DIE, YOU ZOMBIE BASTARD!!"

Using his unbroken leg, Killian pivoted about and with a frown, calmy observed the lone man who was screaming at him from behind. He immediately took note of the speed at which the man was approaching, as well as the knife the man was holding in his hand. And perhaps most important of all… the way in which the man was holding said knife.

'An expert combatant… obviously hostile… roughly seventy yards away.'

Killian's mind entered a state of absolute focus, as time seemed to slow.

'Calculate speed of movement times current distance. Compensate for depth perception loss due to only being able to use one eye… and I'm left with eight seconds until he reaches me.'

Killian had faced death enough times to able to keep his cool in almost any situation and this instance was no different. Add in the fact that his potential assailant had been kind enough to warn him in advance, and Killian was completely unfazed by the situation.

'Well now… how should I respond?'

Killian wasn't in top shape to begin with. Not to mention, his current body wasn't one he was familiar with. Unfortunately, that left him with a limited number of options to choose from… but he did have to choose… and quickly.

'Five seconds.'

Steeling himself, Killian set his unbroken foot firmly against the ground, while lowering his center of gravity. Then, while making it seem as if he were cowering, Killian held the two-by-four that he was using as a makeshift crutch tightly in his hand, while watching the man's approach carefully.

'Three seconds.'

Waiting until his attacker was only two seconds away from him, Killian moved like a seasoned martial artist. Thrusting forward, he extended the two-by-four like it was long staff. With almost uncanny precision, he struck his attacker right in the forehead.

"TH-WACK!"

'And… he's down. That was almost too easy.'

Killian could tell that the man had lost himself to his own bloodlust. While it made him dangerous, it also weakened his ability to reason. That coupled with the speed the man had been moving, and it became all too easy to use his own momentum against him.

'I do wonder why it is he was so eager to kill me. Are we enemies? Rivals perhaps? Or… is he just crazy?'

Killian watched the now limp man closely for around thirty seconds and after confirming that the man was unconscious, he reached down to pick up the man's knife. By briefly observing it's blade, he found it highly likely that it was the one that caused both his wound, and those of the vagrants.

'Well, I should probably confirm it. Besides… it's not wise to leave a potential enemy alive, especially one that wants me dead.'

Killian sighed. Soon after, he looked down on his assailant with a frighteningly cold gaze, which was made even more menacing due to his injuries. He now needed to wake the man up if he wanted to get any information out of him. And to do that, Killian would have to get a little rough. Especially with his assailant being unconscious.

'This is going to be a pain in the ass…'

The funny thing about being knocked out, is that it's not like being asleep. The human brain functioned like an old computer… and when it's forced to power down, it often takes time to start up again. What that meant, was that calling out to his assailant, or trying to shake the man awake wouldn't work. Pain on the other hand… would.

"Why do I never have any smelling salts, when I need them?"

Sitting down on top of the man's back, Killian brought the knife across the back of the man's legs. The knife proved to be quite sharp, easily cutting through the hamstring of each of the man's legs. An unfortunate, yet necessary action.

'I should take care of his ability to fight back, too.'

Swiveling about, Killian then stabbed the man above both elbows, twisting the knife before pulling it out.

"That should do it."

It should be noted that Killian was NOT a sadist. He despised torture. That wouldn't stop him from using it, though. It all came down to necessity. In his present condition, he couldn't fight this man. He wasn't even certain he could do so uninjured. So… for the sake of his own safety, he did what he had to. Now, his assailant could neither fight him, nor escape him.

'I'm surprised that didn't wake him up.'

Killian shook his head at the thought.

"Dammit… you must have taken a heavier blow to the head than I thought."

Letting out a deep sigh, Killian reached towards his assailants' shirt.

"I really didn't want to take it this far..."

Lifting the shirt, Killian paused. The man's body was covered in scar tissue. Tally mark shaped scars littered his flesh. Judging from the angle of some of them, Killian concluded that they were most likely self-inflicted. Shaking his head at the sight, Killian soon steadied his hand, then made a precise cut beneath the man's right shoulder blade.

'Now, insert the blade towards the spine. Carful… not too far…!'

"There."

Feeling his assailant twitch beneath him, Killian knew that he had hit his mark. The knife he was holding was single edged. By using the blunt side, he scrapped a portion of his attackers intercostal nerve. Having experienced it himself, Killian understood firsthand just how excruciating it could be.

"Ahhh…! Wha… what's going on?!"

Squirming around beneath him, the man was obviously trying to get up. It didn't take him long to figure out that something was wrong. Then, realizing that someone was sitting on top of him, the man started screaming. Soon realizing he that couldn't move his legs properly, the assailant began threatening Killian. Quickly growing tired of the man's antics, Killian responded in kind.

"Pay attention!"

Backhanding the man across the back of the head, Killian didn't even bother telling him to shut up. His assailant was far to irate to listen. Instead, he called for the man's attention, reinforcing his statement with an additional dose of pain. It seemed to work, as the man soon went quiet. Seeing that his assailant was cooperating, Killian began speaking in a calm, professional manner.

"I appreciate the cooperation."

Holding the knife to the base of the man's neck, non-verbally warning him not to move, Killian continued.

"Now then... starting with your name, you will answer all of my questions."

Pressing the knife down hard enough to draw blood, Killian reiterated his warning.

"Before you speak, however, please understand that should you lie, I will have no further reason to keep you alive. Do you understand?"

The man was shaking, maybe out of pain… maybe out of rage. Likely rage. His assailant didn't strike Killian as the type of man that would easily give into pain. And judging from the threats he had been spouting, fear was completely out of the question. Only anger or ego could make someone blind to the danger they were in.

"Yeah… I got it."

Answering through gritted teeth, Killian's assailant responded.

'Definitely rage.'

Reaching down towards the man's neck, Killian placed two fingers against his attacker's carotid artery in order to keep track of his heart rate. Any increase in heart rate could help him determine if the man was lying. Well… that, alongside monitoring his assailant's speech patterns. Both would allow Killian to make an educated guess.

'Not the most reliable way to tell if someone was lying, but it'll do.'

Taking a few moments to collect his thoughts, Killian began.

"What is your name?"

Letting out a grunt, the man responded.

"It's Victor, Victor Zsasz."

Killian raised an eyebrow at hearing the name. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Mr. Zsasz. Now… why did you attack me?"

Zsasz laughed at his question.

"I was helping you. Liberating you! You… you should be thanking me!"

The man's pulse didn't change, not even once. More so than that, Killian could hear the conviction in his voice. It was like the unwarranted faith of a devout priest, or the unfaltering belief a loving parent held in their child. Killian found Zsasz's conviction to be unsettling.

'Saving me…? DO I LOOK SAVED TO YOU, ASSHOLE?!'

Killian kept that question to himself, instead moving on to his other questions. From the local layout of the city and police response times, on to any recent events. Killian asked every question he felt to be relevant given his current situation. Roughly twenty minutes later, he had moved on to his final… and perhaps, most important question.

"You have answered all my questions honestly. Such integrity is rare the world, even when forced."

Taking a deep breath, Killian smiled lightly while giving out a bit of praise.

"I'm impressed Mr. Zsasz, that also… is a rare occurrence."

Killian then placed his left hand firmly on the man's shoulder, while leaning his body forward.

"Your prepared for what comes next, yes?"

Victor snorted in response.

"I'm ready… set me free."

Nodding his head, Killian spoke in a soft tone.

"Farwell, Mr. Zsasz."

As his words ended, Killian brought the knife forward in a quick thrusting motion, piercing the man's brain stem. Sinking the knife to the hilt, he then pulled the blade free with a twist. Placing his fingers back on the man's neck, he confirmed his death.

'Now then… he said there was a blood bank nearby, didn't he?'

---

It took Killian over an hour to reach the blood bank mentioned by Victor Zsasz. He'd moved as fast as he could, but his injuries had slowed him down considerably. He was also hungry. Very hungry. Treating his wounds needed to come first, though. That's why he came here.

'Hm… no movement around the perimeter. In a city this large? Suspicious, much?'

Letting out a sigh, Killian moved forward despite his reservations.

'It doesn't matter. I need treatment. I can't put it off any longer.'

A blood bank would have a first aid kit at the very least. And if he didn't treat his injuries soon, they could become infected. If they weren't infected already, that is. Reaching the glass-paned door, which happened to be locked, Killian used the two-by-four he was using as a crutch in order to break in.

'I can't afford to linger, there's probably a silent alarm. I'll grab a first aid kit and leave.'

Moving into what appeared to be a lobby, Killian looked around. Listening for any movement, he hobbled towards a nearby hallway. On guard, but not noticing anything out of the ordinary, he began searching for what he came for.

Finding it within minutes, he turned to leave, only to stop dead in his tracks. Directly in his path to the entrance, a group of 'parka' clad men and women stood staring at him with cold gazes. Each one aiming a gun at him. Seeing that he was outnumbered and knowing that he had no chance to escape… he put his hands up in surrender.

'Parka's? Indoors? In the DC Universe? I DO NOT like what that implies!'

--- 10 Minutes Later ---

Killian's guess was right. The blood bank was a front. It was the base of operations for one of Gotham City's most notorious villains… Mr. Freeze. Though, it should be noted that Killian wouldn't have known that if not for his brother, Tommy. His brother had been a huge comic book nerd during their childhood.

Because of his brother's obsession with all things comic book related, Killian had to watch nearly every DC movie ever made. Even the TV shows. Even cartoons. And as his family only had one television, they both had to share. Though, share was a relative term, as his brother usually got to watch what he wanted. Mainly because their mom wanted to keep the younger Tommy occupied.

Even though he didn't enjoy it, watching alongside his brother had been better than doing nothing. That was the only reason he had been able to recognize the man in front of him. It was a bit surreal, honestly speaking, as standing in front of a large glass tube, was a Pale, blue skinned man that was currently lost in thought. He wore a pair of red goggles beneath a glass domed cryo-suit.

Looking past the man… Killian took note of a person suspended in the large tube, floating in what looked to be sort of bio-gel liquid solution. It was a young girl of maybe seven or eight years old. And though Freeze's face was hidden behind those goggles, the resemblance between the two was clear.

'His daughter, perhaps?'

While the small girl didn't track with Freeze's storyline… at least the one Killian knew, her current situation was close enough to be similar.

'It's more than possible that this is a different universe than the one I'm familiar with… but it's similar enough to formulate a plan of action.'

Watching one of his captors walk forward and explain the situation to Freeze, Killian quickly cycled through his options. Coming up with a plan within the span of time it took Freeze to turn around, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at what happened next.

"And you brought him here?!"

Pointing at Killian, Freeze pointed out an obvious issue.

"He could be anyone, an enemy even… but you thought it wise to bring him here?"

Freeze was well and truly pissed, and with good reason in Killian's opinion.

"You would risk my safety? My daughters' safety?!"

Angry or not, Freeze retained an unnatural amount of control over emotions, quickly calming himself before continuing in a flat tone.

"You should have interrogated him first… or better yet, sent someone to notify me of the situation."

Freeze paused briefly, then he pulled a sleek looking weapon that was varnished in chrome, from a holster on his side.

"Let this serve as a lesson to the rest of you… that such incompetence will not be tolerated."

Freeze's henchman looked ready to piss himself. He started waving his hands about, screaming.

"Wait boss, I…!"

The henchman didn't even have time to finish his sentence. A blindingly bright beam of bluish light had frozen the man solid. Killian could only imagine how tightly the other hench people's assholes had clenched upon seeing one of their own dealt with in such a way. Regardless of their feelings, the man DID make a good-looking popsicle.

'Wait...'

Not being able to fathom why such a thought would pop into his head, Killian heard his stomach growl.

'I'm in severe pain, starving, not to mention the fact that my ass is freezing on this floor… and oh yeah, I'm probably about to die. Why the fuck am I thinking about a man-sized popsicle?'

His stomach growling even louder, Killian couldn't help but sigh.

'Great… now I want ice cream.'

Killian knew it was inappropriate given the situation, but he couldn't deny the simple fact that he was hungry. Sighing… he pushed such absurd thoughts aside, and focused. Killian couldn't say he disapproved of the man's fate. Freeze needed to make a point. That was often the case when you dealt with people who only respected strength. You were sometimes forced to set harsh examples. Killian had learned firsthand the consequences of not doing so.

'The death of a compatriot can be fine motivation for self-improvement. Especially if you could share their fate otherwise.'

After Freeze was done with his lesson, his goggled gaze settled in Killian direction. Walking slowly towards him with his weapon in hand, the super-villain raised his freeze-ray at Killian and spoke in a cold, mono-tone voice.

"I have no desire to kill you… however, you have seen too much for me to be comfortable with your continued existence. I do apologize, but… YOU MUST DIE!"

Killian knew that this was coming from the moment he realized who it was he was dealing with. And although he didn't fear death, he didn't welcome it either. So, at this point, he had only one course of action left to him if he wanted to survive. It was a long shot, but if anything could save him, it would be the words he next spoke. With that in mind, Killian looked up to meet Freeze's gaze before speaking in a confident tone of voice.

"I can save your daughter."

---

Please consider subscribing to my Pat-reon. It's patreon.com/Endless_Crow. Only $3 bucks a month folks! Think about it.