The man in the ice

Dale steadied himself against the crane. He latched his cord to the metal frame and looked out over the ice pit. At the far end of the steadily rising chain was a chunk of ice the size of a car. He waited impatiently as the ice drew to eye level. The crane clanked to a halt, it's job done. Dale gazed into the ice at the distorted yet familiar form of a man.

The waves thumped the little boat as the four tribesmen sailed to the ice cliffs. Two were expert rowers, the third was a warrior and the fourth was Gebek. He was the wiseman of his tribe. There was a gathering of wise-men to the ice cliffs.  The little boat beached on the icy shore. The two disembarked, leaving the oarsmen to take care of the boat.

Professor Gold stared at the block of ice lustfully. She lightly traced the distorted face like the man belonged to her. Dale felt a twinge of disgust for her. He hadn't seen her on the ice fields once. At least until they had pulled the man out of the ice. Now the professor was everywhere.
"He is going to make me so much money," she breathed. "Just think what we could learn from him."
"So much about Benjamin you won't even know what to do with yourself." Dale grumbled. "And I won't get a penny."

"Master Gebek," the warrior started. "What is the counsel all about?"
"I'm not quite sure." He replied as they maneuvered the slippery slopes. "Even if I did know, it's not my place to say."
Deep in thought, the two crunched across the snowy ground towards Uafi, the council of the wise. The rising sun did nothing to stave off the cold. The harsh landscape made it seem like this place was the edge of the world.

"You...Holland. Prepare to transfer to the upstate NewYork lab." Professor Gold said.
"With all due respect, it would be safer to study the subject here," he started.
"No." She said. "We have better equipment in NewYork and I will not stay here longer than I have to."
"As you wish ma'am."
She turned away, already on her phone. Dale might as well have been a wall.

"Well, Tepish," the wiseman sighed. "This is as far as you go."
The young warrior looked up at the wall of ice. If he had another man to stand on, he could see over the edge of it. He then looked into the gap. There was little light at the far end.
"Good luck master," he said, grasping Gebek's forearm. "Be wary of hidden ice."
"It's not worth it, being a wiseman." Gebek said sternly. "If they hear you talk like that, they'll pick you next."
"It's not that," Tepish said. "I just have a bad feeling. A cold one."
The wiseman nodded thoughtfully. He squared his shoulders and started down the tunnel the gap made.

For the thousandth time, Dale wondered why professor Gold chose archeology. She had no interest in history or people. Other than, perhaps, how those things could bring her fame and fortune.
Dale, on the other hand, loved archeology. Particularly when discoveries led to clues about long dead cultures. Examining the iceman would be a dream come true if she wouldn't be there to put her hand in everything.
"Hopefully she'll get bored and leave us to ourselves." Dale said to the highly insulated crate. "You're not her type anyway."
The crate remained silent, slightly cooling the air around it.
"I wonder if Professor Gold feels this way about me." He sighed. "Like a block of ice she has no use for."

Gebek ran for all he was worth. Field upon field of icy plains lay before him. For a brief moment, he wondered why he was rushing towards certain death. Then the wind howled like a lost soul and he remembered what was behind him and he ran harder.
Suddenly, he lost his footing and went tumbling across the ice. Trying not to loose his momentum, he pushed off the ice with frozen, numb hands. With a quick scramble, Gebek was off and running again. With a quick burst of speed, he headed towards an outcropping of ice. He didn't feel the ice shatter beneath his feet.
Suddenly in a free fall, Gebek tried to cry out but found his mouth was numb. Seconds later, he splashed into the icy water under the ice. He tried to swim but found he couldn't move. Darkness engulfed him as he sank to the bottom of the watery cavern.

Dale checked the equipment and monitors surrounding the considerably smaller chunk of ice. From what he could now see from the iceman, his clothes were rotted but his flesh was practically perfect. The man had to have been frozen instantly for his flesh not to rot away.
"You are beautiful." Dale breathed. "You almost look like you're sleeping. Are you sleeping?"

Dale ran a gloved finger lightly down the damp skin of the thawed out iceman. He carefully pulled out a syringe. Concentrating so he wouldn't rupture a vein or horribly mar the skin, Dale inserted the needle to draw some blood. The scientist didn't notice the face of the iceman flinch slightly. Satisfied with his blood sample, Dale left to run some tests on the blood.

Noise. Strange noises like... bugs? Gebek groaned, turning his head. His head throbbed with pain. He decided not to move and instead tried to open his eyes. Finding he couldn't, he drunkenly rubbed his eyes to clear the muck away. His eyes cracked open and bright light flooded in. Gebek blinked a few times to get his eyes to adjust.
"Where...?" His voice broke like glass. "Gurrr..."
The room slowly came into focus. Intricately carved stones surrounded him with cords and flashing lights. At first he was afraid. For a moment, he thought he was some part of a gruesome ritual. Then Gebek remembered that he had ran...

Dale meandered down the hallway, looking over the information the initial blood tests revealed. His job would be so much easier if he had a crew of experts. Then of course, professor Gold would have a harder time to take all the credit. Oh well. Things could be worse, she could be breathing down his neck.
Dale opened the door to the lab without looking up. He absently set the papers down as he looked at the computer monitor. After a moment of scrolling through the readings, he realized something was wrong. Dale looked up. His jaw dropped. The iceman was gone.

Gebek watched from his hiding place as the man in white clothes noticed he was gone. The man stood still for a few moments. He watched interestedly as the man consulted the flashing stones and began to move agitatedly around the room. Apparently the stones told him something because he went running out of the room.
Looking around to make sure he was alone, Gebek emerged from his hiding place. It was then he discovered how dirty and naked he was. He glanced at the door and went about finding something to wear. If he could find clothes like the man, maybe he could deceive him into thinking he was a fellow tribesman. At least till he figures out what they want and what happened to him.

"...if she finds out I let her 'great discovery' get stolen..." Dale hyperventilated.
"She'll what? Fire you?" The female voice from his phone asked.
"No. She'll murder me and use my body as a replacement!" He pulled up the security footage on the screen.
Dale's jaw dropped as his eyes took in what the screen was showing him.
"Dale? Dale?!"
"I'm gonna have to call you back, love." He said as he hung up.

To Gebek's surprise, the man returned much sooner than he had anticipated.  He hadn't found clothes but he had found a suitable soft cloth for a wrap around his hips. The white coated man entered the room slowly, as if he expected an attack. Gebek didn't hide this time. The man obviously knew someone was there.
He waited for the man to notice him so as not to startle him.
"Hello." Gebek said after being noticed.

Dale stared at the man dressed in nothing but a towel. He was sure the man had said some kind of greeting, but the word was unlike one he had ever heard. It was almost a guttural fox like sound. At least, if he had to describe the sound, those were the the words he would use.
"Uh, hello?" Dale replied.
Both seemingly shocked by each other's greetings, they stared at each other for a moment. As he stared, Dale slowly realized that this was the ice man. Sure he'd seen him get up on the security tapes but it hadn't really sunk in till now. He slowly pulled out his cell, not really aware of the action.
"George, remember that favor you owe me?"

Gebek was shocked to find that he hadn't heard of the tongue the other man spoke. He knew there were many tongues but the way he said hello, if that was what he had said, was... strange. Sort of like a singsong bark. He had never heard a tongue like it before.
Then this strange man pulled something out of a pocket in his clothes. For all the world, the object looked like a polished stone. Gebek's brow furrowed as the man put it to his ear and began saying things into it. After the man stopped as if to listen to a response, he was pretty sure this strange man was crazy. Gebek glanced around then noticed the man had replaced the rock in his pocket.
The man pointed at him and beckoned to him. Gebek glanced around again for an alternate way out and saw none. The man beckoned more insistently. Seeing no escape, he slowly took a step towards him.

"Ok I'm down for clearing a debt." George walked into the security room. "What can I do for you?"
"Rewind the security tapes bout a half an hour and I think you'll figure out what I want." Dale's voice was slightly higher than normal over the phone. "I want you to erase the tapes."
"Ok. Ok. Now lets end this illegal conversation before I get fired." The slightly overweight security guard said, hanging up.
'Now to get the ice man out of here...' Dale thought as he licked his lips.
The young archeologist quickly discovered that getting the ice man out was the easy part. Getting him to calm down after he saw what was outside was another story. Dale suspected that the ice man had planned to make a break for it but had quickly changed his mind.

If Gebek thought the room he had woken up in was noisy and confusing, that had not even begun to prepare him for the chaos of outside. Great shiny creatures prowled around, growling and barking at each other. Buildings rose higher than mountains and people were everywhere. He took a few steps, back pedaled, tried another direction and swiftly backed up again. In the end, Gebek hid behind the man and watched everything fly by.
"What is this place?" He muttered to himself. "It's mad. Completely mad!"
The man waved at the madness and called out something. To Gebek's astonishment, one of the growling beasts slowed and came to a stop in front of them. Then the crazy man went to walk up to the monster.
To his surprise, the beast didn't eat him. Instead he stroked it and its side opened. The man motioned to him. Gebek stepped forward slowly. Instead of red insides, there was an oddly shaped tanned skin. The man non too gently helped him into the beast.

"Where to, pal?" The cabbie asked, twisting a tooth pick with his tongue.
"139 Amsterdam Ave." Dale replied, pulling the door closed.
"You got it," the cab pulled away from the curb. "What's with the dude in the towel?"
"Uhhh, he's my uncle..." He scrambled for a convincing lie. "And he was playing strip poker and he uh... lost."
"Aw man dat's rough." The cabbie grimaced sympathetically. "I lost strip poker once and not only is it the most humiliating thing to happen to a guy, you lose all your stuff too."
"Yeah, I told him it wasn't a good idea and he goes and does it anyway." Dale shook his head. "To add to that, he's Polish and doesn't speak much English."
"So for all you know, he got scammed into thinking he lost." He adjusted his hat. "You know, I love New York, but sometimes you wanna beat the crap outta some people."
"I know what you mean," Dale nodded. "Here's good."
The cab pulled to the curb. Dale paid the fare and opened the door. The cabbie grabbed a chain hanging from the rear view mirror. There was a silver Aztec calendar  the size of a quarter attached to it.
"Hey, Polish," he called. "Good luck for the next time you play strip poker."
The ice man accepted the offered chain. Dale patted the man on the shoulder and guided him towards the building.

Beaten chandelier cont.

Bobby sat at his computer, tapping the keys thoughtfully. He pulled up the search bar and typed in one word; Lyon. A few files appeared. None of the images fit the face of the perpetrator. Then he noticed the last file didn't have a picture readily available. Curious, he clicked on it.

"Something is happening..." A voice in the dark. "Rogue, investigate."

The file was certainly about Lyon. The pictures matched, but the name was wrong. Instead of Lyon it was Löwe. He wondered why that was. He studied the picture in front of him. The man had a pit bull like face and closely shaved hair. Those black eyes almost seemed to draw him in.
"What cha looking at, Bobby?" His partner's voice made him jump.
"Oh um, I found our perp." He said. "Looks like he already has a record."
"How did you find him?" Marie asked. "It's not like we had his name."
"I took a snap shot of him." Bobby indicated the barely visible mechanism by his eye.
"You don't miss a trick, do you Bobby," she smiled. "So, who is... Fitz Löwe?"
They scrolled through the information.
"Dang. This guy is a regular gangster," Marie's mouth dropped open. "How many murder charges is that?"
"Too many for him not to be in prison." Bobby rubbed his face. "Oh here's the prison sentence. Aaand the record of his escape."
"So when we nab this guy, what do we do? Shoot him? Nuke him?"
"Well, we could try tranqing and digging a hole to the center of the earth... However, nuking him sounds safe." He said. "But before that, we need to catch him."

"We need to stop him." The voice was as black as the darkest night.
"Yes sir," Rogue's  voice almost seemed light in comparison.
"I want Lyon destroyed. However, if Bobby happens to be alone with him at any point..." The voice seemed to rage like a storm. "Much more could be lost that way!"
"I will stop him." Rogue promised. "Send me and I will stop him."

No one on 5th avenue noticed or really cared about the well dressed man that emerged from a manhole in the alley. He straitened his suit coat and examined his refection in a shop window. The man determined that he had one of those permanently youthful looks and was devilishly handsome.
 "You sir, are a demon to be reckoned with." He said, pointing at his reflection.

The man known as Lyon walked down state st. He adjusted his coat in an attempt to lessen the pain in his shoulder. He had tried to clean the blood off his coat and had bandaged his shoulder as best he could. To heal entirely, he needed darkness.
Lyon marched quickly down the subway stairs. He moved through the crowd, shoving the occasional person out of the way.
"Oi! Watch it pal!" Some one shoved back.
Certain he was unobserved, Lyon jumped off to the subway tracks and walked off into the darkness. However, a security guard happened to look up as he jumped off the platform. Rather than follow the man into the darkness, he decided to call it in.

"Come on Marie," her partner grabbed his coat. "We've got a lead."
"Where was he seen?" She asked.
"The subway tunnels on state st." Bobby replied.
"Should we call for back up?"
"And let him know we're coming?" He asked. "No way. He'd kill everyone."

Bobby and Marie stood at the edge of the platform. Neither really wanted to be first to brave the dark tunnel.
"Look, you haven't got all day." The security guard said. "The train will get here soon. Get going."
"Right." Bobby touched the camera next to his eye, setting it to record.
Without another word, the two jumped off the platform.
"Are you as scared as I am?" Marie whispered as they walked down the tunnel.
"Scared? Me?" A rat ran past his feet, making him jump. "Yes."

Something moved in the darkness, waking Lyon from his sleep. He opened his eyes slowly. The red glow from his eyes was muted by the dark.

"Run!" A dark figure shot past the two cops.
"Löwe?" Marie said as she aimed her flashlight at the running figure.
"Train!" Lyon turned and called back.
Bobby was suddenly aware of his shadow. Not bothering to look back both of them booked it. The tunnel shook with the roar of the train as is sped down the rails. A screech tore the air as the brakes were pulled. The light behind them grew as sparks flew and the train came closer. Bobby's chest ached, starving for air as he ran. As the two cops drew closer to the light ahead of them, they realized they could see the perpetrator running in front of them.
The heat from the train was making Bobby's hair stand on end. He could almost feel the air behind him parting for the massive hunk of metal. Light washed over him as he began to feel his legs give way. Giving it one last leap, Bobby closed his eyes not wanting to see the grim reaper cut him down.
Suddenly something hit him from the side, propelling him off the tracks. The world was turned into a mayhem of grass and sound thumps to the head. Bobby wasn't sure if he had actually stopped rolling or if his head was still spinning. He pressed his head into what he thought was the ground and waited for it to stop spinning.
"Hey, Bobby boy," a voice cut his ears. "You still alive, Bobby boy?"
"Are you the devil?" He asked into the ground.
"Nope, but I'm pretty close." Lyon's voice seemed to smirk.
Bobby looked up to see the man he was chasing sitting on a stump, his foot resting on a still Marie. He grabbed his revolver.
"Now now, lets not be too hasty," Lyon pointed Marie's revolver at her still form.
Bobby froze, his gun half drawn.
"Right. So what's your game Löwe?" He asked, watching him carefully.
"Say my real name and I'll tell you," the man's smirk grew wider.
However if Bobby had been looking at his eyes he would have seen a battle raging there.
"Your name is Fitz Löwe," he growled. "You're a murderer, thief and saboteur."
"Right on all counts but one and you know it!" He cocked the revolver. "What's my name, Bobby boy?"
Bobby stared at him for a minute. Lyon stared back at him with a rather impertinent look.
"Lyon." The cop spat.
"Good." Lyon disengaged the trigger. "Now, Bobby boy, we need to talk."

A well dressed man stepped off the chaotic train. He looked at the smoking rails and the stopped train still halfway in the tunnel. People looked out the windows in concern and a few old ladies cried. Only the conductor knew what had happened. Only he knew how close the train had come to ending three lives. He couldn't shake the feeling that something had wanted them to die. The train hasn't reached full speed yet and had fought the brakes like a bull. It was almost like it was possessed...
"First point to you, Lyon." The well dressed man turned and stepped into the shadows of the train tunnel.

Post-apocalyptic Disney nation cont. 5

The Elias protocol.
The door opened and an older gentleman entered. He was wearing a grey suit and had a cane. Zarina looked up at him, startled.
"Excuse me, but this is employees only," she said, standing up. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"This is the Elias protocol, miss Zarina." The man's voice sounded vaguely familiar. "You and him need to come with me."
"What-?"
The well dressed gentleman stood up immediately.
"Wait a second!" Zarina jumped up to follow them.
"How long have we got?" The older man asked as they walked down the hall.
It was then that she noticed the younger man was still tapping his fingers.
"About 30 seconds," he replied. "Although, if we went into the crowds that could buy us time."
"Come along then," the older man said as he pushed a door to the outside open. "Lets get lost."

Walt and Ioan stepped into the clean hospital room. The young man in the bed was bandaged in a few places but most of his wounds had been almost magically healed. He looked up, hearing their feet tap on the tiles. Jack's face broke into a half smile.
"Walter!" He said. "You're alive!"
"And you are too," the older man said.
"What are you?" The imp slung his arms over the frame at the foot of the bed. "You've got a bunch of wires sticking outta various places."
"I'm in big trouble," Jack replied. "That's what I am."

Charlie looked out his portal boardly. Sure being a look out was an important job, but sometimes it got very dull.  For reasons unknown to him at the time, his eyes were drawn to Oli's empty station. There was a dark shape nearly at the glass portal. He stared in astonishment as he realized the shape was climbing the wall.
"Wot tha?" Charlie pulled out his spyglass. "Is tha' a woman?"

"Run that past me again," Walt said, holding out a hand. "And sit back down, you're in pieces!"
Jack was attempting to get out of the hospital bed but the older man held him down. Walt had to admit, even as broken up as Jack was, the young man was rather strong.
"People are coming to kill me," he said, pushing the older man's hands away. "The longer I stay, the easier it will be for them to find me."
"Hold up, who are they, what do they want," Ioan listed them off his fingers. "And where exactly are you going to go?"
"It's complicated," he panted from his efforts.
"This is way beyond complicated!" Walt exclaimed. "Start explaining!"
"I don't know where to begin..."
"Anywhere!" The imp interjected.
Jack paused and drummed a quick pattern with his fingers.
"A man named Nickoli Karloff wants me dead. He's already killed my entire family." He said slowly. "I've been running... for a long time..."
"He killed your family?" Walt's voice was quiet. "Why?"
"I have an hour before his agent finds me." Jack rubbed his face. "Then none of this matters."
"We have to get him out of here," Ioan said.
"How?" The older man asked. "He'll fall apart if he tries to walk out of here."
"Get that mountain warrior," the imp pointed to the door. "He can carry him."
"Gentlemen, if I might interject," Jack said calmly. "All I need is my cane. Walter."
The young man held out his hand. The older man looked at him with concern. The imp simply looked confused.
"Promise you won't leave me here." Walt said seriously.
"I can't leave you here." Jack replied. "Things would get serious if I did that."
"What are you two going on about?" Ioan asked, looking at them in turn.
The older man slowly extended the cane towards Jack. The younger man grabbed the end but Walt didn't let go. Jack smirked slightly. The imp shrugged and placed his hand on the wood of the cane. The three remained quiet for a moment.
"Well, gentlemen." Jack sighed, tapping his end of the cane. "Shall we be off?"
"?-" Ioan was cut off as suddenly reality tore open.
Wind flew and lightning flashed. Suddenly everyone fell to the ground. Walt managed to remain conscious this time but felt horribly sick. Seeing a rather sleek trash can, he ran over and emptied himself into it. Ioan lay face down on the white tile floor. Jack was on all fours and had blue liquid dripping from his mouth.
"Where are we?" Walt croaked.
"Janitor closet..." Jack swayed dangerously.
Staggering slightly, the older man opened the smooth grey door. He kicked in a door jam and pulled the imp in. Jack crawled into the rather spacious room.
"Close... The door..." He gasped.
"Right," Walt pulled the door shut. "You're dying. How can I help you?"
"Go find... M-Martin," Jack's eyes rolled back. "Martin... Fox..."
Walt rubbed his face tiredly. He gripped the cane and walked out the door.

Martin Fox straightened his cashmere coat and smiled to himself. Being oldest did have its perks. With a spin on his polished leather shoes, he went to walk back to his post. Then an older gentleman caught his eye. Nothing seemed odd at first then Martin saw the cane he had.
"Where is he?" Martin asked, walking up to him.
"This way." The older gentleman said, gesturing back the way he came.

Ioan woke to find a red haired man looking pensively at Jack with blood on his hands. He tried to get up and was smacked down with a pain in his head.
'Great! He's killing Jack and I've got a flipping hangover!' Ioan gripped his throbbing head.
He forced his eyes open and saw Walt holding out a small brown square.
"He says it will help make the pain go away," the older man explained.
The imp looked at it suspiciously but ate it anyway. Dying would have been a better option at this point. To his surprise, the chocolate square began to calm the pounding in his head.
"What's he doing?" Ioan asked, staggering to his feet.
"I'm practically rebuilding Jack from scratch." The red haired man wiped some of the blood off his fingers. "I watched practically all of my brothers and sisters get put together. However, watching is very different than actually doing it."
"You're his brother?" Walt asked, surprised. "But your last name's Fox and his is Crowley."
Ioan was thinking something else entirely but felt it was best not said.
"Yes." Fox pulled out an unsaveable  wire and began to run a new one. "The man who built us gave us our names. Who am I to argue with that?"
"So you're like him?" Ioan asked. "What are you?"
"We are bioengineered temporal engines." He attached a wire which then began to glow blue. "That's a good sign. At least I know he's going to live now."
"Temporal engines? Time engines?" Walt asked in astonishment.
"You can travel in time?" The imp's eyes grew wide. "For reals?"
"Of course." Fox glanced at Walt. "How else do you think Mr. Disney came to be several centuries away from home?"
Ioan turned his head so violently that had his head not been so well attached it would have simply rolled off his shoulders.

The axeman sat quietly in the waiting room. The other two had been gone awhile. He glanced up to watch the people and see if Oli was on his way back. His attention was drawn to a woman who seemed out of place for some reason. She wore dark clothes and was walking purposefully until she stopped suddenly. He watched her glance around then head towards Jack's hospital room.
Curious, the axeman got up and followed her. His instincts told him that she was trouble. However, this was not the place to confront her. Things might turn violent, there would be collateral damage and he was not in the best shape for a fight. He stopped out side the room. The woman was staring at the empty hospital bed.
"He was here." She said to something she held in front of her. "But he's gone now."
The axeman tried to hear the reply.
"Yes sir," she pulled out a device and tapped a few keys.
Without thinking, the axeman jumped at her only to find himself falling through reality.