“Good morning, Ice,” I said as the door closed and locked behind me.

He was sitting on the bed. He eyed me curiously. “No restraints today?”

I shrugged, motioning to the camera.

He glanced up, realizing that the red light was off. His eyes widened, head swiveling to me. He looked me up and down, immediately noticing how I didn’t have my tablet in my hand. He stood up, hesitantly stepping towards me with a confused and cautious yet curious look on his face.

“No one can see or hear us,” I promised. “All of this remains strictly off the book. I left my tablet, phone, and lanyard outside. Even my inhaler, just in case.” I raised my arms, “Pat me down if you don’t believe me, but we need to talk.”

He moved closer, sniffing me. He patted me down, hands expertly moving down my torso, then my arms and legs. They lingered a bit too long on my legs and waist.

He stepped back, crossing his arms, “What’s this about, Calvin?”

I lowered my arms, “We need to talk.”

“You said that. About what?”

“The scientist, mainly,” I replied. “You and he designed these cybernetics, didn’t you? You’re a scientist, and you avoided my question yesterday.”

Ice hesitated, taking a few steps back and looking away. “...Why are you asking about this? Just‒ Leave him to rest.”

I bit my lip, suddenly realizing. “Oh. I’m…. I’m sorry.”

Ice’s head snapped up, “What? No. He’s not‒ He’s not dead. He’s just… very hurt.” He hugged himself, looking down. “He’s just…. He’s a mess. We really shouldn’t bother him. He needs to heal.”

“Can you maybe tell me his name?” I gently prompted. “I don’t think we should call him just… ‘him’ or ‘the scientist’.”

Ice managed a half-laugh, “Kay. We’ll call him Kay.”

I nodded, “So…. Is Kay older or younger than you?”

Ice thought for a moment. “Probably about… ten years younger.” My eyebrows shot up. Only ten years? “Smarter than I’ll ever be, though.” He got a distant look in his eyes. “His intellect is a shield, it’s his everything, and they extorted that. He needs time to rebuild his shield, rebuild his life, which is why he’s… on vacation, so to speak. What matters is that he’s safe.”

“And, you and Kay worked on the cybernetics together?” I confirmed.

“He’s the real genius behind it, I just helped him unstick when he was stuck,” Ice humbled, looking away. “He needed my help in order to figure out how the tech would interact and merge with a body. He may be technologically advanced, but I still take apart every dead body I can get to.” A smirk pulled at his lips, “Even a few live ones from time to time.”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes, “Flashback to your first words to me.”

He frowned, “What were my first words to you?”

He didn’t remember? “Oh… something along the lines of you wanting to add my blood to your collection. And you did,” my hand drifted to my right forearm. “You…. You don’t remember?”

Ice’s frown deepened. He cautiously stepped forward, hand suddenly flashing out and grabbing my wrist. He forced my sleeve up, eyes widening at the sight of the scar on my forearm. He dropped my arm, backing away with surprised eyes.

“Don’t worry, Ice, I’m fine, really,” I smiled. “I’ve been bitten before. And, uh, not in a kinky way,” it was a feeble attempt to lighten the mood, but it seemed to work.

Ice scoffed, rolling his eyes, “Part of me wants to offer to change that. After all, no one can see or hear us right now.” He gave me a sultry look.

I felt my face redden, “A-as much as I would like to accept, this is s’posed to be strictly business. Questions and answers about the cybernetics,” I glanced at his arm, then back up to him. I swallowed, “And the war.”

He smirked, looking me up and down, “You just admitted that you like me.”

I scoffed, “Only because you’re attractive by my standards.”

He purred, “Someone’s sexually frustrated.”

I glared at him, “And someone is avoiding talking about the matter at hand.” My gaze softened, “Why are you avoiding this? No one can hear or see us. What are you so afraid of? They won’t find‒”

Ice slammed me against the wall, hands on either side of me. The air was knocked out of my lungs, and I immediately regretted leaving my inhaler outside. I clung to Ice’s shirt, gasping.

He whispered in my ear, “I’m avoiding because you’re going to get yourself killed if you keep doing this sort of stuff. She controls everything. She is everywhere.” He deeply sighed, breath hot on my neck. A shiver went up my spine. “He should’ve killed her when he had the chance.”

“I-Ice,” I gasped. “I-I can’t…. Can’t….”

He pulled back, guiding me to the door. He pounded on it, and it soon opened. He pushed me towards the guards, and I stumbled, practically falling into them. “Get him to your infirmary. Now.” His voice was distant and muffled. “We’re done here.”

The door slid closed, and I collapsed to my knees.

“Doctor?”

“We need a gurney at 54’s cell, Davidson is having an asthma attack.”

When I opened my eyes again, I was laying on a bed. My coat and shoes had been removed, and the few top buttons of my shirt opened. There was a blanket tucked around my waist and a nebulizer around my face. I could breathe easily. Chattering voices surrounded me, although they were distant and muffled.

Someone was sitting beside me.

“Welcome back, Doctor,” Sr. Dir. Klaaus smiled.

“Mm, how long was I out?” I mumbled.

“Only about an hour,” he assured me. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, attempting to sit up. “And, yes, Ice did kind of cause my asthma attack. Shoved me against the wall.” I looked around the room, which appeared to be in one of the shared infirmary rooms, with curtains hiding the other beds.

“Hm,” Sr. Dir. Klaaus handed me a notepad. On it was written: “Did you discover anything about the scientist?” He said, “You know, when I first saw Ice, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew him. I chalked it up to being old, but I’ve recently remembered a bit of my childhood where I met him.”

I perked up, writing in the notepad, “We’re calling him Kay. The two of them worked together on the cybernetics.”

“You are aware I was a child during the Blitzkrieg, yes?”

I nodded, continuing to write. “Kay is about 10 years younger than Ice, and is currently resting somewhere, as being forced to make the cybernetics took a toll on him, possibly physically and mentally injuring him. Ice seems very protective of him.”

“Well, I have this faint memory,” Klaaus said. “I was… probably about 10 or 11, around that age. It was…. I do believe late ‘40 or perhaps early ‘41. I somehow got separated from my family during one attack, and, thanks to polio, I wasn’t able to really go anywhere quickly.” He motioned to his black and gold cane.

“And… you saw Ice?” I softly asked. “The person who forced Kay to complete the cybernetics is a woman who ‘should’ve been killed when he had the chance’. Don’t know who the ‘he’ is.”

“For a long time, I wasn’t sure what I saw,” Klaaus shrugged. “There was a storm rolling in, quicker than any natural storm rolls in. One of the bombers fell from the sky, and crashed near me. It exploded. A strange animal-like man shielded me from the flames using a wall of water. A wall of water which he controlled.”

My eyes widened, “It was Ice, wasn’t it?”

Klaaus nodded, “I do believe he was there that night, fighting the bombers and saving those he could. And looking just as he does now, save for the metal limb. He asked if I was okay, then carried me to the nearest shelter. For a long time, I dismissed it as a faded memory, as a dream…. But, now, seeing Ice, seeing his powers…. I know it was him.” He took the notepad, “I would wish to talk to him myself, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. Do remind him of me next time you see him, yes?”

“Yes, sir,” I nodded.

“Now get some rest. We will speak later.”