"Think of it, Batman. To never again walk upon a summer's day with a hot wind in your face and a warm hand to hold. Oh yes. I would kill for that".

- Mr. Freeze, Batman: The Animated Series - Heart of ice.

Charlotte was back in her room at Oswald's mansion preparing to go to bed. She got dressed in a black silk nightgown that reached the middle of her thighs. She was going to pull the blankets and sheets back when there was a knock on her door. She walked over to the door and opened it.

There stood Victor Fries. He didn't have his freezing gun this time nor his gloves and the piece around his neck and head. He had detached it to be more comfortable. He just kept the rest of the suit to keep his body at a subzero temperature.

Victor couldn't help but eye Charlotte up and down. "Hmm, sorry to come here at this time. You were going to bed. We can talk tomorrow. Good night".

He was going to walk away, but Charlotte grabbed his hand and smiled at him. "It's okay. You can come in if you want".

Victor smiled back at her and she stepped back to let him step inside her room. "I just wanted to make sure you were all right".

"Better than ever," Charlotte answered as she closed the door. "What about you?"

"I'm good now," he told her, admiring every detail of her face. "You said you loved that Nygma guy".

Charlotte nodded as she took a step closer to Victor. "I did".

Victor just wished she would step even closer. He wanted to hold her in his arms and feel the warmth that emanated from her body. "Does that mean you-"

"Don't love him anymore?" Charlotte finished for him and a chuckle escaped through her lips. "I let you froze him, didn't I? I don't feel anything for Ed anymore. He made his choice and I made mine. And I know the last words he said to me were nothing but lies. He once said, 'A man facing death will say anything to save his skin'".

Victor felt sick just by thinking of Nygma. He had hurt Charlotte, but she had shown she was much better than him and emerged even stronger than before. Victor admired her strength.

"I'm glad you forgot about that idiot," Victor stated and smiled when Charlotte took another step closer to him.

"Why?" She asked, almost in a whisper.

Victor's heart had been frozen along with all of his feelings, except for that one that kept trying to claw its way out of the ice. All Victor wanted was to give in to that feeling. To feel warmth once again. He thought only in death would he ever feel that warmth. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Charlotte was his second chance.

"I'm sure we both know the answer to that question," Victor answered and closed the space between them. He placed his hands on Charlotte's waist and leaned in, giving her time to step away if she wished. But she didn't. Actually, Charlotte took her hands up to his shoulders and leaned in as well. Their lips were placed upon each other's very softly.

Charlotte felt the cold from Victor's lips but somehow that only caused her kiss to become more hungry as the seconds went by. Her hands went up to ran through Victor's white hair and he pulled her even closer to him.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and someone opened it, causing Charlotte and Victor to pull away from the kiss. "Hey, Charley. Oswald has figured out the-" Ivy stepped in, but saw Charlotte was not alone and understood she had interrupted something. She smirked and held a hand up apologetically. "Just wanted to tell you that Oswald has figured out the logo for his new club. He's going to call it 'The Iceberg Lounge'. Sorry. I'm just gonna... yeah, I'm leaving now. Bye".

Once the door closed again, Victor shook his head at Ivy in annoyance. Charlotte let out a small laugh and Victor stared at her in awe. He thought she had such a pretty laugh. Charlotte cupped Victor's cheeks in her hands before connecting her lips to his once more.

On another part of town, Detective Jim Gordon walked into Lee Thompkins' apartment. He had been cured of the virus and so had Lee. He went to her house to talk about what happened when they were infected. Lee had buried him alive and only left him the virus to fight his way out of the wooden coffin. That had been how he became infected. He wanted to forget it all and move on. Hopefully, Lee would forgive him for all he did too. Maybe there was still hope for both of them.

The house was silent and when he called for her there got no answer. Jim stepped into the living room and landed his eyes on the envelope on top of the coffee table. He walked up to it and saw his name written with Lee's elegant handwriting. Jim picked it up in his hands and took the letter from inside the envelope.

'Jim,

I knew if I saw you, I might not have the courage to leave. And I need to. I finally understand Gotham in a way I suspect you always have. It's a place where the strongest and most cunning rule. Where the cost of survival is paid for by others'.

Back in Oswald's mansion, the Penguin observed the Riddler trapped in a block of ice with no way of getting out. His lips forever shaped in a silent scream. A smirk spread across Oswald's lips at the sight.

In Charlotte's room, the blonde was laying on her bed close to Victor. A blanket stood between them to stop Charlotte from freezing due to the temperature of Victor's suit. Her head layed on top of his shoulder and one of her legs was on top of his. One of Victor's hands softly caressed Charlotte's thigh, sending chills through her body as he did so. Victor's other hand kept a hold on Charlotte's.

Charlotte felt her hand getting dormant but the last thing she wanted was to let go of Victor's hand. She knew the touch couldn't last for long, so she tried to enjoy every second of it.

'Where being ruthless and cold-hearted is the only way to survive and everyone feels alone'.

In the Siren's Club, Tabitha walked up to the door to leave it all behind. Butch had been killed by Barbara and Tabitha was forced to kill her. Oswald had taken a hold of her club now and Tabitha had to leave. However, she was not alone. Selina Kyle had gone to her to move on up. She was tired of being alone and going from one abandoned place to another. Together, the two of them would find somewhere else to stay.

'Having the virus showed me the city as it truly was. As I truly was. In so many ways, the virus made me feel reborn'.

In an ambulance laid Butch with bandages wrapped around his forehead and blood managing to soak through the material. He had been shot in the head by Barbara Kean. She had figured out his plan to kill her. She only hoped Tabitha had nothing to do with it. However, all hope was gone now that Tabitha killed her.

"He's a gangster," the nurse said to the paramedic. "Probably got what he deserved".

"He is?" The paramedic asked in confusion.

"Sure. That's Butch Gilzean," she told him.

The name sounded familiar to the paramedic, but that wasn't the name written on his chart. "Really? His chart lists his birth name as Cyrus Gold".

The man passed the chart to the nurse and she took it in her hands with a raised eyebrow. "Cyrus Gold?"

"He must have changed it at some point," the paramedic suggested.

'But if having the virus allowed Gotham to embrace its worst self, the cure should remind us there is always hope. A chance to remember who we can be rather than who we are'.

Bruce Wayne watched on TV the faces of the hidden victims of Gotham, the ones who could not defend themselves: the children. He wished he could make them feel better somehow. Once Detective James Gordon told him how Gotham was worth trying to save and those words left an impression in him. Moments ago Alfred, who layed in a hospital bed, told him how he needed to find his true north and let it guide him.

Bruce decided he would finally put his fighting skills up to do some good. To stop those children from getting hurt and stop them from losing the innocence children were supposed to have. The same innocence he lost when he saw his parents being murdered right in front of him. Saving Gotham was his real destiny.

'I don't know if Gotham deserves saving, but I do know one thing. If anyone can save it it's you. And in return, I believe it can save you as well'.

Lee walked up to the train which would take her away from Gotham. She didn't know how long she would be able to stay away. Gotham had a way of pulling you back in no matter how many times you tried to leave. 

'And then maybe one day, it will send you back to me.

Until then, love always,

Lee'.

Jim folded the letter and placed it on the inside pocket of his coat. He felt his heart clench when he realized Lee had gone away from Gotham. He just hoped she would be back one day and they could have a second chance. Maybe one day when things were less complicated. He knew that was a lot to ask in a place like Gotham, but he couldn't help it. Perhaps a hero could actually save Gotham and make it a better place someday. Whether it was him or someone else he didn't know.

Once former police Commissioner Gillian Loeb told him how hope was for losers. Jim believed Loeb was wrong. Hope was all people had when they lost everything else. Hope was what kept them going and helped them get up from their bed each morning. Hope was Jim had left.

***

A/N: And it is the end of this book! I want to thank everyone who read this story and who commented and voted. I really appreciate all the support you all have given me. A big THANK YOU to all of you and much LOVE!

When I start posting the third book, I'll publish an announcement here. And by the way, I really recommend you to listen to the song I left at the beginning of this chapter. It just screams Mr. Freeze so much that it makes me cry. Not to mention the singer deserves more recognition. His songs helped me go through a lot in my life. Not to mention many of his songs are perfect for Gotham fanfics ;)

Love you all <3