Victor thawed the room, and only then did Brainiac see Schiller frozen inside an ice sculpture, looking utterly helpless.
"I'm impressed," Brainiac said. "In that case, my plan to redesign Nature Reserves across various regions might actually be feasible..."
"Not feasible," Victor said. "I didn't trap him with Dense Ice."
With a bang, the ice shattered. Schiller steadied himself against the wall, then smiled. "Looks like everything else has been settled. Now we can discuss the case, can't we, Mr. Fris?"
"What case is there left?"
"You didn't think I really went to Hugo without any preparation, putting myself at risk?"
"I thought you were just planning to take care of him while you were at it this time."
"That had been the original plan." Schiller let out a long breath and walked over to sit down. Victor poured him a cup of hot tea, then sat across from him.
"During all these years imprisoned in Arkham Asylum, Hugo never behaved himself. He kept using his mental manipulation abilities to pull little tricks, persecuting many people and making many enemies. I found some of his former victims."
"Can they deal with Hugo?"
"Normally, no. But Hugo was clearly no longer normal—after fighting me, he'd been blinded by rage. All it would take was one small mistake, and those lunatics would devour him whole."
"A very good plan. So what's the problem?"
"The problem is that he can't die yet." Schiller took a sip of tea. "The reason I said he had some skill wasn't because he uncovered Bruce's past, but because he brainwashed that little girl."
"As far as I know, these Living Corpses aren't completely incapable of resistance. Some of them can actively stimulate the Power of Death within their bodies and unleash strength beyond that of ordinary people."