New Additions and New Relations

Cube heard voices. Sitting up, she tried to work out who they belonged to.

"Cube? Cube, where are you?"

"Slate?" It couldn't be, she told herself. This was another dream.

"Cube, where are you?"

She nervously got to her feet, telling herself she was just checking, and stepped out into the main part of the garage.

"Slate!"

He stood there, and she ran towards him. Please don't be a dream, she begged silently. Please…

He hugged her, and she knew he had to be real.

"Cube, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she whispered. "Are you? How did you get out of the ice? Yo-Yo…" She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Yo-Yo said you were a human Popsicle…"

"Long story, babe." He kissed her. Cube tried to enjoy it, but she felt her stomach tense with fear.

"You know I hate being called babe."

Slate laughed. "I'm a charmer, I know it." His face turned serious. "Cube, I know what happened. I saw how hurt you were the last time. When I heard I – I was worried about you…"

"I'm fine." Cube didn't know why she was denying it. Maybe she didn't want to worry him. And yet he was worried anyway. Where was the logic in that?

"Combo told me you tried to slit your wrists."

Cube looked away from him. "Well, I don't want to now, so forget it."

"Cube, you tried to kill yourself…and you say forget it?"

"Yes, I say forget it." Cube glared at him. "I'm over all that now."

Why couldn't she let him in, tell him she still woke terrified by nightmares, tell him she felt like she was walking a tightrope and that any day now she'd fall? This was one of her oldest friends. This was the guy who'd stuck up for her through thick and thin.

But she couldn't tell him.

Slate didn't look convinced by her show of competence. "Well…I'm here for you, all right?"

"I know." She rested her head against his shoulder, wondering why she didn't feel cheered by that news.

Blizzard walked in, and Cube moved away from Slate. "It's Kell's son! Get outta here, Slate!"

"Don't worry, he's on our side."

"How do you know that?" Cube demanded.

"He helped me escape."

"Fair enough…but I still don't trust him that much."

"I am sorry that you do not think well of me," Blizzard said. Cube shivered. The air was turning colder. "I had better leave."

"No, we need you on our side," Slate said. "I know. I'll introduce you to Beat. The head man."

"Let's go."

Cube looked after them. She felt herself glower. How could Slate do this to her? He had befriended Kell's child. Kell. Cube shuddered. This was wrong. He could be just like her.

If he put one toe out of line, she'd make him pay.

Beat was busy tagging the tunnels. When he saw Slate and Blizzard coming towards him, he dropped his paint can. "Arrgh! The ice dude!"

"Blizzard, I think you're gonna get a lot of this."

"It's okay. That's what I am, isn't it."

"What – uh – what are you doing here?" Beat asked.

"He's changed sides," Slate said. "He got me out of jail. And we talked, and he's not half as bad as his parents. And besides, he's dangerous when he's on their side. His name's Blizzard, by the way."

"Uhh…okay…Blizzard, I know this is kinda rude, but…how do we know you're not just being a double agent?"

"Okay…You don't. But you could take my word for it. Please? I don't want to end up like my parents. All they do is hurt. And – and kill. I hate it."

"Welll…I guess we can trust you, then. Welcome to the GGs, Blizzard. Put her there." He held out his hand, and Blizzard nervously shook it.

Beat began shivering. "Aaahh…nice grip you got there." His hand was covered in a light film of ice.

"Sorry." Blizzard concentrated, and the ice vanished. "I'm not in full control of my powers yet. So if I like, accidentally freeze someone, you won't get mad, will you? I can fix it."

"Sure. But I think you'd better let me do a proper introduction."

"You gotta be kidding me," Kell said, slowly and dangerously. She took a sip from her wine glass. "My own son freed that big-nosed freak?"

She trembled with rage, and the glass shattered. Blood-red wine spilt over her claws.

"Uh, I'm afraid so, Kell honey." Onishima swallowed. "I can see you're angry…"

"You haven't seen me angry. This is mildly annoyed." Her buzzsaw cut through one leg of the table. "And I'm annoyed because I had plans for that orange-coated idiot."

"Why? Cube I could understand, but…him?"

"Slate mucked up my chances of getting rid of Cube last time. He was one of the ones who tagged my back. It's personal now. And…" She smirked. "I know that Cube lurrrves him…and if she gets his head delivered to her in a crate, it may totally destroy her and leave her wrecked and warped for the rest of her life. And that would make me very happy."

"I see why you're pissed," Onishima said. "But could you stop chopping the legs off the table?"

"Okay…Onishima…maybe just for you. Anyway…" She became more business-like. "We have to get all of them. With no survivors."

"And how do you propose to do that? Rudies are like roaches in that respect."

"Ohhh…I think one of the Assassins is in order."

"Kell, all the Assassins are in jail and even I can't get them out."

"Not all of them."

"Yo-Yo and Blizzard are on their side."

"Oh…haven't you heard of Assassin Number Nine? Koji didn't tell you about him? Oh, how silly of him. I'll have to fill you in myself…"

"Oh, boy…" Onishima sighed. "Why do I have a feeling this is going to make me feel less happy about being a cyborg?"

"Ohhh, it's nothing to do with that. You just have another son, that's all."

Onishima gasped, choked, and clutched his chest. "What? If I had a heart, I would have had a heart attack by now! What the hell are you talking about? Blizzard is my son!"

"Duh. I had twins."

"Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no…" Onishima clutched his dome. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. Little Blaze is just as real as you and me. You see, he was backup in case the aging process didn't work on poor Blizzard. He was kept young for about a year longer…in order to monitor any side-effects in his brother. But now...well, Koji's decided we need an ally. So…Blaze has been brought into the picture."

Onishima snarled. "Let me guess. His power is fire."

"Oh, how clever of you! Did I name him okay?"

"Fine. Deploy him. Little rodent."

"Guys, you may be wondering why I called this meeting," Beat called.

"You bet we are! We could be working in the tunnels!"
"Tabs, shut up. Okay. We have a new ally."

"Oh, boy…as if the garage wasn't busy enough already." Gum sighed. "Who is it, then, Beat?"

"No – I haven't got the Terminator. But I have the next best thing. Hey, Blizzard!"

Blizzard walked out to the front of the room.

"Guys – meet Blizzard. He's Kell's son."

"He's Kell's – what the hell is he doing in here?" yelled Gum. "Kell is, like, our worst enemy!"

"No, he's different. He's on our side. He got Slate out of jail."

"Okay, if you trust him, we trust him. Right, Tab?"

"Yeah, Tab, you are so right!"

"Ummm…I don't know…" Piranha said. "No offence – uh – Blizzard, but you kinda have a bad ancestry."

"Oh, boy…look, I know my parents aren't exactly – well, human. But I don't want to be like them. I want to be like you guys. You know – have friends. Be nice to people. I'm sorry I froze some of you. I thought it would just slow you down. I didn't know it could kill you. Gaining fifteen years in two seconds…well, I didn't pick up all I should have done on the way."

"What do you mean?" Garam asked.

Slate quickly explained Blizzard's strange childhood.

"Ohh…that's weird. So you're like only a year old?" Tab said.

"Yeah. It's weird, I guess. But…please – please let me join? Please teach me all that stuff you rudies do…skating and stuff…please?" His face glowed with longing.

"Well, guys, what do you think?" Beat asked. "Let's vote. All in favour of Blizzard joining, say aye."

There was a multitude of 'ayes' in different parts of the room.

"All opposed, say nay."

Silence.

"Blizzard – I welcome you to the GGs!"

At the Rokkaku Building…

"Good morning, Miss Kell, Mr Onishima. Your son is fine."

"Hello, Koji," Kell said. "We would like to release him. Assassin Numbers Seven and Eight have gone AWOL. We need backup."

"Very well. You! Release Assassin Number Nine!"

The acolyte scurried away, and the three waited.

There was a noise from the adjoining room. "Uhhh…what's going on…"

"He may be a little groggy," Koji said. "He has been in stasis for some time."

"Hey, you're not Koji Rokkaku! Get out of my sight!"

There was a scorching sound, a scream, and the man raced out of the room, his coat in flames. He threw himself into Koji's swimming pool.

"Get out of there!" roared Koji. "It's just been cleaned!"

The man scrambled out and scurried away, dripping at every step.

"Blaze?" Koji called. "Come out here. Your parents have come to see you."

"My…parents? Oh, boy, this'll be good. Let's see what kind of a freak show I have for a family."

"Can I hit him now?" Onishima whispered to Kell.

"Not yet. We haven't been introduced. After we take him back, we can beat the crap out of him."

The door swung open, and a boy stepped out.

He looked oddly like Blizzard, a little taller, but his hair was auburn, and his skin was warm and tanned. His eyes were a dark, crimson, red, and a sneer twisted his mouth.

"So these pocket calculators are my mum and dad. Koji, where's my real parents?"

Kell walked over, picked him up by the throat and slammed him against the wall. "Listen, boy, I'm your mummy. If you're good, I'll read you a bedtime story. If you're bad, I'll pull your head off and feed the rest of your body to the crows. Okay?"

"Woah. My mum is cool," the boy muttered. "Can you…uh…get off my throat now?"

"Oh, am I hurting you?" She dropped him. "Good."

"Okay, Blaze, these people are now your guardians. You will obey them. It was a pleasure having you here at the Rokkaku complex."

"Pleasure being here, Mr Rokkaku." Blaze spoke sincerely. "See you around, okay?"

"Come on, boy, we've got rudies to smush," Onishima growled.

"Oh, good, a bit of killing." Fire flickered round his fingers. "If killing rudies is a regular part of the day, then I'm in."

"So, Blizzard, is this your first time on skates?" Alex asked as Blizzard fell over for the fourth time that day.

"Uh – yeah."

"Well…it helps if you don't try and walk normally. Ever been on ice skates?"

"You bet."

"Well, try and move like that."

Blizzard concentrated, and managed to skate quickly along the pavement. "Hey, thanks! Wow, I'm actually skating!"

"Hey, wait up!" Alex moved to catch him. "By the way, I gotta thank you for stopping your mum kill me."

"Oh…oh, that's okay." Blizzard looked down at his feet. He could feel himself getting nervous. "It was nothing. I hope she's not holding a grudge, though…"

"Don't worry. Kell's got grudges against all of us. Just join the club."

"I heard that Kell was – she did some bad stuff to you. I'm really sorry."

"Forget it." Alex spoke very lightly. "You weren't anything to do with it. If my calculations are right, you weren't there at the time."

"I know. But I just wish…I don't know. I wish I could have stopped it. They've done so many bad things. You…and that dark-haired girl…and they wanted me to kill Slate…"

"Stop it." Alex stared out towards the rooftops. "You're different now. So am I. They can't get either of us any more."

Two watchers surveyed the skaters below them.

"So…dad…who's the blue guy?"

"Oh, that would be your little brother."

"Really? Leave him to me." Blaze cracked his knuckles and leapt off the rooftop.

"Aah…" Onishima sighed. "Makes me remember when I was human."

"Hey."

Blizzard turned at the voice echoing behind him.

"Who're you?" Alex said. "And – and why'd you look like Blizzard?"

"Duh! I'm his older brother, honey. Come on, bro. Mum and Dad miss you terribly."

"No, they don't." Blizzard could feel his heart pounding in his chest. "They want to use me as a killing machine."

"Yes, because that's what we were created for, remember?" The boy sneered. "Oh – and who's the chick?"

"None of your business."

"Heh. Little bro's got a girlfriend."

Blizzard swallowed. He didn't want to meet Alex's eyes. "Back off," he hissed.

"Make me."

Blizzard shot out a beam of ice. As it struck Blaze, it melted.

"Uh-oh…" Alex said.

"Oh, I'm really scared. Now, it's my turn."

Fire formed between his fingertips. It shot forward, and incinerated a car.

Blizzard made an ice club appear in his hands, and leapt towards Blaze. As he swung it at his brother's head, Blaze laughed. "Too easy." The club melted as a blast of flame evaporated it.

Blizzard was stunned. His powers had never failed him before. But he was also angry. This guy was really getting under his skin.

"Right, you asked for it!"

He clenched his fists, then raised them in front of him. A large blue corona appeared around his hands, and hundreds of sharp icicles the size of pens shot towards Blaze.

"Interesting," the guy said, and a flame shield appeared in front of him. The icicles melted on impact.

"Hey, hothead! How about you cool off a little?"

Alex ripped off the cover of the fire hydrant near them. The water shot towards Blaze, knocking him off his feet and flinging him against a wall. Steam billowed from him.

Dripping wet, he snarled, "I'll get you next time!" He blinked water out of his eyes, got to his feet, and squelched off.

Alex laughed. Blizzard tried not to. Blaze could defeat him easily. And next time there might not be a hydrant to hand.

"Hey, Blizzard, you okay?" Alex came closer to him, put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine."

"No, you're not. I can feel you're angry."

"And how would you know?"

"Come on, don't close me off. I know what it's like to be angry. Or at least I used to."

He looked up at her. "Oh, yeah?"

Alex shrugged. "Never mind." She slid a casual arm around his shoulders. "At least we're alive."

"Alex?"

They turned to see Shackler standing at the end of the street. He was obviously in the grip of some strong emotion, but whether anger, fear or misery they couldn't tell.

"Can I talk to you a minute?" he said.

"Sure. I'm not going anywhere," Alex said.

"I mean in private."

"Sure, I'll leave. I know when I'm not wanted." Blizzard began skating away.

"Blizzard, wait –"

But it was too late. He had skated round the corner and out of sight.

Another cop thudded to the ground, blood dribbling from the stump of his neck. Kell was in a bad temper.

Blaze was hiding behind Onishima, which was an amazing feat seeing as his dad was several inches shorter than him.

"You let him get away," Kell said at last. "Okay, let's go over this one more time."

"I met up with Blizzard…"

"Okay so far."

"And then we started fighting, and I was kicking his ass…"

"Yes…"

"And then his girlfriend…some dumb Love Shocker…sprayed me with water and my powers went temporarily off-line. How is that my fault?"

Kell's eye narrowed. You could almost see the cogs of her brain working under her head. "Some dumb Love Shocker?"

"Yeah. They seemed pretty pally."

"When you say…pally…do you mean…pally as in friends…or as in something more?"

"Difficult to say. Blizzard sure had the hots for her…" He sniggered. "But I don't know much about his social life. I try to keep myself out of the gutter. She could've fancied him back…or she could've been being nice to the poor sap."

"This is an interesting development," Kell murmured. "I think after I've killed a few more cops…" She flicked blood from the buzzsaw. "I'll be all calm, and then we can go smush those dear little rudies."

"Okay, that's it." Onishima stepped forward. "Stop killing my cops."

Kell looked at him. "Are you going to stop me?"

"If I have to." Onishima glared up at her.

"Let me tell you something, Onishima. Koji gave you one big flaw. Unlike me, you have a life-support system." She tapped his dome with a bionic finger. "If I was to – uh – hit this thing too hard – it would be bye, bye, Onishima – and just little Kell left. With Blaze in the background, of course."

"You wouldn't dare." Onishima's eyes narrowed as he spat out the words.

"Wouldn't I?" Kell raised her fist.

There was a nasty silence for a second. Then Onishima sighed.

"Okay – okay – you can kill some cops. Only rookies, though. No more veterans. I'm just going out for a walk to – uh – clear my head."

"Okay. See you later, lover boy."

Onishima stepped out of the police station and hurried off towards the Rokkaku building.

Alex and Shackler skated into a side alley. Alex screeched to a halt, and said, "So come on, Shackler. What's all the secrecy?"

"Uh…okay." The burly Poison Jammer shifted his feet. "Look, Alex, this is kinda hard to say…but I really…I really like you."

"That's sweet," Alex said lightly, trying to cover the sinking feeling in her heart. "I think you're a really good friend."

"No. I don't mean like that. I mean I – I fancy you. I think you're cute. I guess I'm trying to say –"

Alex looked at him and wished she could skate away.

"Alex, will you go out with me?"

Alex licked her lips. "Look – Shackler – that is really kind of you and I really appreciate it but – but I'm afraid I just like you as a friend. And anyway, I sort of like Blizzard in that way."

"Blizzard?" Shackler's anger flared up, and Alex stepped back a few paces. "He's a freak!"

"He's not a freak," Alex snapped. "Just because he's not like you –"

"Damn right he's not like me! He's a psycho and his parents are evil bastards! How can you even think of liking him like that? Especially after what Kell did to you –"

"I don't care about that," Alex said, trying to hold down the fury in her voice. "I'm sorry I can't say what you want me to hear, but that's no reason to lay into Blizzard. Now I don't see any point in continuing this conversation. Bye."

She turned and skated away before he could answer. Behind her she heard a shatter of glass, and someone yelled, "Hey, watch it! You rudies should be arrested!"

"Like hell we should," Shackler snarled, and she heard him skate away in the opposite direction.

Alex sighed. She didn't want him to be hurting. But she couldn't help him. She'd thought she'd locked love away with all the other feelings, but when she'd seen Blizzard, she'd felt…something…and she hadn't done that for months.

Was it because, like her, he was different, isolated from those around him?

Alex shrugged. Whatever. She couldn't help Shackler's rage. But she could help Blizzard's hurt. She had to find him.