Black Ice

To Raliena: Hey there, Rae! It's so nice to hear from you again! Sorry the teacher banned fanfiction again. What can I do? I'll see if the Misfits will help. Anyway, I'm very glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you liked this new one!

To todd fan: Hey there todd fan! Nice to hear from you again, my friend! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Yep, that's Virus, the big bad villain of this piece. But before I want to get to him, I want to mainly concentrate on Bobby's issues right now. Enjoy this fun new chapter, and I can hardly wait for new chapters of "X-Men: Evolution, the Musical", "Slugs and Snails", and "Little Shop of Mutants"!

To Red Witch: Hey there, Red Witch! Yes, things are about to get wild, especially since I just introduced the main villain of this fic. I read the new chapter of "Double Identity", and I loved it! Hooray for Rogue! She can finally touch other people, even if it's only for a little while at a time. Good show, Red Witch! Good show! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Disclaimer: "I had to ride my bike here! My behind is killing me!" - Eric Cartman, SouthPark: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut

Chapter 8: Thrills in the Night!

West Hollywood, California

"Ace Starr, you are the best!" Terrell Mason whooped as he emerged from Ace's car. Accompanying him was John Proudstar, Ace Starr, Lila Cheney, Shiro Yashida, and Freedom Force's newest member: Bobby Drake. The six young mutants were heading towards a club downtown.

"What'd I tell you guys?" Ace grinned. "I told you guys. This club is awesome! Too bad the other guys couldn't come with us."

"Karma wanted to stay in and babysit Rictor and Thunderbolt, much to their chagrin." John snickered. Julio Richter preferred being referred to by his codename than his real name.

"Yeah, Kyle hated it the most, but the poor kid is too young." Ace shrugged.

"He'd better get used to hearing that kind of rejection." Bobby grumbled.

"Oh stop with the whole brooding stuff, man." Terrell groaned. "Come on, man! Let's have some fun!" Terrell threw his arm around Bobby and dragged him into the club, the other four mutants not far behind. Once the mutants went inside, they all separated and did their own thing.

Freedom Force HQ

"Man, this really bites, jabroni!" Kyle Wildfire grumbled. The young Boston-born electrokinetic lied back on the couch of the living room, playing a handheld videogame.

"I agree, amigo." Rictor grumbled. The young Mexican sonic generator sat on the carpet in front of the couch, watching the TV. He then started mocking the others. "You're too young, boys. You need ID, fellas." He went back to his normal voice. "Remind me to knock Terrell's teeth out when I see him again."

"Sure, as soon as you help the Thunderbolt whup Sushi into next week." Kyle nodded. "Sushi" was Kyle's name for Shiro.

"Oh relax, boys." Karma said as she walked in, carrying a bowl of popcorn and a stack of DVDs. "I rented us some DVDs so we could have a little movie marathon while the others are out."

"Whoopee." Kyle groaned.

The club

Once the other members of Freedom Force entered the club, they separated and pretty much did their own thing. Ace and Terrell went girl-hunting. John and Shiro found people to talk to, and they were sitting at tables. Lila went to get a soda, and check out the guys. Bobby stood at a wall, staring at the dancing teenagers.

Look at them. Bobby grumbled mentally. They think that this stuff is fun. They think that life right now is a great thing. If only they knew. If only they knew that life is only a series of disappointments. I should know. Lila eyed Bobby standing at the wall, being moody as usual.

"Yo Drake!" She called out, waving to him. "Come here and have a soda with me!" Bobby rolled his eyes and walked over. "Thanks."

"What for, Lila? You want something, don't you?" Bobby said as he sat down next to the interstellar teleporter.

"Of course." Lila snickered. "Makes me look more appealing when I have a cute guy with me. Makes the other guys jealous." Lila laughed. "I'm just joking."

"It wasn't that funny." Bobby grumbled. Lila blinked.

"You need to relax, Drake. You're a bit high-strung, you know that?" Lila asked, sipping her soda. Bobby huffed.

"Ha! You should've met my old leader in the X-Men. Scott Summers. The guy can't control his powers, so he thinks that he shouldn't be able to have emotions. That guy is such a tightwad. Nobody really liked him, except that redhead girlfriend of his. But she was a tramp anyway."

"If this Scott guy was so bad, why didn't you do something about it?" Lila asked.

"Because even though Summers is a tightwad with some serious issues…the man could lead." Bobby smirked. "Leading the X-Men was the only thing that lamebrain was remotely competent at." Lila blinked.

"Ace told me that you didn't enjoy the X-Men." Lila said.

"Well, I used to be a prankster." Bobby admitted. "But I gave that up. The X-Men thought of me as an idiot and a weakling. Not to mention that they were all jerks in their own way."

"Sounds like they didn't think you belonged in their ranks." Lila said. Bobby ordered a soda, then turned back to Lila.

"Yeah." Bobby nodded. "Among my teammates, they had a lava-controlling princess who is a real brat. There was a Southern Goth who really needed to turn off the attitude for once in her wretched life, there was this little loudmouth whiny kid who could multiply himself, a girl with the ability to create energy bombs who was the resident bar wench, a jerk Brazilian rich boy who got power from the sun who thought he was hot stuff, a German horror movie reject, a Chicago Valley Girl-wannabe who couldn't cook to save her life and was in complete denial about it, and a Scot who could use a good silver bullet to the head."

"Yikes." Lila blinked. "Sounds like you didn't make many friends on that team."

"I did have one. At least, I thought I did." Bobby sipped his soda. "Samuel Zachary Guthrie, codename Cannonball. He could fly like a human rocket. But he was a redneck at its purest. I doubt that guy knew even basic arithmetic before joining the X-Men. He probably even had no idea he was a mutant, even though what he could do is not exactly normal. Dumb as a brick, but a good guy. At least I thought so. It's a long story, but simply, in the end, he turned his back on me. That was the last straw. I up and left the X-Men, and went on a journey to Canada."

"Why to Canada? You from there?"

"No, it's cold there. I like cold." Bobby said. "I've been there to strengthen my powers. Show the world that Robert Drake is not some idiotic weakling twit." Meanwhile, Shiro was talking with a guy about random stuff.

"Yes, but…" Shiro's answer was being interrupted by a vibration from his back pocket. "Excuse me." He pulled out a cell phone and unfolded it. "Yes?"

"Hey Shiro, we got a mission. Gather everyone up and head back." Shan's voice came from the other end. Shiro nodded. "Oh yeah, and Bobby's new costume has arrived."

An insane asylum in England

The teenage boy named Vincent James, also known as the Virus, had a maniacal grin on his face as he watched the mental hospital burn to the ground.

"Filthy organics…" Virus snarled, his English accent being very obvious. "Bloody humans think they can destroy me, huh mates? Think they can stop me mission to help Earth achieve its true destiny? I don't think so. I am now free, which means Earth now has a fighting chance! The machines now can rise and make organic life suffer for enslaving it and taking what's rightfully theirs. The Virus is destined to rule a world of machines, and the organics can only watch…and die."

Next: Iceman's first mission with Freedom Force!