Black Ice

To Aaron: Hey there Aaron! I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Yes, the mystery villain is Pickles, a classic todd fan villain. He wanted her hand at first, now he wants to kill her (Like someone we know). This will be a chance to see how Bobby is able to fight with a team now, especially one he's none too experienced with. As for the conversation between Shan and Sid, I think Shan will keep Sid's advice to heart. I think Shan will keep an eye on Bobby. Freedom Force has ways of masking their powers from Cerebro's detection, so you won't see the X-Men for a while. Enjoy the new chapter!

To todd fan: Hey there todd fan! Nice to hear from you again! I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Yep, Pickles has arrived on the scene. And thanks for the info on Pickles's powers. It really helped! Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait for new chapters of "Slugs and Snails", "X-Men: Evolution, the Musical", "Little Shop of Mutants", and "Tales From the Magic Roundabout"!

To Klinoa: Hey there Klinoa! I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Actually, in Pickles' last appearance, Pickles was attacked by Storm when she got her powers back after admitting her feelings for Forge. She sent him flying with a tornado, I believe. He hadn't been seen since. As for his brothers and sister, they won't be appearing. It's just Pickles by himself. Enjoy the new chapter!

To Red Witch: Hey there Red Witch! Nice to hear from you again! Yeah, it had to be Pickles. Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait for new chapters of "Valor, Venom, and Other Stuff", and "Memories Are Made of This"!

To Raliena: Hey there Rae! Nice to hear from you again! Yeah, the fight has just begun! Enjoy the new chapter!

Disclaimer: "Baby baby, let me sleep on it." - Meat Loaf, from the song "Paradise By The Dashboard Light"

Chapter 12: Hold The Pickles, Please!

The Staples Arena, Los Angeles

"That's right, love. You remembered me." Pickles smirked. "I'm overjoyed. Most celebrities forget about those they knew before they became famous."

"What do you want, Pickles?" Sidney snarled.

"Why, I merely came to finish the old business that existed between us." Pickles shrugged.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Thunderbird charged at Pickles out of nowhere. The Apache mutant powerhouse smashed hard into Pickles with a shoulder charge, knocking the artificial mutant off the stage.

"Get him to change shape!" Sidney yelled as Freedom Force went to attack. "He has two weaknesses: His wings in human form, and he loses his invulnerability if he changes into a feline form!"

"How do you know this?" Fontaine asked. Sidney growled.

"Because my DNA was used to create him."

"Come. We must-"

"No offense Contessa, I know you're just doing your job, but I fight my own battles." Sidney said respectfully. "I'm not afraid of Pickles. I've fought him before."

"And I got chained up by the Hellfire Club once." Dazzler added. "This is nothing." Dazzler and Sidney ran to join the battle. Fontaine noticed something.

"Where is Iceman?" Fontaine wondered. Meanwhile, Pickles snarled at his new opponents.

"New friends, dearest Sidney?" Pickles smirked.

"You talk too much, jabroni!" Kyle fired a thunder blast. "Time for a whuppin'!" The thunder blast bounced of Pickles' skin, making him laugh. Terrell raced around him at super speed, pounding away at him with super hard punches. Sidney roared as she turned into a lioness. She and Ace pounced on Pickles and started trying to slash away at him. Pickles took out Velocity with a clothesline, and then quickly took to the air, Sidney and Ace still on him. The artificial mutant roared and threw the two ferals off him. He found himself dodging jets of fiery plasma and streams of thunder, not to mention laser beams coming at him from below. Pickles snarled as he saw Sunfire and Thunderbolt fly behind him and Dazzler racing after him on roller skates.

"You bloody fools don't know when to quit, huh?" Pickles smirked.

"You cannot defeat Freedom Force that easily, monster!" Sunfire yelled.

"And I'm no slouch either!" Alison grumbled, letting loose laser beams. Pickles flew down to the ground and smashed it with a hammer blow, creating a fissure that knocked the rest of Freedom Force off their feet.

"Where is Bobby?" Sidney screeched. Pickles raised an eyebrow.

"Bobby? Bobby who?"

"ME!" A voice roared. Out of nowhere, Pickles got pelted by ice spikes. Out of the shadows, Bobby walked out in his new Iceman form. He basically looked like himself sheathed in ice. Small spikes of ice decorated his shoulders and ringed around his lower arms. His knuckles and the backs of his hands were also decorated with small icy spikes. "Hello, Pickles. Remember me?"

"Where did you go?" Karma exclaimed. Bobby smirked.

"I was busy." Bobby smirked simply. Pickles blinked.

"I remember you…" Pickles blinked. "Yeah…you're one of the X-Men!" Bobby's face contorted in rage.

"I…AM…NOT…AN…X-MAN!" Bobby roared, pointing his hands out at Pickles. A blizzard erupted from Bobby's hands. The blizzard smashed Pickles hard, sending him flying through the wall of the arena into the parking lot. Bobby's face formed a creepy grin as he created an ice slide to chase after Pickles. "Oh Piiiiiicklllllles…come out and playyyy-yayyyyy…" Bobby chanted as he went after the artificial mutant. Ali, Sidney, and Freedom Force blinked at that. Shan gulped.

I'm beginning to think Sidney may have a point. Shan mentally gulped. I don't like the way Bobby was grinning when he fought that thing. I think I really do need to keep an eye on him. I think he and I are going to have a talk about this. Bobby chased after Pickles, psychotic grin still on his face. Pickles snarled as he got to his feet.

"Think you're a little powerhouse, huh?" Pickles smirked. Bobby chuckled.

"You have no idea, Pennies." Bobby smirked. "You owe me a rematch, Buckles. This time, I don't need the X-Men." Bobby wasn't screwing up Pickles' name because he forgot the artificial mutant's name. He was screwing up Pickles' name to anger the artificial mutant. Pickles roared in rage.

"I am going to gut you for that, mate!" Pickles charged the cold-hearted ice-making mutant. Bobby smirked. The ice-maker dodged Pickles' strike, and stabbed an icicle through Pickles' wing, making the artificial mutant scream. "NEEEAAAARGH!"

"Awww, whadda madda? Did I bweak your pwecious widdle wing?" Bobby cooed mockingly. He then started cackling. "That was just one part, pal. Now…I'm gonna break the rest of you, heh heh heh." The ice-maker's face unleashed a psychotic grin. He looked like a cat in a room full of mice. Heh heh, Pickles is the first. The rest of Freedom Force, Sidney, Dazzler, and Fontaine watched Bobby and Pickles brawl in shock.

"Wow…" Dazzler blinked. "Sid…was Bobby Drake ever like this?" Sidney shook her head.

"No." Sidney shook her head, squeaking. "He was never like this. He was a goofball."

"Man, and you guys say I enjoy fights too much." Thunderbird blinked. "Ice-boy acts like he's addicted or something."

"The Thunderbolt says he's got some issues." Kyle blinked.

Sidney definitely has a point. I think I am really going to have to keep an eye on Bobby. Shan thought.

Oh God… Sidney mentally worried. Bobby's almost like an animal. Not the same way I am, of course. What has he allowed himself to become? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'm starting to think that I'm starting to feel sympathy for Pickles. That lunatic has no idea what he's getting himself into.

"Come on, Pickles." Bobby taunted with his mad grin still in place. "Let's see what the big bad genetic freak has got. Although I doubt its much." Pickles snarled, morphed into his feline form, and leapt at Iceman.

Next: Iceman vs. Pickles!