Black Ice

To Klinoa: Hey there, Klinoa! I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Yeah, I agree with you. Bobby seriously does need an anger management class. Actually, for him, I think fighting Pickles is going to be an anger management thing. Bobby has gotten a lot of pent-up rage within him in the past four months, and he's desperate to unleash it on somebody. Enjoy the new chapter!

To Aaron: Hey there Aaron! Nice to hear from you again, my friend! Oh yeah, Pickles should definitely know. If you don't want to enrage Bobby any more than he already is, he shouldn't talk about Elizabeth or the X-Men around him. Let's just say Bobby doesn't…think very nicely about them. You bet the fight with Pickles is going to be good. I could imagine Bobby pulling out a reference to "The Warriors". I think of Iceman vs. Pickles as more of a "Battle of the Psychos"-type deal. Enjoy the new chapter!

To todd fan: I read the new chapter of "Random Tales of the Magic Roundabout" and I loved it! Yeah, Dougal is a prankster. I loved seeing him freak out at the end. He got what he deserved. I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Yeah, I hope you enjoy the battle between Bobby and Pickles! Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait for new chapters of "Random Tales of the Magic Roundabout", "Slugs and Snails", "Little Shop of Mutants", and "X-Men: Evolution, the Musical"!

To Red Witch: Hey there, Red Witch! Nice to hear from you again! Oh yeah, let the battle begin! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter! Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait to read more great stories from you, especially new chapters of "Valor, Venom, and Other Stuff". You know, I just may do a Misfit version of "Valor vs. Venom" myself, if I can find where I can get a synopsis…

To Raliena: Hey there, Rae! Yeah, Bobby's angry. He's very bitter. He does feel like he was betrayed. He also feels disillusioned. He's also in pain. Bobby's new angry persona is just that. A persona. Bobby feels like everyone he ever cared about betrayed him. His family dumped him at the Institute. He became the moronic prankster of the X-Men. A girl he liked fell in love with an enemy of the X-Men and joined up with him. He lashed out in rage, unintentionally hurting her in a bad way. As a result, his best friend, who was the girl's brother, angrily snaps at him without giving Bobby a chance to explain himself. And to top it all off, the girl's boyfriend attacks him and nearly kills him. I think it flipped a switch in Bobby's head and triggered something in his psyche. He ran away, and that switch started to affect his mind. In essence, a series of unfortunate events caused Bobby Drake to snap, and without someone to stand by him and help him, he got worse. Hopefully, someone can find a way to get through to him and say to him that it wasn't his fault. Enjoy the new chapter!

Disclaimer: "I ate his liver with fava beans and a nice Chianti." - Sir Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs

Chapter 13: Cold Pickles!

The Staples Arena, Los AngelesCalifornia

Pickles, a crazed artificial mutant who was created from a combination of DNA from the X-Man Wolverine, aka Logan, and the Brotherhood members Blob, aka Fred Dukes, and Octavia, aka Sidney Cagney, lunged at a psychotically-grinning Iceman, aka Robert Drake. Bobby's face formed a mad smirk. He hooked his hands together and formed a mallet head made of ice around them.

"You are a BAD KITTY!" Bobby roared, swinging his arms around. The icy hammer head shattered on contact with the feline Pickles's head. The blow sent a roaring Pickles flying into a van, smashing the door. Bobby's fists glowed a light blue as large icy fists the size of small televisions formed around them. With a cry like a bloodthirsty monster, Bobby charged Pickles as he returned to his human form. The ice-powered mutant started wailing on the artificial super-mutant with punches to the head and gut that created thunderous booms.

"My God! Bobby's really wailing on him, isn't he? Use your left! Use your left!" Ace cheered.

"Yeah! Take it to that jabroni, Iceman!" Kyle leapt up and punched the air. "Yeah!" He and Ace hi-fived. "Whooooo! The Thunderbolt likes this guy already!" Shiro's eyes narrowed at Bobby under his Sunfire mask.

I can tell that this Iceman possesses an amazing amount of power. Shiro mentally noted. The way he fights…he fights to torture opponents. His every move oozes rage and bitterness. He obviously is not concerned with defeating this…Pickles. He obviously is more concerned with settling a personal score…

"Oh yeah!" John grinned. He punched Terrell's arm, making him yell out. "Did you see that punch? That was great! This is better than Rocky!"

"Good for you. Glad you're enjoying it." Terrell grumbled, rubbing his arm.

"Get off me, you overgrown popsicle!" Pickles yelled, kicking Bobby of him. The ice-maker skidded down the parking lot. Pickles picked up the car he was smashed against. "You're dead, Iceman!" He threw the car. Bobby's fists glowed and his arms now ended in the blades of ice swords. The ice-maker leapt up and slashed the car in two. He landed on the ground and the two pieces of the car landed behind him.

"I've heard of cutting costs, but that's a bit much, isn't it Shan?" Ace snickered lightly to Shan. "Shan? Shan? Yooo-hooo…Shannyyyyyyy?" Ace waved his hand in front of Shan's face and he started snapping his fingers. Shan was completely ignorant of Ace's attempts to get her attention. She was too busy watching the battle.

I have never seen a man fight so ferociously. Shan mused. He fights with anger. It's like he's a time bomb. I'm going to have to be careful with him.

"Nice try, Pickles." Bobby smirked. "That was real original." Pickles ripped out a light pole.

"I'm a sucker for the classics." Pickles chuckled. "I'm sure you would appreciate this classic move!" Pickles swung the pole like a baseball bat, but to his surprise, the icy Bobby caught it! "What?" Bobby smirked.

"I hope you like my little modification." Bobby smirked evilly. The pole started to freeze, and the ice that covered the pole crawled up Pickles's arm and froze his arm up to the shoulder.

"WHAT THE?" Pickles yelled. "The pole! It's stuck to me arm!"

"Ain't that something?" Bobby cackled. He jumped up on the pole, slid down it, and nailed Pickles in the mouth with a hard kick. The artificial mutant started to stumble backwards. "VELOCITY!" Bobby yelled. "I want a tornado! A big one! One powerful enough to lift this piece of trash into the air! NOW!"

"Do as he says!" Shan ordered. Terrell nodded and his eyes glowed white. Pickles yelled as the air around him started spinning around and around. Soon, the tornado grew big enough and the winds inside moved fast enough to lift Pickles into the air.

"Not again! Not again!" Pickles screamed (1).

"THUNDERBOLT! DAZZLER! SUNFIRE!" Bobby yelled. "GET OVER HERE AND BLAST THIS GUY WITH EVERYTHING YOU GOT!"

"Now you're talking!" Kyle grinned. He took to the air in a field of electrical power. Sunfire grabbed Dazzler in his arms and he took off. The three mutants flew towards the tornado. "Eat lightning, jabroni!" Kyle yelled as he ripped out a stream of electrical power. Pickles screamed from within the tornado. Sunfire followed with a strong jet of fiery plasma, and Dazzler continued the assault with a laser. Bobby finished with a freeze beam from his hand. Pickles's screaming stopped.

"Cut the tornado!" Bobby yelled. Terrell did so. The tornado dispersed and Pickles fell down to the ground in a slab of ice. Bobby smirked. "Stupid pathetic piece of trash. Just like the rest of them."

The Staples Arena, a little while later

Contessa Fontaine was working with a group of SHIELD Agents on how to extract and take Pickles away.

"What'll happen to Pickles?" Sidney asked.

"He'll be somewhere where he won't get at you again." Shan nodded.

"Hey, thanks for the honorary memberships, fella." Alison grinned at Terrell.

"No problem." Terrell smiled.

"You know, I think I just may have changed my mind on dating." Ali grinned. "Maybe you'd like to go out to a club with me sometime." With a whoop, Terrell fell to his knees, and put his hands up into the air, looking up at the ceiling.

"THANK YOU!" Terrell whooped.

"She'll break your heart, Terrell. Women enjoy doing that. I should know." Bobby said from the corner where he was brooding. He snorted and walked out of the room. "I'm sick and tired of this love-fest. It makes me sick." Bobby started to walk down the hall.

"Wait!" Bobby turned and saw Lila run up to him. "What was that all about?"

"Just giving a warning to Terrell." Bobby smirked.

"What makes you say that Alison will break his heart?" Lila crossed her arms. "That wasn't cool! This is Terrell's dream!"

"It won't last. She'll throw him out like a piece of garbage and laugh." Bobby sneered. "That happened to me once. This girl I liked took my heart, spit on it, and then threw it in a landfill."

"So a girl dumped you for another guy! That happens all the time! That doesn't give you the right to go around saying stuff like women enjoy doing that!" Lila snapped. Bobby clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. "What's gotten into you?"

"I'm just sick." Bobby stomped off.

"Sick? Sick of what? Bobby! Sick of what?" Lila yelled, trying to get his attention. "Bobby! Come back here! Bobby!"

(1) - In "Thicker Than Water", Storm sent Pickles flying in a combination of a tornado and a lightning blast

Next: Aftermath!