Black Ice
To Raliena: Hey there, Rae! Nice to hear from you again! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! Enjoy the new chapter!
To todd fan: Hey there, todd fan! Nice to hear from you again! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! Don't worry, tf! I shall keep up the good work. Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait to read brand new chapters of "Slugs and Snails", and "Random Tales of the Magic Roundabout"!
To Red Witch: Hey there, Red Witch! Nice to hear from you again! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! I agree with you that things are not looking good on Freedom Force's front. Bobby does appear to have lost it, hasn't he? Lately, thanks to all the fervor regarding Star Wars: Episode III, I've been mentally comparing Bobby Drake in this story to Anakin Skywalker, who fell to the Dark Side of the Force and become, in my opinion the coolest bad guy ever, Darth Vader. Bobby is kind of like Anakin, an angry warrior who is destined to fall into darkness. Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait to read brand new chapters of "Evolution XMJ" and "Cry Havok"!
Disclaimer: "I am your father!" - Darth Vader to Luke Skywalker, Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope. I also don't own Star Wars, and flashbacks from "To Err is Human" are used with todd fan's permission.
Chapter 18: Movie Night!
Freedom Force HQ
Freedom Force had gathered together in their base of operations/home. They had decided to spend the night in and wait for Terrell to come home from his date with the Dazzler. They had all treated themselves to a night watching the original three Star Wars movies while they waited. Hooting and hollering could be heard outside the house.
"Whoo, yeah!"
"Oh man, look at that X-Wing fly!"
"This the best movie ever!"
"Oh my God!"
"Ooh, that's…gotta hurt!"
"Shhh! This is the best part!"
"I thought he was dead." Freedom Force was enjoying themselves for that one night. All except one member. That one particular member, Bobby Drake, had decided to go down to the gym. The gym area was located one floor below the visible part of the house, which looked like one of those special places for reality TV shows. Bobby had changed into a sleeveless black t-shirt and a pair of blue shorts, and started pounding on the punching bag. As he punched, he started to think back, using his memories to help fuel his need to punch the bag…
The Xavier Institute, four months ago
The infirmary doors opened quietly as Bobby stepped in. He frowned at Lizzie's still form on the bed, then looked at her brother.
"So...you're kinda worried about Lizzie, then?" Bobby asked with a nervous laugh. Sam didn't even look up from his place. Bobby blinked, relaxing slightly, stepping forwards. "She'll be fine, she bounces back from most things." He smiled. He gave a squeak of surprise as he was suddenly hefted up by the front of his shirt as Sam stood up and grabbed him in one motion. His feet didn't even touch the floor. He'd forgotten how tall Sam actually was. "Err...Sammie...that kind of hurts." He gasped, trying to twist his shirt away.
"No kiddin'." Sam growled. "You have no right to be down here, Bobby. You did this. No one else. Ah don't know why you did it, and Ah don't rightly care."
"You're not going to kill me now...aren't you?" Bobby squeaked.
"No." Sam replied, narrowing his eyes. "Momma always taught me violence isn't the answer. But…" Bobby's eyes widened.
"But?" Bobby gulped. Sam's grip tightened ever so slightly.
"If you ever step foot near any of mah family ever again, you'll find out exactly how easy ice can shatter when it's hit with a cannonball." Sam threatened ominously, before dropping Bobby on the floor. "Get out." Bobby numbly got up, frowning and dusting himself off.
"Fine, take her side. Of course you would. You're family." Bobby muttered, stomping off.
Sam ignored him, going back to keeping watch over his sister.
Freedom Force HQ, present day
"I considered you family, Sam." Bobby muttered to himself as he punched the bag. "I considered you a brother. I wanted you to hear me out. I understood that you were angry. I just wanted you to give me a chance to explain myself. But you wouldn't give me that, would you?" Bobby started punching the bag harder and faster. "No, you wouldn't! You turned your back on me! You turned on me for a sister who would rather see you dead! She didn't care about anyone but herself, and you turn on a man who considered you a brother for that self-centered wannabe biker tramp! She took my heart and spat on it, and you sided with her? Well then Sam, I guess I'll have to show you what happens when a cannonball tries to shatter ice…ice that can fight BACK!" With a roar like an enraged animal, Bobby hit the bag with a glowing fist. With a boom, the fist hit the bag, sending it flying into a wall. As it flew, the bag froze solid. The bag shattered like glass when it hit the wall. Bobby, face painted with maddening rage, watched the pieces hit the floor, eyes glowing blue orbs. He gave another scream and blasted the walls with ice beams, freezing the entire room. He stood still in the center of the room, breathing heavily through gritted teeth, fists clenched at his side so tightly, they were solid white. "I'll make you pay, Sam…I'll make you all pay…in blood…lots of it…"
"Bobby?" A voice said. Bobby quickly turned around. He saw Lila Cheney, the interstellar teleporter codenamed Starway, at the door. He glared at her, causing the normally cool girl to gulp.
"What…do…you…want?" Bobby snarled.
"What happened? I heard you scream." Lila answered with a little nervousness in her voice. Bobby snorted.
"Primal Scream therapy." Bobby replied simply.
"What…" Lila looked around the frozen gym. "What…happened here?" Bobby looked around and shrugged.
"Just thought I'd take Ace's advice and chill out for a while." Bobby smirked.
"Man, Karma and the Contessa are going to flip…their…lids!" Lila blinked. "This whole place is a giant ice cube."
"I'll get it thawed out later. No big deal. It's just water." Bobby shrugged as he started to leave.
"Man, you must've let off a lot of steam to do this." Lila blinked.
"So?" Bobby grumbled, crossing his arms. "Don't you ever have days where you just want to smash stuff?"
"Yeah, but…" Lila started to admit.
"Well, on those days, I don't smash stuff. I freeze stuff." Bobby explained. "I don't do a whole lot of damage. Usually things end up undamaged. Usually."
"Geez." Lila grimaced. "You sure are a fun guy to be around."
"Fun?" Bobby looked at Lila. "I used to have fun in life." Bobby walked away. "Until I learned the truth about life. It's really just a series of hardships." He went upstairs via an elevator. He walked by Kyle's room. He noticed that the walls of Kyle's room were covered in wrestling posters, and one wall had a shelf full of wrestling figures. One wall had what appeared to be a couple grey metal filing cabinets. Kyle Wildfire himself was sitting on his bed, a laptop computer on his lap. Bobby peeked in. Kyle grinned and looked up.
"Hey jabroni!" Kyle grinned, his accent showing his proud Boston heritage. Bobby stared at Kyle.
"What're you doing?" Bobby asked, crossing his arms. "I thought you were watching th movie with the others."
"I was, but I decided to take a break. I've been reading on the Internet about the new Star Wars movie." Kyle grinned.
"Never pegged you for a sci-fi geek." Bobby noted. "I always thought of you as more of a tough guy."
"The Thunderbolt's read comic books since the day he could read." Kyle smirked, pointing to his file cabinets. "The Thunderbolt's been collecting comics and wrestling magazines since the day he could walk into a comic shop and buy them. When the Thunderbolt first discovered his powers, he realized he had a destiny. A destiny to be the world's first pro wrestling superhero." Kyle pointed at a poster of a red-haired man whose hair was in a ponytail, and dressed in long red tights with a yellow-and-orange flame on each leg, yellow boots, a black t-shirt, yellow elbowpads and kneepads, and red wristbands. "That's my dad, Eric "Blazer" Wildfire. He's a former World Heavyweight Champion, just like the Thunderbolt's grandpa."
"Sounds like quite a legacy." Bobby nodded.
"You know who you remind me of?" Kyle asked.
"Who?" Bobby asked.
"Anakin Skywalker." Kyle replied.
"What?" Bobby said in a manner that indicated he was slightly disturbed by what Kyle said.
"Anakin Skywalker." Kyle repeated. "Ever heard of Darth Vader?"
"One of the idiots in the X-Men had a Darth Vader shirt." Bobby grumbled. "I don't really remember which idiot."
"Yeah, well…" Kyle rolled his eyes. "Before Darth Vader became Darth Vader, he was Anakin Skywalker, a troubled young Jedi Knight who was tutored by Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, Anakin fell to the Dark Side of the Force, which is basically like ambient evil. Anakin fell to the darkness within him, and he engaged in a brutal battle with Obi-Wan. Guy got so badly mauled during that battle, he had to get mechanical parts put in, and Darth Vader was born." Bobby snickered mockingly.
"You afraid the Bad Force is going to get me?" Bobby mocked. Kyle shook his head.
"No, jabroni." Kyle replied. "If there's anything I've learned from Star Wars, it's that we all have inner darkness, and we should never let ourselves surrender to it." Bobby rolled his eyes.
"Oh brother." The ice-maker scoffed. "Jedi Knights are a product of some old nerd's imagination, not something that teaches anything valuable."
"Fine then, Anakin." Kyle smirked. Bobby grumbled under his breath as he turned and left.
"Geek." Bobby groused.
"Hey everybody! Terrell's back!" Rictor announced from the living room. Kyle ran out of his room.
"Come on, Anakin!" Kyle teased. Bobby groused and grumbled as he stomped into the living room. The rest of Freedom Force was waiting outside the door.
"I must admit, this is quite exciting." Shan grinned. The door opened, and Terrell sauntered in, a big fat smug smile on his face.
"Well, that…was fun." Terrell smirked.
"Details! We want details! You will provide details!" Lila ordered with mock sternness. Especially since I didn't get to watch the rest of the freakin' date!
"Lila!" Fontaine admonished. "That's rude."
"Sorry, I'm just excited!" Lila grinned.
"Well, I had a wonderful dinner, until I learned I was eating frog's legs." Terrell made a face.
"Oh man…" John tried not to snicker.
"Well, thanks to Ace's tips, I managed to salvage the date. We went out to the club, and I wowed her with my James Brown-style! Aow! Hit me!" He did a split.
"Boy, would I like to hit him." Bobby muttered through gritted teeth.
"Anyway, after some laughs, and a night of dancing, we drove back to her hotel."
"Terrell, you didn't!" Fontaine exclaimed.
"I doubt he could, anyway." Bobby smirked.
"Shut up, Iceman." Terrell glared at the ice-maker. "It wasn't like that. We drove back, she thought it was fun, and she said if she was ever in LA again, she'd look me up."
"Oh." Fontaine breathed a sigh of relief. The Italian woman then smiled. "Congratulations, Terrell."
"Yeah, she found someone new to string along." Bobby cheered sarcastically. "Now it's only a matter of time before she gets bored with you and leaves you for some other toy."
"Do you have to rain on everyone's parade?" Terrell snapped at Bobby. The ice-maker shrugged nonchalantly.
"Yeah. I don't exactly like other people, so I can't help but make commentary."
"You know, you talked to me along those same lines when I was getting ready for the date, man!" Terrell remembered.
"I was trying to help you out Terrell, like a good teammate should. I guess you were too stupid to listen to my advice though, no matter how sage it is." Bobby smirked. "No surprise."
"Are you insinuating something, Drake?" Terrell snarled.
"Yeah. I'm insinuating that you are in idiot, and you're a really big idiot for going out with that lying devious blonde snake Dazzler!" Bobby yelled.
"Don't you dare call her that!" Terrell yelled. He zipped across the room, and punched Bobby out. The ice-maker hit him in the gut, and the two started fighting.
"Hey, knock it off!" Shan yelled as the rest of the team moved to separate them. Ace and Lila looked at each other with worry.
"Back off, Anakin!" Kyle snapped at Bobby.
"And stop calling me that!"
Next: Training Daze!