Black Ice
To Aaron: Hey there, Aaron! Nice to hear from you again! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! Well, Bobby's become a lot more destructive. He's more prone to lashing out now. As for the scientist, I guess Bobby got frustrated by the fact that the guy is smarter than him, and it caused Bobby to feel stupid, which is a push-button for him. You'll love the fight! Enjoy the new chapter!
To RogueFanKC: Hey there, Rogue Fan! Nice to hear from you again! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! Yes, the Nanite Generator was created with good intentions: To heal injured people. You bet that it won't be used for a good purpose in Virus's hands. Bobby's little tantrum was to show how far unhinged he's become. It's funny and spooky. At least…I think so. Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait for new chapters of "Apokolips Deferred"!
To Haretrigger: Hey there, Haretrigger! Nice to hear from you! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! Oh yeah, Bobby Drake is losing it more and more each and every day. He's just itching to take out his newfound rage on something or someone. Oh yeah, Virus has arrived, baby! I can see Bobby give Virus a good reason to be afraid. Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait for new chapters of "Thesis of a Black-Winged Angel"!
To todd fan: Hey there, todd fan! Nice to hear from you again! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! I read the new chapter of "Gifts and Curses" and I loved it! New Mutants in college, and Warlock finding a new friend. Nothing better than that. The battle has begun. Freedom Force versus Virus, Round One! Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait for new chapters of "Slugs and Snails", "Random Tales of th Magic Roundabout", and "Gifts and Curses"!
To Red Witch: Hey there, Red Witch! Nice to hear from you again! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! Oh yes, Bobby's mind is growing more and more unhinged. He'll snap soon. I got a couple more storylines to deal with. Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait for new chapters of "Evolution XMJ"!
To the pilot of eva unit 04: Hey there, Eva! Nice to hear from you! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! I'm glad you liked the story so far. I recommend you read todd fan's Sidney Chronicles. This story is part of that continuity. The X-Men will appear in the future. Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait to beta-read more from you!
Disclaimer: "David, are you drunk?" - Miss Miller, A Chipmunk Adventure
Chapter 22: Viral Brawl!
Dr. Winter's Lab
"Who is that?" Dr. Winter exclaimed.
"Virus." Ace snarled.
"Looks like a scrawny little geek to me." Bobby smirked, crossing his arms.
"Hand over your device, human." Virus snarled. "You organic tyrants' day has finally ended!"
"End this, you psycho!" Karma snarled. Her eyes started to glow pink.
"Oh, boy." Rictor gulped.
"Get down, doctor!" Fontaine shoved Dr. Winter to the ground.
"What's with Shan's eyes?" Bobby wondered.
"Shan's mutant power is the ability to control minds, remember?" Ace reminded the ice-maker.
"Hey Virus! Time for you to do a stupid dance!" Shan growled. She shot a beam of pink energy from her head. The beam hit Virus right in the middle of his banded forehead. Virus smirked as Shan's mind attempted to connect and dominate Virus's. "Uh…I…can't…get into his mind!"
"My dearest Karma, you must take me for a fool." Virus smirked. "You really believed I would not remember all the times we battled?" The insane Brit burst out laughing. "I invented a device to protect me head from being taken over by the likes of you."
You know, a part of me doesn't seem to mind that in the least. Shan muttered to herself mentally. The last time I took over Virus's mind, I had to take a lot of showers.
"Hey Virus! Protect yourself from this!" Rictor roared as the muscles on the young Mexican's arms appeared to bulge slightly with sonic power. Ace's right eye and claws glowed blue as he snarled. Bobby's fists glowed with blue energy.
"BLAST HIM!" Bobby roared. Bobby let rip with two ice beams. Ace's claws fired blue laser beams, and Rictor's hands released waves of sonic energy.
"Yipe!" Virus's jetpack created an electronic green-colored energy aura around him. "NYEARGH!" The blasts scored a direct hit, knocking Virus back. The aura protected Virus from the sonic waves and lasers, but he found himself trapped under a heavy layer of ice. "What the?"
"Going down, Virus?" Bobby smirked. The weight of the ice was too much for Virus's jetpack to handle, and it caused Virus to fall toward the ground, screaming.
"It'll take more than a hunk of ice and a fall from a great height to stop that loony Virus." Shan growled. She ran out of the room. "I'm getting the others."
"We'll intercept him!" Ace, Bobby, and Rictor ran out of the room.
"Come, Dr. Winter." Fontaine took the device and helped Dr. Winter up. "We must take steps to move your device. Virus will stop at nothing to get it."
"That Virus is…so…is so young." Dr. Winter blinked. "You told me he was a techno-terrorist."
"When someone has Virus's insanity, his determination, his genius, and his talents, thy can accomplish quite a lot." Fontaine responded. "Besides, he doesn't think of himself as a terrorist. He thinks of himself as a freedom fighter. He believes machines are being oppressed." Meanwhile, in the waiting room, the rest of Freedom Force were snoozing or occupying their time.
"Guys, wake up! Virus is attacking!" Ace yelled as he, Bobby, and Rictor raced by.
"Zzzzzzzzzzzz…" Kyle jerked awake. "Hey what where huh beat up jabroni!" He ran to the other snoozing kids. Even Shiro had fallen asleep. Kyle smirked evilly. He slapped Shiro across the face, waking up the Japanese teenager rather rudely.
"HEY! You baka!" Shiro snapped, holding his cheek.
"Wake up the others, you jabroni! That idiot Virus is at it again!" Kyle snapped. He then ran off to join the others. A grumbling Shiro got up and set to work waking up the others. The four mutants raced out of the building. They found Virus
"NYARGH!" Virus broke his way out of the ice that held him down. "You bloody organics!" His jetpack transformed into a futuristic metal backpack.
"Oh, shut up!" Bobby snapped, creating two large spikes made of ice. "Eat icicle!" Bobby pitched the icicles at Virus. The British mutant smirked.
"Nice try, mutant." Virus smirked. A pair of tentacles tipped with three double-jointed fingers, like those of Spider-Man's foe Dr. Octopus, popped out of Virus's backpack. "Me Battle Pack always has surprises and gadgets for very occasion." The tentacles caught the ice spikes and crushed them effortlessly.
"You think a fancy techno-bag of tricks can stop me?" Bobby snarled. "Me?"
"Hey man, don't lose it! Virus is one mean hombre! We gotta be cool!" Rictor tried to calm down the ice-maker, but to no avail. With a war cry that sounded like an enraged animal, Bobby Drake charged toward Virus. As he charged, Bobby transformed into his icy form. He turned one of his fists into maces made of ice.
"STOP THIS!" Bobby roared. He nailed Virus right in the jaw. The blow knocked Virus into the air. A second pair of tentacles erupted from Virus's Battle Pack and hit the ground, stopping Virus's flight and holding him in mid air. A pair of machine guns sprouted up from the Battle Pack over his shoulders.
"Eat laser!" Virus mentally commanded the Battle Pack, and with a rat-tat-tat sound, the machine guns started firing blue laser bursts. Bobby stopped and created a small wall of ice in front of him, blocking the blasts.
"My turn!" Ace snarled, racing towards Bobby.
"Blast!" Virus growled. A group of what appeared to be chains made of electricity whipped out of nowhere from behind Virus. The chains wrapped around the tentacles, pulling them back. "AGH!" Kyle tugged on his construct chains.
"What's the matter, ya pencil-neck geek jabroni? Was the Thunderbolt underfoot?" Kyle teased as he pulled on his chains. Ace leapt into the air, using Bobby's shoulder and the top of the ice wall as steps to gain height. He fired his claw lasers, hitting and destroying Virus's guns. With a high-pitched scream from the insane mutant, Virus's tentacles whipped forward.
"HEY! LOOK OUT!" Kyle yelled. The tentacles sent Kyle flying forward. The electrokinetic slammed into Ace in mid-air, knocking them both to the ground. "Oh, the Thunderbolt's gonna be sore in the morning…"
"Thank God for my healing factor." Ace moaned. A screech was heard. Virus turned around and saw a black car race out of the building. A little rectangular window came down from Virus's headband over his right eye. The window displayed results of a scan. Virus's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
"NO!" Virus yelled. "Bloody organics!" He moved to chase after the car, but… "ARGH!" He got ambushed by a couple streams of fiery plasma. "What?" He saw Sunfire fly in front of him.
"You shall not pass." The samurai scowled.
"I don't think so. Out of my way, organic." Virus growled. "WAGH!" Velocity zipped in and used tornado-powered punches to knock Virus's tentacles out from under him. "Agh!" John leapt out of nowhere and put Virus in a headlock. "Get off me, you savage!"
"Time for the baby to go to sleep!" John growled.
"I said, get off!" Virus howled. One of the tentacles grabbed John and pitched the Apache powerhouse into a charging Bobby.
"Oof!"
"Watch where you're flying, you big idiot!" Bobby snapped.
"After him!" Sunfire yelled. He, Rictor, and Velocity tried to charge the insane English mutant.
"I don't think so, organics." Virus smirked. A column made of light popped up from the back of Virus's Battle Pack. It erupted into a big, bright flash of light, blinding Freedom Force. "So long, you stupid Yanks!" Virus's backpack retracted the tentacles, and then morphed into a jetpack. The crazed English kid took to the air. Using a HUD built into his headband, Virus found the car that raced out of the building. A pair of tentacles popped out of the Pack and tore the roof of the car wide open. Karma was driving. In the passenger seat was Dr. Winter with the Nanite Generator in his lap. In the back seat, Fontaine and Lila pointed weapons at Virus. Fontaine had a pistol, and Lila had what appeared to be a futuristic crossbow.
"Hey, Virus! Infect this!" Lila crowed. Fontaine fired her pistol and Lila's crossbow fired what appeared to be yellow arrow-shaped blasts of energy. The crossbow was a souvenir Lila picked up during her time in space. An electronic green energy aura appeared around Virus. The aura deflected the bullets and laser arrows.
"Ha!" Virus cackled, firing a pair of missiles from his pack. The missiles hit the ground in front of the car, causing it to veer out of control, and the passengers to scream. Virus cackled as he sent one of his tentacles into the car, snatching the Nanite Generator! "Thank you, Dr. Winter! You just helped spell the end of your organic kind!"
Next: Aftermath!