Black Ice
To RogueFanKC: Hey there, Rogue Fan! Nice to hear from you again! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! You'll see what Virus will do with the Nanotech down the line. As for how he could be so prepared, let me explain. Virus is often underestimated because he's nuts and arrogant. But he's also intelligent. Very intelligent. He's not a dope. You also have to assume Freedom Force and Virus battled before the events of "Black Ice", so he'd remember and be prepared. Bobby's presence did surprise him, but Virus is a quick thinker. He'd recover fast. As for what Virus plans to do with the nanotech, he said it himself: The nanotech will be used towards ridding Earth of all organic life. Oh, you can bet Bobby will not be happy. Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait for new chapters of "Apokolips Deferred"!
To Red Witch: Hey there, Red Witch! Nice to hear from you again! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! Yeah, it can be tough keeping track of all those plotlines. Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait for new chapters of "Evolution XMJ"!
To Draco-luver: Hey there, Draco! Nice to hear from you! I'm very glad you liked the last chapter! Oh, you can bet that this is not going to be good. 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! I read the new chapter of "Gifts and Curses", and I loved it! Insanity and an unhappy reunion! And this isn't really a cliffhanger. Enjoy the new chapter, and I can hardly wait for new chapters of "Slugs and Snails", "Random Tales of the Magic Roundabout", and "Gifts and Curses"!
Disclaimer: "Good, bad, I'm the one with the gun." - Bruce Campbell as Ash, Army of Darkness
Chapter 23: Aftermath!
Freedom Force HQ
In some of the wooded area around Freedom Force HQ, one member of the government-trained mutant tam was throwing an equivalent of a temper tantrum.
"RAAAAAAAARRRRRR!" Bobby roared angrily. He punched a tree with a blue-glowing fist. The tree froze solid on impact, and it collapsed. "RAAAAAAAAAGH!" Bobby performed his 'Flash-Freeze Punch' on another tree, freezing it and bringing it down. "All that power…All…my…power…and I couldn't bring down a little GEEK! AAAAAAAAAARGH!" He felled another tree the same way he felled the last two. "I'LL KILL HIM! HE WILL DIE! RARRRRRRR!"
"Yipe!" Ace had walked into the woods to check on Bobby. He had seen one of the frozen trees fall almost on top of him. Luckily, the ever-cool feral mutant managed to use his enhanced agility to roll out of the way.
"NARRRRRRGH!" Still in his tantrum, Bobby fired a blue energy beam at Ace from his fist.
"Wah!" Ace barely managed to dodge the energy beam. "Bobby! Calm down! It's me, you lunatic!"
"Nrg." Bobby growled, breathing very deeply, baring his gritted teeth. "I should've beat him…I should've beat him…I SHOULD HAVE BEAT HIM!" Bobby roared in rage and felled another tree. "I HAVE ALL THIS POWER! WHY DIDN'T I BEAT HIM?"
"Whoa, hey! We're all feeling it!" Ace tried to calm down the enraged ice-maker. "Look man, we're all a little bummed out, a little frustrated."
"You have no idea." Bobby grumbled.
"Look, Bobby. You didn't do too bad out there, bro." Ace reassured. "You sure gave Virus a shock."
"It wasn't enough!" Bobby snapped. "I was too weak! I wasn't strong enough to stop him!"
"You weren't fighting him alone, Bobby. We work as a team, dude." Ace explained. "Besides, Virus is a wily little worm. He comes off as a psychotic little self-centered idiot, but he's actually very smart and very wily. He believes in preparation. You shocked him, but he recovers quick. He's a tough little jerk." The feral ran a hand through his mane-like two-tone hair. "We've had our share of wins and losses when it comes to him."
"That's not the point, Ace!" Bobby yelled. "This is not about wins and losses! I left the X-Men because they made me feel weak and useless. I have been constantly trying to improve and strengthen my powers! I am not weak! I will not be thought of as weak! But I couldn't beat Virus! I'm weak!"
"Even the strongest fighters get beaten on occasion!" Ace told Bobby. "Take Magneto, for example. The X-Men beat Magneto a couple times, and I heard that he's no slouch in power. And what about Pickles? You whooped him good."
"Only because I had Velocity and Thunderbolt." Bobby growled. "I didn't beat him alone. I wasn't powerful enough alone."
"That's why Freedom Force is a team." Ace the ice-maker. "Sometimes, it's best to have friends help you." Bobby sighed and walked away.
He doesn't get it. He just doesn't get it. He's not listening to me. Bobby sighed. Why isn't he listening to me? Bobby trudged into the HQ. He walked into a computer room. He saw Lila typing at a computer.
"Blast!" She growled, hitting the desk with her fist. "I shouldn't be surprised! That little bag of snot is quite talented at covering his tracks on the Net."
"What're you talking about?" Bobby wondered.
"One of Virus's powers is the ability to transform himself into living binary code. In that state, he can actually enter and interface with electronics, including cyberspace itself." Lila grumbled. "He can hide anywhere in the world, and he can't be found unless he wants to be. The wonders of the Internet."
"Never imagined you for a techno-geek." Bobby smirked, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.
"There's a lot you don't know about me." Lila smirked at the ice-maker. "I spent a lot of my life in space. I've learned quite a lot of stuff out in the big black yonder. You'd be surprised what I can do, Bobby."
"Yeah, yeah." Bobby muttered. "What I'd like to know is, why would Virus steal a whole bunch of nanites? According to you guys, he's a technological genius. Why couldn't he just build some nanites himself? He probably could."
"Classic reason, Drake." Lila shrugged. "Why should Virus build? Dr. Winter did all the work. Just take it."
"But for what?" Bobby blinked.
"That's probably the one aspect of him that is predictable." Lila shrugged. "Everything he does is toward one goal: The destruction of organic life."
"The Nanite Generator needs to be programmed to even touch organic cells!" Bobby growled. "And that thing only had enough nanites to repair a patch of skin."
"Yeah…" Lila ran a hand through her long black hair. Bobby growled.
"He wouldn't have had that thing if I was stronger…" Bobby muttered. "I need to be stronger…" Lila blinked.
"What're you talking about?"
"I wasn't powerful enough to stop Virus." Bobby growled.
"You didn't fail, Bobby." Lila re-assured. "Virus is a cunning little jerk. His mind combined with his powers makes him one dangerous guy."
"If I was stronger, I could have wiped him right off the face of the Earth!" Bobby snarled. "And that psycho wouldn't have the generator!"
"Maybe you should go train with John." Lila suggested. "He hits the bag whenever he gets frustrated. Of course…the bag usually is sent flying several hundred feet." Bobby rolled his eyes.
"I don't think Thunderbird would b interested in training with me." The ice-maker left the room. He walked down the hall a little ways, then punched the wall. I need to be stronger…I can't be weak…I'm not weak anymore…
A warehouse in an unknown location
The warehouse was empty, completely threadbare…except for a table, a chair, a laptop, and a lamp. The lamp shone on the Nanite Generator. A black shadow covered in electronic green binary code leapt out of the laptop, and then transformed into Virus. The insane Brit smirked.
"Stupid Freedom Force…" Virus smirked. "They're just like all other life forms: stupid."
Next: More Adventures with Freedom Force!