Black Ice

Disclaimer: "Toro. That sounds like a load of bull." - Roger Moore as James Bond, Octopussy

Chapter 33: Sapphire Twilight Part 4: Reunion

The Xavier Institute

"Unh!" Sam Guthrie groaned. Bobby Drake had dropped him like a sack in a wooded area of the Institute's grounds. The Kentuckian mutant moaned. He looked up into Bobby's eyes. Bobby's blue eyes. Eyes that displayed a deep burning rage, and a madness brought on by a desire for vengeance.

"Now you just stay put, Sammy boy." Bobby smirked. He closed up his trenchcoat and put on his glasses. "You know, I'm almost going to miss the X-Men. Sure, they used me, lied to me, screwed me over, treated me like something less than a dog, and turned on me, but I had some fun in those times." Bobby chuckled. "Don't worry, Sammy-boy. I'll take good care of them." Bobby took a look around. "Looks like no one is home." He carefully crept onto the grounds, and used his ice powers to make a column. He snuck into the top floor of the Institute. He carefully crept to a staircase and peered down. He saw a few members of the New Mutants, and Kurt, around a video game. Jerks. Heartless jerks. You're all gonna die. He crept into a random room, and looked around. "Hello…" He noticed he was in a playroom. "Looks like someone had time to make a family." The psychotic ice-maker eyed a crib. "Hello…" He walked carefully towards it. He saw two babies, a little less than a year old, snoozing together. One was a girl with black hair, and the other was a boy with blue hair. They look like Beast and Storm's. How cute. Pity they'll never see their parents again. Or even remember them. His mad grin appearing on his face, Bobby pointed a glowing hand at the two babies.

The Institute, some time later

The X-Van pulled up in front of the Institute. Emerging from the van were several members of the X-Men: Cyclops, Storm, Beast, Rogue, Colossus, and Jean Grey. Sage had some out from the driver's seat.

"Man, that was a strange trip." Scott sighed. "Remind me never to go there ever again."

"Oh relax, Scott." Jean chuckled. "At least I got some great shopping in."

"And I got this wonderful new plant." Storm smiled, holding up a potted plant with blue flowers on it. The rest of the Institute's residents poured out. "Hello." She gave Forge a peck on the cheek.

"The Professor is now on his way to Washington." Sage announced. "He hopes the Institute will remain standing." Bobby overheard this with help from his evolved powers.

Blast it! The crazed ice-maker thought. Too bad he's not here. I had something special planned for that bald wheelchair-bound jerk. Aw well, at least I can torture him by wiping out his traitor students. He climbed up the back wall.

"We have stayed out of trouble since Self-friends had left." The yellow-and-black techno-organic New Mutant called Warlock smiled.

"Aye." Rahne Sinclair, the red-haired Scottish werewolf codenamed Wolfsbane nodded. "I'm a little worried about Sam. He went out to the bookstore to pick up some book he saw, and he has nae returned."

"I wouldn't worry too much, Rahne." Jean reassured. "Sam can take care of himself."

"Yeah, he's fine." Tabitha Smith, the blonde energy bomb-making New Mutant codenamed Boom-Boom agreed.

"Aw, that's a shame." A voice blared. A familiar voice. "I was hoping he'd be here." The X-Men turned and looked up. They saw Bobby Drake, smirk on his face, sitting on the roof. "I was in the mood to pay a visit."

"Bobby!" Danielle Moonstar, a Cheyenne girl with the ability to project other people's nightmares, yelped. Bobby chuckled.

"You were expecting Spider-Man?" Bobby chuckled. He jumped off the roof, doing a flip, and landed perfectly on the ground on his feet like a cat. Obviously, the ice-maker had taken his Freedom Force training very seriously.

"Wow. How'd you do that?" Roberto da Costa, the Brazilian solar-powered New Mutant codenamed Sunspot wondered. Bobby only shrugged.

"Meh. I've been around. I pick up things over the past few months." Bobby shrugged.

"Bobby, where have you been for these past few months?" Scott wondered. "The Professor looked everywhere for you for four months."

"I guess he didn't look hard enough." Bobby chuckled. "Still got that stick in your butt, huh?"

Scott, something weird is going on. Jean told her boyfriend telepathically.

What is it, Jean?

I haven't sensed anything from Bobby. Jean answered. It's like he's completely managed to seal his mind off from me. Scott immediately got worried.

"Bobby, we have missed ye." Rahne smiled.

"Yeah, man. It's been kinda boring without your pranks." Tabby agreed with a smirk. "Ain't that right, Amara?" The Roma Novan princess nodded.

"Good to have you back, Popsicle." Logan smirked. "Where you been?"

"First of all, please don't call me Popsicle. I never was a fan of that." Bobby answered evenly. "And secondly…I've been around."

"Oh, man!" Kurt noticed his watch. "I have to go get ze babies! Zey should be waking up right now from zheir nap." He teleported away with the trademark BAMF!

"The babies love Kurt. Especially little Imara. She can't stop talking about him…literally." Beast smiled. Bobby nodded.

"Anyway, it is very nice to see you have returned." Storm continued.

"Yeah, we missed you." Forge agreed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Bobby grunted. "It's nice to be back." A scream was heard. Kurt yelled out the window.

"ZE BABIES! THEY'RE GONE!"

"WHAT?" Storm, Forge, and Beast yelled. He teleported near the group.

"Zey weren't in zheir crib!" Kurt gasped.

"Maybe they wandered off." Bobby suggested calmly to the German blue-furred demon-like mutant. "Babies do tend to do that. Especially if those babies are children of X-Men." Jean then suddenly picked up a telepathic moan.

Jean…help me… Jean turned around and saw a panting, moaning, bloodied, and battered Sam limp out of the woods. He was clutching his shoulder. "Sam!" She exclaimed.

"Sammy!" Rahne exclaimed in horror. The rest of the New Mutants raced to their leader. Rahne propped him out. Scott noticed that Bobby didn't seem to react at all to Sam's condition.

"Bobby…" Sam choked out. "Bobby…did…this…" He hacked.

"Bobby?" Scott turned to the ice-maker. "What happened to Sam?" Bobby removed his glasses, revealing his blue eyes. "Bobby…" He took a step back. "Your eyes."

"I know…" Bobby smirked, his eyes starting to glow. "Like them? My mutation's been doing some growing." The sky began to grow darker, and snow started to fall. He turned to the X-Men's instructors. "Storm, Forge, Beast…I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your children will never see you again. You see, I had an ulterior motive for coming here." He quickly whipped around, and punched Scott out with an icy fist. He transformed into his new ice form. "I'VE RETURNED TO MAKE YOU ALL PAY FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE TO ME!" With a pained cry like a feral demon driven mad, Bobby thrust out his arms. A blizzard erupted from his body in all directions. The blizzard sent the screaming X-Men flying. "AND THE ICEMAN SHALL WREAK HAVOC ON THOSE WHO BETRAY AND BRUTALIZE WITH VENGEANCE AND FURIOUS ANGER!" He started cackling like the psychotic madman he had become.

"Uhn…" Jean moaned, trying to steady herself with her TK. She went into Bobby's mind, and it made her frightened. So much pain…so much anger…so much bitterness…it's twisted his mind…where did this all come from? "Bobby! Wait!" Bobby snarled at the redhead. "Please! Bobby, you're feeling a lot of pain."

"You have no idea!" Bobby snarled. "You all treated me like garbage! You all thought of me as nothing but some stupid clown you could all abuse and mistreat to your little hearts' content!" Jean couldn't believe it.

"Bobby…" Jean gasped. "Why? Why would you think that?"

"Why do you think, Jean? And since when do you care about me? You never did before!" Bobby roared, blasting Jean with an ice beam. The beam came so fast, Jean wasn't able to deflect it. She got frozen solid.

"JEAN!" Scott screamed. Bobby grinned at her.

"Prissy old red-haired hag. ARGH!" He found himself bound by yellow-and-black ropes. The ropes were Warlock.

"Self-friend Bobby, you must calm down!" Warlock tried to calm down the ice-maker.

"Friend? FRIEND?" Bobby roared. "AFTER ALL YOU HAVE DONE TO ME, YOU LIAR? YOU TRAITOR!" His eyes flashed, and Warlock got frozen solid. Expanding his chest, Bobby broke free, shattering the alien.

"WARLOCK!" Forge yelled. "NO!"

"Goddess…" Storm shuddered in front. "No…" Bobby stopped.

"I killed Warlock…" Bobby looked at his hands. "I froze him and shattered him like glass. I took his life…" He started to laugh. He laughed the laugh of a man who had sold his soul, and not cared in the least. "I DESTROYED AN X-MAN! AND I LOVED IT! WHO'S NEXT? WHO ELSE WANTS TO DIE TODAY! WHA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" A battered Sam could only watch as a person he once called a friend transformed into a monster.

Mah God… Sam mentally shuddered, a chill going down his spine. It's like Bobby's made a deal with the Devil. Forget a deal, it's like he's become the Devil!

Next: Sapphire Twilight Part 5: X-Fall Bobby Drake, now completely consumed by insanity, gives the X-Men the worst beating they had ever endured. Could this be the end of our merry mutants?