Black Ice
Disclaimer: "Holy schnikeys!"
Chapter 45: Battle in Bayville
Bayville
The city was in chaos. People were fleeing in terror. The city appeared to have gone mad. Cars were trying to run people down. Appliances rampaged in the streets. And the Bayville Mall was being transformed into some kind of castle-like complex by a combination of stolen nanites and an organic steel generator. It was part of a plan by a mad mutant to remake the Earth in his twisted image.
"Ha!" John Proudstar, the powerhouse Apache mutant codenamed Thunderbird, roared as he smashed a blender with his fist, and tore apart a refrigerator with his bare hands.
"Yipe!" Gina Tolensky, the plant-manipulating Italian-American codenamed Botanica, dressed in a green costume with a yellow and gold sash in a vine theme and yellow boots, yelped as she dodged the strike of a flying power saw, and then grabbed a lead pipe and smashed in the saw. She also summoned several vines to block a car that was coming towards her. "These things are crazy! They never stop coming!"
"Tell me about it!" Terrell Mason, the African-American speedster and aerokinetic mutant codenamed Velocity, grumbled. He was using his superhuman speed to dodge the attacks of several power drills. His eyes glowed white, and he summoned a gust to smash the drills into a brick wall. "Can someone please tell me what this is all about?"
"What do you think?" Ace Starr, the LA-born lion-like feral mutant codenamed Wildstar, quipped as he used his feral agility to dodge a car, and then use his claws to slash it open with a feline hiss. "Man, I tell you! This'd make a great TV special!"
"Oh yeah, When Machines Attack." Kyle Wildfire, the Boston-born electrokinetic codenamed Thunderbolt, groaned as he blasted several more power saws with lightning bolts. "That'll be great. If we make it out of here alive, the Thunderbolt's going to whup you for even suggesting it, Lion-Boy!" He then formed a couple saw blades out of electricity, and threw them with perfect aim into a cement mixer, which was trying to ram him, with explosive results. "That truck went out with a bang, jabroni!" Kyle turned and saw a Ferrari head towards Gina. "Gina! Heads up!" Kyle yelled, pitching a spike made of electricity. Gina turned and rolled out of the way as the spike flew towards her. The spike hit the Ferrari's engine, causing it to explode, stopping the car cold. Gina blinked at the car, and then turned to Kyle, who only blushed and laughed. Gina rolled her eyes and shook her head, a small smile on her face.
"Where's Shan?" Lila Cheney, the interstellar teleporter codenamed Starway, yelled out as she fired her laser crossbow at a rampaging washer and dryer. "She said she'd return with backup! Where's the backup?" She got her answer in the form of a sonic scream flying over her head, and hitting a wild car. Lila looked up, and saw the Irish redheaded Nightshift member Theresa Rourke, also known as Siryn. "Huh?"
"Yuir backup is here!" She explained. The members of Freedom Force looked up and saw Lucas Xavier, the telepathic pyrokinetic Scottish MPD-afflicted mutant called Legion, landing on the ground with help from his telekinesis. Next to him was Xi'an "Shan" Coy Manh, the Vietnamese mind-controller codenamed Karma. He was also flanked by his fellow members of Nightshift.
"It's alright." Elizabeth Guthrie, the size-shifting Kentuckian blonde called Amazon, reassured. "We're here to help."
"Under protest." Lucas grumbled under his breath, crossing his arms.
"Quiet, you!" Lizzie snapped at him in a whisper.
"Figured you guys could use some more muscle." Japheth, the South African mutant called Maggott, grinned, flexing his muscles.
"Man, I thought Nightshift wouldn't have to deal with stuff like this." Alex Summers, the blond-haired plasma generator codenamed Havok, sighed. "But I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised that I got dragged into this superhero stuff." Alex looked up at the sky. "I guess it's because I'm a Summers, right? It's because I'm related to Cyclops, right?"
"Probably." Lorna Dane, the green-haired magnetic-manipulator codenamed Polaris, told Alex with a shrug.
"Thanks, Lorna. That makes me feel so much better." Alex rolled his eyes.
"Personally, I ain't complaining." Kyle Dibney, the feral mutant called Wild Child, smirked. "I kind of like this alliance idea. We get to fight!"
"Well, nice to meet a fellow feral." Ace saluted at Wild Child. The Canadian rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, whatever." Wild Child grunted. Meanwhile, Lucas turned to Shan.
"This had better be bloody worth it." Lucas warned.
Stokes Maximum Security Facility
Bobby Drake sat in his cell quietly. He had spent a lot of time in it, thinking.
Well, here I am…again. The young ice-maker sighed to himself. I guess it could be worse. I could be dead…maybe it would've been better if I was dead. Bobby looked up at the ceiling. After all I had done…I don't even deserve to have the people I did in my life. Ace Starr, after all the stuff I did, all the garbage I pulled…he still bothered to visit me. After all that…he still wanted to be my friend. He still wanted to back me up. Bobby let out another sigh. I wish I could be like Ace. He is always smiling, always happy…nothing ever gets him down. Bobby turned his head towards the cell door. I guess it's far too late for me now. Not like I'll ever get out of here. I don't have anywhere to go…and nobody will take me in. Sure, Ace and Lila understand, but no one else. He noticed something odd. Funny…there are a lot of guards running about. Almost like they're preparing for something big to go down. One guard stopped at his cell. "Hey!" Bobby called at the guard.
"What do you want?" The guard looked at the ice-maker.
"What's going on here?" Bobby asked. "I've seen a lot of guards run by here in the past few moments.
"None of your business, kiddo." The guard groused. He then started to leave, but sighed and walked back to Bobby's cell. I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell the kid. "We're beefing up security. Those Freedom Force guys are facing off against that Virus lunatic in Bayville."
Virus… Bobby mentally scowled. He's one of the last names I want to hear.
"Oh yeah." The guard nodded to himself. "They say he's a wild one. I hope those Freedom Force kids catch him. If they are, they'll be real heroes if they do."
"…I used to be a hero." Bobby sighed to himself.
"Hm?" The guard turned his head. "What'd you say, kid?"
"…I used to be a hero." Bobby repeated sadly. "I was once a hero. I used to be in Freedom Force myself."
"Oh, yeah…" The guard remembered. "They say you went nuts on the town."
"I used to be in the X-Men. You may have heard of them on the news." Bobby explained. The guard nodded.
"Oh yeah…those mutants on the TV during that whole Sentinel thing." The guard nodded, remembering the infamous "Day of Reckoning". Bobby grunted.
"Oh yeah. That was a bad time." Bobby sighed. "Anyway, I had left the X-Men a while back due to some…personal problems. Let's just say I grew disillusioned and angry with them. I spent time wandering around the frozen areas of Canada." Bobby looked down. "I spent my time there training my powers…and letting my anger stew." Bobby sighed. "I felt that they had turned on me. I made some mistakes. I… was found and taken in by Freedom Force. They tried to help me." Bobby looked up at the guard. The part of his face that wasn't hidden by his semi-long brown hair was marked by sadness, the uncovered ice blue eye showing loneliness and regret. "They tried to help me let go of my anger. I had friends…Wildstar…Starway…Thunderbolt…they tried to talk to me. They tried to show me that I wasn't alone…I pushed them away. They kept trying to help me…and I just…pushed them away. I…I…snapped." Bobby sighed. "I tried to kill my old X-Men teammates. My old friends…simply because I screwed up…and my best friend unintentionally hurt me." The guard listened intently as Bobby continued. "I tried to kill a guy for an imagined crime…and for making me feel weak and worthless. I tried to kill his girlfriend…A girl I was once in love with…because she broke my heart and didn't realize it…"
"…Wow." The guard interjected. "Looks like you had it rough, kid."
"…Tell me about it." Bobby grumbled. "I'm not even twenty years old and already I feel like an old man…"
"Nah." The guard shrugged. "When you turn twenty-one and have a mid-life crisis, then you'll feel like an old man." Bobby groaned as the guard snickered. "It's a joke, kid. You know, the things that are supposed to make you laugh?" Bobby sighed.
"Sorry…" The ice-maker apologized sadly. "It's just that…I haven't laughed in a long time. I never had any reason to. I got rid of my sense of humor a long time ago. I used to be a joker. I used to be a prankster. I used to love comedy. Nowadays…I don't see what's so funny about anything anymore."
"That's sad, kid." The guard shook his head. "That really is."
"Yeah." Bobby admitted. "It is. I did something so horrible."
"You snapped, kid." The guard countered. "It wasn't your fault. Your mind got messed up."
"Tell that to the X-Men." Bobby sighed.
"Look, kid…" The guard started. "You know, they say that those who want redemption will find it."
"…I don't deserve redemption." Bobby sighed. "Who would forgive me?"
"That girl that visited you earlier." The guard suggested. "She wouldn't have come to see you if she didn't think you didn't deserve to have anyone care about you."
"Yeah, Lila's all heart." Bobby agreed. "Why does she do it, though? I pushed her away so many times ,yet she still kept trying to get through to me."
"Maybe she understood you, kid." The guard answered. "Seemed that way to me…Look at it this way, kid. Unlike some of these people, you regret what you did. The only direction you can go from here is up."
"I doubt that'll happen." Bobby sighed. "I doubt I'll be able to get out of this."
"I'm sure you will, kid." The guard reassured. "The first thing you gotta do…is forgive yourself. Once you forgive yourself…you can work to redeem yourself. I gotta go, kid. Think about what I said." The guard walked on to his post, leaving Bobby alone to think.
Maybe… The ice-maker thought to himself. Maybe…maybe he has a point. But how? How do I do this?
Next: Breakout As Freedom Force and Nightshift fight their way through Bayville, Bobby decides to do something big to redeem himself.