Mutation

Disclaimer

I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this story, and make no claims to the artistic visions of the marvel universe. I know nothing of the sexuality of any of the creators, actors, or characters involved in the Marvel universe. Similarly, this story contains graphic descriptions of gay male sex. If you don't like that, then you should probably avert your eyes.

This story takes place in an alternate X-Men universe from the one in which the 3rd movie took place. Certain events occurred after X2 which changed the timeline. Jean, Scott and Professor X are all still alive. The specifics of the timeline changes may be made apparent as the story progresses.

Chapter 17 -- "The Rise of the IceHeart King"

"Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice" -- Robert Frost

Jared Thompson struggled against the unyielding grips of the two Ice Elementals that were dragging him against his will. Their frozen three-fingered hands were painfully cold on his skin, even through the thick sweater he wore to protect himself from the unnatural weather. He tried to use his legs to generate leverage with which to struggle, but could not find purchase on the frozen ground. They traveled through empty streets and passed many empty stores. The city buildings loomed high above, but showed no signs of life. The buildings were frozen, their entire outsides covered in ice and snow and the streets resembled skating rinks. The air was frigid and unwelcoming. Eventually, their destination came into view. As the mindless ice beings rounded a corner, the beautiful and terrifying Castle IceHeart loomed before them.

The Castle IceHeart stood alone, shining like a giant diamond in the cool but clear sunlight. The castle towers were sometimes overshadowed by dark storm clouds, but today the sky was empty, and the sun cast down a cold light which failed to bring warmth. The palace stood atop a mountain of ice up thrust from the frozen surface of the Great Salt Lake. It loomed over the frozen Salt Lake City, as it had for months now.

Jared's arms began to numb from cold as he and the elementals reached the base of the long, smooth ramp which ascended from the surface of the lake up to the gate of the castle. It was a long walk up, and Jared was afraid to struggle too much, lest he slip off the ramp and fall over the steep cliff onto the rock-solid ice below. Eventually the gate loomed over him; the doors open wide, fearless of any assault. He saw many more elementals now, both of water and ice. The mindless beings were everywhere, moving to and fro following an unseen will. But nowhere did Jared see a being of flesh and blood.

They climbed, those three, up many stairs and through many gates, always upward. Jared passed through great empty halls and up grand empty staircases. This palace was beautiful but horrible, cold and empty. Finally, they brought him to the high tower, to a vast domed circular room lined with thick, solid pillars of ice. On one side was a sizeable opening which extended into a short balcony which looked down on Salt Lake City. Opposite the balcony rose an altar, in three tiers flowing smoothly upward. Upon the altar stood a great throne of solid ice, roughly formed but flowing organically up from the floor, resembling a crystal formation with a flat spot for a seat. The room itself was incredible, otherworldly and awe inspiring. But it was nothing compared to the being who sat upon the Seat of Winter.

The IceHeart King sat still on his throne, and was the very image of terrifying power. His skin was a pale blue and was nearly translucent, a faint energy seemed to ripple just beneath its surface. Cold vapor came off of his entire body. His eyes shone brightly silver and had an unfeeling ruthless quality to them. His body was compact and tightly defined with muscle and glittered with frozen water droplets. He wore no true clothes, as no fabrics existed which could withstand the unnaturally cold temperature of his body. Instead a multitude of molecule-thin sheets of water hung from an intricately wrought ice belt at his waist, wrapping him in what looked like a long shimmering multi-layered shin-length skirt which flowed in a nonexistent wind. His fingernails had been replaced with sharp ice, and looked like they could extend into significant claws. Upon his brow say a crown of pure, clear, glittering ice, with six claw-like portions rising

uppward from the main circlet at even intervals. The very air around him seemed to shudder with anticipation of power, as if the very world held its breath to see what he would do.

Jared looked up from the floor where he had been deposited by the elementals, heedless of the cold seeping up into his knees from the ice beneath him. He saw what had become of his former conquest, the boy he had manipulated and used for his own selfish needs. He saw who he had wronged and it filled him with terror and dread.

"I told you I was sorry" Jared said, his dark brown eyes wide with fear. He was a strong man, but was grossly unprepared for this situation. He had tried to apologize after he saw Alex destroy the Firebird which tried to burn Salt Lake City to the ground, but the mutant had refused his apology.

"I still don't forgive you" said IceHeart, stepping forward. His voice was multi-harmonic, seeming to come from several throats, and resembled the sound of an arctic breeze whistling between glaciers. His foot made a strange sound against the floor, the sound of ice sliding on ice along with the sound of something very heavy touching down.

"I know. But if it's me you wanted, why did you do this to your home? You froze over and oppressed the entire state, covered it with unending and unnatural winter for the past two months. If all you wanted was me, why do all of this?"

The expression on IceHeart's face almost resembled a smile, but the crinkle of disgust in his nose turned it into something entirely different.

"I did not do that for you. You are small, and my plans are very, very big."

"Then why?"

"I am here to bring this place to order. Humanity cannot stop trying to destroy itself and the world, and it must all be put to a stop. If you cannot show wisdom or restraint on your own, then it must be forced upon you. This infighting and malcontent must stop now. I do what I must."

"Then why am I here?"

IceHeart opened his right hand, and suddenly, seemingly from nowhere, a weapon appeared which was unlike anything Jared had seen before. It was a hammer of pure glacier-blue ice, with a long staff-like handle. The head of the hammer was wide and thick, tapering out to one end to make a large rounded square surface which gleamed like a mirror, and tapering down on the other side to come to a sharp point. All along the weapon intricate runes and symbols were etched into the ice, forming a beautiful yet horrifying weapon. Set in the heart of the hammer head was a core of water molecules cooled to absolute zero. The ice was so dense and so cold that it was as hard as adamantium and weighed over a hundred pounds, though IceHeart held it in only one hand. It was the Gelid Hammer, personal weapon of the IceHeart King.

Jared looked upon the shining weapon, and tried to scramble back, but found that his knees had frozen to the floor. "Please don't, Alex please."

At the sound of his given name, IceHeart lashed out with his left hand, backhanding Jared across the face. It was like being struck by a hand made of iron, and Jared's skin bruised and split from the impact.

"Do not ever call me by that name" IceHeart said, his voice calm and cool, as though he had not just lashed out and violently struck someone.

"I'm sorry" he said quickly, his hands rose in a feeble attempt to protect himself. His dark eyes were wide with fear.

"Why doesn't anyone ever mean that? You aren't sorry; you only don't want to be hurt again. You don't feel bad about saying something so insensitive; you just don't want to deal with the consequences." Still IceHeart voiced no emotion, only a cold and calculating logic which made sense only to him. "You're just as stupid and dishonest as the rest of your species" he remarked, raising the hammer.

Jared wanted so much to close his eyes, but chose to stare defiantly into the pits of despair which served IceHeart for eyes. The Gelid Hammer descended, and he clung to the hope that his end would be swift and he would feel no pain.

He was wrong.

The hexagonal table in the U.S.S. Basilisk's War Room was covered entirely by a projected image of North America and its dismal state. The entire eastern coast of the United States was shaded in red, signaling Brotherhood occupation, now under the rule of the Phoenix. The red spread toward the heart of the U.S as far west as Texas in the south and Chicago in the north, though less progress had been made in the center. The red also spread north to incorporate Quebec, Montreal and Toronto, and south into northern Mexico. Ottawa, the Canadian capital, was nearly surrounded by red, the city under siege by mutant forces. The west coast and northern portions of the United States were shaded in green in the places where the Alliance was strong, except for Seattle, a Brotherhood controlled city currently under siege by the U.S. and Canadian militaries. In between the green and red was a swath of white across parts of Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Nevada, with

its center at Salt Lake City. The ID tag which would normally have read Great Salt Lake' now read Seat of Winter', as IceHeart's power base and throne were now referred. The white circle spread out a couple of miles every day as the unnatural permafrost continued to spread unabated in all directions.

"He's conquering land without even using any troops" declared Cyclops, back in his role as leader of the X-Men. "We have to be able to do something about it."

"I've tried aiming my mirror satellite toward the area" said Dr. Reed Richards, aka Mr Fantastic, "but it can only cover an area so large. The ice is no longer advancing towards Denver as quickly, but it is only slowed, not stopped." The satellite he was referring to reflected sunlight onto the surface of the ocean, originally intended to test theories to warm Mars' polar ice caps.

"Not even I can heat up an area that size" remarked Johnny Storm, who sat casually with his feet up on the table, throwing a ball of flame into the air and catching it over and over.

"I just don't understand how he can create and control all those elementals" said Ghost. "He is holding all of that territory with less than twenty mutants on his side, and thousands of elementals."

"That may be partially my responsibility" answered Professor Xavier. "When Alexander went blind, I personally taught him how to split his focus, so that he could use how powers to help him see. I also knew that, as a Class 5 mutant, he would need to learn this skill to realize his full potential. It seems he has learned far better and far faster than I ever could have predicted. These creatures of water and ice are tiny shards of his consciousness, responding to his will and attached to his mind by tiny threads. At any point he can focus on a single elemental and see what they are doing, give it commands and even speak through them. And at the same time he can still use his own powers and pay attention to what is physically around him. They are creatures of little more than base instincts, compelled to obey their master. It is the perfect system, for he has accomplished much with them, simply sitting by on his throne."

"Meanwhile the Phoenix just sits pretty, builds her forces and solidifies her base of power" said Peter Parker. "IceHeart appearing on the scene was the perfect timing, as it keeps us distracted while she does so." They all called Alex IceHeart. It was easier to call him by a different name than to attribute his terrible acts to the memory of a good person. That was just too much to bear.

"We need to help the resistance movement in Chicago, it is solid and they have had significant successes thus far" offered Emma Frost.

"We are helping them" said Storm. "We can't do much more without launching a full scale offensive."

"So lets launch one" growled Wolverine. He was frustrated by inaction, it did not come naturally to him.

"We don't have the resources Logan" reminded the Professor. "We are already spread far too thin."

"We don't have the resources for anything, but we still have a war to fight" Wolverine reminded everyone.

Sirens burst into life, the lights overhead flashed red. "All hands man your battle stations, we are under attack" stated a voice over the loudspeaker.

Of course, there was little good that battle stations would do against this particular attack. The sea beneath the massive Basilisk and its support fleet seemed to be rising against them. The waves churned and began knocking the ships off course, the waves so large they threatened to capsize the huge military vessels. The skies overhead were filled with a sudden storm, the black clouds belching forth curtains of lightning and hail. Black tornadoes descended from the clouds and touched down on the water, funneling yet more lightning and generating a horrendous wind. And directly in the path of the fleet, a figure rose out of the water. It was towering version of IceHeart, built up of frozen and perfectly shaped seawater. In his hand he held a great trident of ice, and white electricity crackled between its three points. An ungodly voice echoed across the distance, though the ice effigy's mouth did not move.

"You have all proven yourselves to be obstacles on my path toward peace and stability. I give you now one chance to lay down your arms against me. I hope that you will join me in my quest for the greater good, but if you do not have the stomach I merely ask you to stand aside and let me do what must be done. I am a merciful lord, and will hold no grudge for past actions."

said the Professor, his voice echoing in the minds of everyone in the fleet. <You must stop this madness now. We have always stood for tolerance and understanding, you know this. If peace and stability are truly your goals, then you must know that we are on the same side.>

"NO" shouted the ice giant, the shear force of volume painful to many ears. "Your methods have gained the world nothing, your tolerance is exactly the problem. Your bleeding hearts keep you from doing what must be done, to root out and destroy the corruption which decays the world. How many chances did you have to kill Magneto, a constant source of anarchy and malice? I killed him, I rid the world of his foul behavior and it is already better for it. But you let him live, time and again, under some sort of delusion that he might NOT turn around and and do something worse, even though he ALWAYS does. I will not be fooled by your lies and trickery and I won't let your cowardice poison my designs. I ask you again, to lay down your arms and swear that you will not raise them to try to stop me ever again."

<Please Alexander, you must listen to reason!>

"STOP calling me that!" shouted the effigy, and lighting flashed through the sky. "If you will not join me, and if you will not stand aside, then I will destroy you!"

A torrent of lightning and hail directed themselves at the ships, the hail puncturing hulls and smashing weapons and equipment and the lightning blasting whatever they touched. Huge tentacles of water broke the surface of the sea, and wrapping around the ships, began to crush them and pull them down. The ice effigy of IceHeart raised it's trident and pointed it towards the fleet. From the tip of the center prong of the trident loosed an immense bolt of lightning, the energy so bright that it was impossible to look at. The bolt struck the side of one of the Navy destroyers, where the energy coursed throughout the metal hull, killing the entire crew of hundreds long before the ship was pulled down by squid-like water tentacles.

The ships of the fleet opened fire, their heavy artillery exploding against the hulking ice body. The ice was intensely solid, but the weapons were strong and chipped away at it slowly. With a wave of its hand, the ice god raised up a huge wave, capsizing several vessels, and causing many more to abandon their attacks in favor of saving themselves from sinking. After smashing a ship aside with its trident, the effigy loosed another bolt of lightning, this one aimed at the Basilisk. But before the strike could land, it impacted an invisible shield which protected the ship. The energy lit the shield up like a white orb, the excess discharging into the ocean.

"The shields can't take many more hits like that" said the Admiral.

"They wont need to" said the Professor. His face grew intent and his gaze became distant as he focused his mind on things outside of the room.

The storm began to rage against the IceHeart effigy, as Storm threw her full power into disrupting it. She cast the clouds in random directions, dissipated lightning, and deflected winds. As IceHeart began to direct his mind to overwhelm the weather goddess, he felt an attack he was not fully prepared to counter. He felt the Professor invading his mind, felt the vast presence encroach upon his own. The Professor grappled psychically with IceHeart, the shear ruthlessness and coldness of his mind scalding him. All of IceHeart's mind was bent toward resisting the Professor, and so he was unable to withstand the combined strength of Storm's lightning, Cyclops's optic blast, and the heavy artillery of the Navy fleet. The immense ice body screamed aloud and shattered loudly, the release of energy sending out a shock wave which buffeted the ships and sent the winds into further disarray. Huge shards of ice fell into the sea and rained down upon the decks

of the ships. An eerie calm took over.

"Is he dead?" asked Wolverine, sheathing his claws.

"No," answered the Professor, his voice reflecting his exhaustion. "He was never really here. He projected his mind into the water molecules of the ocean from the Seat of Winter."

"Wait" said Johnny. "You mean to tell me that he can attack us with that much power from thousands of miles away? he was sitting in his chair this whole time?"

"Yes" answered Professor X. "His arm has grown long indeed."

Dr. Halden stared forward, his glowing violet eyes seeing what others could not. He watched the life force of the stranger flow chaotically. He directed the efforts of Elixir to the locations of chaotic flow, attempting to straighten it out and restore his health. This man was badly injured, and Dr. Halden was unsure that even he and Elixir could save him. Even before his eyes, he saw the life energy growing fainter. He saw it rise off the dying man in wisps, growing thinner as it spread out until it disappeared. In an instinctual desire to stop the loss, Dr. Halden reached out and grasped the escaping strands with his mind. The energy flowed together, forming a ball of flowing, part-liquid part-solid strands. He stared in wonder at this orb, this concentration of energy which was under his control. His focus suddenly broke as he heard the tone of the injured man's heart monitor, signaling cardiac arrest.

When Dr. Halden's focus switched from holding the energy in place to initiating resuscitation, the energy ball flew away from him and blew apart an unused machine. Sparks flew about, but the doctor and Elixir kept their focus. They tried for minutes, but in the end the injured man could not be saved.

After the man's time a death was declared, and medical staff came forward to clean up, Dr. Halden finally had time to look at the machine he had somehow destroyed. He stared at the machine with his now green eyes, trying to understand. He looked up when he heard footsteps approach him, and saw the short, broad shouldered Ghost standing beside him.

"We need to talk" said Ghost.

Dr. Halden looked into Ghost's gray eyes as the younger man spoke. They sat in a small park across the street from the building the Alliance used as it's primary hospital facility.

"I saw what you did back there Mike" he said, and Dr. Halden's eyes widened. He had thought he was the only one who could see the energy that flowed within people.

"You could see that?"

"I can see into the spirit realm, and walk within it outside of my body if i wish. It's a different power from yours, but something about our abilities is connected. I saw an orb of spirit energy coalesce in front of you, and could tell it was under your power. And when your focus was lost, the energy flew away from you, and ruined that machine."

"Do you think my taking his energy...do you think I killed him?" Mike asked, his face tortured by the idea. As a doctor, he had sworn to do no harm.

"No. I could see his energy fading before you did that, there was nothing you could have done. He had decided to stop fighting, and so his spirit stopped clinging to his damaged body."

"Oh thank God" Mike said, his face in his hands for a moment. The prospect of having done harm to one of his patients was not only against his oath as a doctor, but against his nature entirely.

"But now, what we need to do is help you to develop this power of yours. So that you can keep from doing it again."

"How?"

"Well, focus on me. Try to see my energy." The doctor complied, focusing his power, trying to slip into the state where he could see what others could not. He was getting better at it, and his eyes turned from green to violet as he looked into Ghost, seeing his musculature, his blood, his nerves, and the very essence of his being.

"Can you see it?" asked Ghost.

"Yes."

"Describe it to me."

"It flows all through you, from every part of you to every other part. It changes color as it moves. It isn't solid or liquid or gas but something that is all of those and none of them. It's everywhere at once, but it doesn't rest anywhere, it always moves." Mike had rarely looked at the energy of a perfectly healthy young man, and marveled at the amount of it, the smooth fluidity with which it moved.

"Interesting" replied Ghost.

"Why?"

"That is nothing like what I see." Ghost was staring straight ahead, his eyes focused, but not on anything visible to others. He was looking back at Mike in spirit form. "What I see is you, a perfectly represented being of white amid the dull gray world. Try doing what you did earlier, pull some of my energy out and form it together in an orb."

"No" replied Mike without hesitating. "I won't steal life from you or anyone else."

"Only a little bit. Besides, if my theory is right, you taking only some of it won't matter." Mike looked slightly relieved that Ghost had an inkling as to what this new part of his power was. He held out his hand, palm upward. He was unsure how to command the energy in Ghost's body like he had with the dying man, which had been instinct. He concentrated on the energy and willed some of it so come forth from it's vessel. Thin tendrils of life energy came off of Ghost's body and collected together. It was slow at first, but gradually the flow increased and soon Mike had an orb of significant energy in his hand. The energy had grown strong enough to be seen by the normal eye, an orb of shifting and pulsing color like a rainbow. Ghost had been right, Mike realized, his energy was not significantly diminished.

"Can you see the orb too?" asked Mike.

"Yes" responded Ghost. "Both in the spirit world and the physical one. Now, command the energy."

"To do what?"

"Direct it at the rock over there."

Mike looked where Ghost indicated, a moderate sized gray stone stuck in the earth about 40 paces away. He willed the orb to move, and move it did, shooting toward the rock in a rocky, uneven flight. The orb missed it's target, passing it to the right side. Mike struggled to turn the orb around, and it looped back, missing the stone again and headed back toward the two mutants.

"Shit" Mike said under his breath, straining to control the erratic energy. He couldn't stop it, but before the orb hit them, Ghost gasped loudly. Mike looked at the younger mutant, and saw his energy focus on the incoming orb, grasping it in midair, and hurling it back toward the rock. The stone blew apart, raining gravel dust onto the grass, forcing them both the shield their eyes.

"What the hell was that?" Mike asked.

"I don't really know" answer Ghost, a confused look on his face. "I've never been able to do that before, change anything in the physical world."

"I'm so sorry, I almost killed us."

"It's ok, most mutants struggle to control new powers. Besides, I think I may have learned a new part of mine as well" Ghost said, smiling.

"So, can you tell me your theory now?" Mike asked. "Without having me try to blow us up again?"

"Sure. I think you can not only see but CONTROL life energy. I think you can manipulate Chi, the basic force of all life. And as you saw, it is powerful."

"But, that doesn't make sense, if I stole your life, you should be weak or hurt in some way."

"No, I think that Chi can recharge over time. We don't have a preset amount of life energy within us, it is used up and replenished all the time. If you took more of my energy, as much as you could, yes you could probably hurt or kill me. But instead, I'm just really hungry right now." Ghost smiled in a big goofy grin, excited by the prospect of new powers, both for himself and the doctor. "Care to talk more over lunch Doc?"

Belial, the Herald of the IceHeart King stalked through the halls of the frozen castle toward the throne room. He stood just over 6 feet tall, his hair black and his skin fair. He wore a uniform of black leather trimmed with green, and wore no sleeves. Even though his well muscled arms were exposed, he felt no bite from the frigid temperature of the palace.

Belial entered the throne room from the side, an entrance not normally used and indeed invisible to most, and stood to the right hand of the Seat of Winter. As he strode into the throne room, he beheld King IceHeart on his throne, hearing an audience. Belial beheld the pathetic humans with his dark eyes, and listened as the mayor of Salt Lake City pleaded with the frozen king.

"Please, Lord IceHeart, you must cease this horrible endless winter! Many people are falling ill, our elderly and infirm are on the edge of death! All the plants are dead or dying, we are running out of food."

IceHeart was quiet for a moment before answering. "You are all so ungrateful."

"Excuse me?"

"I have chosen this city, the place of my birth, to begin my changing of the world. This city will be the crown jewel of the planet when I am finished, it will be the beautiful example of how things can be if only humanity stands together. And you are complaining about a little cold?" As IceHeart said the word 'cold', the temperature dropped noticeably, causing the mayor and the other humans to shiver and hold their jackets tighter, though Belial was still not bothered. "I have supplied you with food and water, I have ended the rioting and looting that plagued this city. There is not violence or crime anymore, there is peace and order except where the stubborn rebellious scum rear their worthless heads. You have been without television for months, and now can see the state of the nation and the world on the Brotherhood television networks. You can finally reach your loved ones by phone, so long as they live in secured territory. Can you not see

that I am trying to make things better for you? I am having to dismantle the way things work and recreate them the way they should be, I am sorry if some of your amenities will be absent for a period." Belial listened as IceHeart said all of this, and heard no emotion in his voice, nothing to hint that the king felt any of the sorrow he claimed. There seemed only a thinly veiled annoyance at having to explain himself.

"But sir, the food you give us is hardly sufficient or what we are accustomed to.."

"The food I give you is enough to live a healthy life on, and I will NOT indulge your needs for luxurious and excessive amounts of food."

"Very well milord, but the cold, PLEASE, think of the children and the infirm. They cannot survive this." The Mayor, a kindly looking man in his early 50's had a heart-wrenching look on his face, a man in way over his head facing a foe he could not hope to overcome. But he could not live with himself if he did not try. He couldn't help that his elected position was never meant to face this situation.

Belial stepped forward to deliver the message he had come to deliver. He walked up next to the throne and whispered to IceHeart "She is coming."

IceHeart glared forward, his jaw tightening briefly, the air growing tense with his silence. "I will make you a deal Mr. Mayor. I need the area to be cold in order for my elementals to exist and to keep order. If you speak to the populace, get them to cooperate and to stop rebelling, I will decrease the temperature. It will still be cold, but I will keep the worst of it at the area around this palace, and in any locations which may still resist me. You will then receive a good supply of edible plants which will grow in colder temperatures. Does this seem satisfactory to you?"

The Mayor seemed flabbergasted, and completely shocked that IceHeart had been willing to give any ground at all. Though he was reluctant to try to quell the resistance to IceHeart's rule, he had to do what was needed to protect his citizens.

"I would remind you Mr. Mayor," said Belial "that your rebels have not fared well. Lord IceHeart does not tolerate dissension." As he said this, the skin on Belial's hands and bare arms burst into bright green flames. The flames had a strange liquid-like quality, and began to drip onto the floor even as they burned intensely. The liquid fire on the frozen floor struggled in vain against the unyielding ice. The pale blue ice pillars took on an acid green color as the light from the fell-fire washed over them. Belial delighted in bringing new color to this bleak room. The Seat of Winter seemed to glow from within with eerie reflected green light. "I'm sure you wouldn't want any more of their blood on your conscience."

The Mayor stared at the green fire dripping from Belial's arms, his eyes wide with fear. He had prepared himself to deal with IceHeart and his elementals, but this demonic figure was entirely new to him.

"You have a deal Lord IceHeart, I will speak to them at once" the mayor said, and turned to exit the room as quickly as he could without breaking into an all out run. His 'guard' contingent followed him.

"My Lord, may I ask why you offered the humans a deal?" asked Belial, who extinguished the fires on his skin. Small bits of green flame continued to burn on the floor, but slowly went out as they consumed themselves.

"Because it is hardly in the world's best interest for the people to rebel against me, especially since I have to slaughter them whenever they do. This way, the mayor persuades his people to lay down their arms rather than waste my time with the task of hunting them down. Plus, the people will settle into a content routine thinking they have earned some freedom when I have still taken most of the control over their daily lives. It's win win. Besides, as you said, She is coming."

And come She did. The sky through the large window opposite the throne had begun to glow red, and a powerful wind began to push apart the clouds. The setting sun burst forth in a flash of red and orange light, bathing the glacial room in warmer tones. Down from the sky descended a human-like figure with blazing wings of fire. The figure's face could not be seen at first, but when she landed, the Pheonix's body was bathed in light, her red hair interwoven with strands of fire, a circlet of molten metal on her brow. As she strode into the throne room though the opening onto the balcony, the flaming wings detached from her body and formed small bird-sized phoenix's, which flew about her head before disappearing. Her feet were wreathed in intense flames, contending with the glacier-like floors.

"Was such an entrance really necessary?" asked IceHeart, his distaste at seeing his counterpart evident on his face.

"That coming from the man who made an enormous castle out of ice all for himself?" asked the Phoenix, her face alit with mischief. She approached the throne as IceHeart rose to great her. The two mutants stood a few feet apart, neither so much as raising a hand in greeting.

Belial had spent a great deal of time with the Phoenix prior to the rise of the King, and in the past few months had spent a good deal of time with IceHeart. He knew that there was no love lost between these two, these polar opposites who only worked together to further their own aims. He hadn't bothered to tell either of them that he hated them both. Since he wanted a world where he got his due respect for being a powerful mutant, he would leave that part out.

"I need you to do something" said the Phoenix, her smile filled with false affection. "I need you to go to Chicago, the resistance there is becoming quite powerful. They need to be dealt with."

IceHeart's silver eyes glared at the Phoenix, his dislike not at all disguised. "And since when do YOU deem to order ME around?"

"Oh, this isn't an order, I would never DREAM of giving a command to someone so POWERFUL as you." She smiled as though she had made a hysterical joke. "But, I know how much you hate those who resist what we are trying to do, and how you like to take a firm hand to them. So, the 3rd largest city in the country, nearly 3 million people, all yours for the punishing and reordering? I thought you might find it...fun."

IceHeart's mouth curled up on one side in a sick grin. "You know me so well."

"You have no idea. Now, you kids have fun" she said, winking at Belial. "I have some business to take care of myself in Canada. Don't wait up." She then burst into flames and vanished as they went out.

Belial turned to IceHeart and commented, "You took that better than I would have expected my Lord."

IceHeart looked back at Belial with his silvery eyes, and expression of dark mirth on his face. "Yes well, I never let a good opportunity go to waste."

"Opportunity, my Lord?" Belial asked, confused.

"You don't seriously think that I agreed to this just for the opportunity to punish a few million humans do you? I hardly need to search for opportunities to do that. No, I think it is time to expand our operations. I have had my trial run, and am ready for the real game to begin, It's time for the world to change."

Psionic blinked and looked away as brilliant fireball burst through the cloud cover, streaking down through the sky toward the cluster of buildings which comprised Alliance HQ. He was just about to open himself up and sound a telepathic alarm when he realized that the fireball was no meteor, but was The Human Torch, returning from his reconnaissance mission with a great deal of haste. Psionic reached out with his telepathy toward Johnny.

<Johnny, what's going on?> he asked.

<We've got incoming! Sound the alarm, get people to safety! And get the others, we're gonna need help> Johnny's voice shouted into Psionic's mind. Psionic could feel Johnny's apprehension, and it concerned him. Johnny was not the type to overreact.

Psionic reached out with his mind, and attempted to send out a general warning to the entire area of the HQ, to call for help and warn most to take shelter. It was a difficult task for him, his telepathy was not nearly as powerful or refined as the Professor's or Emma Frost's. But he got the word out, and with the help of some other telepaths, warned everyone in the immediate vicinity. As Psionic began to sense the general anxiety level rise, Johnny came streaking in and landed in the grass in front of him in a burst of flames.

"Mind telling me what I got the whole HQ in an uproar for?" asked Psionic.

"See for yourself" Johnny said, and pointed into the sky in the direction he had just come from. Psionic's gaze followed Johnny's indication, scanning the sky. He saw in the distance a strange shape that glittered in the sunlight, and had flapping wings. It was moving against the wind, and very fast.

"What the hell is that?" The shape was becoming larger, and was clearly headed straight towards them.

"I was flying over Salt Lake on recon, and all of a sudden Iceheart's castle lifted off of the lake and started flying away! I started to follow, but as I got closer that thing flew out of it and came at me! It's HUGE! I managed to avoid it's attacks, but then it stopped coming after me and headed here. I managed to go fast enough to outrun it and warn you guys, but I couldn't take it down myself."

Both Psionic and Johnny turned and saw Emma Frost jogging over with a mutant they did not know. He was tall, wore a long trench coat, had a staff slung across his back, and had a bandana holding back his long brown hair. He spoke in a thick cajun accent and introduced himself as Gambit.

Psionic still had his eyes on the sky, and the incoming shape slowly resolving itself into a huge blue dragon made of living ice. The Frost Drake came barreling in, it's roar a high screeching sound. Its wingspan was an enormous expanse of crystalline webbing, it's four legs ending in talons of razor sharp ice. Its tail ended in a thick, solid mace of ice, and an aura of frost mist poured off of every inch of the creature.

The Frost Drake came at the spot they were standing, claws extended, and slammed down at full speed. The heroes scrambled out of the way at the Frost Drake tore through the earth they were standing on. Psionic teleported out of the way of the dragon's swinging tail, reappearing out of range. Johnny's body burst into flames and he rose into the air, circling around and firing fireballs down at the dragon. Emma Frost turned into her diamond form, and was knocked aside by the impact with the creature. Gambit rolled to the side with surprising speed and reflex.

The Human Torch circled above the landed Frost Drake, launching fireballs down onto the dragon, which seemed to do little more than annoy it. It threw it's wings back, forcing Johnny to dodge away or be smashed out of the sky. The drake turned its long spiked neck and a jet of blue fire erupted from its mouth. Johnny dodged the blue flames, but they kept coming and followed him in his flight. The blue flames passed over a nearby tree, which froze solid an an instant beneath its power.

Gambit leaped above the dragon's swinging club-like tail, and while in the air released a barrage of playing cards from his hands. The cards glowed purple, imbued with unstable kinetic energy, and flew with perfect accuracy into the dragon's side. The cards exploded like grenades, creating a line of scorch marks along the dragon's side, but its ice hide was barely cracked.

Emma Frost sprinted forward, still shining brightly in her diamond form. She leapt aside as one of the dragon's front legs slammed down attempting to smash her. She jumped atop the arm, up to the dragon's shoulders, and onto its back. She balled up her fist and punched down at the dragon. Her diamond-hard fist met the ultra dense ice, and a high music-like tone rang out as they bounced apart. She punched again and again, and on the 3rd strike she produced a thin crack in the ice. The dragon shrieked and reared up onto its hind legs, throwing Emma off of its back. The Frost Drake turned and directed its blue fire at the White Queen. The frost flames passed over Emma as she ran, freezing the ground beneath her. Emma's diamond form was resistant to cold, but she was frozen to the ground, her legs wrapped in solid supercooled ice. The Drake then spun, swinging its tail-mace toward the trapped Emma and smashing her away, throwing the diamond woman

several hundred feet away.

Gambit, Psionic, and the Human Torch circled around the Frost Drake, blasting it with fireballs, telekinetically thrown rocks and trees, and kinetically charged playing cards. The dragon took little damage from these attacks, and continued to stalk toward the HQ buildings, occasionally throwing an attack at one of them. But help was on the way.

Ghost, Barrier and Dr. Halden, newly code-named Chi, came running out of the HQ toward the battle. Meanwhile, the large white wings of Angel flapped in from one of the other buildings, and carried in his arms was the black-eyed Echo.

"That thing is alive" said Ghost, seeing the Frost Drake glowing brightly with energy with his spirit-vision.

"No" said Chi. "It has life within it, but it's coming from somewhere else. I can see the energy trailing off into the distance, it's being controlled by someone else."

"IceHeart" concluded Barrier.

The Frost Drake reached the first HQ building, and blasted it with cold fire. The windows shattered, and the bricks cracked and began to crumble. The few people who remained inside ran out the back doors and the building began to freeze over. The dragon clubbed the building, shattering the frozen bricks and bringing it tumbling down. On it came, closing in on the main cluster of buildings, smashing away anything it its way.

Emma Frost came sprinting back, having been unharmed though thoroughly annoyed by being knocked across the complex. She sank her fist into the dragon's side, striking one of the cracks created by Gambit's explosives. Her fist sank in, sending widening fissures all along the dragon's side. The dragon screamed, pulled away, and snatched up Emma in its jaws.

"Hey Johnny!" Barrier yelled. "You know that trick you do with your sister? Lets give it a try!"

Johnny shouted back an affirmative, and began spinning a rapid circle around the Frost Drake, and ramping up his fire output. Barrier reached out with his powers and surrounded the giant beast with a dome-shapped force field, which contained only the dragon, Johnny, and Emma. Johnny's fire formed into a whirlwind of flame, and soon the dome was filled with roiling orange fire. The dragon screamed, and released its cold fire, but the heat was a great strain on the creature's ice body. The cold at its core caused the ice to contract and the intense heat at its outside caused it to expand. The result was a strain that was too great for the ice to withstand The cracks formed on the dragon's sides by Gambit's explosives and Emma's strikes expanded, tearing across the length of the animated ice. The Frost Drake remained intact, and slammed the inside of the force field with his considerable bulk. Barrier cried out, and fell to his knees holding his

head. The dome failed, and the Human Torch's flames bled out, and the heat around the dragon lowered, it was no longer at his mercy.

The dragon lashed out with its wings, knocking a surprised Johnny out of the air and into a nearby tree, igniting it. It threw the glowing-red diamond body of Emma Frost aside, smashing her into the frozen remains of a building. It broke into a run, the earth shaking beneath it as it made to destroy the main Alliance HQ building, which was filled with irreplaceable equipment and personnel.

"Bring me closer" Echo shouted to Angel, who was making a career out of making it look like carrying him was like nothing. The white winged mutant's arm muscles bulged impressively, though Echo had little time to appreciate the feel of them wrapped around him. As Angel flew closer to the Frost Drake, he felt his body start to vibrate. Echo's mouth was open, and a powerful note escaped him, one that brought tingles to the skin, which vibrated the very earth. The dragon began to tremble, and faltered just short of its target. The sonic vibrations increased in tone and intensity, and everyone around had to cover their ears as it reached higher and higher notes. The Frost Drake began to shake violently, and flapped its wings in an attempt to rise into the air and fly. But before the dragon made it more than a few feet into the air, the cracks along it expanded, covering the creature from nose to tail. The Frost Drake shattered, blowing apart

forcefully enough to rain flaming ice chunks on everything for half a mile.

The silence was loud in the heroes' ears when Echo's voice faded away. Angel landed on the ground, and he and Echo joined the others, who had congregated where Emma lay still smoldering on the burning grass. She was conscious and undamaged, though extremely irritated.

"Well, guess we took care of that" said Johnny, grinning.

"Not so fast" said Angel, who was pointing toward the ruined field filled with ice chunks. The others turned and saw that the chunks were melting rapidly, and the water flowing together and growing quickly.

"The dragon is re-forming" said Barrier. "How is it still alive?"

Ghost and Chi looked at each other, their hands came together as they both turned to stare into the spirit world. They saw it in different ways, but the fact was the same: the life force governing the Frost Drake was still present, and was drawing its pieces back together. The two reached out with their powers, their minds connecting in a strange and new way. They could not read each others thoughts, but they could sense each other's very natures, their essences. The two mutants joined powers, strengthening each other, and launched their minds against the life force which struggled to recreate its body in the pursuit of destruction.

The mind of the dragon slammed into them, and pushed with all of its force. But the dragon was not a true living being, and could not vie against the combined forces of these two spirit mutants. They gained ground slowly, pushing against the creature's mind, crushing it with their own. They nearly had it, had almost forced it down to the point at which it would be destroyed forever, when the slow trickle of life energy which fed the creature turned into a flood. they both said into each others minds. The previously all-but-crushed ball of life energy expanded violently and struck back, smashing against the wills of Ghost and Chi. Their minds were hit so hard that their bodies staggered back as though they had been struck physically. They tried to retreat, to return to their bodies, but the power of the mind that had come for them held them in place, its hold like a fist of iron.

echoed a cold voice in their minds. <But it is not nearly enough. Know that fortune smiles on you today, as I have far more important things to do than to punish you. But be warned that you have tried the last of my patience.> A horrible freezing cold ripped through Ghost's and Chi's minds, like a torturous version of an ice cream headache. They fell to their knees and clasped their heads, but there was no protecting themselves from Him. His mind was too vast, too strong, and so unbearably cold that its mere touch brought a withering blight. <Until we meet again, and for the last time.>

The pressure and horrible pain vanished from the mutants' minds as abruptly as it had appeared. They fell back, sprawling on the ground on their backs. They had learned a great deal about themselves, each other, and their powers. But they had also come far closer to death than they ever had before.

Ghost felt an ache in his heart. Deep down, he had really believed that part of Alex still lived within IceHeart, and that he would stay his hand sooner than bring harm to one of his friends. Now, he was not so sure.

The thick cloud layer above Chicago grew turbulent, a strange force moving downward through it. They parted dramatically, and down descended the sparkling towers of Castle IceHeart, shining in the brief sunlight from above the clouds, which quickly vanished as the they reformed. As the flying fortress grew close to the surface of Lake Michigan, the huge lake began to freeze solid, a crackling sound echoing through the streets of the city. The people of Chicago, those who had not fled when the Brotherhood began their attempted invasion, came out to bear witness to the event. The lake, which filled the entire horizon, turned to solid, mirror-smooth ice. The surface rose suddenly like a mountain to meet the descending castle, and without a sound they settled together.

The gates to the Castle IceHeart opened, and a smooth ramp flowed down the mountain to the surface of the frozen lake. The ice mountain upon which the castle rested was at the opening of the Chicago River onto Lake Michigan, and it was down this path that IceHeart descended, flanked by dozens of ice and water elementals and preceded by the tall figure of Belial. They passed the piers of Chicago, which were split and broken by the expanding ice. The procession walked up the mouth of the Chicago river and into the stone canals built into the downtown area. The river froze ahead of them, expanding and cracking the stone lining the sides of the river. The stone bridges which spanned the river trembled as their foundations weakened. The people of the city gasped in horror at the power of a single man, the man who was coming for them.

IceHeart stopped in the center of the city, having frozen the entire river for miles in all directions, and the whole of the massive Lake Michigan. The city's temperature had plummeted, and was continuing to fall. Those who had not fled huddled together for warmth. Those brave enough to train weapons at IceHeart struggled to hold the icy metal as their limbs began to tremble and shake. Belial stepped forward, his dark eyes scanning the crowd.

"The Iceheart King has come to your city, and lays his claim upon it" said Belial, his voice carrying very far in the echoing ice. "You have refused the opportunity to join the new world that my Lord and his allies have offered, and now he has come here personally to show you the error of your ways. He offers you this one chance, lay down your arms and commit yourself to change, to join him in doing what is right for the whole of humanity. The world will be remade into a perfect one, and your allegiance and cooperation will be remembered. Lord IceHeart is merciful, he will not begrudge your past transgressions. What say you?"

The crowd remained silent, whether through bravery or terror Belial did not know. He stepped aside as he had been instructed. IceHeart stepped forward, distancing himself slightly from his guards, not that he needed them. Though he was a man of small stature, he was an impressive and intimidating figure with his polished-looking ice skin and aura of absolute power.

"My fellow citizens of the world" he said, his cold voice sounding surprisingly reasonable. "I do not wish to come here as a conqueror, I hope to be welcomed with open arms by the people of this proud city. You have stood strong against the Brotherhood so far, defending your lives and your homes and your loved ones. I am here to tell you that I do not wish to subjugate humanity as the Brotherhood does."

"But you are part of the Brotherhood" shouted one of the citizens. IceHeart smiled, but Belial could see that it was as empty of real joy as his offer was of sincerity.

"No, I have been working with the Phoenix for a time," responded IceHeart, "but we have come to a parting of ways. She wishes to dominate the world, to crush it all underfoot, purely for her own lust of power. She would reduce humans to little more than rats and slaves, and place the powerful mutant minority over them like Mother Nature's nobility. That is not what I wish, and for that reason, I am breaking away from the Brotherhood. I wish for humanity to stop with its ceaseless conflict. Not once in the millennia of recorded history has humanity been at peace with itself. It is time to take the corrupt out of the positions of power, and unite humanity."

"Then why make war?" asked another citizen.

"I do not wish for war, I have come to you with an offer for you to join me. But I will not tolerate those who stand against this new way, those who would threaten the peace that humanity is capable of. Unruly and chaotic elements will be crushed, for the good of all."

The crowd was silent again, for most had picked up on the threat hidden within the offer of "peace": submit or be destroyed. Belial eyed the crowd, wary for threats.

IceHeart's answer came in the form of a rain of bullets, as dozens of gunmen opened up at once, coordinated by an unseen signal. The bullets were not deflected off any defensive shield or diverted through any trick of cold. The tiny, rapidly propelled metal projectiles slammed full force into IceHeart, and went flying away, bouncing off his diamond-hard ice skin. The barrage continued, slamming into every part of him, his chest, arms and face, but none even scratched him. Some of the gunmen shifted to firing on the elementals. The water elementals were unscathed, the bullets passing through them entirely, but the ice elementals took damage, with chunks falling off and two falling apart entirely. The entourage of elementals did not move, and IceHeart remained motionless. Belial stood behind a cluster of ice elementals, having no way to deflect bullets, and remained unharmed. After a minute, the bullets stopped, the guns were empty. The silence

echoed through the streets.

IceHeart smiled, though this time there was real amusement in his eyes. In a flash of blue-white light, the Gelid Hammer appeared in his right hand, shining with resolute strength.

"My turn."

In the months following the freezing of Chicago, the state of the war deteriorated rapidly. The strategic map on the U.S.S. Basilisk changed by the day. First, the city of Chicago turned white to match Salt Lake City. Then the white spread to unite the two cities, crossing the northern portion of the central U.S. All five of the Great Lakes froze solid, and they were used to create hundreds of thousands of elementals, expanding IceHeart's power exponentially. White quickly spread in all directions from the Great Lakes, consuming the northern U.S. and southern Canada. Even the Brotherhood's red cities fell to the unending armies of cold. Soon the space from Nevada to Pennsylvania, from Mexico City to halfway toward the Hudson Bay in Canada where bathed in white on the map, a perpetual tundra under the control of the Seat of Winter, which remained on Lake Michigan. The east coast of the U.S. and southern Canada were entirely red, denoting

Brotherhood control. The west coast of the U.S. and the outer borders of Canada were denoted in blue for Alliance, and newly joining them was southern Mexico and the rest of the countries of Central America.

The death toll was relatively low, as citizens and soldiers alike fled before the seemingly endless Frost Legion of the IceHeart King. A great many Brotherhood mutants defected to IceHeart's side, seeing him as the more powerful leader. The Phoenix seemed to be pulling her forces back rather than commit to all out war, though the reasons why remained unclear. There seemed to be an awkward standstill between the two forces, while the Alliance reeled.

Ottowa, the Canadian capital city, was completely destroyed by a Phoenix-directed meteor. After that, all of western Canada surrendered to the Brotherhood.

The majority of the continent of North America was now under the rule of the IceHeart King. His territory spread out daily in all directions as healthy earth was overcome by harsh permafrost. His progress was slowed to the east west and south by the forces of his enemies, but in the north he came closer and closer to the Hudson Bay, a massive body of cold water which connected directly to the Atlantic Ocean. When the Hudson Bay froze over, becoming a birthplace for new elemental soldiers, IceHeart's power expanded exponentially once again. Control of northern Canada fell to IceHeart, and the possessed ice moved north. The north pole was undefended, and the glaciers added considerably to his power.

The wave of icy oppression spread south from the top of the world, sweeping over the nations of Iceland and Greenland and taking them completely unprepared. They fell quickly, unable to put together a meaningful resistance in time. The island nation of Great Briton was completely surrounded, the frozen waters shredding a great deal of the powerful Royal Navy. Russia came under assault along it's entire northern border, as well as the nations of Sweden, Norway, and Finland. The North and Baltic Seas froze over, and all of northern Europe was threatened. They resisted, but the armies of the IceHeart King were endless, and were not easily slowed. Little by little, the human nations were losing ground. The war had reached across the ocean, and the entire world was now threatened.

Echo watched as the rock skipped across the surface of the slow moving river, the sound waves making beautiful patterns for his radar-like vision. The concentric circles moved out on the water, and spread through the air with their sound, the image displayed like white paint on a black canvas to his eyes. In tribute to his fallen friend Will, he was not wearing sunglasses, in fact tried not to wear them most of the time. Will had always said he shouldn't be afraid to show himself. As a result, his ink-black eyes, which lacked any color or whiteness were exposed for anyone to see. He looked to his left toward the figure which had thrown the stone. Caleb barely looked different to Echo, who could not see colors, and therefore did not notice the fact that Caleb's skin was not red anymore. Echo did notice the absence of the tail though, which had once been like another arm for him. Echo missed that tail, it had been a fun and unique attribute of his

friend.

"It's been almost 5 months" said Caleb. "And I'm still human."

"You know what the Doc said" responded Echo, "your powers might still come back. The Cure is unpredictable at best."

"I know. I just feel so....weak." It seemed laughable that Caleb would say this, being over 6' tall and built like a greek god, but he had once had the strength of many men, and so it made sense for him to feel weak in his human flesh.

"Well you still look all big and strong" said Echo, smirking and only teasing a little. The curves of Caleb's muscles were beautiful even to his eyes.

"Thanks" said Caleb. "But I feel so useless around here. I want to help out, but I'm more of a liability now. At least before I was more resistant to damage than most buildings, but now... now I'm useless."

Echo snorted. "So you think all of the humans working with us are useless? You just have to find a way to be useful, it may not be fighting but you have other skills. And besides, your still a big strong guy, and you know how mutants fight, you could still be good on the battlefield." Echo smirked at his friend, though his black eyes did not convey emotion very well. He was glad for that, glad it was not obvious for Caleb to see how he really felt.

"Besides hun" said Rogue, who sat on a nearby rock, "you still need to recuperate. You were dead after all."

"I've been sitting on my ass for 5 months" said Caleb. "Meanwhile he's out there, and he doesn't know I'm back."

"Sweetheart, IceHeart doesn't care about you. He doesn't care about any of us. His friends and family mean nothing to him. You heard what he did to Ghost" said Rogue.

"But he's my Alex, OUR Alex, how can you guys have given up on him?"

"Um, he tried to kill most of the people we know recently" reminded Echo.

"Yea but, he's in this state because of me. He thinks I'm dead and"

"And what?" asked Echo. "And if you walk into his shiny castle and sees you alive he will suddenly become less of a monster? He won't torture and murder people for standing up to him, or betray his friends? He'll stop spreading never-ending winter across the face of the world? How important do you think you are? Your death may have been the tipping point, but this change in him, it's deeper than that."

"You think he's crazy?" asked Caleb, a dark look in his eyes.

"Listen Caleb," said Echo, his voice full of compassion,"Alex was one of the most gentle and sweet guys I've ever met, I didn't think he cold hurt a fly. But then he began to come into his powers, and then the war started and, he's had to deal with so much. He's had to become a harder person. I think it was too much, I think it broke him. I think he's had to respond to terrible things, to rise up and try to be the courageous hero that he never wanted to be. I don't think he was like Dr. Gray, with an alternate personality lying dormant, I think that IceHeart is the remains of his sanity trying to hold him together and protect him from further pain."

"That's a decent theory," spoke Psionic, who until now had remained silent, sitting in a tree behind his three friends. "But you can't feel him. I feel him in the back of my mind every minute of every day" he said, a haunted look in his eyes, which had dark bags below them. "I see him in my dreams, in my nightmares. His mind has become so strong, and so widespread, that he is projecting himself for thousands of miles. Any psychic can feel it, though it's worse for me because of the connection we once shared." Psionic looked out across the river, not meeting any of their eyes. "He doesn't feel like a broken person to me. He feels like someone who has made a logical decision to do terrible things that he thinks are necessary. He feels like a projection of cold calculated ruthlessness. Like a bastion of evil."

Silence fell over the group, and the only thing they heard was the sound of the river flowing. For a long moment they sat like this, before Caleb spoke.

"So you think he is irredeemable? You think there is no coming back for him?"

Psionic swallowed hard, and after a moment finally met Caleb's eyes. "Yes."

"So what do you propose then?" Caleb asked, he voice harsh with pained anger. "Do we march on the Seat of Winter, lay siege to IceHeart's castle and stab him through his frozen heart?"

Psionic's jaw was hard and clenched, but he said nothing. Instead the response came from someone entirely unexpected.

"That's exactly what you need to do" said a voice from the side, and the four friends stood and spun towards the source, ready to defend themselves if necessary. The air in the direction of the voice rippled and became distorted, and then it seemed to fold in on itself and out stepped a man clothed in shadows. No features were visible on the Shadow Man, just a humanoid shape of darkness in the otherwise sunny woods.

"We need to kill the IceHeart King."

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Ok boys, there it is finally. I know that the wait was horrendous, and I apologize for that. If it helps, the next chapter is well on its way, so it will not be another 5 months before you hear from me again, haha. As always, please tell me what you think, as this story is only being written for you guys. email me at phoenixfire543@yahoo.com with any comments questions or whatever. Also, there is a Yahoo group for the story, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HydrogueFans/ if you are interested.