Previously on Blessed Inversion Golden Age…
Hal Sharp, now the superhero known as Black Ice, comes to blows with the Rebellion gang. Although he defeats them with ease, the arrival of the Stars of Doom and their Inversion leader Cinder, changes that. Narrowly managing to defeat him, Black Ice leaves the scene and notices an unusual storm cloud. One that’s quite visibly attacking RajTEK. Now he makes his way to the scene…
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Henry “Hal” Sharp/Black Ice -Superhero. Cryokinetic, having a rough first day |
Pulse -Gangster. Energy-based powers |
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Barry Stein -RajTEK chef. Nice guy, also a plant man |
Tox -Gangster. Toxikinesis |
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Carol Harrison -RajTEK security guard. Nice girl, smoke generation |
Ace -Gangster. Acid Generation |
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Doctor Khonshu/Kreon Galanis -RajTEK R&D. Smartest Man in the Room (?) |
Forecast -Gangster. Atmokinesis |
Black Ice was reconsidering the choice of routing to get to RajTEK. While the rooftops let him easily keep track of how they were doing, they were rarely all the same height. Requiring him to shift between launching himself into the air with ice pillars or sliding on ice bridges downward. After three minutes he finally arrives at the rooftops adjacent to RajTEK. The storm cloud begins to fade but something else catches his eye, a green light shone brightly several buildings over. Accompanied by it was a single energy beam that struck the ongoing battle below.
“Hey!” Black Ice shouts against all logic. He considered trying to sneak up on whoever was responsible but his first priority was getting their attention and protecting the civilians below. For better or worse it worked. The sniper, the gangster Pulse, turned and fired. Only missing him by a centimeter. The heat from the energy beam being enough to singe his cheek. “I did not think this through!” he whines to himself as he dives for cover behind the door leading inside. “I need a pla-” his thoughts are cut short as an energy beam pierces through the wall and his side. The pain was immense but he couldn’t let it stop him. Gritting his teeth, Black Ice freezes both sides of his injury. At the very least he’d stop the bleeding. “Oh god, this isn’t fun anymore.” fear begins to take hold. He was barely used to having guns pointed at him and now he’s had an energy beam shot through him. “How’d she even find me?” he tries to catch his breath before another beam fires through the wall and just barely misses him.
For a brief moment, escaping seemed like the best course of action for the still inexperienced hero. The fear and pain were becoming overwhelming but Black Ice’s body didn’t move. Deep down he knew this was no different from the times he stopped a raging fire, a car accident, or even fighting the gangs earlier today. No matter what he felt he still had to do his job and protect people.
“Step 10, never give up.” Black Ice freezes his body over and exhales a cold breath of air. His will extending around him and creating a snowstorm covering the rooftops. “3…2…1…Go!” he says to himself. Jumping out of cover only to get hit with an energy beam in the heart. To his surprise, his frozen body refracts it off into the distance. “Well, this changes everything.”
With renewed confidence, a plan begins to form. It was a gamble since he didn’t have a chance to test it but there wasn’t time to spare thinking it through. With the snowstorm covering him, Black Ice skates to his opponent. Even so, Pulse’s energy blasts continued to fly and most hit their mark. It slows Black Ice but doesn’t stop him. He just powers on through as best he can until he gets in range and throws an ice ball at Pulse. But instead of hitting and knocking them out like he hoped, it dissipates when it hits the thin green energy armor protecting them. Not what he hoped would happen but he could improvise. Firing an ice beam at the ground, he launches himself into the air once more. Pulse was ready for the inexperienced Inversion who knew nothing of her powerset. Her glowing green eyes look skyward, the aura vision she used to keep track of Black Ice leading her to see his attempt at a skyward assault. With the most minimal effort, a series of energy construct chains fly from the floor around her and wrap themselves around him. Trapping him and holding him suspended in the air. Tightening slowly to try and suffocate him.
“No idea who this guy is but I’m tired of him.” she says under her breath. Raising the energy construct sniper rifle she wielded she aims at Black Ices heart and fires. He could deflect her normal beams but how would he fair against a concentrated stream? As expected, after a few seconds of resistance it pierces through.
“Try again sweetheart!” Black Ice taunts as he slides in low to the ground and swings his right hand into her lower abdomen. His frozen palm striking her energy armor. “ICE BEAM!” he shouts as he pushes her forward and simultaneously fires a beam of ice. Launching her into the side of RajTEK and freezing her to the window. “Whew…thank you Ice Clone.” he salutes his shattered double before holding his side in pain. The injury he sustained earlier still bothered him but he’d worry more about it later. There was a fight going on below he had to join in. Ending the snowstorm on the rooftops, he jumps from the rooftop without a care in the world. Black Ice fires an ice beam at the ground to slow his fall. Landing clumsily on the small ice platform it makes to stay above the poisonous smog where Barry and Tox fought.*
*Check out Blessed Inversion SWAT Chapter 5 for more details!
“Okay citizen, you can leave this to me.” Black Ice says catching his breath. “Hold up a sec…” Black Ice puts his hands on his knees and hunches over to take a break.
“Are you okay?” Barry asks confused by the sudden intrusion.
“Oh yeah just…you know…got shot so kinda tired.” he replies standing straight again and looking at Tox. “Bad guy?”
“Yeah.”
“Figured.” he says casually firing and ice beam onto Tox’s mouth vents. It was easy to guess they were his weak point. “He’s all yours.”
“Sweet.” With nothing way to use his powers anymore and no Pulse to save him, Barry easily traps him in his vines once more. “Thanks for the help but there’s still another one inside we need to take care of.”
“Great…four Inversions in a day…The hell those guys do this day in and day out?” Black Ice whines before hopping off his ice pillar and following Barry. The pair stop their approach when they see Ace has Carol hostage.
“Stay back! I have hostage!” Ace yells seeing how out of control everything has spiraled. “I go. You stay or she die.” he says using the barest minimum of English he knows.
“Any ideas?” Black Ice asks turning to a wholly unfazed Barry.
“Yeah, just one.” he replies with skin beginning to glow.
“What are you doing?! I kill her!” Ace shouts tightening his grip on Carol and opening his mouth guard.
“Yeah, what are you doing?” Black Ice asks concerned.
“It’s okay Barry. You know what to do.” she says calmly.
“I’m sorry about this.” he says aglow. His body shines like the sun and fires a stream of light through her and Aces shoulder.
“AGH!” Ace screams in pain. <“You bastard! What about my hostage?!”>*
*Anything in brackets for this issue is being said in German.
“Good work Barry.” Carol congratulates her friend. “As for you.” she leans close to Ace’s face and grabs his collar. The smoke she constantly generates begins to thin and reveal both her head and hands are just bones. The hollow holes where her eyes glow a dim white with life. She could sense his fear rising. “Boo.” she whispers gently. Her fear consumption activates and drains Aces energy causing him to fall unconscious. Unfortunately, like her skeletal appearance, she can’t turn off that ability. To prevent herself from harming anyone nearby she reforms the smoke around her hands and head.
“I’m beginning to think you guys didn’t need me at all.” Black Ice sighs.
“You’d be correct.” Doctor Khonshu calls out as he floats down from above. His Khonshu Drives being used for flight as well as keeping Forecast and Pulse trapped in a gravity bubble. “I take it you’re the one who froze that woman to the side of the building?”
“Uh…yeah. I’m Black Ice.” he says striking a pose briefly before the pain from his injury stops him.
“Really? That’s the name you’re going with?”
“Why, is something wrong with it?”
“No, I just figured you’d go for the easy route and pick Freeze.”
Black Ice takes a deep breath and exhales. “You know what. I don’t even care anymore. Is everyone okay?”
“Of course we are.” Doctor Khonshu replies almost annoyed.
“Some people got caught in the poison cloud and died.” Carol reminds him sternly.
“Then that just means they can’t sue us.”
“Are you serious?!” Black Ice blurts out.
“Of course not you idiot. Do you think I’m a monster?”
Black Ice thinks to himself briefly. “I actually don’t know anything about any of you. Well, except he’s Plant Dude and she’s Skelegirl.”
“You are so childish…I love it. So much more refreshing than…” Doctor Khonshu stops and looks at the failed attackers. “Carol, how long until the authorities arrive?” he asks moments before the police arrive on the scene. Having reacted quickly to their very public battle.
“Nowish?”
“The one time I don’t want them here on time…Please, handle the police. I’m going to find Raja and see to it you two get a raise.”
“Thank you, Dr. K.” Barry and Carol reply in unison. “Jinx!” they say in unison again. “Jinx again!” they say once more.
“Freeze!” the Police Officer calls out to Black Ice.
“How many times are people going to point guns at me today?! I’m a good guy okay!” he turns to the cop annoyed. His expression remains annoyed after realizing it’s the same cop he ran into after defeating Cinder. “What’d I do now?”
“That’s your name right? Freeze?”
Black Ice takes another deep breath and contains his anger. “I swear to god…” he grumbles under his breath. “Just call me Black Ice.” he grabs the brim of his nose and tries his best to not to make a scene.
“Okay, thank you Black Ice. For earlier with the two gangs and helping out here. You made my job a hell of a lot easier.”
“Huh? Oh, well no problem. But it wasn’t just me. It was Plant Dude and Skelegirl who helped out.”
“Those aren’t our names.” Carol sighs.
“I’m Barry Stein and she’s Carol Harrison. We were just doing what anyone would do.”
“Classic Superhero line. Sure you don’t want to be my sidekick?” Black Ice asks.
“I’m fine just being a chef.”
“Damn…”
“So yeah, thanks again.” the Police Officer tries to regain their focus.
“No problem, just tell the other cops to stop pointing guns at me okay? If you or the crew at RajTEK need my help just…I dunno. Scream really loudly? I’ll get back to you on how to keep in touch.” With the job done and their attack thwarted, Black Ice skates off. Things didn’t go as he planned but overall was a success. Now he had to worry about explaining the hole in his side…
About 30 minutes after the attack on RajTEK; Forecast, Pulse, Tox, and Ace await the Inhibitors to take them away inside a police station.
“What do you want?” Forecast asks a cop who walks to their cell and stares at him.
“You have a visitor.” she informs the group who look confused. Before they can question it a man in a pristine suit enters.
“So who wants to begin to explain to me what the fuck just happened?” he asks with disturbing calm.
“My dad ordered us to attack RajTEK. We were supposed to wreck the place. Capture Eishner if possible. Kill anyone important we found.” Forecast replies.
“Of course Biohazard would. Can’t do a single job without letting nepotism fuck it up.” he sighs. “Now tell me, how much of that did you accomplish? Hmm? Nobody? Well let me tell you all how much you accomplished. You attacked RajTEK in broad daylight with four Inversions and all you managed to do is wreck a single office and kill a bunch of interns. This is on top of getting captured. So not only did you show RajTEK your hand but YOU ALL FAILED!” he shouts losing his composure.
“They weren’t the only ones there. A new guy was there too. Some Inversion with ice powers.” Pulse defends.
“I don’t give a shit if he could move mountains. Anyone gets in your way you put em in the ground. Or is that not why I hired you? So how about this…I get you out of jail, you crawl back to that shit stain of a boss, tell him how disappointed I am, and that if he doesn’t show me results I’ll make him river dance into a pool of piranhas. Got it?” he asks to which everyone nods. “Good, now do any of you have actual good news for me?”
“We still have SWAT-Spider.” Forecast answers.
“Well now, that is good news. Okay, I am slightly less pissed. Delivery my message but instead of a pool of piranhas say oncoming traffic. Not get the fuck out of my sight before I change my mind and let those Inhibitors deal with you. Trust me, you don’t want to know what Fabiana is ordered to do to anyone who’s captured.”
Next Issue
Blessed Inversion Golden Age Chapter 5- Registration
Recommended Reading
Blessed Inversion SWAT Chapter 6- Jetstream
First Issue
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