[Center][H1][color=pink]Iceburn[/color] | [color=silver]Rain[/color][/H1] [H2][b][color=#FFC0CB]O[/color][color=#FBC0CA]P[/color][color=#F7C0C9]E[/color][color=#F3C0C8]R[/color][color=#EFC0C8]A[/color][color=#EBC0C7]T[/color][color=#E7C0C6]I[/color][color=#E3C0C6]O[/color][color=#DFC0C5]N[/color] [color=#D7C0C4]S[/color][color=#D3C0C3]L[/color][color=#CFC0C2]E[/color][color=#CBC0C2]E[/color][color=#C7C0C1]T[/color][/b][/H2][/center][hr] Iceburn smiled as Mirage appeared. Her smile faded when she heard the big roar in the distance. [color=pink]“Uh oh. That wasn’t..? I told him that-! Whatever.”[/color] She shook her head, pushing past her frustration and her incomplete thoughts. [Color=orange]“Iceburn, can you see him to safety and return?”[/color] Kassy requested. Iceburn nodded. [color=pink]"We’ve got this."[/color] She said confidently as Kassy departed. [color=pink]"Good luck with that."[/color] — [color=pink]“Well, I’m happy to hear that, sir.”[/color] Iceburn said with a smile and a little laugh at the hardiness of the bystander. Most people don’t handle being shot so well, in her limited experience with it. [color=pink]“Um,”[/color] She was briefly taken aback when he elected to, at that moment, partake in a vape. [color=pink]“M’kay, that’s fine, I guess. At least it’s not a cigarette. That’d really be throwing my life-saving attempting in my face.”[/color] Iceburn joked. [I][color=9e0b0f]“Metamorph is compromised.”[/color][/I] Quiver informed over comms. There were sounds that were similar to the shuffling and feedback of a mic being dropped to the ground, it seemed someone's earpiece was knocked out. She realized with growing annoyance that a vast majority of their team was being sidetracked by…yup. The message came through: Metamoprh had been compromised. [color=pink]“Guess it’s just you and me, Rain. Operation Sleet is a go. First things first, I’m getting this guy to safety. Then we gotta reduce casualties in the gang war. Hopefully, our teammate comes to his senses soon.”[/color] Iceburn said. [color=pink]“...Again.”[/color] [Color=silver]“Negative. Place him into a different container.”[/color] Viktor's voice was tenser than usual, and that was saying something. Again KJ had lost himself, and again Viktor found himself responsible for addressing a completely different objective. To believe it was a one-time occurrence made him feel naive, foolish even. [I][Color=teal]“Found them. They’re by the water. Quiver’s down. I’m going to lend a hand.”[/color][/I] Vincent suddenly announced over comms while a sort of howl could be heard in the background of his transmission. [I][Color=lightgreen]“Is someone with Quiver? I’m close to the water’s edge but it might take me a bit.”[/color][/I] Daphne's voice followed. [Color=silver][I]Am I losing my sharpness?[/I][/color] He gripped his rifle tightly before focusing his mind on what he should be doing rather than what he desired. [Color=silver][I]No. We can do this.[/I][/color] He lowered the weapon and half turned toward Pei. [Color=silver]“But if you believe it's not safe enough. I will respect your decision. I'll press forward with or without you, Iceburn. Cybergirl should be able to back me up during your absence.”[/color] [color=pink]“No no no, that’s a good idea, I didn’t think of that!”[/color] Iceburn said, taking her powers to the container they were hiding behind. She froze and cracked open the lock. She glanced around inside to see what was in there. Inside was a bunch of boxes, but enough room to fit a dude or two. [color=pink]“Nothing evil going on in here. Excuse me, sir, I know it’s not exactly [i]ideal,[/i]”[/color] She opened the door with an apologetic grimace. [color=pink]“But hey, you won’t get shot again! Don’t worry, I won’t lock you in.”[/color] She made a block of ice in the shape of a door stopper and used it to stop the crate from closing all the way. Once he was safely inside, she returned to Viktor’s side. At this point, she gave a probably noticeable frown towards his rifle. [color=pink]“That’s not a real gun, is it?”[/color] He made a glance at her before walking forward, raising the rifle as they proceeded through the corridor of stacked containers. [Color=silver]“No. It's… safe?”[/color] He tried to keep the description simple. Using guns with hollow point bullets may have been his answer to this situation over a year ago but that's not who he was anymore. [color=pink]“I’m gonna pretend you stated that instead of asked it.”[/color] Iceburn said, pushing past her reservations about gun-adjacent weapons for the mission at hand. A thunderclap echoes across the entire harbor, likely from Cora with the night sky being as clear as it was. The sound pulled their attention toward the sky for brief moment before Viktor made the mental call to maintain focus on Iceburn and himself. [Color=silver]“You'll just have to see it in action.”[/color] Viktor replied before he pressed a button on his helmet to speak over comms. [Color=silver]“Cybergirl. You, me, and Iceburn are going to take on the gangs. Go after stragglers. That is our objective. The rest of the team has the other situation under control. Over and out.”[/color] There was no sign of a ceasefire ahead of the pair, which meant the situation was still at its worst despite what the others were able to accomplish. [Color=silver]“I'll get their attention. You do what you do best.”[/color] He gave a nod before running forward and jumping left onto a parallel container. Running along it he aimed his weapon slightly upwards before using its tube attachment to fire a canister from a that covered two gunmen with a gray foam on impact. In seconds, the foam began to harden over parts of their body. [Color=silver][I]Here we go.[/I][/color] [color=pink]“Cool!”[/color] Iceburn shouted out, seeing the true function of the gun. Now they just needed to work on making it less gun shaped… but that could wait! Iceburn increased her speed by creating a layer of ice beneath her feet, and attached ice skates beneath her shoes. Leaning forward she skated into the open. Opening up her palms, she began to spray a cone of mist and snow shards. She was aiming for upper bodies, trying to strike guns and hands to disable the usage of the dangerous weapons. Then she skated behind cover to prevent her exposure to gunfire herself. Rain was coming from above, and snow was building up from below. [color=#FFC0CB]A[/color][color=#FCC0CA]w[/color][color=#F9C0CA]e[/color][color=#F6C0C9]s[/color][color=#F3C0C9]o[/color][color=#F0C0C8]m[/color][color=#EDC0C8]e[/color][color=#EAC0C7]![/color] [color=#E5C0C6]E[/color][color=#E2C0C6]x[/color][color=#DFC0C5]c[/color][color=#DCC0C5]e[/color][color=#D9C0C4]p[/color][color=#D6C0C4]t[/color][color=#D4C0C3]i[/color][color=#D1C0C3]o[/color][color=#CEC0C2]n[/color][color=#CBC0C2]a[/color][color=silver]l[/color][color=silver]...[/color] Viktor found their rhythm quite synchronized as when either of them put attention on themselves, the other took the chance to strike. Perhaps if it was just one gang, the enemies could accomplish the same thing but their cooperation was simply a necessity for survival. Right now the gang members were taking cover against the two young heroes while firing when they could. The shooters were being oddly reserved with their ammunition while others were grabbing whatever they could swing to engage Pei directly. [Color=silver]“I think they're running low!”[/color] Viktor called, both to be informative and demoralizing. [color=pink]“I noticed!”[/color] Iceburn said with wide eyes as a six-foot bruiser charged at her with a heavy metal pipe. Can’t freeze the inner mechanisms of [i]that[/i] bad boy. She ducked it and was forced to melt her skates lest she lose her balance from the crouch. The swing clanged loudly into the container she was hiding behind, denting it. She blasted the bruiser away with some forcefully generated snow, but he was heavy and sturdy enough to not fall over. Iceburn looked wistfully at the short but infinite distance between her and the ocean. From its cold water, she could draw a huge amount of power. Another one rushed up to grab her while she was crouched, but she generated a puddle beneath her and fell onto it, rocketing away with some snow power, sliding to take cover behind a big yellow forklift. Iceburn retreated from the bullets, her heart pounding. Thankfully the melee goons were reluctant to charge into the line of fire to chase after her, so she had a moment to think. The gunman that was keeping her suppressed was standing on a container himself, twenty feet in the air. He even had a retractable ladder up there that he had pulled up so no one could follow him. Frowning, Iceburn froze and snapped off the two prongs on the front of the forklift. She flung them, and they launched like icy missiles. The gunman took cover by crouching low, but they weren’t aimed at him, she knew she’d miss. Instead, they stuck into his containers, creating two ‘stepping stones’ for a particularly athletic person to use. [Color=silver]“Perfect.”[/color] Viktor commented after he had finished firing a taser round into a gang member running after Pei. Folding the rifle, he holstered onto his back, something he had spent hours practicing. In a dead sprint, Viktor leaped toward the first prong, using it and his momentum to swing to the other. Executing a precise landing on the second prong, Viktor launched himself up, ascending to the top of the containers while drawing his sword. The gunman turned around to fire but Viktor had already closed the distance. All it took was one precise slash. One precise slash to neutralize his enemy… [Color=silver]“It's over for you,”[/color] Viktor said as the upper receiver of his weapon was split in two by the vanadium alloy blade. The gunman stared at his hand only holding the lower receiver and faithfully squeezed the trigger to no effect. With a swift step forward Viktor knocked him out with be hilt of his sword. Meanwhile, down below Iceburn was having to deal with the goons that were free to assault her now that bullets were no longer flying. Gotta take the good with the bad. Two approached her quickly with a third on the way. She wished it was like the TV shows where the bad guys all took turns attacking, but that wasn’t the case. They were practically falling over themselves to grab her at the same time. Speaking of which- with a mischievous little [color=pink]“Heh” [/color] she fired a blast of ice to create a frozen puddle beneath their feet, causing both to eat shit. “Fuck!” One swore. Before they could get up, Iceburn harshly kicked the top, bigger guy in the ribs. Her technique was basic but she could still generate enough force on a distracted target. After that she blasted them both with a gust of mist that froze into a blanket of cold ice, locking them in place on the ground. [color=pink]“I think you guys can keep each other warm.”[/color] Iceburn said, dusting off her hands and taking a breath. Hearing a heavy set of footsteps, she whirled around to see a young woman in civilian clothes approaching. She had short black hair and a pair of glasses, and a scowl on her face. [color=pink]“Don’t worry, ma’am,”[/color] Iceburn began. [color=pink]“It’s all under control-”[/color] She was cut off as the woman grabbed a nearby crate, cracked into the wood with her fingers, and flung it at Iceburn at high speed. [color=pink][i]“Oogh!”[/i][/color] Iceburn’s eyes bulged as the box broke against her, scattering packing beads and electronics everywhere- as well as sending the young heroine sprawling. Thankfully the mist that surrounded her in combat also acted as a cushion. That stopped her ribs from cracking but it didn’t stop her from needing a moment to stand, gasping loudly for breath. “Get up, you idiots.” The woman said, stomping on the ice and freeing the two henchwoman. “Get off me!” The littler guy on the bottom shouted as the bruiser got to his feet. “Alright, fuck! Let’s just get the scrawny bitch.” He said, hefting his heavy metal pipe. [I]THUD![/I] [I]THUD![/I] Viktor jumped down from one container to another before dropping down to the ground level adjacent to the three remaining enemies. He sheathed his sword before charging forward and performing a flying kick into the smaller guy's side. The smaller man crashed into the bruiser beside him, leaving them toppled and open for Iceburn's next attack. Viktor kept himself moving, only stopping to square up with the woman who had enhanced strength. “Tch.” Unlike Iceburn, the meta wasn’t impressed. She stepped forward and did a massive push kick toward Viktor. Iceburn meanwhile got to her feet, recovering. As the two bad guys tried to recover their balance, Iceburn once again created a puddle beneath their boots causing them to slip and fall. Short of creating ice spikes, which she never did against humans, Iceburn didn’t have much in the way of causing immediate harm to someone. Instead, she grabbed up the heavy metal pipe and froze it, before breaking it over the shoulders of the bigger man. With another swear word, he dropped onto the ice puddle, leaving Iceburn to toss the shattered weapon aside. She raised her hands towards them. [color=pink]“Give up!”[/color] Then she once again sprayed them with mist and ice that froze them to the puddle underneath. Thanks to Viktor she had managed to recapture them. Now they just had to keep that strong lady from freeing them. Or, uh, breaking their bones. Ahead of her Viktor and the woman were engaged in combat, the woman being a much more adept fighter than the rest of her goons. [Color=silver]“Heh.”[/color] Viktor let out as the two found themselves circling each other after a brief exchange of blows. “Funny?!” [Color=silver]“Mildly. Facing off against women is just becoming quite a pattern.”[/color] The woman taking advantage of Viktor addressing her used her strength to chuck a crate at Viktor to screen her next move of running for her allies. Viktor ducked. [Color=silver]“Iceburn!”[/color] He alerted as he grabbed and threw his equipped bolas at the legs of the woman in mid-stride. [color=pink]“Now don’t get up again, or-”[/color] She was lecturing the thugs when she glanced up at Viktor’s warning. The crate slammed into Iceburn’s upper body and she was sent ass over teakettle onto the ground. [color=pink][i]“Uhhuggh[/i]….ohoh, fucking- man…”[/color] Iceburn wheezed and pushed herself onto all fours. She used a nearby box to support her as she got to her feet. [color=pink]“You Donkey Kong-ass bitch…quit throwin’ shit!”[/color] She began to move over to assist Viktor as he kept the meta engaged. As the strong person steadied herself and reached down to rip the bolas right off, Iceburn went with old reliable- she got low herself and made a motion like she was skipping a rock across a pond. With a misty crackle, a puddle appeared beneath her opponent’s boots, and with a grunt, Viktor ran in to throw a powerful haymaker while the meta's hands were still down. His fist connected with her jaw with a brain-rattling punch. With the ice beneath her boots, the woman went sliding until she crashed into the same types of crates she had been throwing at the duo. Iceburn created a snowball of ice above her head and like a caveman committing the first murder, chucked it at the woman and the crates. It smacked into her and caused the crates to topple all on top of her until she was basically buried in them. Iceburn spat onto the ground and sat her hands on her knees, bending over. [color=pink]“Woo….woo hoo! Woo hoo?”[/color] She glanced around to see if there was any more danger. Viktor crouched down next to her, giving her a thumbs up. [Color=silver]“You did well. I just hope the others are fairing just the same…”[/color] He said as he looked toward the faint sounds of battle in the distance he was able to pick up with his hearing. Iceburn gave a somewhat breathless thumbs up, standing and setting a hand on Viktor’s shoulder, leaning into him a little bit. He gave a nod before he stood back up and briefly looked at the broken contents from the crates, taking note. The sound of tremendous roar sounded across the harbor where Viktor guess the rest of the team was located. [Color=silver]“We should regroup with the oth- Shit. The homeless man. I guess we should… go to him, yes?”[/color] He almost fought with his better judgment but following up with the casualty was the right call. And that's exactly what the two did next. When they walked to the crate, Iceburn knocked first. [color=pink]“Knock knock, sir. It’s me, Iceburn. How you doin’? The coast should be clear-”[/color] When she opened it up, her jaw dropped. The man was nowhere to be seen. Panicking, Iceburn turned her head inside the container like she somehow missed him. She picked up a box inside and lifted it like he might be underneath. [color=pink]“He- he’s gone!?”[/color] There were no signs of a struggle or anything like that, but that didn’t stop Iceburn from freaking out, rushing to Viktor’s side and whirling her upper body around the docks. [color=pink]“Hello?! Sir?! Where are you?!”[/color] [Color=silver]“Iceburn, stay calm but vigilant. I don't think he was taken by anyone. No struggle, no blood… and there was no reason for anyone to come looking for him… Something's not right.”[/color] Viktor said as looked around the area for any more clues or indicators of a nearby threat. Iceburn calmed down, still glancing around. [color=pink]“S-sorry, I was just- that woulda been stupid to lose him like that. I wonder where he went off too? And what’s been going on with our teammates?”[/color] [Color=silver]“Likewise… Likewise.”[/color]