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Icy Winds of Change(Dr. Freon and Gunner)

Emperor Penguin let out a wet, gargling yell as he was hoisted by his throat into the air by a webbing noose. If it weren't for the second strand hoisting his back, the fight would be over gruesomely fast. Without the danger of his neck snapping, he began to flail and swing his arms in hope to grip the organic ropes behind him, his shrieks echoing through the halls of the haphazard building.

Nick heeded Wreckluse's suggestion, forming a ball of solid ice between his advanced gloves and sending it rocketing upward to EP. He could control ice, but were his reflexes fast enough to stop it when it was being hurled at him this quickly? Maybe they were, but he was too distracted to know for sure- The hunk of ice slammed into him as if it were an uppercut, knocking him into the ceiling with a loud crunching sound against the ice.

It was about then that the penguins, having heard their master's screams, began to slide into the room from every entrance, surrounding Nick and Jenny, completely silent and void of their normal squawks, but staring intently.

"Well, go on! Get them!" a bruised Emperor commanded from above before spitting out a gob of blood. He waved his hands, and icy spikes jutted out of the ceiling like instant stalactites, severing the webs that were binding him to a hanging position. He fell sloppily, landing on his forearm and yelping in pain, but almost standing up and glaring at his challenger. Nick gripped Jenny's hand again, wrapping his other arm around her in a protective embrace.

"I said get them!" he ordered, and stomped forward. But instead of following his command, the penguins mostly stayed put, save for Monica, who stepped forward, blocking EP's path to his target. "What?!" EP screamed in anger and shock. "Now isn't the time to get cute, Monica. You're in enough trouble as it as. I know it was you who led them here." He seemed to calm down a little, casually noting, "Okay, fine. That's alright. You know I wouldn't hurt you. But, if you won't move... I'll move you." He raised his hand, and the ice beneath Monica's flippers sloped, first sending her downward, then up into an unfinished path, like a ramp that, though unusual for a penguin, sent her flying toward Igneous.
 
Jenny could only watch the fight. Her eyes followed crazy boy's ascent to the ceiling. She was honestly surprised Wreckluse was so careful. It would be been painfully easy to just have the webs wrap around his neck. Everything would have been over. Her eyes hurt from trying to roll so far up, unable to move her head to get a good view. God damn she wanted to be unfrozen again! Just to be able to move a little or talk. An irate huff of air rushed out of her nose. She could hear Wreckluse's shout and saw Nick prepared a massive ball of ice. While she couldn't see the hit she hear it. If her face could move she might have cringed. The hit sounded painful.

Then all the penguins appeared. Even Wreckluse, dangling from the web that held penguin boy up, looked surprised at the number of them. All sliding in and forming a circle around Nick and Jenny. His head tilted. They didn't seem to be doing anything, just standing there, even with the screeches of their master from above. The webs suddenly snapped and Wreckluse dropped a couple of feet with easy grace. Far more grace than the lunatic penguin did. Wreckluse stood at the ready but the penguins were unmoving. All but one. His head tilted as the penguin waddled up and seemed to yell at the lunatic. He jerked in surprise at the sudden attack on the penguin. Some leadership. Wreckluse watched her sail across the room.

Igenous perked up as the penguin sailed right for him. "Oh...I gotcha..." he said as he reached up. Not the nicest surface to be caught by but at least he was as gentle as he could be. "Ah there ya go little one," he said as she gently set the penguin down on the floor. "Some hero you are. Kid's more a hero than you. Yer acting more like a villain every second. Kidnapping, freezing an innocent girl like that, flinging yer minions across the room. Sure it was the League of Heroes ya wanted to join?" Though his tone was a growling calm he was struggling to keep his core down. One wrong move and he could easily melt the floor. "Tell ya what...listen t'yer pals here...guessin' they're sayin' t'lay off. Go back t'where ya came from. We'll overlook all this if ya just give us the girl and lay off. Deal? What d'ya say to that Nick? Seem fair? I'd ask Jenny but...seems like answerin's not in the cards right now."
 
Nick, still clinging to Jenny protectively, nodded in agreement to Igneous' proposal as he watched the small penguin hug the rocky hero's leg and nuzzle his knee with gratitude. "Seems plenty fair to me."

But the fight hadn't left EP yet. He was still posed to attack, but now in a stand-off as he weighed his options. Igneous' threat seemed so empty- he would likely just melt through the floor if he tried any kind of attack based around his power. If sinking through the ice below him didn't cool him enough to totally solidify his molten insides, the hundreds of feet of ocean water under that would probably do the trick. In fact, if he wanted to, Emperor could probably just shut him up right here and now with a few of the cool breezes that were keeping his bride-to-be preserved. The only thing holding him back was the point Igneous was making. Was EP really acting more villainous than heroic? The more he thought about it, the more he hated the question, and so he reared his hands back again, this time at the lava man.

Then he froze mid-movement. This time, all of his penguin troops were standing in his way, their eyes pleading and their arms extended as a human- or rather, bird - wall standing between EP and his new target. Though their short stature meant Igneous was unobscured and still in the line of fire, the message was pretty clear. EP's arms drooped in an exhausted befuddlement. "Really?" he asked his subjects. "But why?" He studied the identical sadness in all of their eyes. "After all this, you want to go home?" Even in their silence he could read the answer: Yes. Back home, he was a hero. Here, he was just desperate and cruel. They clearly missed their emperor, not this new person he was becoming. "Well... well... okay," he sighed in surrender. " come on, everyone. I'll get the boat ready..." He and a few penguins, an eager pep now back in their step, shuffled off to the docking bay.

Nick looked back to an unresponsive Jenny. "Well, that was a lucky break," he mused to her, eyeing her miserable, frosty form up and down again. "Aw, Jenny..." he sighed sympathetically as he looked into her eyes, "You're gonna be fine, okay? We're going to get you home, and into a hot bath. Promise..." He wrapped his arms around her waist to lift her up. After tugging a couple of times to try to detach her soles from the ice floor, they finally gave. Grunting, he began trudging forward with her rigid body against his chest as if carrying an awkward piece of furniture.
 
Igneous looked down to the penguin as she nuzzled him affectionately. A little odd but he gave an awkward sort of smile before reached down and lightly patting the penguins back. Very much aware that birds were a delicate sort and had to be treated gently. Though he looked up and saw EP poised and ready to attack. Igneous tried to scoot the penguin out of the way, didn't need her getting caught up in the middle of a fight. Though before the ice "hero" could do a damn thing his whole dapper army waddled in front. Not much of a shield if he were honest. Still the man stopped, watching his birds curiously before speaking to them. Igenous tilted his head curiously but stayed quiet. Maybe it would be enough to get him gone. If they really wanted to bring him justice they could do it later. But if he stayed away and quiet in the antarctic so be it.

Wreckluse huffed a sigh. Wether relief or annoyance was anyone's guess. He stood fully upright and cracked his knuckles. "Well...that was anticlimactic," he said with a small huff.

Igneous rolled his eyes and stomped toward the other two as Nick tried to wrench the frozen girl up. "Better than bein' frozen stiff," he said with an equally annoyed huff, watching Nick struggle a moment.

Jenny's eyes lifted to look at Nick. She made a small sound in her throat of agreement and frustration, unable to move her lips or even her brows for any expression. She was more than ready to get unfrozen and warmed up. Honestly she was surprised she hadn't been killed trapped in that ice. Or at least passed out or something. Suspended animation. Something. Though when Nick began tugging around her waist to pull her off the floor her heart pattered with nerves. What if she broke in half? Or any part broke off? Luckily, so she thought, Nick managed to pull her off the ground with everything intact. Though it was certainly a very odd sensation to be carried around like an awkward Amazon package. Her eyes rolled to the side as she hear Igneous's amused chuckle at the sight.

"Alright kid, ya proved yerself enough. We'll help ya," Igneous said with another amused chuckle as he approached, waving Wreckluse over. The arachnoid man used his webs to fashion a sort of sling so the frozen statue could be carried between two with far greater ease. "How's it feel ta be the hero fer once kid?" Igneous asked as they made it outside once more.
 
"Oh... okay.." Nick relented. He set Jenny back down and let the other two men strap her up with webs and carry her out, keeping his hands ready to steady her form has they lifted her. "It fellt..." Nick started before his face lit up with a smile, "Great, honestly." It was pretty terrifying in the moment, he had to admit, but it felt good to win. (It didn't hurt that the mission was saving a pretty girl, either.) An idea flashed into his head, and he leaned closer to Igneous and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Hey, I know that penguin guy didn't make the cut in your league, but, I've been thinking, maybe if I can do a little, uh, 'community service', I can pay my debt to society in a much more useful manner. Do you think I could get any kind of recommendation or something?"

Even if he wasn't carrying her anymore, he walked by Jenny's side the whole time, studying the frosty coating over her body. After they were safe on the penguin-helmed boat and bound for the docks again, he piped up. "So, I was thinking, maybe we should take her back to my place. I'm sure she'll get great care at the hospital but... this sort of thing is kind of my specialty...." His eyes shifted back and forth between the three other parties involved (including the frozen woman.)
 
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