Icy Falcon’s shoulders moved up and down, his mouth hung open as he took deep breaths in and out. Cool sweat dripped down his brow, his arms and legs on the verge of trembling. He looked up at the beast ahead of him.

The Feverish Nephilim was unscathed.

Not a scratch on his fur, not a spot of blood. Breathing a little heavy but even now his breaths grew increasingly steady.

The situation wasn’t great.

On the platform above, Professor Mutant scribbled away at his tablet, finishing it off with a final tap.

“Well, Mr. Falcon, this has been a pleasure. This data has been most enlightening. But all good things must come to an end, no?”

He pressed a button and the Feverish Nephilim stood still.

“As I said though, I have no personal quarrel with you. In light of your contributions to my research, I am willing to let bygones be bygones. Or perhaps we could come to a more fruitful arrangement? Everyone has room for improvement, even one as impressive as yourself, no?”

Icy Falcon took a deep breath, trying to steady his breathing. He wiped the sweat from his brow and glared at the Professor.

“This ends today.”

Professor Mutant let out a sigh, shaking his head.

“I had not thought you one to be swept by emotion, Mr. Falcon. But so be it then.”

Professor Mutant pressed another button. The Feverish Nephilim resumed his approach. Icy Falcon gripped his hands into fists and raised them in front of him.

The Feverish Nephilim let out a roar and lowered his head, charging for a mighty tackle.

Icy Falcon shuffled his feet, entering a more secure footing.

The ground rumbled as the beast approached.

This time, Icy Falcon didn’t bother with ice.

The Feverish Nephilim was nearly on top of him.

Icy Falcon put his weight onto his legs, bending his knees.

And leapt to the side at the last second.

CLANG!

The Feverish Nephilim slammed headfirst into a metal pillar, and lay still for a moment. Professor Mutant shook his head and chuckled.

“Very clever, Mr. Falcon. But it only delays the inevitable. You still cannot harm my Feverish Nephilim with your powers.”

Icy Falcon raised his hand, palm facing out.

“I don’t need to.”

With a grunt, he shot the large spike of ice he could still make.

Right at the last undamaged pillar.

Metal groaned, platforms swayed, Professor Mutant latched onto the railing and clung to it for dear life.

The upper platforms fell to the ground with a mighty crash, crushing everything underneath.

As the dust settled, Professor Mutant groaned. He tried to lean up but winced as sharp pain shot through his back. Ahead of him, the Feverish Nephilim lay on the ground, head popping out of a pile of rubble.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Icy Falcon strode into view, a jagged piece of metal in hand. He walked over to where Feverish Nephilim lay, the large man still unconscious. Icy Falcon raised his hands.

Professor Mutant winced as the jagged edge plunged into Feverish Nephilim’s head.

“That…” Professor Mutant coughed some dust out of his mouth. “That was excessive, Mr. Falcon. He was no longer a threat to you. There was no reason for such brutality.”

Icy Falcon turned towards him, striding forward.

“You claimed to do science, yet you participated in a war.”

An icy spike filled Icy Falcon’s right hand. Professor Mutant sighed and closed his eyes.

“I see. I seem to have misjudged you, Mr. Falcon.”

Icy Falcon raised an eyebrow.

“You seem awfully calm.”

Professor Mutant shrugged.

“I am going to die now, that much is clear. But I am a scientist, not a soldier. I care not for victory or defeat. I stand on the shoulders of giants, Mr. Falcon, and now? Giants shall stand on mine. My work shall change the world, incomplete or not. Though my life shall end, my legacy will endure forever. My only regret is that I shall not see it finished.”

Icy Falcon’s eyes narrowed.

“No.”

He stepped forward.

“Because I am going to kill every last person in this facility, destroy every last computer, and shred every piece of paper. Nothing will remain when I am done. Your work dies with you.”

Professor Mutant’s eyes widened.

“Y-You can’t! I-I know you are angry, but even you must see the value of my work! We can eliminate all disease, we can make humanity immortal! P-Please, I beg you, give it to the ILS, or to a non-profit, or something. Take it out of the wrong hands, keep it for yourself if you must. But don’t let humanity suffer for our differences!”

Icy Falcon continued to step forward.

“P-Please, Mr. Falcon. Even you must see that there is no good in the destruction of knowledge. This, this is not justice. This is madness!”

Icy Falcon raised his hand.

“This…is war.”

The ice shot forth.

Antonio sighed as he stared at the computer. His nose itched something fierce. But company policy was clear, these hazmat suits were to be worn at all times on the premises. Antonio hadn’t actually seen anything hazardous but well, best not to mess around with these things.

He typed away, entering in some data. He stifled a yawn. Don’t get him wrong, this was a great job. Pay was amazing, hours weren’t too bad. He would always be thankful to Miguel, getting scouted for fancy medical research was something he hadn’t even dreamed of.

But well, entering numbers he didn’t understand into sheets he didn’t understand got boring after a while.

Something reached his ears. He couldn’t make it out, but it sounded like muffled voices and soft thuds. Something like the wind blowing? Curious, perhaps desperate for a break, Antonio looked up, straining his ears to catch whatever was going on. But the noises stopped as soon as they started, all Antonio could hear was the soft steps of someone walking down the hall outside.

Suddenly the door slammed open. Antonio dropped to the ground, his coworkers screaming all around him. Something slammed into the computer overhead, sending sparks and shards of metal flying over him. Antonio whimpered and crawled under the desks. He nearly jumped as something landed in front of him.

It was a body.

Antonio’s heart raced and he closed his eyes. He crawled on top of the obstacle, desperately trying not to think of what it was.

Then a blast of wind sent him flying through the air.

He cried out as he slammed into the wall, sliding down until he was leaning against it. The eyepieces of his mask were cracked and fogged, he pulled it off.

And his eyes widened.

“Icy…Falcon?”

The Icy Falcon was surrounded by a vortex of wind and hail, smashing every computer in the room.

And sending icicles into his coworkers’ skulls.

Icy Falcon turned to him. Antonio let out a scream. Icy Falcon lifted his hand…

“STOP!”

Both Antonio and Icy Falcon turned. There she was, standing in the doorway. In casual clothes except for the mask on her face.

Constanza, the Icy Swallow, had arrived.

Icy Falcon narrowed his eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

Constanza turned to Antonio and her eyes widened. She shook her head.

“That’s my friend! I won’t let you hurt him!”

Icy Falcon turned back, glaring at the boy. Antonio let out a whimper.

“He’s no friend of yours. He’s a villain’s minion. A cartel asset.”

“Antonio?”

Antonio held up his hands and shook his head.

“I-I’m sorry, Icy Falcon, sir! I-I didn’t know t-these guys were villains! Constanza, you know I would never!”

Constanza nodded.

“Let him go, he didn’t know. We made a promise even before I got my powers. We would never get involved with the cartels. Antonio wouldn’t be here if he knew!”

Icy Falcon turned to the girl, then back to the boy.

“I can’t take that risk. The knowledge here is too dangerous.”

“P-Please! I’ll never do anything like this again! I-I won’t tell anyone about anything here! I never saw anything!”

“Please, Icy Falcon! He’s not one of them!”

Icy Falcon raised his hand.

“But he chose a side nonetheless. Sorry kid, but this is war.”

“No!”

“I won’t let you!”

Ice soared.

Blood flew through the air.

Antonio’s eyes widened.

Icy Falcon’s did too.

A thin wall of ice, holes piercing through it.

A boy, lying against the wall, trembling in fear.

A girl, lying on top of him, blood dripping from the wounds on her back.

“I…won’t…let you…”

“Constanza?”

Icy Falcon took a step back.

A girl with white hair and a blue dress, eyes widened as her side bled.

A man with a wide grin on his face, the last time he was ever seen.

A boy with red hair, broken body on the side of the road.

A woman with sharp eyes and straight black hair, eyes closed as she breathed her last.

An old man in his favorite car, now a burning metal husk across the street.

And a girl. Just a bit older. Tears in her eyes and a smile on her face as she lay on top of him. Blood streaming down the side of her face. A faint whisper he barely could hear.

“Please…live…”

Icy Falcon’s eyes shook. He stared down at his hands. He stared up again.

“Constanza? Constanza!”

Icy Falcon fled.

A man sat in a plain van a block over. He was staring at a wall of monitors showing the views of various security cameras. He focused on one in particular, a blinking red light in the corner of the screen. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

He shook his head.

He hit a key and stopped the recording.

He moved the mouse.

He clicked ‘upload’.

He leaned back in his chair.

He took out a flask.

“Heroes…are so…annoying…”

He let out a sigh and then took a drink.

“Breaking news folks, the Icy Falcon and his protege Icy Swallow had a falling-out that turned violent just last night. GNN is still investigating the details, all we know at present is that Icy Swallow was taken to the hospital in critical condition and Icy Falcon has not been seen since. We suspect the facility the fight occurred in was in use by a super-villain and the two disagreed on the treatment of the workers there. GNN has discovered footage from the scene that was posted to the web, please be advised that the following scenes may be disturbing.”