The New Coldness Who: Bobby Drake and Johnny Storm Where: New York. When: Backdated to Summer 2002. What: A 14-year-old Bobby Drake's public debut as The Uncanny Iceman. He wants to meet his idol, the Human Torch. It doesn't go as planned. Rating: PG Note: I'm leaving the "venue" of Johnny Storm's public appearance vague, so that Noel can feel free to come up with the details and location.
Every superhero had a mode of transportation. Superman could fly. So could Batman, unless one believed the rumors that he just had a really sweet car. And Wonder Woman. The Human Torch could fly too, and unlike the others he seemed to have a visible way to propel himself.
So if Bobby Drake wanted to be a superhero himself, he reasoned that he needed a flight power as well. Sure, the X-Men had a Blackbird jet, but he wasn't allowed to fly that yet, and he was pretty sure they'd be pissed at him if he borrowed it for solo missions.
With that in mind, he tried to come up with ways to use his ice power to travel. It had taken him most of the summer, hours of brainstorming with Kitty Pryde, and countless time logged in the Danger Room, but the result was worth it. Bobby could create slides of solid ice. It wasn't easy, as it required a running start and the concentration necessary to condense air mosture into solid structures strong enough to support his weight, all while moving at a decent speed. It wore him out quickly. But he reasoned that it would become second-nature to him in time.
Right now was his trial by fire. Covered in a thick layer of frost over his clothing, he raced toward the venue where Johnny Storm was making a public appearance. He hoped he -- as The Uncanny Iceman -- would get there in time to lend a hand with the bomb situation before Johnny -- as the Human Torch -- took care of the problem itself. But Iceman figured he'd have a decent chance of saving the day. After all, freezing a bomb was usually a better idea than setting fire to it.
But traffic was a nightmare to navigate. And Iceman began to notice that a lot of cars were honking behind him. He heard a loud crash behind him, and he hopped off his ice slide in the parking lot in order to check behind him at what was going on.
Much to his horror, he discovered that cars were crashing into or otherwise being blocked by his ice slides. The slides were thick enough to at least support the weight of a human body, but apparently, they could also do some damage to cars. And it'd be a long while before they melted away.
"Uh, s-sorry guys," Bobby mumbled. Then, remembering he was supposed to have a superhero voice while in costume, he spoke in a louder, clearer voice, "I-I mean ... 'my apologies, citizens!'"