Ah the irony! I finish up chapter 9 today, the one I teased you about earlier, and there are all these messages begging for fic or something... what are the odds? Well I hope this cheers everyone up. There's exciting guest stars! There's a tiny bit of Opal bashing! There's enough X-Baby cuteness to rot your teeth! Enjoy!
-Shade

Frozen Pop
by Shade

Day Seventeen: Sidekicks

Bobby's eyes fluttered behind his eyelids. He was dreaming about Lorna, Rogue, and Opal all dumping him on the same day. Of course, in Opal's case it wasn't so bad. His observer knew nothing of this.

BJ looked up at their new father figure. All he could tell was that Bobby had fallen asleep after the birthday party. It had been the coolest day of BJ's young life. Paper, ribbons, and balloons were still strewn everywhere. Remy was over next to the window playing with some new action figures. Gambit had bought the boy several Avengers. BJ had gotten a cool Hawkeye figure from the thief. Not to be outdone, Jean Luc LeBeau had bought the boys a Playstation 2 and several games including a racing one. Gambit and Bobby had played it more that the boys, but BJ liked watching Gambit crash Bobby's car into the pit wall so much that he didn't mind. His new Grandma Maddie had gotten them clothes. They hadn't been as huge a hit. Grandpa William had just given each boy a ten-dollar bill to buy his own things with.

After all the excitement, the Drakes had gone to bed early. Gambit and his father had decided to go out to dinner together for some time alone. That left Bobby in charge, or at least he had been until he fell asleep. BJ was trying to play quietly.

"BJ!" Remy whispered loudly in obvious awe.

The little Iceman walked over to the window to see what his friend was looking at. The Millennium Broadway Hotel towered over most of Times Square. The suite they were staying in was rather high up giving them an excellent view.

"What?" BJ asked.

"Look," Remy said pointing.

Down below on one of the rooftops stood a brightly colored figure. BJ was suddenly very attentive.

"Spider-Man!" he gasped.

The hero was crouched on the roof looking around suspiciously. Just as BJ was going to ask Remy what the wallcrawler was doing, Spider-Man leapt into the air as a large gray man burst out of the shadows and charged at him. Both boys yelled and banged on the glass. Spider-Man flipped in the air and landed on the huge man's back.

"He needs help!" BJ said.

Remy nodded. They bolted for the door and headed for the elevator. Bobby slept on, oblivious.

"Come on Rhino," Spidey whined. "Why do we have to go through this tango every time?"

"I'm gonna crush you, Spider wimp!"

"That's what you always say."

"Shut up!"

Spider-Man was having a pretty ordinary day.

Three bank robbers caught? Check. Two purse-snatchers caught? Check. Lunch at Lebowski's Deli? Check. Sticking to J. Jonah's window and making faces? Check. Obligatory "super" villain? Check. A tiny ice slide with tiny yelling heroes coming at him? Che...???

"What the?" Spidey yelled just before Rhino grabbed his leg and flung him into a conveniently placed brick wall.

The large villain crouched into a simple football squat and prepared to charge. He was preempted by two small figures jumping in front of his dazed foe. One appeared to be frozen and the other looked like a regular kid with funny red and black eyes. The somewhat normal kid was holding a little Captain America doll in his hand.

"You leave Spider-Man alone you big bully!" the frozen one yelled.

Rhino paused. He was easily confused on a good day, but this was completely puzzling.

Spider-Man sat up and shook his head to clear the cobwebs. At first, he thought he had a concussion that was causing him to see things. After a moment, he realized that there really was a mini Iceman and some kid in front of him yelling at Rhino.

"I know that cold causes shrinkage, but gee whiz, Drake!" he said astonished. The other kid, who had funny eyes that reminded him of something, turned around and took his hand.

"C'mon Mistah Spider-Man. BJ can take care of him. You hit your head! Remy take care of you."

"Gambit?" Spidey wondered. He was so surprised that he actually let the little guy lead him off to the side.

"Hey!" Rhino said realizing that his enemy was escaping. The large man took a step forward only to feel his foot slip forward. It flew out in front of him causing him to fall flat on his back. The whole building shook from the impact. He could feel the roof beneath him and it was very cold. Before Rhino could fully recover, he felt someone walking on him. The little ice kid stood on his chest looking down at him.

"That's what you get! Now be nice!"

"But I'm the bad guy!"

"So! That's no excuse," BJ said nodding his head for emphasis. He was sure Bobby would approve.

The X-Man in question snorted and rolled over on the couch. His dream Lorna, Rogue, and Opal had decided to work together and beat him up for being a dork. He commented to the girls that his time with Opal had been punishment enough. They just hit him harder. Bobby slept on.

Rhino lost his temper. He tried to slap the ice kid away, but the boy was too fast for him. BJ jumped off the heaving man's chest and ran.

Spider-Man was sticking his tongue out, mask pulled up to his nose, for the little Gambit to examine. He still wasn't sure why he was going along with all the silliness.

"It must be the cuteness factor," he figured to himself.

"Looks okay. I t'ink you gonna be fine, Mistah Spider-Man."

"Thanks," the hero said with a touch of sarcasm.

The two were interrupted by a shrill voice.

"REMY!" BJ screamed.

"You wait here. BJ needs my help."

Remy quickly ran around the corner. BJ was dodging and weaving in and out of Rhino's legs. The villain was trying to clap the boy between his large hands like most people would do with a gnat.

The X-Baby looked around for something to charge up. He didn't see anything and his kid-sized playing cards were in his coat back at the hotel. Remy looked at the Captain America action figure in his hands. His Oncle Remy had given it to him. He sighed and pulled the shield off its back.

Rhino was getting frustrated with the ice kid. He couldn't get a hold of the little guy. He turned around to get better footing and saw the other kid standing in front of him. The boy stood with his head cocked to the side. He was just staring at Rhino with those weird eyes of his. The villain sneered and leaned forward.

Rhino was leaning at Remy. The boy stood calmly until the horned man was close enough. Then, he flung the small charged shield at the man's broad face. The shield exploded right between Rhino's eyes like a firecracker. The villain jerked he head away and stumbled backwards. His heel collided with a small block of ice behind him. He was rubbing his sore eyes and didn't have time to catch himself as he fell back over the side of the building. With a bellow, Rhino disappeared. The boys winced until the building shook one more time. They turned to see Spider-Man on his knees scratching his head.

"Did you two just beat Rhino?" he asked.

"Yup!" Remy said with a smile.

"Daredevil's never going to let me live this down. Who are you guys?"

"We're X-Babies!" BJ said obviously very proud of the title.

"Oh, is your mom around or something?"

"Don' have one. Bobby, he take care of us. An' Gambit, an' Grandpa Jean Luc, an' Grandpa and Grandma Drake!" Remy replied in a rush of words.

Spidey raised his eyebrows and said, "Bobby? As in Bobby Drake? Of the X-Men? Seriously?"

"Yup!"

"Where is he?"

The boys pointed at a hotel down the street. Spidey frowned under his mask.

"Does he know you two are here?"

Neither boy answered at first.

Finally, BJ looked at his feet and said, "No."

"That's what I thought. Well, let's go take you two back, huh?"

Spider-Man picked up BJ and threw him over his right shoulder, and then picked up Remy and threw him over his left. The two giggled hanging behind his back. He smiled and shot out a web line. One swift swing and they were down on the street. Spidey could see police cars rushing to the alley were Rhino fell. He sat the boys down and took their hands. The trio walked down the street and got several funny looks. On their way to the hotel, they passed a hot dog vender.

"Hey you guys want a hot dog?" the hero asked.

Both boys jumped up and down excitably.

"All right! All right! I'll take that as a yes."

Spidey ordered the hot dogs. Remy tugged on his tights. He looked down and the boy was holding out a ten-dollar bill.

"'S my money!" he said proudly.

Spider-Man smiled.

"That's okay. You keep your money. This one's on me. After all, you both saved my life and all."

Both boys puffed up at that and the hero had to keep from laughing. He made sure that Remy's money was put back in his pocket, and he asked for a bag for the hot dogs. BJ was allowed to carry the bag the rest of the way to the hotel. The boys didn't remember the number of their room, so it took some doing to convince the concierge to tell it to them. Finally, they went upstairs.

Bobby woke up and stretched. He hadn't meant to fall asleep. He could feel the imprint of the couch's fabric on his cheek. The room was noisy. He looked around a bit and promptly fell off the couch in surprise.

The boys were sitting in front of the TV playing their PS2 with Spider-Man.

"What the?" Bobby sputtered.

"Hey, Frosty!" Spidey said cheerily and continued racing Remy.

"Do I want to know?" Iceman asked with a serious tone.

"Probably not, unless you want to have a heart attack."

"BOYS!" Bobby yelled. He wasn't sure, but he thought that Spider-Man was smirking.

to be continued >>

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