Cold Steel was locked in full combat with two different opponents, with a third attacker launching projectiles at him. Shade could see why the ice mutant had chosen the ice tundra as his battle ground. Everything in the environment was situated to assist Cold Steel and hamper everyone else. It was like Shade fighting in the night. Complete control.

After Knife Guy revealed himself, Shade had his target. His conscience tugged him towards the battle waging around Cold Steel, but he settles it by reminding himself that Cold Steel had ordered him to kill the 'porter. If he completed his mission, he was still protecting Cold Steel, technically. At least, the invisible knife posed against his heart seemed to think so. He felt the pain lessen as he materialized a blade from his pocket.

The snow was as much as a hindrance as it was to his opponents. He 'ported several times in order to build up speed. Shade wanted his blade to be in the back of the mutant's neck before he knew that another assailant had entered the field of battle. Finally breaking free of the snow, Shade aimed his 'jump' high. He materialized fifteen feet in the air, from the top shadow of an ice pillar. His momentum pulled him from the shadow.

Like a giant black bird, his cloak flapping behind him like wings, Shade descended onto his target. His blade was posed his right fist, cocked to strike. Shade could almost feel the blood between his fingers as he fell. The other 'porter would never even see his killer.

”Owww!” Sam said as he was pinned to some ice by Gunda. Gunda smiled again revealing his missing teeth as he pushed Sam further into the ice. It was then Sam felt Shade materialize above Ballista and the porter. It was stupid to reveal himself now with the sharpshooter still unaccounted for but that meant Sam had to be a little more distracting. ”Hey Big guy!” Sam’s body and ice melted into the wall of ice behind him and the ice quickly reformed until he was standing twelve feet tall encased in a large golem of ice. ”Out here, in my element. I’m the strongest there is!”

”No Gun-daaaaa” the ice golem Sam was inside swatted Gunda away with it’s massive solid arms. Once he was off the ground Gunda seemed pretty light. Sam thought a bit about that as he raised several spears of ice towards the guy with blades for arms. He dodged two of them but managed to get cut slight by the third and fourth while the fifth and sixth were blocked by his blades.

A smirk appeared on his face until he realized he was surrounded. Sam waved a hand inside the golem and the spears of ice melted into a large dome surrounding him completely. ”Two down! Ballista honey come ‘ere think we should dance. Pretty gal like you.” The air spoke out again, “Don’t fall for it” too late Ballista started to throw beam after beam of energy clearly flustered with Sam’s comment.

The warm of blood caused Shade's fingers to tingle from the sudden temperature change. The shadow assassin stared at the red liquor as it poured through his fingers. His blade had stuck home, but the sensation of murder was somehow different. It had been over a year since Shade had split someone's else blood. Finally allowed to kill, the sensation felt foreign to him, almost filthy. He tried to wipe off the blood on his gray cloak, but the cold had caused the blood to coagulate in an instant. It stuck to his hand.

Shade's distraction was not shared with the rest of the battlefield. After the sudden surprise with the appearance of another target, Ballista turned to her fallen comrade and blasted Shade with a concussive blast. The shot blew Shade off his feet, bruising his ribs in the process. He skipped across the powdery fields until coming to rest in a snow bank. Face down in the snow with the wind knocked out of him, Shade was glad to hear Cold Steel's voice report that another mutant had fallen. The shadow mutant struggled to his feet, retreating from the fight as Ballista returned to their primary target.

”it almost seems like you guys thought you could handle me with only five. Then again you’d have to change your team name to like the Furious Seven or something like that.” Sam said as he dodged a few beams some cutting threw some of his ice armor only for a second before the armor was healed.

”Hold still!” Ballista growled as she started flailing her arms more and more each shot got closer to hitting Sam but at the same time they seemed weaker and weaker the faster they moved. Sam wondered if she had to sacrifice power for speed when she was pressed for time. Tempted to get hit Sam finally got in close enough to grab her by the hand and flip her in a snow drift which bound her hands and pulled her down deep into the ice and snow as Sam turned and smirked slightly. ”Four now.” Sam raised some more mist and hid there trying to feel everyone around him.

Gunda out of his range along with number five but that meant that he’d have the other two to interrogate down below in his caverns. Even if they didn’t have a lot of information he doubted Gunda and the dream walker would let the others stay captured or alive. From what he remembered it was pretty much one way in one way out. You get captured you are expected to die. ”Shadow!” Sam yelled knowing that his advantage of being there was gone. ”Going under meet by the fire!”

It hurt to breathe. The combination of piercing, cold air and bruised muscles made every breath painfully. Shade stumbled to cover. The snow clung to his clothes, revealing the invisible man to the trained eye. However, the blanket of white helped him blend into his surroundings. Shade barely heard Cold Steel's words over the howling wind. Get to the fire? What was he going to do there? Wasn't there still a couple of these mutants left? Shade didn't disobey the order though. He had to fulfill his promises after all.

Shade reached out with his shadow sense until he found the opening of the tunnel. It would have to do for now. In a puff of snow, he 'ported out and dropped cold and wet onto the solid ice floor. God dammit it was cold, but at least, there was a fire waiting. He pushed himself off the ice and half-dragged himself down the hall. Hopefully, Cold Steel would come back to help lead him back. If not, he could use his shadow sense to guess the location of Cold Steel's liar.