AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story contains gay male sex, as well as straight sex. If that's not your thing, be warned.
********
I've been ready for this for months,
thought Shiver
. Now I just need to show the League.
The 22-year-old hero had just joined the Hero's League a year ago when his powers first manifested. Shiver turned out to be naturally gifted at crime fighting and managed to rack up an impressive record for a newbie.
But he was still only a Junior Hero. He was sure he was ready for a full-time Hero position (and the privileges that came with it) but even an organization full of supers with logic-defying powers had to deal with bureaucracy and procedure. Generally, juniors aren't up for promotion until after two or three years, unless they did something notable like taking a villain down on their own. And that's exactly what Shiver was hoping to do tonight.
He leapt off his rooftop perch, and shot a blast of ice from his hand, creating a slide. He skated over the city and landed on the roof of a smaller building in the rich part of town. Glancing down at the street, Shiver noticed something at a jewelry store across the street: a man loading bag after bag from the store to a blue van parked outside.
There was no broken glass or any signs of struggle, which meant the thief probably knew what they were doing breaking in. But why be so obvious now?
Shiver waited for the man to enter the store again before making his move. He bolted across the empty street and into the store to find the criminal reaching into only glass case in the store not already empty. With a bean of frost shooting from his hand, Shiver froze the man's hand to the bottom of the case.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he said.
Next time I need to come up with a cooler line
.
Real heroes have better quips than that.
The man struggled to free his hand from the ice, but otherwise remained silent.
"He's not going to talk to you, boy."
Shiver turned, and could barely keep the fear from showing on his face as he saw Mistress Sapphire. She had first come one to the scene just a few months ago, but even Cypher--the League's officer for intel and security--had said she should be approached with utmost caution, as well as a lot of backup. Nobody knew exactly what her powers were, but Shiver didn't want to stick around long enough to find out.
"Leave the jewels and surrender quietly," Shiver said, trying to sound intimidating despite his quickening heartbeat. "Or the entire Super League will be here in 30 seconds." Or at least they would be if he was senior enough to have an emergency beacon. But she didn't know that.
"There's no need for all that," Sapphire said, slowly striding towards him, not breaking eye contact for a second. "I'm sure we can work something out."
Just then her eyes flashed a bright blue, and Shiver felt his entire body lock up.
By now, Sapphire was less than a foot away, her eyes less bright, but still glowing an unnatural shade of blue.
"Why don't we start with you letting my friend go," she said.
"Fuck you," Shiver spat back. So he could still talk. That meant there might still be a way to get the rest of his body free. He had no way to fight her, but he might still be able to make a quick escape. He just had to relax and focus and think of a plan.
"There's no need to be rude. I just want to talk. Just like I talked to my friend here," she said, tilting her head towards the man, still silently struggling against the ice. "In fact, I didn't have to talk to him for very long before I managed to convince him to rob his own store for me. In fact, at this point he'd do anything I tell him to. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, mistress," the man replied, his voice a steady monotone.
A mind controller? He had to get free. Now. He just had to think. Stare into her eyes and think of a way to escape.
"I've actually heard of you, Shiver," Sapphire said. As she spoke, she reached out and started to stroke his arm.
She was trying to distract him, but Shiver would never fall for that, even if her touch felt so good. He would just focus on her glowing eyes and block everything out.
"I know you've just joined the League. I know how it feels to be a newcomer. It's been so hard making a name for myself as a villain. It just makes you want to prove yourself, doesn't it? Makes you want to do something big. And maybe not so smart."
That's right
, Shiver thought.
Just keep talking while I stare into your eyes and escape
.
"We're not so different, actually. I'm planning something big too. I'm going to take down the League. And you're going to help me."
"I'll never help you."
"We'll see about that," she said. "Now, release my friend over there and let him finish his work."
A pulse. For a second her eyes flashed even brighter. Shiver raised his arm, and the ice encasing the store owner's hand turned to water, and he continued to take jewels out of the case.
"See how easily I can control you?"
