The Night Patrol

I have honestly never been a big fan of superhero stories but I had an idea about ice powers which I think only really works in this genre. I hope you like it :)

Vision Boy balanced on the end of one of the cranes that dominated the loading bay and scanned the dockyard below him. Piled high with cargo containers coming from and heading out to every destination imaginable the place was a maze of alleyways and passages. The novice knew these were a breeding ground for the kind of nefarious activity the city was becoming known for and so kept a keen eye on them.

He had been assigned to the docks after reports of disappearances on the night shift. There had been a rising number of missing men all over the city and the Defence League was eager to reverse the trend. Watching over the location of the most recent spate of disappearances was exactly the kind of low priority assignment perfect for a hero fresh out of the academy. After all, if somebody was behind these disappearances, they were unlikely to strike twice so soon. Still, the League wanted to be thorough and, confident in his abilities, Vision Boy was eager to impress as he cast his super vision over the scene before him one more time.

Moving from spot to spot to build up a mental map of the loading bay, where most of the missing men used to work, he had only covered a small area when an odd sight caught his attention. Far below him, three almost completely naked men were marching stiffly in unison along a passage between two stacks of containers.

Carefully working his way in closer for a better look he could see that not only were they almost completely naked, but their skin was deathly pale and seemed almost to glisten in the moonlight. Not to mention their eyes, which were clearly glowing a deep red, or the regular puffs of frosted breaths they all let out despite the warmth of the late summer evening.

At first he didn't think they were even human, but after scanning them with his super vision he began to wonder if these weren't some of the missing men, or perhaps even fresher victims. He saw nothing on them to indicate exactly who they were but the tattered remains of their clothes, functional musculature and age all suggested they had been experience dockworkers.

Turning down another passage they momentarily disappeared from view forcing the inexperienced watcher to relocate again. When they reemerged from the shadows of the containers mere minutes later he was surprised to find a fourth man had joined the silently marching line. He was as naked and stiff as his companions.

Like the others, he had a prominent gut that was coated in a dusting of dark wiry hair that covered his body. His chest and arms were broad, a sure sign of a lifetime of manual labour, but otherwise the man was not physically remarkable. Even his erection wasn't especially noteworthy, except for the strange fact of its existence.

He was so focused on these men that Vision Boy didn't feel another presence moving up behind him and let out a choked yelp when a hand landed on his shoulder. Turning quickly he was surprised to see the dark green mask of Permafrost, a senior member of the city's Defence League and a personal idol.

"The big wigs thought you might want a little company"

He whispered, flashing an awestruck Vision Boy a decidedly heroic smile.

"Looks like I got here just in time though. What have you got?"

"Oh, well, sir. I'm not sure really."

he reported, trying to maintain his professionalism

"Four mostly naked men.. who are acting strangely in the area of the reported disappearances."

"Indeed. Judging by their movements and the lack of clothing, I'd say they've been brainwashed or hypnotised in some way"

the experienced crime fighter postulated as the pair continued to observe the group,

"Have you called it in yet?"

"Not yet. I've only just spotted them and wanted to wait until... ack!!"

If the boy had been a little more familiar with Permafrost's powers or questioned his excuse for being there he might have finished his sentence. However, as Permafrost slid a single, cold finger into Vision Boy's ear, the words caught in his throat.

All he felt was a little pressure followed by a numbing cold sensation flowing into his head. It rapidly spread across his brain, slowing his thoughts till they were completely iced over. His mind frozen. His body too was fixed, locked into a permanent crouch high above the four men who had themselves stopped moving.

Sure his powers had worked their magic, Permafrost pulled his finger free of the iced novice with a distinctly frosty POP.

"That's a clever little trick of mine that the League doesn't know about." he gloated, smiling with satisfaction as he looked Vision Boy up and down, admiring his work and the young super's toned body. "Just a little touch of my finger inside your ear and all your thoughts come crashing to a halt. I call it 'brain freeze'. It's not permanent, but it is useful in a tight spot. However this i'm afraid, is very very permanent."

The turncoat hero leaned round as if to kiss the paralyzed Vision Boy only to stop just short of his parted lips as he began to blow an icy breath into him. His body jerked twice in response to the deathly cold spreading through it, as if fighting the intrusion. Vision was in reality helpless as Permafrost unleashed another hidden ability.

The reaction was almost instantaneous. First his lips lost their warmth and turned a deep shade of purple. Then his cheeks lost their rosy colour and crystals began forming on his chilled skin, spreading outward from his mouth till his entire body was coated in a shimmering layer of frost. Only seconds after Permafrost had begun what little of Vision's face could be seen had grown pale and glistened in the soft moonlight

Flowing through the rest of him the changes were more radical. Reacting with his heroic nature the effects were intrusive and, even to Permafrost, surprising. The breath didn't just strengthen his body but improved it. It stiffened his sinews and hardened his muscles from his neck down to his feet. He grew impervious to the elements as ice flowed through his veins. Every part of him the ice breath touched swelled, stiffened and cooled. Even his senses were enhanced by this extraordinary display of hidden power.

The boy was almost completely remade. If he wasn't still wearing his now stretched super suit, his friends would have struggled to recognize him. Permafrost was delight and sensing his work was almost complete, broke off the almost kiss and took a deep breath.

This was unexpected. His breath hardened his slaves and made them more resilient, but it had never changed anybody like this. Where once there had been a fledgling superhero in the flower of his youth now crouched a strong and undoubtedly ferocious golem of steel strong ice.

Unmoving and pallid, the illusion was broken only by the shallow rising and falling of his chest and the puffs of iced breath he now gave out. Less than a minute from when brain freeze had locked him in place, Vision Boy was unrecognizable.

However, there was still one important difference between Vision Boy and Permafrost's earlier victims. A difference that almost made Permafrost nervous given the unexpected changes. Whilst his mind was still frozen, it was still his own and if left he would have come back to his senses, enhanced but with his psyche unmolested. That though, would not remain the case for long.

Some villains got by on the loyalty of their minions, but Permafrost had spent long enough with the Defence League to know how fickle conviction could be. He didn't need converts. He didn't need fanatics wedded to his cause. He didn't need willing minds who remembered orders or plans. He needed, cold, empty obedience. Mindless obedience. Permanent obedience.

Unfortunately for Vision Boy, his soon to be master had engineered a way around the small problem of free will. He reached into his pocket and held up a small, glowing crystal. Formed from ancient glacial meltwater it was imbued with the tiniest drop of his perverse will, marked by it's deep crimson glow.

It ensured his minions would always be bound to him, and if they should ever be caught and freed of his influence, all their memories, all the evidence, would simply melt away. It was a perfect, beautiful tool that ensured total obedience. A well-crafted failsafe

Placing the crystal deep within the mind of Vision Boy, Permafrost watched as it's influence took hold. Smiling as the hero's cold eyes began to exude the same deep, crimson glow of the ice men still waiting below. His new super slave was ready.

"Stand" he commanded, and his latest thrall rose swiftly from his crouching position and stood proudly on the edge of the platform.

Having expanded in every direction, Vision's musculature, hard and unyielding, strained his super suit. It's advanced fabrics were designed to survive the rigors of hero work, and to grow with it's owner. Still, it was not intended to adapt so quickly and as the boy stood up it began to tear and rip apart.

Once one seam split the whole suit began to deconstruct itself, leaving Vision Boy as naked as the men still waiting below. Only his tool belt remained in place, resting on top of his now exposed erection, which didn't escape notice.

Permafrost had never fully worked out why his ice drones were always erect, but he liked it. It was delightfully perverse. He preferred to think his crystals helped bring out some of the base nature of men. Or, perhaps these individuals simply enjoyed being controlled by him. Finding pleasure in the freedom from having to think and worry and decide. Either way, a legion of naked, perpetually erect ice men had a certain 'je ne sais quoi'.

Stepping closer, Permafrost reached out one gloved hand and took hold of Vision's firm length before slowly sliding his hand up and down it. Despite the cold he could feel the strong pulse of the hero's heartbeat coursing through his dick, making it twitch slightly in his hand. Almost all supers had heightened senses of every kind, but Vision Boy didn't react as Permafrost continued stroking his cock. He hadn't been told to, so he didn't.

The villain felt his own dick begin to stiffen, enjoying how powerless the now imposing and violent looking super was. His unexpected creation was the physical equal to any of the older more experienced heroes, he radiated strength, yet here he was. A mere plaything in his hands. It was almost too good to be true.

"Whom do you serve?"

he asked.

"I serve Master Permafrost"

came the slow, monotone reply.

Satisfied to the point of being giddy, Permafrost was tempted to keep this conquest closer to home, but he succeeded in resisting his lusty impulses. Nothing, not even this extraordinary specimen would be allowed to get in the way of his grand design. He'd seen too many petty crooks fall victim to selfish urges to make the same mistake so easily.

Gathering himself the delighted villain ordered the enslaved hero to join the other men waiting below and watched as the hulking form made its way deftly down the pyramid of containers. Making no concession to his power or stature the enslaved boy simply positioned himself at the back of the line, just another drone ready to follow his brothers.

Moving off the line of men didn't have far to go before they found themselves trapped in a dead end. Here the containers were piled especially high. All showed some signs of age, as if they'd been forgotten. It was clear these containers had not been checked in a long time and were unlikely ever to be used again.

The stiffly marching column hadn't made a wrong turn though as the doors to a nearby container began to open outward. The foremost drone stepped into the darkness without hesitation only to be met by a dozen pairs of crimson eyes, glowing in the darkness of the pitch-black interior.

Inside stood many of the men who had been reported missing, as well as a dozen more who hadn't. They were useful officials, men caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and others, like Vision Boy, who had been too overawed by the veteran hero to question anything till it was too late. They were all here. Carefully secreted away in what was just one of a dozen discreet locations the mastermind had found and turned to his nefarious purposes.

Stored like mannequins, their humanity stripped away along with their freedom, they simply waited until the time was ripe for them to be unleashed. Until the order came to reveal themselves and impose their master's will on the unsuspecting city.

Permafrost took one last look at Vision Boy's red eyes and unthinking face as the rusted doors began to close in again and he smiled to himself. It was true what they said. You should never meet your heroes.