Prison was such a drag.
Crystal Frost was not a stranger to being a prisoner. She had even been incarcerated at Belle Reve before, and it was just as dull as she remembered. She absolutely hated being held somewhere against her will, she got stir crazy very easily, so regardless of the circumstances in the prison she would already be in a bad mood. And she could be a real icy bitch when she was in a bad mood.
The fact that Belle Reve used the damn inhibitor collars just made everything a hell of a lot more annoying to deal with. They didn't just block prisoner's powers, but they also drained them of their energy and made them weak. And of course there was also the whole electric shock that it caused whenever they stepped out of line.
Crystal seriously hated these collars.
And, on top of everything else the collars basically reversed the natural pecking order amongst the villains. In her eyes the meta-humans and 'freaks' were the ones who had the real power. Anybody who claimed to be a supervillain who didn't actually have any powers was just fooling themselves. At Belle Rever though things were different.
Those who had actual abilities that could be blocked were left vulnerable because they weren't used to being powerless. People who didn't have powers to block were left feeling practically the same as they ever did, which put them at an advantage on the prison hierarchy. It sucked and seemed completely backwards to Crystal, but there was nothing she could do about it...except get as close to the people in charge as she could so she could be at least near the top. Luckily for her she already had an in thanks to Icicle.
Sure, her standing wasn't all that sturdy or high after that failed break out, but it was still better than nothing. As long as Icicle was the Capo, so, basically, as long as he and Strange had their weird alliance thing going on, Crystal was pretty much set., though many people had made it clear that they didn't like it.
Crystal didn't want to have to rely on Icicle for her prison reputation though, because there was no surefire guarantee that it would be enough. It certainly wasn't for Cameron. That kid was Icicle's son for crying out loud, and he was probably on the lowest level of the prison hierarchy. Even Icicle's standing as Capo couldn't protect the poor kid from all the backlash that was sent his way after the whole prison break disaster.
It wasn't really Cameron's fault that the whole plan had failed. They had all been fooled by the brats that The Justice League had sent in. Cameron had just been the one that they had used, so he was the one who was taking the blame for it.
Crystal wasn't heartless enough to believe that it was fair that Cameron's life was now a living hell, but she also didn't care enough to do anything about it. Maybe if the kid was dying or something, but Crystal knew that it wouldn't get that far. Icicle and Captain Cold wouldn't let them get that far. Those two certainly cared a lot more about Cameron. Crystal decided to just let those two risk ruining their reputations over a brat who couldn't take care of himself, but she wasn't going to. Not unless it was absolutely necessary.
When she minded her own business and just stuck to herself Crystal found that prison was almost tolerable if it weren't for the fact that it was extremely boring. Crystal was an active person and she liked to have a good time, and she couldn't do that when there was nothing to do.
What she wouldn't give to get out of this prison for the day and just raise some hell. She needed to get out, cause trouble for somebody else because it always made her feel better to see someone have a harder time than she did. Yeah, so she found joy in the pain of others, she was a super criminal, what else was to be expected?
Crystal seriously wanted to cause some trouble, but it wasn't actually the thing that she hated most about being at Belle Reve. As awful as being bored was, being weak was even worse. Yes, Crystal missed her freedom, but she missed her powers even more. It wasn't even just that she felt vulnerable without them, but she felt kind of empty.
Crystal hadn't had her powers for the majority of her life, and yet now she could barely imagine her life without them. And yet here she was, unable to use them at all. She had forgotten how hard it was to not have access to her powers from the last time she had been at Belle Reve. And it wasn't just the power and thrill of having abilities that other people didn't that she missed, though those were pretty great, but...Crystal just missed her ice.
Yes, she was an ice villain that really loved the cold and ice, how original, but it was true. Crystal had always loved the cold, even before she had her ice powers. It had been amazing to be able to just suck the heat out of something and make it cold. That was probably Crystal's favorite part about her powers, though the reflective frozen shards of ice came in a close second.
The one thing about the cold that Crystal could do without was the snow. She all but despised the one part of winter that most everybody liked. She didn't think it was fun and pure, all she thought about snow was that it was soft, wet and way too overrated. Still, right now in prison and without her powers it would be pretty nice to see even a little bit of snow...yeah, she was that desperate.
Normally Crystal would just suck it up and deal with it. On days like today though her desire to see and create a large ice storm was more powerful than usual. Maybe she was just being sentimental and weak, but ever since she had gotten her powers Crystal had celebrated her birthday by causing a blizzard in a place that didn't normally get that harsh of winters. It was a simple and foolish tradition, but it was hers, and this year would be the first time since she had received her powers that she couldn't do it. She hadn't realized just how disappointed she would be about not being able to do it.
It really was true that you didn't realize how good you have it until it's gone.
So now instead of spending her birthday causing a blizzard just for the hell of it she was stuck at Belle Reve, forced to interact with people when it was the absolute last thing that she wanted to do. The only good thing about this prison was that the guys and girls were in separate wings. Crystal didn't think she could handle the ego of the men, who definitely outnumbered the women five to one.
Even without sharing space with the men Crystal still hated the 'yard' time they were given. First off because they weren't allowed in an actual courtyard, just a large room inside. Second off, while it did give Crystal the time and space to at least stretch her legs a bit, all the other women in here were given the same opportunity at the same time. It became less about stretching her legs and more about glowering at those that she didn't get along with that day.
And today, when she was already in a really bitchy mood, Crystal ended glowering at a lot of people. It got real old real quick, but at least she was left alone.
"Hey, Crystal!" An excited and way too young voice called out.
...mostly alone.
"What do you want, kid?" Crystal turned around to face Cameron, who looked way too beat up to look this happy. Seriously, did the kid not know where they were right now? Just so they wouldn't have to yell at each other to be heard Crystal went closer to the glass wall that separated the men's and women's wings. One would think that whoever created this damn prison would have gone all the way in separating the genders and made the joint walls soundproof...apparently not, as Crystal could hear through the glass as if it wasn't even there.
"You look awfully chipper." Crystal eyed Cameron and noticed that he didn't have any new bruises or injuries. "They decide to leave you alone today?"
"I guess so." Seriously, Cameron looked way too happy and relieved about a single day of not getting beat up for something that wasn't even really his fault. Then again, Crystal figured she would be feeling pretty relieved about having a break from getting sent to the infirmary every damn day. Cameron was quiet for a minute before he continued in a softer tone. "I just got back from seeing Conner."
Oh, that was a much better explanation for Cameron's mood. "How was the Superboy?" Crystal asked. She still couldn't believe that that moody hero seriously went out of his way to visit Cameron, a low-threat criminal, in prison. What surprised her even more was that Cameron actually accepted him as a visitor. Crystal didn't understand why Cameron would want to even see the person who had tricked and used him. The two boys must've bonded even more than Crystal had originally thought when the Superbrat had been here undercover.
Crystal didn't really agree with Cameron's new friend, but she didn't give him a hard time about it. Socializing casually with heroes was not Crystal's cup of tea, but if Cameron wanted to do it she wasn't about to stop him. And she also wouldn't tell anybody else about it, because she knew that not many of the villains in this place would be as accepting as Crystal was.
Honestly, she didn't understand what the big deal was. It may not be a normal thing for heroes and villains to socialize with each other as if they weren't enemies, but Cameron was far from the first person to genuinely befriend a hero. There were even a couple of villains who had friendly relationships with heroes that were still respected by the villain community. Just look at Catwoman, who constantly flirted with Batman in such a way that made it clear that she actually had feelings for him. And then there was Captain Cold and his group of Rogues.
Crystal never understood The Rogues. They didn't seem like that big of threats, none of them were even meta-humans, but they were still able to make a name for themselves. Somehow, even though nobody truly took The Rogues seriously, they still respected them. Even with their not-so-secret fondness of that Kid Flash they were respectable villains.
And if a normal person with a ridiculous name like Leonard Snart could still be feared despite his kinda friendship with a hero, then there was no reason why Cameron couldn't do the same thing...except for the fact that he wasn't much of a villain in the first place. But hey, he was still young. They had time to train him up to be the ruthless bastard he was born to be.
"Connor's doing fine...I guess." Cameron frowned slightly and leaned against the glass. "Seriously, I can't really tell. I swear, that guy has only three different expressions. Angry, broody, and somewhere in the middle."
"At least he's nothing like the all american boy in blue." Superman seriously irritated Crystal. He was just too damn perfect. Although, from what she had heard from Cameron, who got his information straight from Superboy, Superman wasn't the flawless perfect role model that everybody thought that he was. "So, your friend didn't tell you anything...interesting today, did he?" Crystal raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"No, and he's never gonna." Cameron rolled his eyes. "Connor's not an idiot. He doesn't tell me a thing about his team." Well, that was a shame. Crystal wanted to hear some juicy information about the junior Justice League. "We mostly just talk about school."
"I would definitely pay money to see Superboy going to public school." Crystal laughed slightly, because the image was pretty damn hilarious. "So, you're really okay with him talking about going to school like a 'regular' person?" Crystal would have thought that Cameron would want to avoid that topic like the plague. He had been forced by his father to drop out of school a few years ago and he was still bitter about it. Cameron always seemed to become visibly upset whenever anybody talked about school, especially High School.
"Psh, yeah." Well, Cameron certainly sounded like he was fine with it. "His horror stories have kinda put me off against school. I'm over it." Maybe he was now, but Crystal had the feeling that soon he would be right back to whining about how he didn't have the chance to live like a regular boring kid. Well, she might as well enjoy the break while it lasted.
"So, you really just come over here to talk about your hero friend?" It sounded completely stupid, but then again, this was Cameron that Crystal was talking to. Going out of his way and wasting her time to talk about something that she really couldn't care less about was definitely something that Cameron would do.
"Not really." Cameron grinned slightly and Crystal knew that he was hiding something. Cameron put his naturally cold hands against the glass and just kept them there for a minute. Powers or no powers Cameron's hands were extremely cold and they were chilling the window. After a minute Crystal became slightly annoyed and was about to demand to know what he was doing when Cameron drew his hands back and, of all things, breathed on the window where his hands had been.
"What the hell are you doing?" Crystal frowned. Cameron was acting really weird...well, weirder. Cameron just smirked and breathed on the glass again. The warm breath hitting the cold glass caused it to fog up. Cameron quickly drew a picture in the foggy glass with his finger. Crystal was still extremely confused, and then she saw exactly what Cameron was drawing.
It was a snowflake.
"I'm sorry I can't give you actual snow and ice." Cameron said, and he sounded sincerely apologetic. "This is the best I can do right now."
Crystal couldn't help but grin slightly. "It's great, Cam." The kid knew about her birthday tradition every year. Cameron couldn't make ice right now any more than Crystal could, but he still felt the need to do this. The snowflake drawing was crude, useless and was already beginning to fade...but it was also an incredibly sweet gesture.
"Happy birthday, Crys." Cameron said quietly.
"You're such a dork, kid." Crystal said fondly. Cameron shrugged.
"Yeah, well, you got me there." Cameron smirked. Crystal returned the smirk, but it fell away when she saw a couple of guys glaring nastily in their direction. Alright, so maybe they really weren't going to be giving Cameron a break today.
"Why don't you go see how your dad and Cold are doin'?" Crystal suggested quietly as she gestured behind Cameron. The teenager frowned and quickly glanced over his shoulder. He paled slightly when he saw the threatening glares.
"Uh, yeah, I'll do that." Cameron said somewhat weakly. He may be able to handle a beating better than most kids could, but he didn't want to be ganged up on. Especially not when he couldn't even use his ice to defend himself and his body was already battered and bruised enough as it is. "I'll see you later, Crys."
"Later, Junior." Crystal watched as Cameron tried to look normal and casual as he rushed back to his dad and Cold for at least some level of protection. "Good luck, kid." She muttered when he was out of hearing range. She wasn't usually the type of person to wish anybody luck, but this was different. Cameron needed that luck.
That kid had made himself the easiest target in the prison. The only reason he wasn't dead was because of who his dad was, and who knew how long that excuse would hold up. Normally people who were kind of on the fence between good and bad fell to the bad side while in prison. Being incarcerated with people who weren't so good had a tendency to toughen people up.
For some reason though, it didn't seem to be doing that for Cameron. The kid wasn't really toughening up to prison life. If anything, he was getting even more pathetic and weak because if it. Cameron was a sweet kid, even a blind person could see that much, he just tried to pretend that he wasn't.
And Cameron wasn't a very good pretender.
Crystal could see three ways that this whole thing could turn out. Either Cameron would finally reach his breaking point that would push him off the fence and onto the side of evil, he reached his breaking point and just cracked under the pressure, or he would live through his sentence, continue hanging out with that Superbrat and be swayed towards the side of good.
...Actually, there was a fourth option, now that Crystal thought about it. Cameron could just stay a fence dweller, not exactly good, but not truly bad either. He wouldn't lean towards one or the other and just stay a neutral party. It sounded like the lazy option for people who didn't want to truly commit to any one side, but Crystal thought that neutralness somehow worked for Cameron. It worked for him.
The hardest part about that plan was that Cameron would have to survive first. Crystal believed in him though, because even though Cameron wasn't a tough kid, he was still a tough kid...yeah, so what if that didn't make much sense? It was the best that Crystal could come up with right now. Give her a break.
A/N: Why do I feel like this chapter is so short when it's only a few hundred words shorter than my last one? Oh well. On the bright side, writing this has reminded me that I do enjoy Killer Frost as a character. Because of The Flash tv. show I had almost begun to think otherwise. Though, to be fair their Killer Frost is Caitlin Snow and not Crystal Frost, so maybe it's just that I like Crystal and not Caitlin...or maybe I just really don't like the females in the Arrowverse. That's also a possibility.