The Rogues
Chapter 2: The Rogues Hideout
It didn't take long for Batman to decide that he absolutely hated the Mirror Universe. Even though he logically knew that J'onn was keeping them cloaked via telepathy he was still worried that their reflections would be seen in the mirror or that the Rogues would realize they could no longer see the Justice League. But his fears were proven to be unfounded when they were, rather unceremoniously Batman thought, dumped on a cold, concrete floor. Standing up he took a quick look around. The room was pretty large and looked surprisingly homey. A big screen TV was in one corner with a couch, two chairs and a fireplace surrounding it. There were a few end tables and a coffee table, all with gadgets and tools scattered across them except for the coffee table which was decorated with more…normal items such as a picture smack dab in the middle of all the Rogues and someone else that Batman couldn't quite see and coasters, one of which had a half-full glass resting on it next to a sandwich with the crusts cut off. They themselves had emerged from a full-length mirror on the opposite side of the room next to a dartboard with Flash's grinning face on it. There were doors on either side of the room but they were both firmly closed, the last corner being shadowed slightly but not enough to hide the work bench there with half-finished musical instruments sitting neatly in a row.
One of the doors opened and a boy walked through. He couldn't have been any older than Robin and was wearing blue jeans and a green pullover. His long red hair swayed from side to side as he walked and his green eyes lit up when he spotted the Rogues. "You're back!" he cried delightedly, rushing forward only to stop mere inches from Captain Cold. "We've got rats," he informed the leader seriously, "and for once they're not mine," his eyes narrowed and he calmly looked Batman in the eyes.
"I know," Cold grinned then turned serious as he pushed the boy behind him. "You can come out now, Justice League."
Slightly startled, Martian Manhunter turned himself visible once more, along with the remaining League members. "How did you know?" he asked.
"We didn't," Mirror Master cried in delight.
"I heard your heartbeats," the boy peeked around from behind Cold long enough to say before retreating once more.
"Piper, go to your room," Cold ordered.
The boy pouted but turned to do as ordered when it happened. For all of his remarkable mental prowess even the Martian Manhunter couldn't always keep himself out of other people's minds and even though it was the slightest of brushes Piper screamed and fell to his knees.
At a speed rivaling even Barry's Cold ran to his side and grabbed his hands. "Piper?" he sounded worried.
Piper merely screamed again and tried to wrench himself free of the Rogue's grasp. "No it's just a dream! Just a dream!" tears were welling up in his eyes now and the other Rogues immediately took offensive positions as they glared at the Justice League in an attempt to discover which one was responsible.
"What's wrong?" Cold's voice was firm as he tried to look the boy in the eye.
"Just a dream. Just a dream. Didn't really happen," the boy repeated over and over like a mantra.
"Piper, what's a dream?"
"Blood so much blood. It hurt so bad, thought I was going to die," Piper muttered.
Cold paled and his grip on Piper's hands tightened. "Piper, where are you?"
"At the mansion please don't hurt me, Dad, I'll be good I promise."
Flash swore under his breath while Cold's jaw tightened. "Piper, listen to me. You're safe now, okay? You're not at the mansion anymore; you're home, with us. You're not seven anymore, Piper. No one is going to hurt you; I promise. Have I ever lied to you before?"
Piper considered then shook his head. "N-no," he stammered. "Never."
"That's right," Cold soothed as he pulled the boy into a hug and gently rubbed his hair and back. "And I never will either. You're safe here and you always will be, ok?"
"Ok," Piper whispered as he hugged the Rogue back, his hands shaking. "But can you keep him out of my head?"
Cold stiffened and the Justice League winced. This was not going to be pretty. "Heatwave," Captain Cold said slowly. "The Martian's weakness is fire, correct?"
"That's what I heard," the pyromaniac grinned and not in a nice way.
"If he tries anything or if Piper so much as whimpers again, roast him."
"Sure thing, boss," Mick's smile was even scarier than his glare but J'onn still tried to defend himself.
"It was an accident," he said weakly. "I didn't mean to…"
"Can it," Cold growled as he slowly stood up, pulling Piper with him. "We'll be back in a minute. Keep an eye on them, boys."
"You got it," Captain Boomerang looked positively murderous as he fingered a boomerang Mirror Master had found in the Mirror Universe.
"Can I electrocute them?" Weather Wizard asked excitedly.
"We'll see," Cold said after some consideration. "Come on, Piper; let's go put on some of that wailing stuff you like to call music."
"It's the opera," Piper corrected, swiping at his eyes.
"My point exactly," Cold led the boy out of the room.
Batman really, really didn't feel comfortable letting his enemies out of his sight like that but, figured after J'onn's little stunt (accident or no) that they owed them this plus something told him that Cold wouldn't use the boy as a distraction.
Barry broke the tension by racing over to the couch and sitting down. "Dibs," he called, grabbing a random magazine and flipping through it.
"Hey that's mine," Mirror Master protested.
"You let Piper read this?" Flash held up the Sports Illustrated, skepticism on his face.
Heatwave shot him a look. "We're talking about Piper here."
"Good point," Barry agreed after a pause, putting it back down. He eyed the sandwich then apparently decided against it as he began fiddling with his fingers.
"We could take them all on and win," Wonder Woman suggested.
"Not after what J'onn did," Green Lantern said, obviously siding with Batman on the idea of letting Piper calm down before another confrontation.
"It was an accident," the Martian protested once again.
"How could that boy hear us?" Superman wondered.
"Piper is a very exceptional child," Boomerang said proudly.
Seconds later the sound of what Batman correctly identified as the score from an opera, poured through the building.
Weather Wizard cringed. "His taste in music is terrible though," he sighed. "But, unfortunately, that's the only way he'll calm down when he's upset."
"Or sleep for that matter," Mirror Master added, patting the mirror comfortingly.
"We've all got ear plugs," Boomerang sighed.
Cold walked back in, scowling once more. "The kid's calm, for now," he added darkly. "I had to promise to take him clothes shopping later though," he wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"Busy!" Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang, Heatwave and Weather Wizard all said at once.
"Wimps," Cold pulled out one of his freeze guns and began inspecting it. "Why don't we all sit down and talk about this like gentlemen? I'd hate for Piper to have to be disturbed after all that trouble we just went through getting him settled back down."
"Agreed," Batman said.
After several uncomfortable looks and awkward shuffling they finally managed to get situated. Heatwave claimed the chair next to the fireplace while Cold took the other one, forcing the League members and other Rogues to argue quietly over seating arrangements until Captain Boomerang and Batman were standing in a corner while Superman floated in the air along with Weather Wizard. Mirror Master sat cross-legged on the floor, holding a small mirror in his lap as Green Lantern made himself an armchair to sit in and Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter sat on the couch next to Flash.
"Who is that child?" Batman broke the silence. He wouldn't have minded knowing why they were in Metropolis but, seeing the child had thrown him for a loop especially since Flash seemed to know him. "And how old is he?"
Cold eyed him warily before saying, "Piper is thirteen and he is a Rogue. End of story."
Batman's eyes narrowed. "How did a teenager wind up becoming one of you? I might not keep up with Central City that much but I'm pretty sure I would have remembered seeing him if he got arrested."
"Piper's not allowed to go with us," Captain Boomerang said gruffly. "We all agreed that the lad had to be at least eighteen and even then we would try to talk him out of it."
The other Rogues (and Flash) nodded in agreement.
"Piper chose to come and live with us," Cold said. "He had plenty of other options and heaven knows we gave 'em all to him but the decision was his. He's welcome to leave whenever he wants to and he knows that. We've even got the Flash on speed-dial should he ever change his mind."
The League all turned to glare at Barry who sank down further in his seat. "What?" he protested weakly. "I've talked to him several times before and he genuinely wants to be here. You know I would never leave a child in a bad situation if I could help it and I believe that the Rogues are the best place for him to be now."
"Why were you in Metropolis?" Superman had obviously gotten tired of dancing around the subject.
"Yeah," Flash broke in. "You guys have hardly pulled any jobs since Piper came to live with you."
The Rogues all scowled but in the end, as usual, it was Captain Cold who spoke. "When Lex Luthor and Amanda Waller both have your names and secrets it's best not to piss them off."
"Even if they want you to spy on each other," Heatwave sighed.
"Well we see how great we did today earning their trust," Mirror Master said sarcastically.
"I don't want a bomb in my neck," Weather Wizard said seriously.
"More importantly we don't want one in the kid's neck," Boomerang grumbled.
"Waller threatened Piper?" now Barry's eyes were glinting as he sat straight up.
"Yep," Cold's face darkened once more. "That…woman is very lucky we weren't armed when she found us. Last time I go anywhere without one of my freeze guns."
"See!" Barry said triumphantly. "I told you guys that they weren't all that bad."
"But why were you robbing that particular armored car?" Wonder Woman asked. "What was so special about it?"
"Dunno," Weather Wizard shrugged his shoulders, twirling his wand in his fingers. "Luthor just said rob that one."
"We were probably just a distraction," Cold grunted. "Shame. We coulda used that money to pay for Piper's little shopping trip I have to take him on."
"At the very least we could have found him a new computer," Heatwave said. "His old one's starting to smoke."
"That's because of those damn rats," Boomerang hissed. "He should know better than to let them chew on the wires like that."
"Or could just because we found it at a junkyard two years ago and it was pretty old then," Weather Wizard sighed. "He's not going to be happy about us going to jail."
As Batman sat there listening he decided that it sounded more like the kind of bickering a family would do over dinner, not five hardened criminals with rap sheets longer than his cape. He was starting to understand why Barry had been so upset earlier at the Watchtower; it wasn't because they had arrested his enemies but because they were splitting up a family. And (according to them at least) it hadn't entirely been their fault. They seemed to genuinely care about Piper and, besides, he had heard about Waller's little habit of sticking bombs in people's necks then making them do her dirty work. The only reason he had never interfered before was because he didn't have enough evidence as everyone who crossed her usually died. But these five men were still alive so maybe, just maybe, they would be willing to help him as long as he helped them. "Do you have bombs in your necks now?" he asked abruptly.
"No," Cold said slowly. "She was too afraid that Luthor would find them plus she thought that threatening Piper would be all the incentive that we would need."
Batman heaved a sigh. What he was about to do was violating everything that he had ever believed in but he didn't really have much of a choice. "I want to offer you a deal."
Startled, the Rogues and Justice League exchanged puzzled glances then Captain Cold turned to the dark knight. "We're listening."
A/N: Thanks for all the nice reviews earlier! I hope you guys like this chapter just as much if not more because Piper's finally in it! Yay!
A/N/N: I can't guarantee that another chapter will be up tomorrow night cuz my work schedule is pretty hectic but I will do my best. No promises! Please read and review!
