Theoretically, every job couldn't end in disaster. Eventually, one of these things would go right. Just on pure statistics alone. Surely there was some sort of mathematical equation that could prove it. Snart would know. As long as he was still alive of course.
Roy tried to ignore that thought. Snart was bound to be alive. Man seemed to get out of every situation unscathed. Bastard would probably outlive them all.
Roy grunted as he pulled Mardon along the darkened alleyway. Dragging a semi-conscious meta human through the city as the military hunted them down, was not how tonight was supposed to go. As Mardon slipped, causing both of them to stumble, Roy came to two conclusions. One, they were definitely all getting arrested tonight. And two, he was terribly out of shape.
He hadn't been in a gym since high school, and even then he hadn't exactly participated. He was going to be an artist, why did he need to learn how to climb a rope? If he could go back in time and apologize to Coach McCoy, he would. He didn't realize the old man had been preparing Roy for a life of crime. He didn't doubt that after tonight, assuming they all survived, Snart would implement some sort of physical training regiment.
Roy shouldered his way through the closest door. The door resisted a bit, but finally it opened and he pulled Mardon inside. It was some sort of old office building. It didn't look like anyone had been there in awhile, there was an obvious layer of dust coating all the desks. The computers looked like they were from the 1980s. Hell he was pretty sure there was a laser disk player attached to that TV.
Roy dropped Mardon into the farthest corner, then hurried back to the door. He closed it, trying to be as quick and quiet as possible. There was a heavy looking desk nearby, it was possible he could drag it. Use it to barricade themselves in. Roy's arms shook at the thought of it. There was a dull pain in his left arm he was doing his best to ignore.
The desk would probably make a lot of noise when he moved it, that would be a greater risk really. No reason to gamble on being heard moving something that big and bulky. He doubted it would even slow down a group of trained soldiers. He waited by the door a few more minutes, listening for any sound. Waiting for the sure noise of men with guns coming to drag them both away.
A soft sound from the corner drew Roy's attention. Mardon had slumped over. Roy listened at the door for a few more minutes then walked over to him. The man's eyes were open, but Roy doubted Mardon was seeing anything. Whatever drugs were in the darts those soldiers had shot Mardon with, had knocked him for a loop. Mardon had been mumbling earlier, but now he was almost completely silent.
Roy slid down the wall and sat beside Mardon. He pulled the man up so they were shoulder to shoulder. Mardon's head rolled forward, his chin resting on his chest. Roy thought about trying to make the man more comfortable, but decided against it. This was mostly Mardon's fault. Let the man be uncomfortable.
Roy rubbed his eyes. This was supposed to be an easy job. A way for Snart to see how they all worked together. See if certain people could keep their egos in check when a score was on the line. Like they didn't all know exactly who Cold was referring to. It was just a test to see if Mardon would follow Cold's orders. If he could fall in line. The answer was apparently a resounding No.
Roy glared at Mardon, but the man remained oblivious. Roy's arm continued it's throbbing pulses of agony. This was all Mardon's damn fault.
Mardon was the most powerful out of the six of them, and he was very, very aware of. Had even compared himself to a god once. Roy had rolled his eyes at the time, but now he wished he had slapped the man. Maybe used his own powers on Mardon, to show him that he wasn't the only one who could do things others couldn't. That he wasn't the only one with power. The fact that Cold wasn't a meta, but still wanted to be in charge made the relationship between the two men very contentious. Even the planning stages had been a constant struggle.
"Don't see why you don't just let me blow the building down with a tornado. Wouldn't be hard to access the safe then."
"Because we don't need the contents of the safe being damaged. Not to mention the collateral damage. We…"
"Yea, yea. The Rogues don't kill. I got it." Mardon's sneer had been a clear indicator of what he thought about that particular rule. Cold had ignored it and continued on.
"Brute force is not always the answer. We start killing innocent civilians, or police officers, and the cops will shoot to kill. Or they will call in the military to handle us. Not to mention the Flash might not be so gentle the next time he whisks you off to that private prison of his."
Mardon had been unusually quiet after that comment. Roy was a little…glad to know he wasn't the only one affected by their time in the pipeline. The three of them, Mardon, Shawna, and himself, never really talked about the pipeline. But Roy had seen the way Shawna had reacted to being cooped up in a van, the way Mardon would get quiet whenever Cold brought it up. Roy was certain the only reason Mardon had agreed to join the Rogues was because of Cold's policy on prison breaks.
Roy had to admit it was a deciding factor for him as well.
At least twenty minutes had passed since Roy had pushed them into the old office. Still there was no sound, no flashing lights, no helicopters flying overhead. Roy pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. No messages from the others. He put it back. Snart had said no communication unless he instigated it. Roy could see himself texting Cold, and the noise from the text alert causing Cold to get captured. That was precisely his type of luck.
Mardon was sweating profusely next to him. How had the military developed something to counteract their powers so quickly? Maybe it wasn't a counter agent, maybe it was just a shit ton of tranquilizers. He supposed that would work on any of them, regardless of their powers. Roy had no idea what the drugs were doing to Mardon, but the guy was breathing, so that was just going to have to be good enough for now.
Roy's arm ached, it was getting difficult to ignore. He took off his jacket and inspected the bandage. It wasn't bleeding, so he was sure it was fine. Although he wasn't supposed to do any heavy lifting for awhile. Shawna's orders. Roy was supposed to stay in the van, Snart not wanting Roy to get too involved before his arm was completely healed. Stay in the van, watch the security feed, listen on the headset. There were only going to be three security guards, two office workers, and one custodian in the building. The plan was to get in, grab a flash drive out of a safe on the third floor, and get out. No causalities, no issues, no surprises. The security guards didn't even carry guns.
Lisa was in the van with him. She sat in the driver's seat, appearing just as calm and collected as her brother. Cold and Shawna had gone in first, with Shawna teleporting them in behind the security guards. Shawna had tased the guards, while Cold had quickly rounded up the remaining civilians. He locked them in a storage closet by freezing the door. Roy didn't know why he couldn't have just used a lock, but Cold really seemed to like to use his gun. Mardon and Mick had already reached the third floor by the time Shawna and Cold had finished.
Three minutes and 47 seconds. That's how long the job was supposed to take. No alarms had gone off, no one had a chance to make any calls for help. Roy had activated the cell scrambler himself. Mick radioed that they had the thumb drive and they made their way back to the lobby. Lisa started the van. Twenty seven more seconds and they would have been home free. Roy could see the four Rogues in the lobby on the security cameras. Everything was going according to Cold's plan.
Then the screens were blank.
"Lisa…."
He didn't get the chance to warn her that anything had gone wrong. That the cameras had gone out. Although the sudden smoke pouring out of the lobby and the sound of gunshots was probably warning enough. Lisa was out of the van and heading towards the building before Roy even had a chance to think. She was running very quickly. Roy hesitated. They were supposed to stay in the van damn it. Cold had been very clear. No matter what happened. Stay in the van. Lisa was the damn driver, she should be in the van.
Roy pulled open the side door of the van, just in time to see a dozen men in black military gear get thrown through the lobby window. One smacked into the side of the van, only a few inches from Roy.
The Rogues came stumbling out of the smoke. Mardon looked like he was gearing up for another attack, but Cold grabbed his arm. Roy couldn't make out what they were saying. It took him a minute to realize that must have meant that their ear pieces were down. Had the military knocked them out somehow? Shawna appeared beside the van, a bleeding Mick Rory slung half over her shoulder. Shawna looked like she would be crushed by the man's weight but somehow managed to keep standing.
"A little help, Roy!"
Oh, right.
Roy reached forward and pulled Mick into the van.
"What the hell happened?" Roy's eyes darted back to the other members of the team. They were still arguing.
"We need to get out of here now before…."
Roy looked back just in time to see Shawna start to fall over. He managed to grab her arm before her head hit the pavement. There was a small dart in the side of her neck. Shawna looked at Roy with wild eyes.
"That…that was weird….I don't…."
A helicopter appeared overhead. It's spotlight focused on the three Rogues still heading towards the van. Correction, two Rogues. The Snarts were running, but Mardon wasn't moving. He was standing directly in the chopper's spotlight.
"You think you can stop me? You think you can touch me?" The wind was swirling around Mardon, lightening flashed around the chopper causing it to bank hard to one side. Roy could hear Snart cussing as they made it to the van.
"What the hell Cold?"
"Unexpected visitors. Nothing too serious. Lisa, get Shawna and take her to the place we went that time." Roy looked between the siblings in confusion.
"Got it." Lisa grabbed Shawna, who was looking decidedly worse every second, and started running away from the van.
"Change of plans Roy, we need to split up. You and Mick are going to take the van back to the safe house. Keep Mick calm if you can, I'll…."
Roy was certain that Cold had not only a Plan B, but Plans C-Z mapped out in that head of his. Every eventuality covered. But Roy sincerely doubted that Snart had made a plan for suddenly finding themselves surrounded by military Humvees, while several helicopters circled above them. Snart smirked.
"Clever diversion."
Roy looked back towards Mardon, he was standing strangely. Like a drunk man trying to pretend he was sober. He must have been hit with the same thing Shawna got hit with. The helicopter was supposed to distract Mardon so he didn't see the men surrounding them from every side. Mardon fell to one knee. Their most powerful member was down.
"All right." Cold was calm as ever. An aspect of the man Roy found annoying and comforting in this situation. "New plan, this one is going to have to have a little more improvisation than I would normally like."
Cold put his hands up in the air. He made a motion for Roy to do the same. Roy stepped out of the van.
"Hands up Roy. We need everyone to stay calm, understand? We don't want anyone losing their cool and shooting us in a crossfire."
They were completely surrounded, men with their fingers on the triggers on every side. If Roy used rage or fear, it was highly likely the heavily armed men would just start shooting. And there was no way to control who the bullets would end up in. But he wasn't sure calm was the answer either. These were soldiers. They might even be mercenaries or one of those black op groups. Being calm might make it easier for the soldiers to just kill them.
Roy nodded at Cold's subtle order. He removed his shades and raised his hands in the air. Within seconds, there was a gun muzzle in his neck and his arms were forced behind him. Two men held his arms.
Roy and Cold were pushed over towards where Mardon was attempting to stand. A lightening bolt almost hit the downed man. Idiot was going to kill himself trying to use his powers, trying to fight his way out. Mick was dragged behind them, still unconscious. Cold opened his mouth, no doubt to make some quip about the unexpected company, but was interrupted.
"Gentleman. This is an unexpected surprise." The man who stepped forward was a General of some sort. Roy had never been particularly good at names so he doubted he would remember it. The man looked old, probably wasn't more than 50 or 60, but there was a tiredness to his eyes that aged him. The General turned towards a nearby soldier. "Where are the other two? No matter, we will get them before too long."
Roy looked at all the guns trained on the four of them. Cold seemed unimpressed, but Roy was a little nervous. He had never had so many weapons aimed at his head. Especially so many fully automatic guns. No one had come over to try and put a blindfold on him or shoot him with a dart. Either they didn't know how Roy's powers worked or…
"Mr. Bivolo, I would caution against using your rage inducing powers. My men have orders to shoot to kill if they see red in yours or anyone's eyes."
They thought it was only rage. Thought Roy could only make people angry. A good assumption considering he had never tried anything besides rage in public.
"Is this the part where you tell us what you want? Because we were kind of in the middle of something, and it's rather rude to interrupt people in the middle of a job." Cold's voice was calm, almost mocking in a way.
"Honestly Mr. Snart, we had no idea you would be here. We have been looking for Mr. Mardon since he crashed one of our airplanes and killed several of my men. We finally managed to figure out where he would be, so we closed in. We weren't aware you were all working together."
The plane Mardon had knocked out of the sky during their escape from the Flash and the pipeline? That's what this was about? Roy had almost completely forgotten about that, it was such an inconsequential thing. Of course people had died, but they were people who were going lock them up in another illegal prison. So screw them. Roy hadn't given them a second thought.
Apparently this General had. Cold looked curious.
"Interesting. You know I understand how ARGUS might want to bring in a dangerous meta-human. And considering Mardon's powers I would assume you would want to use him in some way. Not to mention the need for caution when capturing him. But this?" Cold gestured to the helicopters and heavily armed men surrounding them "This feels a bit personal General…Collins." Cold read the man's name on off his uniform. No doubt filing that information away until later when he could dig up everything he could find on the man who had surprised them so completely.
The General's smile slipped for a moment. His eyes turned to Mardon. Mark was on his knees, his eyes unfocused, his hands tied behind his back. He was helpless. General Collins pulled his gun and calmly pointed it at Mardon's head.
"My son was flying that plane."
The General was going to kill Mardon. Rage, fear, calm, none of those things would help them out of this situation. Roy looked at the four men behind the General. He would have to try something….different.
He caught the soldiers' eyes.
The soldiers burst out laughing. Uncontrollable, hysterical laughter. The General whipped his head around, and Cold took advantage, he slammed his body into the General. Knocking them both to the ground. Roy stood quickly, catching the eyes of the men behind him. Putting them under his power just as quickly. Roy grabbed a knife off of the belt of one of the men. The soldier didn't even notice. Most of them were laughing so hard they were on their hands and knees. Roy removed his bonds and quickly cut Mardon free as well.
Bullets started raining down around them. Damn, he couldn't get the people in the helicopter from here.
"Cold!"
"Get Mardon out of here. I'll get Mick. Get somewhere safe." Cold punched the General one more time, then grabbed Mick and pulled him up into a fireman's carry. Roy didn't have time to question where exactly somewhere safe would be. More bullets were pinging off of the vehicles around them, in a few moments they would hit their marks. Anywhere would be safer than here.
So he had pulled Mardon's arm over his shoulder and dragged the semi-conscious man down alleys, and behind buildings. He wasn't sure how long they ran. Roy was certain it couldn't have been very long, but he was woefully out of breath when they had finally stopped.
Which lead them to their current predicament. There was no way Roy was going to be able to carry a completely unconscious Mardon out of the building. Let alone be able to run if the military caught up with them.
Well, if the military caught up with Mardon.
It wasn't like the military was after him.
Roy looked at Mark. The man was completely out of it. He wouldn't know if Roy got up and just walked out the door. There was nothing stopping Roy from just leaving the asshole here to his fate.
Roy had never killed anyone, it wasn't like there was General with a personal vendetta against him. He could hardly be blamed for watching out for himself in a situation like this. No one would blame him…
Cold might.
Damn it. Cold would definitely blame him. Roy had listened to Cold's rules. Had agreed to them. Watching each other's backs was apparently rule number one.
Roy let out a long- suffering sigh.
"You're a real asshole, you know that Mardon?"
Mardon made no indication that he had heard Roy. Roy rubbed his eyes again. That much unfiltered happiness had made him a little nauseous. Unbridled joy must have felt great to the soldiers, but to him…it felt like eating too much candy. His throat felt weird, his head ached, and his eyes felt itchy. He would have to use that one as sparingly as possible.
He was just glad it had worked. Most of the men had been unable to hold on to their weapons they were laughing so hard. Roy supposed if this whole life of crime ever fell through he could make it as a stand up comedian.
Roy didn't know how much longer he should wait. He checked his phone again, still nothing. It had been almost an hour now. Roy looked at Mardon then pushed the man until he was lying down. Mardon didn't move, didn't react to Roy at all. But his damn eyes were still open. Roy reached over and closed them. It had been starting to freak him out.
Looked like they were going to be here awhile. At least until Mardon was able to walk. Roy leaned back against the wall. It was 12:37 now. Hopefully the drugs would wear off by morning, and they could make their way back to the safe house. Roy leaned his head against the wall. He really should try to stay awake the whole night. But the adrenaline had long since left his body. He would just close his eyes for a minute.
Roy was glad that Mardon was still out when he opened his eyes again. The sun was streaming in through a window above them. Probably not a great idea to fall asleep for several hours when you are being hunted. Roy poked Mardon, but he didn't respond. Still breathing though.
Roy pulled out his phone, there was a message from Snart. From two hours ago. Well that would be a little hard to explain if they asked why he didn't respond.
"Safe house compromised. Meet at secondary."
Roy sighed. The secondary meet up location was all the way across town. He was going to have to either steal a car or flag down a taxi. Roy didn't think he had any cash on him. No wait he had…no he spent that money on paint. He stood up, stealing a car it was then.
He nudged Mardon again with his foot. Still nothing.
Hopefully the man didn't wake up while Roy was out locating their ride. Roy found a piece of paper, and wrote a quick note.
"Went to get car, be right back. Stay here. Roy."
Roy put the slip of paper in Mardon's outstretched hand. That was going to have to be good enough. Roy carefully opened the door to the alleyway. He looked, but couldn't see any sign that anyone was watching. He slid out the door and closed it behind him. Now that he could finally get his bearings, he saw he was somewhere near the abandoned office complexes towards the west end of the city. Hopefully he would be able to find a car to steal around here.
Roy walked several blocks, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. He didn't have his shades and the sun was unbearably bright. Especially for this early in the morning. Finally Roy spotted a truck, one that wasn't rusted out or missing a wheel. He watched the area for a few minutes, there didn't appear to be anyone around. He walked slowly towards the truck. He had picked up a brick a few blocks back. No subtlety here. He was just going to have to do this quickly.
Roy smashed the window and opened the door. He reached under the steering wheel and had just managed to find the wires when he heard someone yell behind him.
"Hey! That's my truck you dick!"
Roy turned quickly to see a rather large and tattooed man running towards him. Damn. Roy was not in the mood for this. His left arm was stiff and achy, and he just wanted to lie down in a warm bed somewhere.
Roy quickly used his powers to calm the man down, make him a little more…tranquil. The man's eyes flashed a light blue. He stopped running. Roy turned and hotwired the truck. The man was standing in the middle of the street. He looked only mildly confused.
"Where are you taking my truck?"
"I'll bring it back."
"Ok." The man waved, then turned and walked away.
Interesting. Roy would have to use that one more often. Calm almost to the point of nirvana. Nothing seemed to bother the man under Roy's influence. Who cares if someone is clearly stealing your truck, they said they would bring it back. All was ok in the universe. Maybe he could make it as a meditation instructor.
Roy drove the truck back towards the building he had left Mardon in. Roy hit the breaks when he saw the place. There was a storm cloud above it, lightening and thunder, torrential rain pouring down from above onto the building.
And only that building.
That idiot was going to get them both caught.
Roy jumped out of the car and sprinted to the building. His version of sprinting anyway, probably wasn't much more than a light jog to most people. He pushed the door open and ducked inside. He was completely soaked. He was going to punch Mardon in the face for that.
"What the hell Mardon?"
Roy expected Mardon to be at least sitting up, maybe standing in the middle of the room cussing at the world. But he wasn't, he was still lying on the ground. His eyes were still closed. But his breathing was heavy and rapid, his fingers were twitching on the ground.
The man had woken up, unable to move, unable to see where he was or who had him. He had reacted by trying to use his powers. Roy sighed and looked at the ceiling. He supposed he should just be thankful Mardon hadn't created a tornado in here and accidentally knocked an old printer on top of himself.
Accidentally crushed by office equipment would be an embarrassing way to go.
Roy walked over and kneeled down by Mardon. Roy's hand hovered over Mardon's shoulder. Roy wasn't particularly comfortable with physical contact with other people. He wasn't exactly sure what he should do here. He rubbed his eyes, then placed a hand on Mardon's arm.
"Mark. Calm down. Mark!"
Roy thought he heard the thunder taper off. The sun started shining back through the window. Roy pulled Mark up so that he was sitting again.
"Can you open your eyes?"
Mardon's eyelids fluttered but didn't open. Those must have been some powerful drugs. Probably had some type of paralyzing agent in them.
"All right. Well, we need to move. I have a truck outside, so if you could try to help me a little that would be spectacular. If not this is going to be very uncomfortable for both of us."
Mardon couldn't even open his eyes, Roy doubted he would be able to move his legs. Still, they had been here for too long. Roy pulled Mardon up and half carried, half dragged the man to the truck. Roy definitely needed to get some more exercise in if carrying these people around was going to be a regular part of the job.
Roy buckled Mardon into the seat, then quickly drove out of the alleyway. The ride to second safe house was silent. Every now and then Mardon would twitch or his fingers would clench. Roy thought he had heard the man mumble something, but decided it wasn't worth the effort to try and figure out what he might have said.
After 45 arduous minutes, Roy pulled the truck into the driveway of a recently condemned house. Roy had never been here before, but Cold had made them memorize the address of two back up safe houses. Roy tried to see if there was any movement. Any sign that the others were here, or if the house was being watched. He waited ten minutes, then decided they would have to risk it.
Mardon was almost able to carry some of his own weight, it made the trek to the front door an awkward shuffle. Roy opened the door, and pulled Mardon down the long hallway to where he thought he saw light. He was almost to the entrance way of a room when a gun was suddenly pointed in his face.
"Roy?"
Lisa's hand didn't waiver, she kept the gun on them for a second longer than Roy would have liked. Her menace was undercut a bit by the fact that she appeared to have a lollipop in her mouth.
"Obviously. A little help?"
Lisa lowered the gun, and put an arm under Mardon. They carried him into the living room. Shawna was already lying on the couch so they dropped Mardon into a recliner. Roy's entire left arm felt like it was on fire. Funny how he hadn't noticed that until just now.
Lisa was looking at him strangely.
"You hurt?"
"Just my arm acting up." Roy rubbed the area near his wound. It was really starting to make itself known. Being somewhere safe must have triggered his body's pain receptors, telling them it was ok to cause him agony now.
"There are some pain pills in one of these kitchen cabinets. I'll grab them and you can explain to me what the hell that was all about."
Right. Lisa had left before General…Collins showed up. She didn't know about the man's vendetta. Roy followed Lisa into the small kitchen separated from the living room by where Roy assumed the carpet used to stop. If there had still been carpet. Roy stood on one side of the kitchen island that separated the living room from the kitchen. Lisa rummaged around in the cabinets, then she handed him a few pills and a glass of water. Roy took both greedily. He didn't realize how thirsty he was until the water in the glass was gone. Lisa smirked at him, then refilled the glass in the sink.
"So, the military doesn't usually concern itself with tiny little things like theft. I'm guessing this has something to do with you boys."
Roy wondered how much he should tell her. How would she react? The woman was…unpredictable at best.
"Are Cold and Mick here?"
Lisa's eyes narrowed.
"Nope." It was said casually but there was an undercurrent of steel in her voice. She wanted answers.
Roy glanced back towards the other metas. Roy knew Mark was awake, he had to assume Shawna was too. He wondered if Lisa knew that. Roy lowered his voice any way.
"Apparently, some General is upset that Mardon killed his son. The plane crash the night you and Cold released us from that truck? His kid was flying it. This…General Collins, I think it was, has been hunting Mardon ever since that night. Was planning on executing Mardon before we escaped."
"And the drugs, why are they both still unconscious?"
"No idea, Mardon was awake earlier. Might still be. He couldn't lift his eyelids."
"Were you followed?"
"I don't think so, but we had no idea the military was there until they came crashing in. Have you heard from Cold since this morning?"
"Just the text saying to not go home. I'm sure Lenny is sitting somewhere plotting out how he is going to take on the entire military. He has a bit of an ego and he hates it when one of his plans is interrupted." Lisa smirked. Roy attempted a smile but wasn't sure he quite managed it.
"Well, since we can't do much until the whole gang shows up, why don't you go take a shower. No offence sweetheart, but you smell like you've been carrying a pile of trash around all night." Lisa shot a look at Mardon.
Roy was certain he did smell. Roy followed Lisa's gaze toward Mardon and Shawna. Roy didn't know Lisa all that well. And only spoken to her once or twice before. Would she stick to her brother's rules in his absence? She barely followed them when Cold was around. What if she decided the best way to get rid of a military tail was to give up Mardon. Maybe she decided to cut her loses and throw out Shawna and him as well.
Lisa hadn't been too excited when Cold had decided to add the metas to the team. And she and Mardon didn't seem to get along. Something in their personalities just seemed to clash.
Roy was trying to think up a good lie, a reason that he didn't need to take a shower. Why he didn't need to leave his fellow metas alone.
"I…is there anything to eat?"
Lisa was looking at him with a curious expression. It was the way a cat might look at a bird that flew right into its claws.
"I can make some eggs while you are in the shower. Go on Roy. Food will be ready when you get out." The cat was still going to rip the bird apart, but it wanted to play a little with it first.
"I…um…don't like eggs."
"Oh for…Roy, honey. Look at me." Roy looked Lisa in the eyes. It hadn't occurred to him that he could just use his powers to keep her calm and sedated until he got out of the shower. It was instinct to use his powers to get himself out of a situation. Clearly it was the same way for Mardon. And Shawna could disappear at the drop of a hat. But for some reason that instinct abandoned him in the presence of the Rogues. He assumed it was because he knew what Cold would do to him if he used his powers on any of the others.
"I'm not going to throw your friends to the military the second you leave the room. First of all, I wouldn't even know how to get in touch with this General. And secondly, I'm not about to call them down on a place my brother is going to be, now am I? Really Roy, you have nothing to worry about. It is adorable how terrible of a liar you are, by the way." Lisa looked like she wanted to pinch his cheeks. Roy had never been called adorable before.
And Mark and Shawna were hardly his friends. More…work acquaintances.
Roy took a step back from the island that separated them.
"I'll just…"
"Shower's two doors down on you left. There might be an old t-shirt or two in one of the bedrooms. I'll check and see."
Roy was definitely going to lock the door to the bathroom. Lisa seemed like the type to just barge in.
Roy turned and headed out of the room, he might have paused briefly to make sure that Mark and Shawna were both breathing. But that was more out of professional courtesy than friendship. Roy had spent the last 12 hours keeping Mark alive, he didn't think it would be right for the man to die on him after all that effort.
He wasn't sure he had the energy to stand in the shower for very long. Still, he could give it a try. The water was cold. He didn't know why he thought there would be warm water. He wondered if Cold deliberately kept the water temperature low, Roy would have to talk to him about his commitment to his arctic theme.
Roy didn't know how long he stood in the shower, how long he just let the water run over him. He tried not to think about what had happened tonight. Tried not to think about the fact that this General Collins would definitely come after them again. And next time, he wouldn't be so easily surprised.
But now…
Now they knew this enemy was out there. That had to be an advantage for them. He was certain Cold would find a way to turn this whole thing around. Certain the Rogues would be better prepared for the next fight. They would have to work together, but they might be able to pull it off.
Hell, they might even get through a job without serious injury.
Roy snorted then turned off the water.
He must really be exhausted to think something as ridiculous as that.
The place they had gone that time was an old candy store on 8th Avenue, McLeery's Confectionary. Old Man McLeery had been old and senile when they were kids. How the old bat was still alive was a mystery. How he still managed to run a candy store was an even greater one. Hell, the place was only open three days a week. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. And only from 10 am to 4 pm.
Which meant it was almost always empty. Making it an ideal place to hide out for a few hours. Who would look for a couple of international thieves in a candy store? Lisa had found the spare key and slipped in the back door, same as she had been doing since she was eight.
She had carried Shawna most of the way to the store. The other woman had gone down rather quickly. And hadn't responded to any of Lisa's gentle prodding. Those darts packed a hell of a punch.
Lisa had pulled the dart out of Shawna's neck and slipped it into her pocket during their escape. She had taken it out several times throughout the night to examine it. There appeared to be a little bit of the tranquilizer left in the dart.
Lisa knew a chemist that worked at MIT who might be able to help recreate this impressive concoction. Lenny didn't need to know. A girl had to have her secrets after all. Lisa smiled when she thought about all the uses she could find for such a thing. She wondered if Bobby could turn it into a lipstick or a perfume for her. Knock the boys off their feet.
More so than usual of course.
Lisa had spent her time waiting for Len to give the all clear by looking through all the candy. She had taken a few pieces for herself. Just a few, the old man's candy had never been very good. But it had been the easiest place for a couple of kids to steal from. McLeery never had a clue they were practicing their craft in his store.
Len must have thought the safe house was compromised for him to have her come here. It was just a matter of him deciding which was the best place to head next. A few hours later and a text from Len proved her right.
She pulled Shawna up and carried her to the corner outside. She managed to hail a cab. She kept up a litany of words to Shawna, scolding her for drinking too much, for dragging them out to a party in the middle of nowhere. For losing her car keys. The cabbie didn't give them a second thought. Just another couple of drunk idiots trying to get home.
Lisa dropped Shawna on the couch, then decided to take a shower. By the time she was done, it was just starting to be morning. Len would show last of course. He was probably somewhere nearby, waiting to see if anyone had followed Lisa, or if this safe house was compromised too. Lisa knew she was most likely bait in this situation, but that was all a part of the plan.
Len trusted Lisa to be able to get herself out of any situation.
And Lisa trusted Len to not get his stupid ass killed trying to be the smartest man in the room. And if he did get in trouble, well that's why she was around.
Really, her big brother wouldn't have survived all this time without her.
Of course, there was also Mick being injured to contend with. Hopefully he didn't have a concussion. Len might have spent the entire night trying to keep Mick from setting everything on fire in his confusion.
Lisa smirked. Served Len right. It was his plan that fell through. Let him deal with the consequences.
Lisa was just about to make something to eat when she heard someone open the door. She pulled her gun and waited around a corner.
Roy's face went from surprised to annoyed in a matter of seconds. For someone who could manipulate the emotions of others, he really didn't know how to keep his own in check. The boy was going to have to work on that.
It was cute how protective he was of his fellow freaks. Even if he wouldn't admit it. He might not even realize it. Lisa had only been to prison once, and Len had gotten her out rather quickly once he heard about it. Still, she had spent six months locked up. She understood how quickly you could bond with people trapped in the same circumstances as you. Even if they never talked about it, the three of them had a connection no one else shared. No one else could understand what they had gone through.
Except for Nimbus, but that guy was a creep. So he didn't count.
Len hadn't even considered adding him to the roster. Lisa had actually agreed with that decision. A pyromaniac, a man who could control the weather, and a couple of super powered low level thieves were one thing. But there was a line, even for them. Plus she sincerely doubted that Nimbus would have abided by the no kill policy.
Oh Lenny. He got the silliest ideas in his head sometimes.
Lisa could hear the shower running. She resisted the urge to barge in on the obviously exhausted man. The poor boy looked dead on his feet, not to mention the way he was holding his arm. It obviously hadn't healed enough to be dragging two hundred pounds of idiot around.
Lisa knew how Roy got that wound. She had never said anything to him about it, and he had never brought it up to her. It was just something he had done for the group. Although it had…endeared the man a little to her. She wasn't completely without gratitude. Even if she could have handled Jackson on her own. Roy had just been trying to help.
So, she did the incredibly kind thing of letting the man finish his shower in peace. Really, she was too good to these people some times.
The eggs were done, so she put some on a plate. Then went and found an extra shirt and put it outside the bathroom door. She walked back into the living room, then stopped beside Mardon.
The man's fingers were twitching and he appeared to be trying to move his legs. There was an unnatural breeze in the room.
"Easy there Tiger, you'll fall right out of that chair. Wouldn't want to you to be any more helpless than you are right now." Mardon looked like he was trying to frown at that comment. The breeze picked up, blowing miscellaneous papers around.
"Well, somebody's a little touchy about their pathetic state." Lisa leaned in close. Her face only inches from his. "Just to be clear, normally I like a man helpless beneath me. Unfortunately for you, I'm not in the mood." Lisa pressed her gun into Mardon's ribs.
"Did it ever occur to you that perhaps the way the military men found you is because they were looking for unusual weather patterns, dips in barometric pressure, unusual temperature changes. That sort of thing."
The breeze died instantly.
"There you see." Lisa removed the gun. "Maybe you are more than just a pretty face." Lisa smirked. Then placed a quick kiss on Mardon's forehead. She kept her voice light and cheerful.
"Lenny has some ideas about our little team. Protect each other and all that. And I will follow my brother's rules. But just so we are clear, you are at the very bottom of my list of people I will fight to protect. You're lucky it was Roy with you tonight and not me, I might not have been so willing to drag your ass across the city. And if you continue to endanger the rest of the team with your stupidity, I will…well, I think you can guess exactly which part of you I will gild first." She patted the side of Mark's face. "Now, you just get some rest, wait for those nasty drugs to leave your system. Let Lisa take good care of you. You too Shawna, if you're conscious."
Lisa stood up and walked back towards the kitchen. She didn't normally cook, the eggs might have been a little runny. Oh well, they were lucky there was any food in the place at all. And there was an unnatural lack of alcohol in this place. Hardly what one would call a well-stocked safe house. She would have to bring up the abysmal state of their supplies with Len.
She started to make a grocery list of all the essentials they would need. Medical supplies, food, make up, alcohol. She underlined that last one. She would make the list, then Len could go do the shopping. He was the one with the clean slate, thanks to the Flash. Cops couldn't arrest a man for buying groceries.
The shower had stopped. Roy would be making a reappearance soon. She wondered if she could get the introverted man to remove his shirt so she could check his arm. She could make a little game of it. See how embarrassed Roy could get before he gave in.
He entered the room wearing a t-shirt. Damn. She could see the bandage on his arm from here. There was no way he would remove his shirt. She would have to find another way to entertain herself until the others decided to make an appearance.
"What?"
Lisa realized she must have been pouting at Roy.
"Nothing. Just thinking about what we need." Her eyes narrowed. "Did you shower with that bandage on?" The thing was soaking wet.
"Um, yes?" Roy looked at his arm. He didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with it. Had the boy never taken a first aid class? Or seen any of the thousand medical shows on television? She had a vague recollection of the man saying he didn't own a TV.
Lisa rolled her eyes.
"Don't move."
Lisa walked into the other room then returned with a new roll of clean, dry bandages.
"Sit."
Roy sat down on one of the barstools, Lisa sat on another then scooted her chair slightly closer than was necessary. Ok, a lot closer than was necessary. Roy instinctually leaned away. He really did not like people in his personal space. Lisa tried not to smile at his discomfort.
Lisa removed the wet bandage, then began to clean and re-wrap his arm.
Honestly, were all men this dumb? What was she thinking, of course they were. She had done a pretty good job at keeping Len alive, and later she had added Mick to her list as well. Now she was going to have four idiots to keep an eye on.
Maybe Shawna could take a little bit of the load. She would have to talk to the other woman about it later. They could work up a schedule on who's week it was to keep these idiots alive.
Roy hissed when Lisa pulled the bandage tight.
"Relax Roy. Some people would enjoy me…" She deliberately used her teeth to rip the tape that would hold the bandage in place. "…causing them a little pain."
Roy rolled his eyes, but refused to look at her directly.
Lisa admired her handiwork.
Not bad. Shawna could double-check it later, if she ever woke up.
Lisa smirked. She had made breakfast and tended to the wounded. She was a regular Susie Homemaker. Something she had never had any intention of becoming. The things she did for these people. They would all be dead and starving without her. Probably lying in ditches somewhere.
Clearly, the Rogues would be lost without her.
A/N: I have the idea for one or two more chapters like this, mostly from Roy's point of view. Hope you enjoy the story so far.