Bleeding Multiverse

Chapter Eight: Belle Reve

Austin-September 13th

Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Labs, Texas was a small lab, as many of the STAR Labs were, but it was unique among them. While many of the others had several labs working on multiple projects, the Houston lab worked on one thing, one that only a few other labs even touched: the rare and volatile element known simply as xenothium. They were also one of the only ones to openly collaborate with LexCorps. This night though, they joined another rarity among STAR Labs, and not one that any wanted to be among: they were broken into. The thief was a slim youth, dressed all in black except for a grey skull-like mask and two red X's, one over the chest and one over the right eye. He was also clearly well trained in stealth and acrobatic maneuvers as he carefully avoided the cameras and various alarm systems until he reached the xenothium vault. "Like taking candy from a baby," the thief said as he grabbed a vial of refined xenothium.

Naturally, that was when he was struck by such a large amount of sticky gunk that he couldn't move and was nearly buried in it. Up in the control room, the security guard smiled as he turned to his companion. "I don't know how you knew, sir, but there he is, right on schedule."

"Believe me Mr. Liften, no one is more surprised than I am," Lex Luthor responded. Perhaps that odd young man could be trusted after all … he'd need to take a closer look at those schematics before deciding though. Until then, it was on to Phase Two of the plan. "Bind him, then clean him up and send him to Belle Reve."

Belle Reve-Sept 17

Well, so far everything was going according to plan. Not only was I now in Belle Reve, I had even come in on the same bus as my target: Victor Fries himself. There were a few surprises though, first and least surprising was Amanda Waller as the warden. Considering Belle Reve was her usual go-to prison to hire members of the Suicide Squad, only her job was surprising. What was more surprising was seeing the psychotic psychologist Dr Hugo Strange there. Fortunately, I was alone in my cell, so I was able to plot in peace before hitting the hay.

Today though was when my plan truly started, and step one was to find Fries and get him alone. And lucky me, the only people with him were Captain Cold, Cold Snap, Blockbuster and … was that Icicle Sr? Well, fortunately none of them were competent fighters without their powers, and since Red X didn't have powers, the collar was just a means of 'keeping me in line.' So, like the brash teenager I was, I marched right up to Fries and said, "Dr Fries, we need to talk, in private."

Victor started to get up, until Joar Mahkent stops him. "And why do you need to speak with him?"

"First, you are being rude. Second, it's none of your business, Mahkent," I responded, my temper rising. "Third, if I wanted anyone else to know, I wouldn't have asked to speak with the good doctor in private now, would I?"

Joar smirked at that. "You're funny. But this is my kingdom, and if you want to talk to someone in private, you need my permission, kid."

"Your kingdom, you say?" I asked in a manner that made it clear I thought it was a joke. "You sit on a throne of ice in the midst of winter, but eventually spring comes and ice melts."

"Are you threatening me?!" Joar demanded with a roar of hate.

"No, I'm stating a fact. Spring always comes, and ice always melts."

"That's it! Blockbuster, teach him some manners, would you?" Blockbuster gave an approximation of a grin before grabbing for me. I simply ducked and rolled to the side before hitting his knee hard, causing his leg to snap and Blockbuster cried out in pain as he fell to the floor. I turned back to Joar and raised an eyebrow, silently telling him Your move. Joar grumbled and nodded to Fries, who stood up and followed me. "Before you go, I need to know who you are," Joar demanded.

"The name's X, Red X," I stated before leading Victor to a semi-private area.

"What did you want, X?" Victor demanded.

"I have a proposal for you, Dr Fries, one that would free you from all worries about Batman, and help you save your wife."

Fittingly enough, Fries froze at that statement. "Nora? How could you possibly help her?"

"By giving you a legitimate business and income." I waited, but he didn't say or react to that, so I explained. "If you can go a whole year without incident in Belle Reve, I know someone who is willing to get you out legally and then set up with a lab of your own. Officially you will be doing cryogenics work for the rich, powerful and brilliant: safely freezing them while working on cures for their various diseases. However, there would be nothing stopping you from delegating that research to other scientists while you worked to save Nora."

"Why are you doing this?" Fries asked after several minutes of silence. "And how do I know I can trust you?"

"For the first, because ever since I heard your story, I've wished I could help you in some way. You're not a madman, you're just desperately trying to save your wife by any means, and who can't respect that? As to the second, I let myself be arrested just so I could talk to you. Does that really sound like someone who would try to trick you?" Fries shook his head. "But if you need another reason to trust me, I'll have Selina pay you a visit to vouch for me."

"Catwoman would vouch for you? Why?"

"Because I'm trying to help Harley Quin escape the Joker." Victor smiled at that, and we shook hands. Later that night, I was shocked to hear Kon and M'gann's voices in my head. Great, I should have realized the League would investigate Belle Reve with Freeze and Icicle coming! I mentally projected.

Tony?! Where are you and what are you doing? Kaldur demanded.

I'm inside Belle Reve on a personal mission, and before you ask, no, the League does not know, nor do they need to know. After a few seconds of silence, I asked So, who are you playing? I asked Kon.

I'm Tommy Terror, and M'gann's Tuppence. What about you?

I'm Red X.

It was now our second full day in Belle Reve, and I watched as Belle Reve's cons solidly bully one of my favorite cons there, so I invited him to eat with me. "Riddle me this:

With potent, flowery words speak I

Of something common, vulgar, dry

I weave webs of pedantic prose

In effort to befuddle those

Who think I wile time away

In lofty things above all day

The common kind that linger where

Monadic beings live and fare

Practical I may not be

But life, it seems, is full of me."

Nygma's eyebrow rose in shock at my riddle. "What is a riddle, and what a riddle you are, Red X. Only one other person has ever greeted me with that riddle, yet I don't think you are him."

"I gave you a small red stone and asked you to keep it safe and hidden. I assume it still is?" Riddler's eyes widened but answered positively. With the introductions out of the way, we entered into a game of riddles which lasted through lunch. Lunch was briefly interrupted though, as first Fries walked out on Mahkent, then Darryl attacked Mahkent trying to become the new top dog … and make a name for himself.

We were leaving lunch when it happened: a lockdown. Of course, that was when the villains made their move. Fries pulled me aside and asked, "Your deal, do I need to help your side, or can I just stay out of it?"

"You could stay out, but it would go a long way if you helped out," I answered honestly.

Fries nodded and froze my collar, shattering it. "Junior and Terror are supposed to break through to the women's side, while the others break out. That is all I will do to help out. For the rest, you are on your own."

"Thanks for the help, Dr Fries, I'll make sure it's mentioned when this is over." With that, I headed towards the obvious location for the break-out while taking time enough to explain how I got my suit back. My first stop was to hit Brick and a few others that were tormenting Waller, Strange and a few guards by binding them in adhesive restraints. Then I warmed up the cell before moving on.

When I arrived at the break-out location, I immediately hit the biggest threat in the room (Blockbuster,) with my palm lasers. Naturally, that caught the attention of Icicle, who immediately froze my feet. "X, what the hell do you think you're doing? If we break through this wall, we're all free! But if you interfere with that, you'll have every con here gunning for you. It might be slow, it will be painful, but you will die because of your interference."

I smirked at him, ready for my big reveal. "You're a fool, Mahkent. First, I'm not going to be serving my sentence, and even if I did, I wouldn't be locked in here with you, you'd be locked in here with me," I quoted, making sure they realized just how little I feared them. "Second, you wouldn't be escaping even if I never lifted a finger, not when my teammates have infiltrated your plot."

"What teammates?" Captain Cold demanded.

"Why, none other than Superboy and Ms. Martian," I explained. Instantly, Icicle's eyes widened in shock as he realized who Superboy was pretending to be. "That's right, your escape is doomed because your son befriended Superman's son."

"It doesn't matter," Icicle growled. "Blockbuster and Frost can take care of them, and you don't have any powers, X, only that suit."

"And that brings us to point number three. You're right, Red X doesn't have any powers outside of his suit. The problem for you is that I'm not Red X, I'm just borrowing the name." With that, I sent a silent command to my suit, and the disguise faded away. My hair went from black to its' natural blond, my eyes changed from green to their natural sky blue, and my newly designed, personal costume appeared. Combat boots, blue leather pants with black armor and silver designs, a classic utility belt, a blue and black leather top, gloves with magical foci over the hands, and a runed hood obscuring my face. "My name is Magefire, and if you think you can stop me, you're dead wrong."

Snart was the first to attack, but I simply dodged the blast and hit him with the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. He was a Rogue, and while that meant he was a villain, it also meant that he had an honor code, I'd always respected the Rogues for that. With him down, I swooped in and hit Blockbuster with a dose of Fear Gas, and he instantly started shrinking back to Dr Desmond. Naturally that enraged Icicle even more, while Coldsnap had recognized me. "You may have beaten me in Coast City, kid, but you can't beat both of us, especially since I'm not holding back anymore!"

With that, the two ice villains hit me at the same time, while I barely brought up my flames fast enough to protect myself. As the attacks grew stronger and stronger, I had to use worse and worse memories to fuel the rage that created my flames, but they just kept attacking, and finally Junior arrived with Kon and M'gann. "Cameron, you do not want to join in on this," I warned him. Naturally, he ignored me and launched his own assault. Well, that left me no choice but to use my most painful memory to fuel my fire: I focused on Uncle Johnny's death, and seeing the Grim Reaper here, and I lost control

POV Shift-Kon

When Cam attacked Tony, I knew something bad was going to happen, but I didn't expect this. Rao, no wonder he knew the value of staying in control of your temper at all times! Within seconds, the three ice villains weren't blasting him to bring him down, but to protect themselves from being burned! "M'gann, can you get through to him? Maybe calm him down?"

"No, the fire is in his mind too, I can't do anything," M'gann answered before running off, away from the flames.

Well, that left only me to stop him before he did something he'd regret, so I leapt at him, grabbed him by the waist and brought him to the ground, then knocked him out. What shocked me though was that from the moment I grabbed him, I was burning. What had happened to my invincibility? Did Cadmus do something wrong when they cloned me? "Hold still, kid, I'll take care of those burns," someone said. When I managed to turn my head to see him, it turned out to be Captain Cold of all people.

"Why … should I … trust you?" I manage to get out.

"The Flashes trust me," he stated.

I couldn't believe him. "Prove it," I whispered.

"Wally West is Kid Flash," he whispered. That was enough for me, and I nodded my consent.

Just as he moved to do something though, another voice called out "What do you think you're doing, Leonard? Ice is the last thing you use to treat a burn!"

"And what do you know about treating burns, Mick?" Cold demanded.

"I was training to be a fireman before you showed up with my gun and invited me to the Rogues," he explained. He quickly moved in close to me, and took me in. 'Mick' shook his head and stated, "Call the Martian and have her bring the medics and whatever medicine they have to treat burns, you're going to need it." Then he turned his head and called out "Sam, take Len with you and get Superman. If the kid's going to come out of this looking even half-way human, we're going to need his old man." A few minutes later, M'gann returned with the doctor and medicine. 'Mick' spoke with the doctor, then returned with some anesthetic, and I knew no more.

Third Person POV

Leonard Snart and Sam Scudder had left Belle Reve the same time M'gann went to collect the doctor, for Leonard Snart (more commonly known as Captain Cold) had created an ice wall and Sam Scudder (more commonly known as Mirror Master) led them through the reflective surface of the ice and into the Mirror Dimension. Inside, Mirror Master first gathered their costumes and weapons before going to the area of the dimension that opened into Metropolis, seeking one person. When his search proved unfruitful, he led his partner through a surface into the offices of the Daily Planet and announced, "We are looking for Clark Kent, where is he?"

"He's not here, you crazies," Steve Lombard yelled.

"Don't call us that. We are not like the Arkham inmates. We are the Rogues of Central City," Cold stated before freezing Lombard. "Very well, since we can't have Kent, we'll take the next best thing: where are Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen?"

"I'm right here, Cold," Lois said. "But if you think you can threaten me, you have another thing coming. I thought my reputation would have spread as far as Central City by now."

"That Superman always saves you?" Mirror Master asked. "Of course, we know, that's why we wanted you. Olsen would have worked because of his signal watch. You see, we need to talk to Superman-"

"About what?" Superman demanded from an open window before freeing Lombard with a gentle application of his heat vision.

"For that, we need to speak in private," Mirror Master responded. "And since it's best that it happens quickly, you will need to follow me."

Curious, Superman did as the Rogue requested, and the three of them vanished into a computer screen. "So, this is the Mirror World," Superman stated as he looked around. "Flash has told me of this place but hearing and seeing are truly two different things."

"Good to know Barry's told you of us, Kent," Mirror Master said. "I assume he's told you of our … unique relationship as well?" Superman nodded, though he hadn't quite realized how unique Flash's relationship with the Rogues was. "Well, there's been a … situation in Belle Reve that you need to take care of."

"What kind of situation?"

"I was involved in an attempted break-out," Cold explained. "During the attempt, a young hero calling himself Magefire lost control of his pyrokinetic abilities. As a result, a young man whom we believed to be Tommy Terror knocked him out, but he was badly burned doing so."

"What do you mean, he was burned? Kon is invulnerable, he can't be burned," Superman argued, having realized that Kon and M'gann's covers must have been blown stopping the break-out.

"See for yourself, we've arrived," Mirror Master stated. "Mick, how is he?"

"Not good," Mick Rory responded. "Third degree burns over his entire chest, arms and half of his face. Unless Superman has something that can help, I have no idea if he'll ever fully recover."

Clark nearly collapsed when he saw the burned mess that was Conner Kent, but he managed to hold onto his composure, and he knew exactly how to save the boy he was quickly coming to love. "Scudder, can you reach my Fortress through the Mirror World?"

"So long as there's a reflective surface there, yes, I can reach it."

"Good, then the three of you are coming with me. Heat Wave, Cold, put Superboy on a stretcher."

But before anyone could move through the ice wall into the Mirror World, Waller called out. "Superman, what do you think you're doing with my prisoners?"

"Tommy Tuppence hasn't come to Belle Reve yet, this is Superboy, and the Rogues are helping me move him so he can have specialized medical treatment. You can note in your records that they have been released on parole." With that, the five left Belle Reve, leaving Waller and Strange to clean up the mess left behind, including two badly burned ice villains: Joar Mahkent and Darryl Hamilton.

Upon arrival at the Fortress of Solitude, the Rogues were shocked to hear "There are non-Kryptonians inside the Fortress Kal-El, shall I eradicate them?"

"Negative, Eradicator, I need you to start the healing process for Kon-El. He is suffering from severe burns over most of his body, and I want to know how it happened!" Superman stated before heading to the cosmic anvil and created a blue sun, knowing it would help Kon heal faster.

Ten minutes passed, and Mick was in awe at how fast Kon had healed. Already his face and arms had fully healed, while some of his chest looked no worse than if he had simply received a bad sunburn. "Analysis complete, Kal-El. Kon-El is not a full-blooded Kryptonian. Further analysis of his DNA reveals that he also has human DNA, human parent identified as Alexander Luthor."

Mount Justice-Sept 18

I woke slowly, far too slowly compared to what should have happened, then I realized why as my head started pounding. "Ow, what happened?" I asked, slowly recognizing the Cave.

"You lost control and Superboy had to stop you," Black Canary stated.

"Did I kill anyone?"

"No." I sighed in relief. "However, several were badly burned, including Superboy." I raised an eyebrow at the fact that I had burned Kon, but I couldn't say I was completely surprised considering his origin. "Do you not care that you lost control?"

"I knew exactly what would happen, but the villains are the ones that pushed me to my limits."

"Explain," Dinah demanded.

"My pyrokinetic powers have always been tied to my anger and rage, and believe me, others have tried to find another way but always failed. With the ice villains attacking me, I had to delve into worse and more painful memories. In the end, I had to use the worst memory I have: the murder of my uncle and having to face his murderer last month. And before you say anything, no, I have control of my emotions and my powers and my emotions, or rather, I do most of the time. I did warn them that things would become dangerous, I just underestimated how dangerous those memories were."

"You lost control of your powers, and I'm going to have to suggest that you be removed from the Team until you gain complete, and safer control over them."

Mount Justice-Sept 22

"M'gann, we've been at this for a month. If a telepath like the Charles Xavier, the most powerful telepath my world has ever seen can't find a different trigger, there isn't one," I argued.

"Well, I'm an optimist, and I'm sure whatever telepaths your Earth produced, none had the power of a Martian," she stated confidently. I simply chuckled at her arrogance, almost wishing she had the chance to meet the Professor.

"She's got a point, MF," Wally said. "I bet your Xavier dude just didn't have the know-how to help with your abilities. Torque wrench," he requested, as he was working on Kon's motorcycle while M'gann tried to help me gain 'safer control' of my pyrokinesis.

As M'gann telekinetically sent it to him, Kaldur showed up and said, "I have been meaning to ask, any problem juggling schoolwork with your responsibilities here?"

"Juggling's just one of my many talents. Socket wrench," Wally said.

"No, it's actually been fun going to a normal school again," I stated. "Which reminds me, where are you going to school, Kon? I kind of expected you to go to school with M'gann and I." I'd been curious about his domestic situation ever since he left the Cave, and he didn't show up at H3, as the local high school had been nicknamed.

"Ever since Bialya and Belle Reve, Superman's been a lot more active in my life, so I'm actually going to school in Metropolis," he said with a smile, something that was far more common now than it used to be. "Well, unless I'm training in the Fortress that is. He's been teaching me a lot about Krypton, and how to hone my abilities."

"That's great, Kon," M'gann said. "As for myself, daily cheerleading practice has presented a challenge. Oh, but my first loyalty is always to the Team. This team, I mean, not the Bumblebees."

"Speaking of which, we really need an actual name for the Team," I said. "What do you say to discussing it when Rob and Artemis show up?"

"I'm betting you already have a suggestion," Wally grumbled. I simply smiled as an answer.

"Artemis starts school today," Kaldur commented. "Do you think she will have trouble maintaining her loyalties?"

"Artemis will be fine, she knows where her loyalties lie," I stated, knowing what he was doing. Then, without warning, we were hit by a flood of water, and I was knocked unconscious.

I woke up several hours later to the League freeing Kon, Wally and I from some metal that had been melted and forged around us. "What happened?" I asked, utterly confused.

"The Reds happened," Artemis stated. She was about to explain when she realized that Tornado was gone, then she took a moment to calm down and fully explained what had happened.

Shade looked shocked at the description. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say it's connected to something I'd been working on. About two weeks ago, Jim Lockhart went missing, and about the same time, Danette Reilly's grave was dug up and her body exhumed."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Wally demanded.

"Because Jim Lockhart was a short-lived member of the All-Star Squadron called Red Torpedo with hydrokinetic abilities, and Danette Reilly was a member of the Justice Society called Firebrand, and she was a pyrokinetic," he explained. "It's possible that both of them were in fact android creations of Morrow like Tornado himself, and that he used them to do what he failed to do with Mister Twister: reprogram Tornado into an enemy of the League."

"Damn that Morrow!" I yelled out, then I went to throw a fireball, only to freeze in shock.

"Something wrong, Tony?" Dick asked.

"It's not possible," I whispered. It was simply impossible. How could they have gained access to that command? I snapped my fingers, but there wasn't so much as a spark. I attempted to feel the thoughts of Kon, but heard nothing, not even a hint of another mind. In desperation, I felt for my magic and tried to conjure a simple mandala, but nothing appeared. "Robin, I need you to hack into my suit."

"You what?"

"You heard me, hack into my suit."

"I've tried that, your suit is so …unique that I can't do it."

"Use the backdoor, type in Pulp-Fury-Fiction-Ezekiel 25:17." Dick was utterly delighted when my backdoor proved to work, and I'm sure he copied everything he could to another computer controlled by Bruce. "Now, I need you to find out what commands are active."

"Okay, active commands … found it. Looks like there's only two active commands. The first is labelled Reset-Base-Costume-Magefire." Okay, that was to be expected, I had set it myself in order to create my personal costume, and only I could change that command. "The other command is Countdown: Soul-Mephisto-Power-Banner-Time-Kang-Space-Galactus-Reality-Kobik-Mind-Onslaught-Thanos-Snap." With each word, I grew paler and paler. How could anyone from this reality have learned about that code? And what could I do now that it had been activated? "Tony, are you alright?"

"They're gone," I whispered, nearly broken in my shock.

"What's gone?" Superman asked.

"My powers, they're gone," I answered, just barely managing to raise my voice to a conversational level.

"For how long? Can you get them back, will they come back on their own?" Wally asked, ever the scientist.

"Forever, they're gone forever. I'm never getting them back."

A/N: To get an idea of what Magefire looks like in costume, look up these DCUO costume pieces: Paramilitary boots, Mystical Energy legs, Slimline chest, Magical Blast Foci hand blaster and Runed Hood head piece, all in blue, black and silver, with a black and red Swirling Fireball emblem. Also, from now on, unless stated otherwise, this is Tony's costume from now on.