"Bullshit."
"I'm serious."
"You're drunk."
"I'm telling you, it's all about updrafts and air pockets…"
"So you've been reading books about the weather now?"
"What? No. Look, its just this…you know what. Screw it. I'll just show you."
Mardon stood up quickly from his bar stool. Only slightly stumbling in his attempt at a grand exit. Roy thought about grabbing him. About stopping the man from no doubt making an embarrassing scene. But then decided it might be funnier to just let the man fall on his ass.
Mardon headed for the door.
"Where the hell are you going?"
"I have to be outside."
Roy sighed and stood up from his own stool. Cold would kill Roy if he let Mardon jump off of a building. Roy begrudgingly followed the other meta outside. It was far too cold out for this. There was already a few inches of snow on the ground. Maybe the powder would break Mardon's fall and not the man's neck.
By the time Roy caught sight of him, Mardon was climbing to the top of an 18 wheeler in the parking lot. Roy cursed under his breath.
"You have got to be kidding me."
Roy walked a little quicker. Mardon was standing on top of the truck, his arms stretched out wide. Why couldn't they ever just go out for a quiet drink? Why did Mardon always insist on throwing a lightening bolt or starting a hurricane or…
"Don't be stupid Mardon."
"Oh come on Roy. You're the one that dared me to do this."
"I didn't dare you to do shit."
Mardon was smiling. He probably wouldn't die falling from that height, but he would definitely break a leg or two. Which was going to make the job in Starling next week all the more difficult.
Roy wasn't looking forward to that job.
He never liked Starling City. Place was always so dreary, so cloudy. The darkness of the city made it difficult for him to see clearly. He didn't like the shadows his vision would create.
He liked getting shot by arrows even less.
But Cold was insistent.
Some shady organization was running a large cargo of artifacts meant for a private buyer through the Starling City docks.
Cold had said that there was something among the artifacts that might help them understand what the Reverse Flash was up to. Why he had taken Roy, what he was planning.
"What makes you so sure we will find the info we need there?"
"Because, the Reverse Flash told Roy that he wanted him to spread fear. And then less than two weeks later, a shipment of artifacts relating to an ancient civilization that worshiped a fear god known as Parallax, is quickly brought to the U.S.? That's too much of a coincidence for me to ignore."
"You think the Reverse Flash is the private buyer."
"The man may be fast, but he can't be everywhere at once. Those crates are only going to be on the docks for a few minutes before they get sent off elsewhere. Starling City is the best time to take those artifacts. And if it turns out the Reverse Flash isn't behind the sale, then we can always sell them ourselves. If the Reverse Flash is going to continue to meddle in our affairs, then it is time we started screwing with his."
So they were leaving the relative safety of Central City to steal an artifact of an ancient fear god so that a man from the future couldn't have it.
Maybe Mardon saying he could fly wasn't the most ridiculous thing Roy had ever heard.
Mardon took another step towards the edge of the truck, small gust of wind were gathering around his hands. Roy took a few more quick steps. He couldn't believe that Mark was actually going to do this. He was not looking forward to having to carry the man back to the car and then explain to Cold why Mark's legs were broken.
Mardon stepped off the edge of the truck…
Holy shit.
The asshole was flying.
Not just hovering a few feet off the ground, or just slowing his decent slightly. He was full on flying around in the air.
God, Mardon was going to be even more insufferable after this.
Mardon flew a few loops around the parking lot then landed with a graceful stumble.
"Smooth."
"Oh come on Roy, you know you're impressed."
Roy did his best to keep his face neutral. He wasn't going to give Mardon the satisfaction.
"So when did you pick up this little trick?"
Mardon smiled wider and gave Roy a shove.
"Trick? Can any of you assholes fly? I was training with Mick the other day, we're working on creating a cyclone that will pull in the flames from his gun without snuffing them out right away. It would be a spinning wall of fire, the Flash couldn't run through. Went to push some flames away with a gust of wind and sort of pushed myself up for a few seconds. Been working on it all week."
"You told Cold yet?"
"Ha! No. Figured I'd just surprise him on the next job. Maybe fly up and meet him on the roof of the warehouse. Make him drop that impassive mask of his for a few seconds. It'll be hilarious."
Roy smirked. That would be pretty funny.
"He might freeze you to the ground."
"If he can catch me."
Oh yes, this was going to do wonders for Mardon's ego.
Roy rubbed his hands together, the cold of the night starting to seep into his clothing. Ever since the sewer, Roy found he tended to get cold quicker. He was wearing more layers right now than was strictly necessary even with the snow. It was such a small thing though, he never really mentioned it to the others. They didn't need to worry about Roy wearing an extra sweater. Especially since Digger was still out for the count.
They had finally managed to get Digger out of the hospital only four days ago. The so-called Rogues Task Force had been guarding him. Roy would admit that the RTF had made Digger's extraction slightly more difficult. They had anti-meta technology, not to mention the individualized weapons to counteract each of their powers.
It had taken them almost seven minutes to get Digger out of the hospital. If the RTF hadn't been there, why it might have only taken five.
Cold had warned them about getting too cocky with regards to the RTF. Mardon had, predictably, disagreed.
"That task force is a joke. It's a publicity stunt, meant to make the people of Central sleep sounder at night. They can't do shit."
"That might be the case, but they are still cops…"
"Riot cops with some fancy tech. They're all still pissed about that spanking we gave them at STAR Labs, this is just…"
"Thank you Mardon. As I was saying. The RTF may not be a threat to us now, but that doesn't mean we don't need to keep an eye on them. Cops don't like it when criminals get away, they like it even less when criminals make a habit of getting away. They start to take more…extreme measures. I don't want any of us getting hit because we turned our backs on some rookie trying to prove himself."
Roy had seen the wisdom in that. A couple idiot cops looking to make names for themselves, looking be heroes. Those were the most dangerous ones. The ones that thought they were in the right.
Not everyone agreed with Cold's assertion however, Hartley had been particularly derisive.
"Please, those cops couldn't touch us. I ran background checks on all of them. None of them excelled in their classes at the academy, they have had uneventful, boring careers up to this point. Most of them took the position because it would look good on their resume. Look…"Hartley pulled up a screen showing each member of the task force. "…this one barely qualified to become a cop. He failed his psych eval twice, and they still let him on the task force. The RTF seems to be where they send cops if the crossing guards won't take them."
"It only takes one cop to get it in his head that he is going to be the hero of the day and kill a Rogue."
Both Mardon and Hartley had rolled their eyes, but kept any further comments to themselves. The conversation had died shortly afterwards. Roy knew that Cold wanted everyone to stick together, to be extra diligent. There had been too many close calls recently.
"Come on Roy…" Mardon slung an arm over Roy's shoulders. "…let's head back before Cold starts calling. Knowing him, he will start enacting a curfew we show up too late."
"You sure you don't want to fly back?"
"Like I would let you drive the car, you almost wrecked it last time."
"I had a concussion."
"Yea, yea."
They got back into the car. Mardon slid into the driver seat. He was the more sober of the two, which wasn't really saying much. Roy cranked up the heat, probably higher than was strictly necessary. He could feel his feet starting to defrost.
The car ride back was mostly silent. Roy had leaned his head against the window. He was going to pass out as soon as he made it back to his bed. Hell he might not even make it that far. He might just sleep in the car until one of the others needed it. He remembered when Mick had passed out in the hallway one night and they just kept stepping over him until he woke up ten hours later.
"You'd like it."
Roy opened his eyes and stared blearily at Mardon. Mark's eyes were still on the road, he wasn't looking at Roy.
"Flying. You'd like it."
Roy snorted.
"I doubt it. I get airsick. I'm the guy who has to use the brown paper bag behind the seat."
"That's because you were in a sealed metal box with some shitty pilot. This is different. Trust me."
Roy could see the smile on Mardon's face. It was odd. So out of place on the normally tempestuous man. Flying gave Mardon something. Maybe it was regaining a bit of the freedom that had been taken from him when he was locked in the pipeline. Maybe it was realizing he would never get into another airplane accident himself, that he could always fly himself out.
Or maybe it was just that he thought it was really cool.
Whatever the reason, Roy wouldn't question it. Mardon needed something that could calm him down. A hobby. Something other than causing lightening storms that knock out the power to half the city. Of course, most people taught themselves how to cook or learned a new language.
Mardon taught himself how to fly.
Never let it be said that the Rogues did anything by halves.
Still, Roy doubted he would enjoy it.
"Unless I am literally falling to my death, no thanks."
"You don't know what you're missing Roy."
"Story of my life."
"You're no fun."
"I'm alright with that."
The next morning, Cold was going over some last minute details about the job. Roy was trying his best to pay attention. He might have been slightly drunker than he had thought last night.
Maybe he had imagined the whole 'Mardon can fly' thing.
"Mardon, once the guards are taken out, I want you on top of the roof. You'll need to be up there within two minutes so that you can see all of the relay boxes and hit them with lightening simultaneously. Can you manage that?"
Mardon smirked.
"Oh yea. It'll be a breeze."
Roy sighed. Apparently he hadn't imagined it. He was looking forward to seeing how the others reacted to this new development though.
Shawna entered the room. Lisa turned towards the female meta.
"How's Digger?"
"Bandages are holding up. He's going to have to sit this job out maybe the next couple jobs, don't think we can risk him reinjuring himself."
Cold gave her a look.
"And?"
They all turned and looked at her. Cold's tone had implied that she was holding something back. Shawna looked hesitant.
"It's probably nothing I mean, the dude was almost dead a few days ago…"
"What is it?"
"He didn't hit on me."
There was a moment of silence. Mardon laughed suddenly.
"Seriously? Jesus, I thought you were going to say his organs were starting to fall out or something."
"I know, I know it's completely ridiculous. But…I don't know alright. He's just…whatever. Forget it."
Roy smirked at Shawna. She was constantly complaining about Digger's advances. About his inappropriate comments.
Hartley nudged Shawna as she sat down.
"You know it's nothing personal that I don't hit on you right?"
Shawna gave Hartley a light shove.
"Ok, I get it. It sounds stupid when I say it out loud. It's probably just that he's still drowsy from all the drugs they pumped him full of. He'll be back to being a total creeper in no time. Forget I said anything."
"Well, personality quirks aside, Digger will be staying behind for the Starling job. It should be relatively straightforward. We get in, we get the crates and we get out. The cargo shouldn't be on the Arrow's radar since it is all being brought in legally, and doesn't have a high monetary value. We stick to the schedule, and we bring the goods back here."
It was a solid plan, they all knew their parts. All knew where they had to be to make it all go off without a hitch. It wasn't long before they were ready to put it all in motion.
It had been snowing in Central for the past several days, creating an idyllic winter land. People had built snowmen in the parks, kids were having snowball fights. Everything you saw in cheesy Hallmark movies was happening in the streets of Central.
In Starling, there was nothing but freezing rain and ice. What little snow there was, had turned almost black from all the grime and mud. The people stayed inside, having no reason to leave the warmth of their homes for the biting cold.
On the way to the job, Mick had almost crashed the car from all the black ice coating the roads. That hadn't been the greatest portent of things to come.
Still, they had pushed forward. Getting to the site just in time to watch the workers unloading several crates.
They were already 22 seconds behind schedule. A fact Cold was constantly reminding them of. They all managed to get into their positions. Mardon on top of the roof, Mick and Snart taking out the guards at the east entrance, Shawna and Hartley taking out the security feeds.
Roy and Lisa were taking out the guards closest to the crates. She walked out into the open, drawing their attention.
"Hello boys. Can you help a girl out? I seem to be a little lost."
The guards raised their guns, and Roy stepped behind them. He activated his powers, hitting two of the guards with fear. Both of them stood frozen to the spot. The third, Lisa quickly dispatched of.
Lisa looked up and smiled.
"I think we just made up 7 of those lost seconds. Lenny will be so pleased."
Roy opened his mouth to reply, when one of the guards under Roy's influence suddenly started running. Roy took a step back in surprise.
"Where is he going?"
His powers were still affecting the guard, the man should just be standing still like the other one. Lisa pulled her gun and aimed it at the legs of the retreating man.
The man ran right off the edge of the dock and into the water.
"Huh. That was weird. Did you hit him with an extra dose or something?"
"No…same as this one."
"Hm. Well, no reason to take any chances." Lisa knocked the other guard out with the but of her gun. "Guess that guy just reacted badly."
"Right."
Roy didn't know what to make of that. He had never had someone change how they reacted to fear. If they ran, they ran. If they stood still, they stood still. They didn't freeze in fear, then decided to run blindly off the edge of the dock. Roy tried to look and see if he could see the man in the water.
He didn't.
Did that count as a kill?
The man had panicked. Had run blindly, when his fear should have kept him in place. Roy didn't think he had put any panic into the fear. Had he unintentionally done it? He hadn't used fear since…since before the Roxalana Apartments. Maybe he had let too much of what he felt then seep through now.
Lisa pulled on Roy's arm.
"Don't sweat it Roy. Guy just had a weird reaction to your powers. Let's get going before Lenny has an aneurysm."
The guards had been taken care of, the security was shut off, all the dock workers had been locked up. This job had actually gone off without a hitch. Cold was glaring at Mardon, but turned his attention to the crates
"Alright, lets get this stuff out of here before any masked vigilantes show up."
Mark was just standing there with huge smile on his face.
Roy smirked.
"I missed it?"
Lisa looked at them.
"Missed what?"
"Freaking Mark can freaking fly!" Shawna punched Mark in the shoulder. "I almost had a heart attack when you jumped off that building."
"Focus on the task at hand people."
"Dude, you are so giving me like a piggy back ride."
"Shawna."
"Right. Sorry boss man." Shawna disappeared with a smile at Mark. Mark was looking completely unrepentant. No doubt he would tell Roy all the details later.
Lisa took a few steps towards Mardon.
"Fly?"
Mardon's smile grew wider.
"I can…"
"You can stay on the ground until we get out of Starling. Might I remind you all, that we are still behind schedule. We only have one minute and thirteen seconds before at least one of the Arrows shows up. Less if it's the one in the mechanical suit."
Roy kept thinking back to the man in the water. This odd feeling of dread was sitting in his chest. He couldn't explain it…it was just this sense that something was wrong.
He had to ignore it. Just focus on the job and get back to Central.
They loaded the crates into the trucks. Lisa and Hartley got into one, Roy and Mardon got into the other. Best to divide up the spoils in case one of them got caught.
Mick, Snart, and Shawna headed for their car.
"Stick to the route, don't take any side roads. We have to get out of the city quietly. Use your powers only as a last resort."
They removed their earpieces and destroyed them. Their intel suggested that whoever did the tech for the Arrow was exceptionally good. Even Hartley had been impressed. They couldn't risk that whoever it was would be able to track their signals. Hartley had even put dampeners in the trucks that would block anyone from detecting meta human energy in the area.
Roy kept watching through the windows. Kept looking for the tale tell sign that they were being followed. That at any moment their tires would blow out and they would be in for a fight.
But it never happened. No arrows came flying at them, no masked vigilantes on motorcycles tailing them.
Roy had been certain they would run into something. Certain that their deaths were only…
"What's with you?"
"What?"
Mark was looking at Roy curiously.
"We're almost two hours outside of Starling and your still acting like we are in the middle of it. We got away clean."
Roy didn't respond. Just kept his eyes on the road behind them.
He didn't know what this was. Didn't know why he felt like they should be going faster. That they weren't safe.
That they would never be safe.
Even when they were back at the safe house, the feeling still remained. It wasn't growing or changing, but just staying with him. Keeping him on edge. They unloaded most of the crates into the garage, then brought one with them into the living room. Shawna went to check on Digger. The man was still bed ridden, but that usually didn't stop him from trying to get up and wander around the safe house. The man must really be hurting to not be here waiting to see the spoils.
Mick pulled out a crow bar and pried open the crate. Cold, Mick, and Lisa were the closest, pulling things out to examine them. Hartley and Mardon were sitting on the couch. Roy was content to lean against the bar and watch the proceedings. Most of the items were wrapped in layers of protection. The crates looked old, ridiculously so to be honest. Like they were props from a movie from the 1920s. The crates were even full of straw.
Lisa pulled out what looked like a knife of some kind.
"Be extra careful with these, we don't know what exactly they were used for. They could be covered in ancient poisons."
"That's why I'm wearing gloves big brother…" Lisa pushed on one of the jewels engrained in the side. The dagger split into three blades. "Ooo, pretty."
Mick picked up what looked like a statue of snake with wings.
"What the hell was the Reverse Flash going to do with all this crap? Start a museum?"
"I don't know and until we do, we need to learn more about them. There's a college professor at the university who specializes in ancient artifacts, we might have to pay him a visit. Figure out what all this means."
"Go listen to some boring history lesson of an ancient culture that got wiped out a thousand years ago? Pass." Mick tossed the sculpture at Roy. Roy instinctively grabbed it. He gave Mick a quick glare. Just because it was a sculpture didn't mean Roy couldn't appreciate it as a piece of art. It had survived a thousand years, Roy wasn't going to let it be broken because Mick didn't think it looked valuable.
He examined it for a moment. It was an interesting design. A bit crude though. The wings themselves didn't have much detail to them. It didn't have any jewels or ornate embellishments to it. It was just a plain statue made of clay. Even its eyes were devoid of…
The serpent's eyes flashed yellow.
Roy dropped the statue in shock.
It shattered on the ground.
Mick snorted.
"Nice."
Roy felt like he was standing outside Pete's apartment all over again. He could almost smell the blood in the air. His hands were shaking. It was oddly hard to breathe.
"Roy?"
What the hell was that? Why…why did its eyes flash? He didn't use his powers. Had he imagine it? Had he really just seen the color yellow? The sense of dread that had gripped him at the docks, that had been sitting in his mind this whole time, suddenly roared to life. It clawed at his chest. The fear, the panic, it kept cycling back on him. Kept trying to pull him under. Was…
"Roy!"
Roy looked up, Hartley was holding onto his arm. The kid must have noticed Roy's little panic attack. He was trying to help him. Trying to get Roy to focus. Roy tried to calm down. He tried to breathe normally.
Roy's gaze moved to Hartley's face.
Hartley's eyes flashed yellow.
Hartley dropped Roy's arm. Roy had seen it, seen the fear contort Hartley's face. The kid turned and started to run.
Hartley was running away. He…he was terrified of Roy.
Roy was stunned. He…he hadn't meant to use his powers.
Cold's voice penetrated Roy's shocked mind.
"Shit. Grab him. Roy, release him. Now!"
Roy tried. He tried to make it stop. Tried to stop the fear from coursing through him.
"I…I can't, I don't…"
Roy started searching through his pockets. Where were his shades? Where the hell were his damn shades?
He kept his eyes on the ground. Kept from looking at any of the other Rogues. He didn't know who was still in the room. Who had gone after Hartley.
Who else he could infect.
He saw boots walking towards him. Cold's voice was level. Cold was always so calm in these situations.
"Roy. Where are your shades?"
"I don't know. They should be here, I thought I had them…"
"Ok. Calm down…"
"I didn't mean to…I swear I didn't mean to…"
"I know. Roy, it's fine. Try to calm down."
Calm down? He had just used his powers on Hartley. That kid was just trying to help him and…
Roy's hands finally grazed his shades. He pulled them out of his jacket, pushing them against his face.
He was still having trouble breathing.
"Roy, listen to me. Shawna will get Hartley, and Mardon's gone to get the light array. Hartley will be fine. Tell me what happened."
Roy tried to breathe. Tried to focus.
"I…the statue…it's eyes. They…flashed yellow."
"And that activated your powers?"
"I don't know. I don't know what happened. You…you don't understand. I…I saw it. I saw the color yellow. It was…"
It had been so clear. Not just a brief flash, not just a hint in another person's eyes. But the true color. It had been so...bright.
So vibrant.
So pure.
Why would seeing that color activate his powers? How the hell had he seen it in the first place? Was…was that what would happen if he ever saw any color? Would his powers be triggered? He would lose all control of his emotions? Was there no hope that he would…
Cold took another step towards Roy.
Roy took a step backwards.
"I…can't control it…."
"Roy, you have your shades on. And I have on mine. Mick and Lisa are wearing them as well. Look up Roy."
Roy hesitantly looked towards the three non-meta humans. Each of them were wearing the shades that reflected his powers.
What if that wasn't enough this time?
Roy quickly looked back towards the ground.
He tried to focus on breathing. On staying calm. On finding another emotion to latch onto.
Calm.
He could be calm.
He just needed to be calm. He took a deep breath.
His heart continued to beat wildly.
"Hartley's alright, got him…"
"Mardon out."
"Hey if…"
"We don't know how you might react to the artifacts. I don't want any of you anywhere near any of them. Out, now."
Mardon backed hesitantly out of the room. Roy got the feeling Mardon only went as far as the hallway.
"Roy, why don't we get you away from them too? Alright? You and me, we are going to go outside for a minute. Just to breathe. Mick and Lisa will follow behind with the light array. Just in case."
Roy nodded. Though he still kept his eyes diverted.
They walked out of the safe house. For a moment, Roy thought that Cold was taking Roy outside to kill him. The thought latched itself into his mind, he was having trouble shaking it. Roy had used his powers on another Rogue. That was against the rules.
Paranoia started to worm its way through Roy's mind. He should run. He should get the hell away from these people before they tried to kill him. He could use his powers on them. Then he could…
They stepped outside. The air was freezing. Roy tried to breathe it in. Tried to get more oxygen into his lungs. Maybe that would help him think straight. Cold put a hand on Roy's shoulder, guiding him away from the door.
They stopped only a few feet away. Roy leaned his back against the wall, then slid down to the ground.
There were a few inches of snow on the ground. Within moments, Roy's pants were going to be soaked. He focused on that. On the cold seeping it's way into his veins. His breathing started to even out.
Roy didn't know how long he sat there. After a while, Cold slid down and sat beside him. The man loved the cold, and with that jacket, he could probably sit out here all night.
Roy found a strange comfort in that.
The idea that Cold was going to kill him was gone.
He didn't know where it had come from. Why he had been so certain of it.
"I…I don't know what happened."
"It's my fault Roy. I should have know that if the Reverse Flash was going to use you in his plans, then the artifacts might react to you in some way. It's possible it reacted to your meta human gene."
Roy nodded, not truly listening to Cold's explanation. Although Cold sounded very sure of what he was saying, so it must be true.
"Hartley's fine Roy. No damage done. I'm sure he will say the same."
"Why did he run?"
"What?"
"The last time I used fear on all of you, it paralyzed you. Made the kid scream I think, but he didn't run away."
Cold looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I don't know Roy. But I intend to find out. Lisa, go find out where that professor lives. We are going to drop by his residence a little sooner than expected. Mick, I want the artifacts, including the broken pieces of the statue, stored at an offsite location. Don't touch anything else until we find out more."
"You got it boss."
Lisa and Mick headed back inside.
Roy looked down at his hands, they were only slightly trembling now. Roy could almost convince himself it was from the cold.
"It could be that your powers have gotten stronger. So Hartley reacted differently this time."
Roy turned towards Snart.
"The guard at the docks reacted the same way. He just…ran."
"Look Roy, we don't know how these artifacts will affect you so, once we get them all moved, your powers will go back to normal."
"Right."
Of course. That was it. They would just move the artifacts. And Roy would be in control again.
Roy kept breathing, in and out. His panic, his fear were slowly being pushed back down. Slowly becoming more manageable. Even when the artifacts had been in the crates, Roy had been affected by them. They had been the cause of that strange panic, that lingering dread.
Roy didn't want to think about what the Reverse Flash would have done with those artifacts.
Or what he was planning on making Roy do.
He just focused on breathing. On Cold's quiet presence at his side. Focused on Mick taking the artifacts away. Focused on the idea that the others were safe. That he hadn't hurt anyone.
That he hadn't killed anyone.
Anyone that mattered anyway.
Which was going to have to be good enough for now.
"So magic statues now, huh?"
Mick didn't really expect Len to respond. He and Lisa were in the front seat, driving towards some professor's house. Trying to figure out what had caused Roy's powers to go crazy.
The others were all back at the safe house. By the time Mick had moved the crates to a storage area, Len and Lisa had already gotten all the information they needed on the professor.
All the meta members of the team had been forced to stay behind. Couldn't risk that this professor would have a statue or something lying around his house. Just needed to get some information without causing too much attention.
Mick had the broken pieces of the statue in a duffel bag on the seat beside him. The professor would look at it and know what to do.
He had to.
Roy had looked terrified. The same look he had when he had come running out of that apartment massacre. Kept his eyes on the ground though, kept backing away. Didn't want to hurt any of them.
They all knew what happened with Hartley was an accident. Hell, the kid was probably back there right now making sure Roy was alright.
Lisa turned in her seat to look at Mick.
"Oh come on Mick. Are magic statues really that big of a stretch for us? I mean, one of our crew members can fly."
Her tone was light. Trying to keep the levity from the job itself alive.
It took a lot to surprise Len. Seeing Mardon take a swan dive off of the rooftop had been pretty high on the list. Then the asshole had just floated down, like it was perfectly normal for a guy to fly off a roof.
Len hadn't reacted. But Mick knew him well enough to know he was impressed. Definitely going to be using that trick in the future.
The job had been easy. No problems, even missing Harkness, they had plenty of time to get in and get out before the Arrow showed up.
Hadn't considered that it would all go belly up when they were supposed to be safe and sound.
That the real danger was in the things they had stolen.
They should be out drinking. Celebrating. Not hitting up some old man in the middle of the night.
All things considered, the professor was holding up pretty well. Especially waking up to find three high profile criminals in his house. Not screaming or anything.
Could be that Mick had a hand over the guys mouth. Or that Len was giving his best, 'I'll kill you because I'm heartless' look.
"Professor Madison. My name is Leonard Snart, this is my sister Lisa, and the man with a hand on your face is Mick. We have some questions we would like to ask you. If you cooperate, there won't be any issues. Do we understand each other?"
Mick smiled at the professor. He found that tended to make people uneasy. More agreeable to talking to Len or Lisa.
The professor shook his head, so Mick let go of the man's face.
The old man sat up slowly, his eyes darting between the three criminals in his bedroom.
"I…I don't have anything worth…"
"We aren't here to steal anything Dr. Madison. We just want information."
Lisa stepped forward and dropped the duffel bag on the bed.
The old man opened it hesitantly. Probably thought there was a head in it or something. Mick smirked. Gotta love a good reputation.
"This…this is…"
"An artifact from the followers of Parallax. Had a bit of a mishap and it got a little broken."
"A little? It's destroyed! Do you have any idea how rare artifacts from that culture are? You thugs…"
Mick leaned over the professor.
"Maybe I should beat him up a little? Make him a little more docile?"
Len smirked.
"Now now Mick, I'm sure the professor just forgot himself for a moment. It won't happen again, will it?"
Dr. Madison swallowed heavily.
"I…of course not. I just…these are so rare."
Lisa picked up a shard.
"Now that rare. We have about seven crates full of stuff."
"That's…that's impossible. The artifacts were lost years ago, how could you have…."
"Let's just say we stole them from someone who has an more intimate knowledge of things in time. We didn't come here for you to confirm what we already know. We came here to ask you about Parallax and his followers."
"I…yes, well. It's so shrouded in mystery that most people doubt whether they ever truly existed at all. You see, a thousand years ago…"
Mick rolled his eyes and started to tune out the old man's words. Maybe he would go check out the rest of the house. See if there was anything worth taking. Those curtains looked pretty old. Probably take less than five seconds for them to go up.
He followed the curtains to the desk. Old wood, looks like the man liked his antiques. He could have the whole house lit up in less than two minutes.
"These artifacts are supposed to be infused with power from Parallax himself. It's most likely a legend, supposed to give his most devoted followers strength they did not have before. Increasing their ability to serve him, by increasing their ability to 'strike fear into their enemies'. Of the dozen or so artifacts found throughout the years, no one has ever seen any hint of power coming from them."
Mick snorted.
"Lucky us."
"What? What does he mean?"
"One of our guys touched this statue and…"
"Was he a meta human?"
"Yes…"
The professor leaped out of bed, Mick put a hand on his gun. But the old man just ran to desk and pulled out a notebook.
"I had theorized that the meta human gene may have originated from the followers of Parallax, that the particle accelerator reignited this dormant gene in those whose ancestors had once been touched by Parallax. Any meta human that has contact with an artifact, could theoretically be affected, but it is those that follow Parallax's course that would have the greatest reaction."
"Parallax's course."
"Those who spread fear. Your man, the one that reacted to the artifact, is he the one on the news who can control emotions?"
Len and Lisa shared a look. Mick didn't see what the big deal was with telling the old man. They could always just kill him after they got the information.
"You have to let me see how he interacts with…"
"I'm not putting any of my people in danger."
"I…yes of course. It's just…so exciting. Finally, after all these years I am proven right. I knew that Parallax was real, that…"
Mick was getting a little bored with this.
"Are we done here?"
Len raised a hand.
"Almost. Professor. What happened to the followers of Parallax? Were there any side effects from using the artifacts?"
"What? Oh umm, well the data is a little difficult to ascertain considering all the destruction that befell those people."
"Destruction?"
"Yes, you see the legend states that eventually the followers of Parallax were able to manipulate fear to the point where they were able to summon the god himself. He destroyed the entire village, slaughtering all those who lived here. No one was spared. Except for the ones that summoned him. To those he gave unbridled power, unlike what the world had ever seen before."
"So how did they stop him?"
"I…I don't know. There are huge gaps in our understanding of the past. Hundreds of years pass where we don't know anything about the people who lived in that time, or gods they worshiped, or how they died. All we have are shards of pottery and yet we are supposed to make inferences to their entire lives based on incomplete data. The legend says that the survivors who summoned him spread fear throughout the land, that it was a dark time. But there is no mention of how they were defeated, or how Parallax was banished. Or if he just left on his own."
Mick was completely unimpressed.
"So…you've got nothing."
Len stepped forward when it looked like the professor might get offended again.
"Thank you Dr. Madison. You've been a great help."
"He has?"
"Yes. Oh. And by the way…"Len pulled his gun and pointed it at the professor's chest. "If you tell anyone we were here, if you tell anyone about what we talked about, if you mention that you have new data regarding meta humans and these artifacts, my friends and I will make sure you end up a piece of history as well. Understand?"
The professor nodded.
The three of them headed out of the house and back to the car.
Lisa looked at them both.
"So the Reverse Flash thinks if he can summon Parallax, he can get back all the power he lost? Why target Roy? Why not some other random meta human to scare people with. I mean, there are a lot of people way creepier than Roy."
"Roy's powers would be the perfect conduit to spread fear quickly. I think our friend the Reverse Flash is working on a bit of a deadline. He's running out of time, and he needs this done now."
"Maybe before the Flash catches him?"
"Maybe. Are the rest of the artifacts secured?"
"Threw them in an old shipping container used to be owned by one of the Santinis. He ain't using it since we killed him."
"Good, make sure there is nothing linking that place to us. We need to find a way to find out what the Flash knows about all this."
"What like a truce with them? What makes you think they would ever trust us? Or that we could trust them?"
"Desperate times Mick. I get the feeling, they would be more than willing to be rid of the Reverse Flash for good."
Lisa smirked.
"Especially once they find out the guy is trying to wipe out the city. Lenny, at the docks, one of the guards reacted to Roy's powers the way Hartley did."
"Roy told me about that."
"You think that is the plan? Make people run in a blind panic, have half the city kill itself without having to lift a finger? Madison said that Parallax demands sacrifices."
"He did?"
"When you were calculating how long it would take to burn the place down. And the best place to start a fire. I know that look."
True. He hadn't heard half of what the old man said. What did it matter? All they needed to do was find this Reverse Flash and beat him to death.
Len held one of the shards in his hands.
"We will try and figure it out tomorrow. See if Hartley has been able to determine where the Reverse Flash and Grodd are holed up. Start making a plan to deal with them."
Lisa nodded and slid into the drivers seat. Len was still standing there, glancing down at the shard in his hand and then back at the house in front of him.
Magic statues. Guys from the future.
This really wasn't what Mick had signed up for when he joined the Rogues.
Still, wasn't that it was much different. There were still cops to avoid. Still old scores to settle.
Len was still being too quiet. Mick glanced at the shard. This was all so damn ridiculous.
"Remember when we used to just rob banks?"
Len didn't respond for a moment. No doubt thinking everything through. Thinking about what to do next. Thinking about how to hit the Reverse Flash back for this.
But then that had always been Len's problem.
Thinking too much.
Finally Len looked up.
"Not really."
Len turned and walked away. Heading back towards Lisa and the waiting car. Mick stared at the house, at the professor watching them through the windows.
"Yea, me either."
A/N: I've taken the CW route and repurposed something from the comics for my own needs. Parallax is now an ancient fear god, since I doubt they will ever actually do anything with the Green Lanterns on the show.