Things were better over the next couple days. Well, relatively at least. There was this constant underlying tension that permeated the days. The Rogues certain they would wake up and find that Scudder and Dillon had sold them out.
Roy had woken one night to the sound of thunder, later confirmed to not have been caused by Mardon, and it had jolted him from his bed. He was up, with his shoes on, ready to fight or run, all within a few seconds. It had become such second nature for so long, it was still ingrained in him. Any time he heard thunder, or saw lightening, he assumed that it was because Mardon was covering their escape or trying to destroy the drones that had found them again.
He had been embarrassed for a moment, in the middle of the night, standing in his bedroom, staring out into the dark landscape around their little motel. Embarrassed that he had seemingly forgotten that thunder could occur for other reasons than to signal a fight.
They had lived with that paranoia for the past few months. So certain that any moment would find them being carted off to have their powers ripped away. Or to be executed in the street.
Roy wondered if he was the only one waking up in the middle of the night at the smallest sound.
The nearby town they were hiding in was small, but did occasionally get tourists. People who moved there "to get away from it all." Most didn't last very long and returned to the world of Wi-Fi and consistently hot water. So none of the locals really batted an eye at this new collection of people coming into their shops and bars.
It also seemed to help that a few years ago, a group of 30 Americans had tried to open a sort of commune in the hills. One of those utopian villages. Everyone working towards the same goal, everyone helping to farm and work and build the houses. No money, just exchanging work for food. Apparently the Americans had come into town often in the beginning. Talking about how they had figured it all out, how to live a sustainable, peaceful life. How they would finally show the world how humanity was supposed to coexist.
It had failed within 8 months.
The townspeople had seen that the Rogues were predominantly Americans and had simply assumed it was the same sort of thing. Roy got the distinct feeling that they were being charged double what anyone local had to pay for goods. Kept trying to sell them all kinds of useless stuff. Scarves and sweaters one day, baskets and purses the next. All the things the townspeople claimed would be essential to survival.
Those that spoke English didn't ask them why they were there, though Snart had predictably come up with a plausible back story. Saying he had been an investor in the commune that had failed. Wanted to see if he could get it going with a smaller group this time at the start.
No one asked.
No one seemed to care why they were there, just that they had money.
Well, Scudder and Dillon had money. Which, considering Scudder could just reach into a bank and grab a couple thousand dollars whenever he felt like it, became the communal money. Scudder had frowned when Digger had taken a few hundred and come back with nothing but alcohol but had kept his mouth shut about it.
Not worth starting a fight over.
Not worth someone dying over.
Which was how a fight would end between the two factions. Too much mistrust. Too much bad blood between Scudder and Snart.
Roy has found that when working with people who have tried to kill you, it's best not to be too confrontational. Find out what they want, figure out if they are going to try and kill you again, be ready to kill them if you have to.
Don't continually antagonize them by talking down to them.
Although it was nice to see Snart back to some semblance of his former self. Even if it was just so that Scudder and Dillon didn't detect any weakness in the leader of the Rogues. Roy wanted to believe that it wasn't all an act. That Snart was starting to regain some of his control back.
It had been a few days into their tense partnership that Snart had begun to act dismissive of Scudder's input. Of course, it had also been a few days of Scudder talking over anyone who would attempt conversation.
Claiming since he was the most powerful, he should be the leader.
Roy had tipped a beer at Mark during one of Scudder's particularly loquacious speeches.
"This is what you used to sound like."
Mark had thrown a piece of bread at Roy's face and the two had continued to ignore Scudder's attempts to get them to listen to him.
Everyone, except Mick, seemed to be getting back to center. Now that they had some semblance of security, even if it obviously wouldn't last. Nothing quiet ever did for them.
Roy and Mardon had spent a few hours walking along the hillside the other day. Mardon still couldn't use his powers, in case they could be tracked. But he kept making Roy walk up this hillside, and stand at the very top. Roy would sit off to the side and sketch. While Mardon stood there and let the winds push him slightly. The feeling of the wind rushing around him, of almost pushing him off the edge was oddly calming to Mardon.
Roy found his sketches were…simplistic. He wouldn't exactly call them doodles, but he wasn't truly focusing on them the way he normally did.
"Maybe you just need, inspiration or something." Mardon was shouting over the gusting wind. Not the best place to try and sketch, with the wind blowing his pages constantly. But it was calming in an odd way. Not in the same way that Mardon apparently found almost being blown away to be calming. But there was something about being able to see for miles in each direction, to not be able to hear anything but the sound of the wind.
"Thanks, I hadn't thought of that."
Mardon came over and laid down on the ground beside Roy.
"Think it's because your powers are still jacked up?"
"I've had periods of not being able to paint before, lacking inspiration. This is nothing new."
"Well, sorry you got your period." Mardon was smirking, and looking at Roy out of the corner of his eye.
"Hilarious."
Roy went back to just making small lines on the page. He wasn't even shading correctly for god's sake. The town in the distance might as well have been drawn by a middle schooler. He should just start drawing stick figures at this point. They'd fit right into his ridiculously simplistic sketch.
"Seriously. You sure it's not power related?"
"I'm sure."
"Hm."
"What?"
"Nothing, just thinking."
Roy put down his pad of paper and stared directly at Mardon.
"A rare occurrence, you have my full attention."
Mardon ignored Roy's tone and pushed himself up on to one elbow.
"Was pure luck Scudder and Dillon showed up. If we hadn't gotten snatched by them, we'd be in a prison cell somewhere. Couldn't have escaped that assault on our own. Not even Snart could figure a way out of that one."
"Unless they lead them to us. Trying to convince us to work with them, by not giving us an option."
"Nah. Scudder's an asshole sure, but I don't know if he's that smart. "
They sat in silence for a few moments. Mardon was idly picking grass out of the ground and watching it blow away in the wind. Eventually he stopped, his eyes focused and hard on the town below them.
"Don't care if I have to wipe out all of Metropolis to kill Luthor. I'm ready for this shit to just be over and done with."
Roy found he couldn't argue with that. They were all ready to finish this.
Spending time away from each other was helping with the tension that had built up over the past few months. Either by going into the town, or walking through the hillside, or just by having their own rooms again, it started to feel like they were all getting back to being on the same page. Finally, Lisa called them all together for a meeting. She, Cold, and Scudder had been having several conversations about how to move forward. What their next plan of attack should be.
"Luthor thinks that…"
Digger raised his hand. Snart sighed.
"Yes, Digger."
"No offense boss man…and lady, but are we really going back to that shit? I mean, don't get me wrong, nothing I like better than a good fight. But, seems like we got a nice little set up here. Maybe we find somewhere with a private beach and just forget about all this Luthor and Cadmus nonsense."
Lisa frowned at Digger's dismissive tone.
"You want to let Luthor get away with this? With what he did to us?"
"What I'm saying is, I've seen this type of shit. Even the Wall would come up against someone with more power and resources than her every so often. Some people you can't take down in a good old fashioned street fight. People like Luthor…"
"Spend a lot of time around billionaires do you Harkness?" Scudder was looking at Digger with something akin to outright disgust. Scudder had a tendency to rub the Rogues the wrong way. Between his attitude about his powers, to his condescending tone, to the fact that there was absolutely no trust between them, Scudder had managed to annoy almost every member of the Rogues.
"Billionaires? Nah, not really my scene. Power hungry madmen? Yea, I got a bit of experience with that. All I'm saying is, even if we do get our names cleared, don't think we can win on all fronts. Might have to pick and choose."
Scudder waved a dismissive hand at Digger's words.
"Perhaps that's why you're not a part of the planning stages. Tell you what, when we need someone to stab something, we'll let you know."
"Believe me mate, you'll be the first to know."
Scudder opened his mouth, but Snart interrupted.
"I appreciate your expertise Digger. But right now, if we ever want to be able to walk down a street again, we have to take care of Luthor."
Digger picks up his beer and tips it towards Snart.
"You got it boss."
"Like I was saying. With Scudder's ability we should be able to find Luthor's main office. Killing him won't exactly clear our names. So we need to find more information. We can watch him, see where he goes. If we can find something to blackmail him with, then we can make a move."
Lisa nodded in agreement with her brother.
"Recon only at this point. We still aren't one hundred percent. Our meta members can't use their powers without being detected, though Axel has some ideas he is working on. So until all of our members are ready for a fight, we are going to stay hidden. And stay ready."
Roy tried not to think on the fact that his powers were the ones Lisa was talking about. Roy was certain that Shawna and Mardon's powers were back and ready. He hadn't tried to use his since their escape. Hoping that whatever temporary issue he was having, could be solved by simply letting his powers rest.
Scudder had found Luthor's offices the next day. Thankfully Luthor was a traditional evil billionaire. His office was on the 64th floor of a skyscraper. He had large glass windows in almost every part of his four floors of offices. And in the personal gym he had on the 63rd floor. Which also boasted a personal pool.
They sat in shifts, sitting in the Mirror Verse, watching Luthor come into work every day at exactly 5:15 am. Working until well past 6 or 7 each night. Going home. Eating a meal at his 30 person dining room table, prepared by a professional chef. Going to the occasional gala or fundraiser.
"Who knew watching a billionaire could be so boring."
Roy agreed with Shawna's assessment. All the man did was work. And so far, they hadn't found anything they could use against him. Initially they couldn't hear anything that was being said. But the moment the man went into a shady laboratory or met with someone who wasn't on his calendar, they had small microbots that Axel had created that they would send through the mirror.
They had yet to be able to deploy them.
The man only ever went to his office, public events surrounded by cameras, then to his home.
After a week, they were able to figure out the schedule of the guards, and Scudder was able to divert the camera long enough to plant a bug in his office.
The added sound did nothing for their surveillance.
"He's gotta know someone might be watching right? Like that is legit the only thing that makes sense to me. Otherwise, the idea of having copious amounts of wealth is really starting to feel like a let down."
"I'm sure there are more interesting billionaires."
"Like who? Name one billionaire you think would be fun to peek in on, I bet we could find out more interesting stuff in two seconds that we would ever learn here."
Roy stood up from his chair next to Shawna and stretched out his legs by walking around. It must be quite the odd scene. Two chairs set in front of several mirrors, a few at Luthor's office, a few in his house, even one or two linked to his cars. And nothing but darkness and shadows surrounding them.
The light from the mirrors the only thing illuminating the vast empty space.
Roy was beginning to hate the Mirror Verse. It wasn't that it wasn't convenient. A place where the Flash or Luthor or the cops could never reach them. To be able to travel from one side of the world to the other, almost instantaneously, was saving them from having to spend all their time worrying that they would be found.
It was how boring the entire place was. Axel had been right, if Scudder had made this place up then it was the most unimaginative place in existence. It was just…shadows.
And unlike the normal world, where there was occasionally a tree or some buildings to break up the monotonous shades of gray in which Roy lived his life, here there was nothing but the shifting tones.
It had taken Digger all of thirty seconds to make a Fifty Shades of Gray joke the last time he had been in here. And then spend the next two hours of his shift with Roy coming up with every variation of joke he could think of.
There was no chance that you would stumble upon anything interesting here. All there was, was the mirrors. Most of which were staring at bathroom walls, or bedroom walls. Or living room walls. People only sporadically moving in front of them for a few seconds before going about their business.
They couldn't listen in to what the people were saying, the sound distorted and backwards. Digger said even lip reading was impossible.
Digger never specified if he could read lips in the first place but none of the rest of them could so it didn't matter either way.
Hartley would have been able to do that. Or figure out a way to change the audio so they could hear people correctly, without having to plant bugs. Something to do with vibrations no doubt. He briefly thinks of asking Scudder if he could find a mirror showing how Hartley was doing. But then he had quickly disregarded the thought. Would be rather difficult to explain to the other Rogues. Unless he kept it under the pretense of surveillance. Pretend that it would be in their best interest to make sure Hartley hasn't managed to track them.
He walks around a little more then sits back in the chair next to Shawna
"Do you think there is more to this place than just…" Roy sort of waves his hands around.
"What, another super secret hidden area tucked away inside of a pocket universe?"
Roy smiled slightly.
"No, I suppose it's all just a little…"
"Boring."
"Yes."
Shawna looked back at the mirror. Luthor was reading over some type of contract.
"Axel was right. This place is a bummer. You'd think it would be more interesting to spy on people all day. I mean that's basically what half the reality shows on TV are about. But it's like, I haven't seen anyone throw a drink in someone's face or just start screaming for no reason. It's like reality TV has lied to me about how interesting people's personal lives are."
"What a shock."
"I know right. We are watching a billionaire and I haven't seen a since Real Housewife anywhere. I mean, where are the bitches screaming at each other about ruining someone's Kentucky Derby party by wearing too big of a hat? Give me something here Luthor. Not to mention I ran out of popcorn like fifteen minutes ago."
She gives the bowl a little shake in Roy's direction. He stares at her for all of ten seconds.
"I'll get more."
She smiles and hands him the bowl.
"My hero."
Roy takes the empty popcorn bowl from Shawna and heads back through the mirror leading into the lobby of their motel. Snart is standing by the check in counter, looking through some kind of ledger.
"Anything?"
Roy shakes his head at Snart's question. Though from the man's tone, Roy was certain he knew the answer before he asked.
"All he does is work and sleep."
"I suppose he had to earn his money somehow."
"Hm."
Roy walked over to the microwave. The wires leading to the outlet were frayed. The microwave was brown and tan and was distinctly from the seventies. Axel had affectionately named the old thing Sparky. Even adorning a few googly eyes to the front of it.
Shawna had asked Mick if it would catch fire if they used it too much.
His response of "Hopefully" wasn't too encouraging.
Still, this popcorn wasn't going to pop itself.
"What do you think of Scudder and Dillon?"
"Scudder likes the sound of his own voice. Maybe even more than Digger."
"And Dillon?"
Roy tried to think of anything to say about the petite blonde.
"She mainly just hangs off of Scudder. I don't know that I've spoken to her."
"Anything else?"
"You know them better than I would."
"Yes, and I'm trying to make sure my…dislike of them isn't clouding my judgment."
"You think Scudder is hiding something from us?"
"It does seem odd that Luthor wouldn't do anything but work and go home. Especially since we know that Luthor had a hand in creating Brick Wall. The man likes to be where the action is. He hasn't given a press conference in the past two weeks. Or visited any of his meta depowering labs."
"Scudder was able to manipulate the mirrors in Luthor's office so he couldn't see us planting the bug. Could be he's doing the same thing to us."
"Or Luthor is being extra careful right now. The man might suspect we are working with Scudder after how we disappeared from the cabin. We will give it a little more time. There a few more avenues I want to explore before we make any big moves on Luthor. Don't want to give anything away until the last possible moment."
The microwave beeped. Roy hoped that the burning smell was just a few kernels at the bottom of the bag. And not a signal that the entire wall was about to go up in flames. He pours the bag into the bowl
He steps back through the mirror.
Shawna isn't sitting in the chair.
"Shawna?"
He knows that yelling is a fruitless endeavor here, but it is a bit of an instinct.
He sets the bowl on one of the chairs. Luthor is still sitting at his desk in his office, now on page 163 of the contract.
They aren't supposed to stray too far from the designated mirrors. Scudder said he would be able to find someone lost eventually, though they might have starved to death by the time he did.
Even Scudder didn't know how large this place was, or how it all worked.
Roy thought he could see the outline of someone in the distance.
He walks towards the figure, he knows there was no else it could be besides Shawna. Scudder has to open the portals for anyone to enter. The only one open was the one to the motel. The rest were just windows.
As he got closer he could see Shawna standing there. Staring at…
Oh.
"Shawna."
She doesn't start, doesn't make any sign that he snuck up on her. But he can still tell she is surprised.
"I haven't seen him since…"
Roy could guess who the man in the reflection is. The young brown haired man was currently laying in bed with a woman laying half overtop of him. Shawna's fingers hovered by the glass.
"Why do you think I can see him? There are millions of mirrors. Billions of people. What are the odds I would see him?"
"I don't know."
She sighed slightly.
"You know what the worst part is? I'm not even mad. Why would I be you know? It's been years. Not like I was ever going to go back to him. But…I hate that I wasted so much of my life on someone I don't feel anything for anymore. Does that make sense? People always say things like…a part of you will always love him. What does it mean if you don't feel any of it anymore?"
Roy didn't know how to comfort her. So he just took a step closer and put a hand on her arm. She moved slightly closer to his side.
They stood there for a few more moments.
"If you want, we can throw one of Axel's glitter bombs through."
She barked out a surprised laugh.
"I…that would be pretty great actually. Think it might give us away though. Cold would be pretty pissed."
"Worth it."
"Nah. He's…he's really not."
She smiles then loops her arm through his and starts to pull him away. She doesn't look back.
"Come on Roy. We've got to see what happens when Luthor finishes reading the page he's on. Ten bucks says he licks his thumb and flips to the next page without breaking his stride."
"I say he flips it with his right index finger."
"He's only done that once! Someone likes to live dangerously."
They're heading back to the chairs when Mick steps through the mirror. He starts walking away from them. As far as Roy knows, there aren't any open mirrors that way. Shawna yells after him.
"Mick!"
The pyromaniac doesn't turn, though Roy was certain the man could hear them.
"He's getting worse."
"I know. I was hoping being here would help, like it has for the rest of us. I think him and Snart are just straight up avoiding each other. His hands are doing a little better though. Now that I've been able to get some book on how to do stuff for him."
"Scudder stays around, you can focus on being a nurse full time."
"It is nice not having to lug your guys heavy asses everywhere we go."
Mick has almost completely vanished into the darkness. Roy shares a look with Shawna. She rolls her eyes. But they follow after Mick regardless.
At one point Mick does disappear almost completely.
"Over there."
There's a light. Shining through the shadows. The closer they get, the more Roy realizes what they're looking at.
For a moment, Roy thinks he's looking into hell itself.
An interesting thought considering he has always considered himself an atheist. Well. Agnostic, at least. He's never given it the thought necessary to pick one either way.
For a moment, Roy is just staring in awe. The fire is burning in what appears to be some sort of cave. The embers of the walls occasionally popping out and causing the small flames to grow and move along the floor. It's not like the fires that Mick usually watches. This one is almost…subdued in a way.
"Dillon had Scudder set it up."
Roy starts at Mick's voice. Not even aware the man was standing only a few feet from them. Hidden by the shadows dancing from the firelight.
"That was…nice of her."
"She's alright."
Mick goes back to staring at the flames.
"It's a coal mine. Caught fire in the 70s and hasn't stopped burning since. Will keep burning for another hundred years or more. The town above it had to be abandoned. Cracks in the sidewalk where all the gas pours out."
Roy was never really sure how to respond to Mick when he started on about fire. Especially since everything that had happened recently. With all his extra scars, and his hands.
"Well…we were just..."
Shawna makes an aborted hand gesture then looked to Roy for help.
"Didn't want you to get lost." Roy assumes that sounded as bad to Mick as it did to his own ears.
"Can never be lost with a flame like this. Burning as long as it has. All that's left is the truth."
"Cool…well, I guess we'll get back to…"
"Sometimes it just takes time for the truth to be revealed. But it always is. The fire always exposes who we truly are in the end."
Mick didn't say anything else. Just moved his head in that way that Roy had come to recognize that meant he no longer would be able to hear them if they kept talking.
Roy and Shawna walked back to their chairs in silence. Luthor was still sitting at his desk, reading a contract. Now on page 194.
"Do you think there's something else going on with Mick?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know…it's probably nothing. I mean, Snart and Lisa would know if something was going on. Right?"
They sat quietly in the chairs until Axel and Mardon came in to relieve them.
Roy walked back into the real world. The feeling of disquiet that had been so prevalent the Mirror Verse was not completely gone. But it did lift significantly.
"I always need a shower when I leave that place for some reason." Shawna untangled their limbs then wandered over to where Lisa was looking at something on the office table. The small lobby becoming the main place for planning, eating, and anything other than sleeping really. There was a small pile of electronics in the corner, Axel already beginning to build his arsenal back up.
"Bivolo, good. There's something I need you to fetch me." Scudder wasn't even looking at Roy, just dictating to him from behind the counter, where Snart had been standing earlier.
Roy paused for a moment.
"Fetch you something?" Roy glanced over to Lisa, not entirely sure he had heard that order correctly.
Lisa looked torn between annoyed and amused.
"What Sam is trying to say is he has a little black book with the numbers of some very shady people who might be willing to talk to him about what's been going on in Central since we left."
"Exactly. The Rogues are known terrorists but Rosa and I are just escapees. We can pass ourselves off as desperate to disappear. Needing some passports or fake identities made. Use those contacts as an in to…"
Roy stopped listening to Scudder and looked over at Lisa. She smiled slightly.
"Sam's got a portal to an old safe house of his using the bathroom mirror over there."
"Need me to go with him?" Shawna was laying on the couch, though she raised her head at the conversation. She had clearly been talking to Lisa, but Scudder answered for her.
"No. I can see the book on a table in the basement from the mirror. All he has to do is take two steps and he will have it."
"Maybe I should go with him just…"
"Really? You need two people to grab one small book? No wonder you people got found out so easily, if you can't even do something so simple…"
"If it's so simple, why aren't you taking the two seconds to poof over there and get it? Don't want to get that nice little suit dirty?"
"It's fine, I'll go." Roy wasn't in the mood to listen to an argument. And if Lisa said it was fine then he would go along with it.
"At least someone on this team knows how to follow directions."
Roy rolled his eyes but listened as Scudder told him how to find the correct mirror.
A few seconds later and he was back in the Mirror Verse. It had started to become a more regular occurrence for the Rogues. Going in and out of the place like you were just passing from one room to the next. He barely glanced at the mirrors all around him. Accidentally looking into a mirror and watching a man plucking his nose hairs had put Roy off to finding out what people did when they thought no one was looking.
He sees the mirror he is looking for on his left.
Roy slipped through the mirror. He was in the basement of a safe house that Scudder and Dillon had used prior to becoming metas. A two story house in Opal City, they had bought with ill gotten gains but never had the chance to use before the particle accelerator.
Roy looked around the basement. The book was sitting just…
The floorboards above him creaked.
Roy didn't hesitate. He just jumped back into the mirror.
Never ignore a noise you can't instantly place. Better to feel stupid for a moment than to be dead.
Roy waited for several minutes. No one entered the basement. There was no thundering sound of footsteps, no shouts from cops as they cleared each room.
Roy edged away from the mirror. Allowing him to see out, without anyone being able to see him.
He saw a shadow pass under the door at the top of the stairs.
There was someone there.
Someone waiting.
He needs to tell the others. He can have Axel put a camera here to…
The door creaks open.
Roy wonders what would happen if he tried to activate his powers through a mirror. Would his powers bounce back on him? Or would whatever he tried to use, have the opposite effect? If he tried for anger, would the person feel happiness instead?
Assuming they actually worked of course.
He can see shoes at the top of the stairs. They look like some kind of gym shoe. But the shoes don't move from their place in the doorway. They stand there for a moment. Then they disappear again. He can hear the distorted sound of a voice. A woman he thinks, but he can't get any more.
Eventually Roy has to concede that the woman isn't going to suddenly appear in front of the one point of view that is available to him. If Scudder was here he would be able to instantly be able to access the windows upstairs. Find out who the woman was, help capture her to see what she knows.
This is why that asshole should have come with Roy. Or done it himself.
Roy sighs and treks back to the original mirror, he was going to have to talk about moving the mirrors so they were closer together, at least the ones they would need.
Scudder gives him a look when he emerges empty handed.
"Where's the book?"
"I didn't have time to grab it, there was someone in the house."
"Ridiculous. No one…"
"There was a woman there so I decided to come back. We can…"
"How is it possible for you to screw up something so simple so…"
"Sam." Lisa's voice was calm, but deadly. "Let Roy speak for a moment. Were you seen?"
"No. She never came down the stairs. I couldn't see her, and she couldn't see me. She had a flashlight, thought I heard her talking but it was distorted."
"You said no one knew about that safe house."
"No one did. This is ridiculous, I have to do everything myself."
"Scudder wait…"
Scudder had already walked through the mirror, ignoring Lisa's warning. She touched the mirror but it was just glass.
"What a dick."
Lisa let out a sigh at Shawna's words.
"Yes, but we need that dick alive in case…"
Scudder reappears through the mirror less than a minute after he left.
"See, reach through, grab the book, done." He tosses the book at Roy. "Was that so hard?" Scudder ignores Roy glare.
"Was there anyone there?"
"Does it matter? The book is the only thing…"
"You didn't check?"
"I told you, there's nothing else in the safe house worth…"
Lisa puts up a hand.
"Listen to me very carefully Scudder, because I am not going to repeat myself. Working together is not just going to be us following you around. Listening to your every command. This is a team. Do you understand? If there was someone at the house, then they could have put some kind of tracker on you…"
"I would have seen…"
"Or, there is a superhero who can shrink down to the size of a bug and could be sitting in your pocket right now. Or Cisco could figure out where we are by vibing anything you touched at your last known location. So when I tell you to wait. When I tell you that we need to check the area out before barging in, you are going to follow that command. I will not have my family get captured because you want to wave your powers around like a big man. Do you understand?"
Scudder looked annoyed at Lisa talking down to him, but Roy couldn't help but notice the way he stuck his hands into his pocket when she mentioned a mini-sized hero.
"Of course. We're all in this together." Lisa smiled at Scudder's insincere words.
"And don't you forget it sweetheart. Now. Roy, you, Scudder, and I are going to go back to that little portal and see if we see any signs of our mystery woman. Shawna let the others know what is going on, get everyone close to a mirror in case we all have to bail."
"You got it boss."
There's no one in the house by the time Scudder accesses all the windows upstairs. He checks every window from the safe house and the surrounding houses to look up and down the street.
"See. It was probably just a squatter or…"
Lisa is looking at every possible angle. She has Scudder show her every possible place he can get a reflection off of. Eventually she gives the signal and they step out into the living room.
They walk throughout the house, but there isn't much to see. Most of the stuff inside belonged to the previous owners. The only reason Scudder's little black book had been there is because he had tossed it through a mirror after they escaped prison. Trying to keep his information in different locations in case he got arrested again and his powers removed. No use hiding things in the Mirror Verse if he could never access the place again.
"Someone was here." Lisa points to the area by the door, footprints are visible. "You said it was a woman?"
"I just saw the shoes. Voice was distorted but sounded female."
"Probably someone looking for me and Rosa."
"Hm." Lisa didn't look convinced. But there was nothing else to show that anyone had been here. "We will have Axel scan the house, make sure there are no cameras or any surprises hidden. See if he can access the closest traffic cams."
"I told you it was nothing."
Lisa smiled sweetly at Scudder but even Roy could tell she was getting tired of his attitude.
"You did. Now, let's head back before anyone else shows up for apparently no reason, not more than two weeks after you threw an object through a mirror downstairs. Less than a month after you escaped from prison and at a safe house that no one in the world is supposed to know exists. I'm sure it's all just a coincidence."
Scudder rolled his eyes then stepped through the mirror.
Lisa put a hand on Roy's chest.
"I want everyone keeping an extra eye on him."
"You think he's up to something?"
"I don't know. There's something not right about this. About him."
"None of us trust him."
"Good. Let's keep it that way."
Roy spared one last glance around the house behind them. Not sure of what today's events had meant. Was it just a coincidence like Scudder was insisting? That seemed unlikely all things considered. But whoever it was, wasn't military or a cop. Or they would have checked the basement thoroughly. Taken the black book of Scudder's as evidence.
The safe house was too well hidden for just some random citizen to have stumbled upon this place.
Just what they needed right now, someone else trying to hunt them down.
She'd always wanted to visit the Italian countryside. Get a nice little villa somewhere on the coast. Spend her days drinking a ridiculous amount of wine. That was the dream wasn't it? Retire to some villa, not have to worry about anything except your tan. Reading every trashy romance novel she could find.
Shawna wondered if retired people got bored.
Of course they did. I mean a lot of old thieves get back in the game eventually. No one who gets out, can ever really stay out. You miss the rush, the feeling of getting away with it.
After all their recent escapes and running and near misses, she was fairly certain she could go forty years without needing that rush again.
There's the rush of a job.
Then there's the panic of almost getting kidnapped or killed.
Completely different things.
Shawna's walking through the town, looking at all the fresh bread and fruit for sale. She throws a couple items in a bag and pays the merchant. They're still using a microwave as their main means of cooking, but at least they can get some healthy food in them. Even if she does have to basically force vegetables down Walker's throat.
A guy walks past her on the sidewalk and she sees him follow her with his eyes for a minute. Takes her a second to realize the dude is just checking her out. Not confirming she's an escaped criminal and is calling the cops.
Her takes a hand out of her pocket. Away from the small pocket mirror stuffed in her jacket. Tap a pattern and Scudder can turn it into a portal instantly. Not that she needs it of course. But it is good to have another avenue in case she can't use her powers. Scudder's powers aren't hindered by the dark like hers are. Never hurts to have another way out.
There hadn't been any sign of Roy's mystery woman in the last two days. Whoever it was might have just been grasping at straws. Going anywhere they could find that was even a little bit linked to the Rogues. Or maybe it had been some cops looking for Scudder and Dillon. They did escape from Iron Heights, bound to be people looking for them.
Though they didn't have huge bounties on their heads like the Rogues did.
Scudder was going to reach out to one of his contacts in the next couple days. See if the guy would be willing to meet. Willing to talk.
Shawna wasn't sure she liked depending on either of the newcomers for anything. Scudder might sell the Rogues out the second he got the chance. Just push the Rogues out a mirror and into the waiting arms of the cops.
Snart and Mark would be watching from a mirror at the meet. She should be there. She hasn't tried using her powers from inside the Mirror Verse to the real world yet. But it something they should be practicing. Shawna was getting a little frustrated, just sitting around.
Snart had brought it up at their last little meeting. Letting the Rogues try and use their powers inside the Mirror Verse. He used the excuse of giving Mardon a chance to let loose, but she wondered if Snart wasn't going to try and use his little. Somewhere there was no chance he could hurt anybody. Maybe see if he could actually contain it this time.
Scudder had been pretty resistant. Was sure they would somehow break the place. Guy needed to loosen up a little. Plus they needed to know if their powers were back up. Needed to know if they were all in fighting condition. Roy had been quiet about his powers recently, she hadn't wanted to push him on it. But man, she was itching to use hers again. Itching to see what she could do using the Mirror Verse.
The non-metas were working on rebuilding their arsenals. Was easy now that they could steal one small piece from anywhere in the world, then another piece somewhere else. No way to show that it was the Rogues doing it. They made sure to steal from the kind of people who wouldn't report such things to the police too.
Lisa had rebuilt her gun in the Mirror Verse. Figured out how to make it so Team Flash or whoever can't track it. Added a little spring to Lisa's step to have the gold gun on her hip again.
Axel had a dozen of his projects strewn about the Mirror Verse and the motel. Digger's boomerangs were mixed in among the pieces. She didn't want to think about the kind of things those two children would come up with.
Shawna was about to head up the road towards the motel when she sees Dillon up ahead. Looking through the window of one of the little shops in town. Shawna debates with herself for a second. Seems like the Rogues have been doing good with avoiding their two new tagalongs unless absolutely necessary. Though Mick seemed to think that Dillon was alright.
There was something in the way Dillon looked at Scudder. Made something in Shawna's stomach twist.
Something that seeing Clay in that mirror couple days ago had brought back up again.
She takes a breath and puts on a smile. Maybe it's a little fake, but it wasn't too long ago this bitch tried to turn them over to the cops.
Shawna hadn't gone this far down this road more than once. Wasn't any good shops down here. Just an old toy store. Which is what Dillon is looking into the window of.
Shawna slides up beside her.
"Is that a freaking Game Boy? I am so tempted to buy that for Axel. Just to try and explain the game cartridges to him would be worth it. Plus, the black and white graphics? His little Millennial head might explode. "
Dillon smiles slightly but keeps a wary eye on Shawna. Clear her smile is just as fake as Shawna's.
"I don't think I had one of those growing up."
"Nah, we didn't either. But this boy down the street got one and it sort of became the community Game Boy. I helped him with his homework and he let me play it for like an hour at a time. I had the high score on Dr. Mario, but I don't like to brag."
"Hm. I was never into those sorts of things."
"Yea, you seem like the Barbie Dream House type. No offense."
Dillon looked at Shawna for a moment, as though trying to decide if she should continue this conversation.
"None taken. I did have one of those. Even had one with a little hot tub. Had a button on the side, you pressed it and it made bubbles. But I don't like to brag."
Shawna laughed. Ok, maybe Mick was right. Maybe Dillon wasn't so bad. Too bad Scudder was such a dick.
"Damn. Must have had all the elementary school bitches clamoring to hang out at your place."
Dillon didn't say anything for a minute, just turned back to the window.
"Not really. I wasn't the most sociable of kids growing up. I used to sit in my family's attic and play with all the old toys I found there. My grandfather had been a bit of a hoarder, kept all kinds of things. He had these old handheld electronic football games. Always went on about how they would be worth something some day. Not that he would ever sell them of course. My favorites were in this old crate. Small wooden horse you pulled with a string. A box of jacks, and pick up sticks. My favorite had always been this small collection of tops."
Shawna can see them through the window. Five or six of them, all of varying sizes. Painted in a wide variety of colors. One has a string attached to it.
"You ever play with tops?"
"I had a friend in elementary school who brought in a dreidel once. Don't guess that's quite the same."
"I know it was weird. Everyone else was talking about board games and then video games and here I was, playing with this chunk of wood by myself. I loved watching them spin. I found it…calming."
"You're nickname's the Top isn't it?"
"Full disclosure. I love that nickname. If I ever meet the man who gave it to me, I will be inclined to kiss him on the mouth."
Shawna laughs.
"His name's probably Cisco."
"I will keep that in mind."
Dillon looks at the window again.
"You going to buy one or what?"
"I'll tell Sam about them. He knows about my little obsession with the toys. He can buy them for me."
That small twisting in her gut was back. Now she could place it. She used to do that with Clay. Used to assume he would pay for it, that he would take care of something. Even if she could have done it herself.
Dillon didn't seem like she was into all of this. All this espionage and hiding out stuff. She was just following Scudder blindly.
"We could grab them now. I bet Axel could help you figure out how to turn them into weapons. He would take it as a personal challenge."
Dillon's eyes flicker with excitement for a moment.
"You know some tops, when you spin them correctly, will pop open and reveal something inside. A knockout gas or…" Her excitement diminishes slightly for a moment. "But it's too ridiculous."
"Dude, Axel once literally made a bomb out of a teddy bear. And have you met Digger? Boomerangs. The man loves boomerangs. There is nothing too ridiculous for the Rogues."
"Well, since you've twisted my arm about it…"
Shawna smiles and the two of them walk into the shop. Dillon buys the five tops in the window and three that the owner had behind the counter. Shawna buys the Game Boy. If Axel gets bored with it after five seconds she's going to try and beat her old Dr. Mario score.
They're walking back to the motel in comfortable silence. It takes Shawna a moment to realize what they just did.
They walked into a shop and they bought something. No one cared who they were, didn't even question why two women were buying children's toys. That was a perfectly normal thing for women their age to do wasn't it?
She couldn't remember the last time she just…went into a store and bought something so unnecessary.
They had been running for so long, buying only the necessities. Stealing everything they could to survive. Worrying if every store they walked into would be the one that gave them away.
It was like they could finally breathe again. Maybe Digger had the right idea. They could just stay here. Stay away from all the insanity and just…be ordinary for a little while.
She shook that idea off. She must be getting some kind of cabin fever or something. No idea that Digger Harkness came up with, could ever be considered correct. She must just be tired or...
"You said that Sam got the book from the house in Opal right?"
"Yea, though someone found the place. Thinks they were looking for you two."
"Sam said that didn't matter. All that mattered is we can contact some people who can give us information."
"What about you? You like this plan?"
"Sam said…"
"I don't give a shit about what that asshole said. I'm asking you."
Rosa glared at Shawna for a moment, then turned and continued walking up the road.
"Shit." Shawna took a breath. That…that wasn't what she meant to do. It's just… "Rosa, wait up a sec."
Rosa continued walking. Thankfully, Shawna had longer legs and was able to catch up after a few seconds.
"I'm sorry about that. I got…I got some old issues and sometimes they bubble up at the wrong times."
Rosa slowed her step slightly but didn't turn towards Shawna.
"I understand that you don't trust either of us. But…"
"I know. Alright. I'm sorry. We good?"
"Let's just get back to the motel."
Shawna knew she should keep her mouth shut. Just walk back, maybe crack a joke or two. Forget all about her little outburst. Seems like her and Rosa could get along, no reason to ruin it with her baggage.
"You don't have to follow him you know. You're smart, seems like you can handle yourself in a fight. I appreciate anyone who can put Digger flat on his ass."
"I love him."
Shawna wanted to scream. How many times had she said that to herself? How many times had she ignored everything anyone said about Clay? She loved him, who cares if his plans are shit? Who cares if he was pulling her farther and farther down into the mud?
"Look, I get it, I really do. And when I was where you are, I probably wouldn't have listened to anyone else either, but I mean you need to not have to rely on him for everything. If you don't want to be a part of this, you shouldn't be forced…"
"The way you were forced into joining the Rogues?"
"What? I wasn't…I don't know what you've heard but I wasn't forced to join the Rogues."
"Oh I see, so you wanted to be an international terrorist and murderer?"
"Luthor…"
"Luthor may have set you up in Evergreen Acres, but the Rogues are the ones who put you there in the first place. I mean what was Snart even thinking? Why did you guys jump up from bank robberies to stopping people like James Jesse? That's the kind of thing that got you into this mess."
"That was different man. You don't know what you're talking about."
"And you don't know what you're talking about with Sam. Think what you like but he would never put me in the kind of danger that the Snart siblings have put you in."
"They aren't the ones putting me in danger."
"Really? You trust them? All of them?"
"Of course, Rogues have always had my back."
"Always?"
Shawna thought of the beginning, when they didn't trust each other. When she ran off on them.
"I mean, Digger's a piece of shit sure. And I'm never sure where I stand with Mick or…"
"You aren't worried they will leave you behind? Seems to me they have regulated you to doing nothing now that Sam can do what you did. And he is less likely to be detected."
The Rogues…wouldn't. She shook her head. That was crazy. They wouldn't abandon her. They…they still needed her.
"We're a team."
"Of course. You love…them."
Dillon walked away.
Shawna felt like she couldn't breathe for a second. They wouldn't abandon her…but then she had never thought Clay would. She had followed him everywhere. Followed him blindly and look what it had gotten her.
No. No this was nothing like that. The Rogues…they were family. They wouldn't abandon her. It wasn't the same as what Clay had done.
But…
Look what following the Rogues had gotten her. Labeled a terrorist. Tortured by some asshole. Locked in a dark room. Chased across the world with everyone trying to kill her.
Shawna took a deep breath. She wasn't falling for the same trick. Because it wasn't the same. The Rogues have stuck together through way worse shit than she ever got in with Clay.
The Rogues wouldn't abandon her.
She…she didn't believe it for a second.