15297/Rogues Gone Wild: The Revenge Of The Rogues

Rogues Gone Wild: The Revenge Of The Rogues
Date of Scene:	25 July 2023
Location:	MPD Headquarters
Synopsis:	The Rogues get their revenge and the true mastermind behind the attacks over the past several weeks is revealled at last. The promise that this is just the start of things is given and the heroes are left to wonder exactly how bad this could get...
Cast of Characters:	Barry Allen, Irie West, Billy Batson, Audra Meridian, Barbara Gordon, Oliver Queen, Richard Swift

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Barry Allen has posed:
For weeks now some of the Flash's most fearsome, troublesome foes have made their presence known in Metropolis, raiding just about every tech firm of any prominence along the Avenue of Tomorrow. Or at least trying to. Each and every attempted robbery has been thwarted and while there has been a fair amount of property damage and some unusual behavior from those Rogues, there has also been a surprising amount of incompetence as well.

Enough that each and everyone of them has been captured and locked away. A good thing, right?

So just why is it that Barry Allen -- aka the Flash -- is so concerned? Could it be the lack of sophistication from some of those plans? Or maybe it is the unhesitating ruthlessness from a few of his more scrupulous foes who have suddenly shown a willingness to cross that one line they have not, a willingness to take a life. Maybe it's because it still feels that there is someone else out there, orchestrating this whole thing.

Or maybe it is the fact that due to some strange circumstances, every last one of the imprisoned Rogues happens to find themselves at Metropolis Police Department headquarters this particular day.

The list is practically a who's who of some of the fiercest threats that the Flash has battled over the years. Captain Cold and Heatwave. The Weather Wizard and Abra Kadabra. Mirror Master, the Trickster, Girder and the Pied Piper. Captain Boomerang, the Top, Golden Glider, the Turtle and Tar Pit. Four seperate groups of Rogues, Four seperate attempted heists. And yet circumstances have conspired to bring them all into police headquarters this day, whether waiting to be taken for arraignment hearings at the nearby courthouse, or waiting to be shipped off to Stryker's Island.

It's a lot of dangerous people all in close proximity, and while Barry Allen has tried to bring his concerns up the chain of command, they have been strangely obstinante about ignoring his concerns. He is just a forensic scientist admittedly. But still. Captain Sawyer, Captain Singh, they're usually a little more open to listening to concerns.

To make matters worse, all the attempted thefts from those four robbery attempts are all present in the evidence room, not having yet been shipped out to the heavily secured MPD storage facility. Circumstances have just conspired against it. Miscommunications and lost paperwork, all in an unusual display of MPD incompetence.

Which might be part of the reason why Barry has asked a few friends and allies to be in the area, just in case. One can never be too careful and if something does go wrong, well, it's always nice to see a friendly face or two around.

Irie West has posed:
    Irie is a friend *and* an ally to Barry, but wasn't asked to join due to her status as a minor. Well. Not a minor anymore. She just turned 18 earlier in the year. She thinks. 18 sounds right. It's what's on her learner's permit anyway. The concept of time around the Flash Family is muzzy at best.

    So she came here to help out, anyway. It's what family does. She's dressed in her Kid Flash costume, a unitard of yellow, with red and black highlights, with the Flash lightning bolt emblazoned on her chest. She's wearing a black leather jacket over with, with the same symbol on her back, and has a pair of black leather fingerless gloves. To round out the ensemble, she has a pair of red goggles over her mask, and her red hair is left to flow freely in the air.

    "Hey, Uncle Barry!" Irie calls out as she arrives in a blur of yellow and red. "I'm here! Just let me know what I can do to help!"

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam had heard some mention of the situation in Metropolis. Being a friend of Irie's he flew after the young speedster. This had nothing to do with an upcoming race and wanting to see what she could do. As matter of fact she made his friend Nitro look arthritic and Nitro had beaten him in their races. Then again those were a couple years back and Billy has learned a few things about opening up and channeling his full power. Mercury was routing for him anyway. He flies in behind Irie and lands near her. "Hi, I'm Shazam, friend of Kid Flash.I'd like to help out if I can."

Audra Meridian has posed:
You know how you invite a friend, and then that friend invites a friend? That is close to how Windrose got involved in things. Between her times hanging out with the Shazamily, and a few assistances to the Justice League, she wasn't hard to ask for. Plus Metropolis was her usual heroic stomping ground. So it wasn't hard to get her on board with keeping an eye out while a number of Rogues were in the same place at the same time like some weird contrived coincidence.

Something was nagging at her cautious and meticulous nature at the back of her mind. Something about how the Rogues still being here, and things just happening to go missing or get caught up in red tape to allow it, and the evidence to still be in the building as well. But she couldn't quite put a finger on why it was bugging her so. Maybe she was just being overly anxious after the other weird things she's had to deal with lately. It was enough for her to come along all the same, settling to the ground with the others gathering. "It's a good thing you brought friends. Even if it is just a mixmatch of miscreants waiting to be shipped to supervillian jail."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Though Batgirl and the Birds of Prey were primarily headquartered in Gotham City, Batgirl did have some property here in Metropolis. As it stands, Gordon Green Energy has a number of locations in the city, and thus Babs still holds a residence here too. When the call came across her shared connections to the Justice League, she answered it.

As such, Batgirl stands atop a nearby building's peak, positioned near the edge, with her right booted foot up on a old concrete block, her black and gold cape flowing in the summer wind behind her shoulders, her red hair poking out of the back of her cowl equally waving along with the cap itself.

Babs' green eyes are down upon the holo-graphic wrist computer mounted inside of her left gauntlet's mould, while high in the sky around here a series of Bat-like drones sweep through the air toward the location where this MPD situation was taking place.

The drones actively scan, record, and broadcast everything they find straight to Batgirl's display, giving her the ability to setup a grid and live feed of the situation down on the street level below.

Oliver Queen has posed:
It just so happens that one of those friends and allies in question happens to be Oliver Queen.

While he might have plenty on his own plate with his recent purchase of the Phoenix Towers project in Hell's Kitchen and the revelation that one of the local Triads had co-opted the building's basement to run a drug lab out of -- not to mention the extensive network of tunnels riddling the area, creating a literal criminal underground -- sometimes you just make time for one's friends.

Besides, it's not exactly difficult to see why Barry might be concerned under the circumstances. It all seems to be a pretty unlikely confluence of events that could readily lead to any number of problems. And while the Rogues appear to have all been stripped of their technology, or confined in power-dampening collars, they are still dangerous.

Which is why the blonde billionaire is currently sitting with his old friend in the police commissary, nursing a really bag cup of coffee, each sip drawing a rather pained grimace. Sometimes getting that fix of caffeine is a little more important then how you get it and Ollie has definitely been burning the candle at both ends as of late.

"This," Oliver says rather emphatically. "This is why the private sector is way better then the public sector. I can't believe anyone would subject themselves to this. Deliberately," he says with a slow shake of his head.

He's probably kidding. And exaggerating. A little, at least.

Barry Allen has posed:
The comment from Oliver draws a quiet snort from Barry and though he still shoots concerned glances towards the door leading out of the commissary and back out into the police department proper, a brief smile touches his features. "Uh huh. Coffee. That's the reason to change careers," the sometimes Scarlet Speedster retorts drily to his old friend.

The smile just doesn't last though and soon enough that worried frown is creeping back over his expression. "I just can't shake the feeling that this whole thing is going to go very wrong. Take Snart, he's ruthlessly efficient, a genius at planning really. But he's never been bloodthirsty before and suddenly he doesn't seem to care who gets hit, maybe killed by his freeze ray? It just doesn't track," he says with a slow shake of his head.

That line of thought abruptly breaks off however when Irie steps into the room trailed by a few other familiar faces. One of the many advantages of being with the League. Most of those in this particular line of business don't go unnoticed for long. "Irie! I didn't really expect you to manage to show up," Barry say with a smile, rising from his seat to greet her, before nodding towards Shazam and Windrose. "Thanks for this. Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive, but..." he says before letting the words trail off with a shrug. "I'm sure that the Captains will be glad to have you close by, just in case," he adds, forcing a smile onto his expression.

Actually he's not at all sure of that fact. Neither Sawyer nor Singh have exactly been acting like themselves the last few days. If they were, this situation would never have been allowed to play out like it has, he's pretty sure of that.

While that little gathering might be taking place inside, it might be one of the heroes keeping tabs on the outside that gets the first clue of just how wrong things have gone. If Batgirl has snuck a drone into the station, or tapped into the internal security system she will be the first to see -- or at least the first to take note of the fact -- that several police officers armed in riot gear walk determinedly towards the cell block where the Rogues are currently being housed. The last pair carry two heavy crates and the bored sentry at the gate simply buzzes them through. And then promptly hits a button on the panel in front of him.

Inside the cell block the jail doors all start to slide open and that collection of Rogues starts to step out into the hall -- where the waiting riot police set down those crates and flip them open. Revealling all their confiscated gear. And those that don't have gear, but instead power-damening collars? Several officers attend to them as well, unfastening those special restraints.

In the commissary, Barry's eyes idly flicker towards the window overlooking the rest of the station, a small frown creeping over his face as more police pushing large carts full of the electronics and other valuables the Rogue's have been attempting to steal are being wheeled past into the main area. "What is all that doing out of lock-up?" he asks, concern thick in his voice.

Irie West has posed:
    Irie gives Barry a quick hug, before stepping back and frowns at the problem. "Maybe mind control lasers?" she posits. "I mean, you never know with these guys, right? It could be all, doing your average day-to-day villainy and then *zap!* Mind control!"

    She looks out the window Barry is and scowls. "Maybe we should stop them? Or at least ask what they're doing. I'll be right back." Impulsive as always.

    With a blur of yellow and red she reaches the police pushing the crates. "Hi guys! Kid Flash, here," she says in a friendly manner. "So shouldn't these things be back in lockup? What's the deal?"

Richard Swift has posed:
The Shade watches and listens, the shadows his only friend. Quiet, observant, and inquisitive.

Audra Meridian has posed:
Windrose eyes the mug of likely strong but cheap generic grade coffee. "If I'd known I'd brought a thermos of the proper stuff." Then shakes her head at Barry, hair swishing a little with the motion. "You're not the only one that has an odd feeling about things. I looked up the news reports on their attempts... several going after the same or similar locations no less. Like they hadn't concerned over drawing attention like that." One hand rises to rub at her chin. "Even a dumb brute should realize trying to rob the same place in the span of a week is foolish... And your lot isn't dumb brutes." As he pointed out about Snart. Who may be the mastermind but isn't the only smart guy in the group. "Something is just... slightly off..."

Followed by a soft groan at Irie's comment. "If it is mind control -again-...." This would be, what, the third time some form of that has come up she's been involved in?

Then there's activity noticed outside, and she steps over to the window to see for herself. "Is that odd? I admit I don't know entirely about police proceedures... But unless they need something for the court appearances..." There's a whoosh as Irie runs off, then outside to investigate. Just from proximity to where she had been standing Windrose felt enough of the whoosh to reflexively put a hand out to balance herself from being backblasted over. She looks to Barry, who'd know how police operations actually go.

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam says, "Yeah maybe check on the no goodniks t... " But Irie is gone. He ponders a moment and attempts to sense any magic. "Hmmm." He starts following the police from lock up. Yeah this not right. He's seen Tales of the Highway Patrol.

"Yo, officers, everything okay? Need me to hold the door for you? Where you going?" He did witness a mass mind control attack recently. He watches their reactions. The usual response is buzz off lightning boy.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Batgirl was in the process of hacking her way in to the MPD database as her drones swept in over the building itself. The aerial devices largely stayed up high in the sky, save for one that sweeped in low until its little landing skids brought it to a halt upon the rooftop of the MPD building. this little bat-drone just curls in its black resin wings upon itself, looking like little more than a little black egg now...

Internally, however, it is accessing the wifi inside the building, and rapidly spreading its progreammed influence through the system...

And Batgirl's green eyes are observing the progress of her software doing what it was designed to do.

She's in within seconds, requiring only a ffew key strokes from her right gloved hand, and only a few moments after that she sees something she doesn't really like.

"Flash." Babs' voice says over comms. "Flash, you read me?" She checks again, her feminine voice sounding casual and relaxed. "Something is up. There are guards entering the holding cell area, accessing every cell with your friends inside them. Every cell door is open." She relays from her perch upon the roof across the street, the sounds of distant horn honks and a helicopter occupying the ambient soundscape in the back of her mind.

Oliver Queen has posed:
While Barry does not offer any introductions, it is probably less awkward that way. And like him, Oliver is pretty up to date on who's who in the superhero community thanks to the Justice League files. It's probably easier not to have to explain what he's doing here anyway. So he simply nods and keeps his seat at the table, hands wrapped around that hot cup of coffee.

And while hot might be the only thing going for that beverage, the blonde billionaire still takes another sip of it, face screwing up into that displeased expression once more.

Ugh. Disgusting. He's really going to have to see about getting a replacement for Felicity as his executive assistant sooner rather than later.

When Barry makes that little statement about the evidence out of lock-up, Ollie finally rises from the table and grabs the backpack that was casually resting against one of the legs. "Be right back," he murmurs to his old friend before turning for the nearby washroom.

Some people can't just superspeed into their costume!

Fortunately Oliver has had a lot of practice at this and it doesn't take him very long at all to slip into his costume, face mask put in place and that green hood pulled low over his forehead before discretely slipping back out with bow in hand. Moving to the far exit, away from the others he steps out into the hall and is almost immediately confronted by one of those officers in riot gear.

"Hey, you can't be in here," the man says, reaching for his nightstick.

While his reputation might suggest otherwise, the Green Arrow doesn't always chose violence to deal with problems. But Barrry is right. Nothing about this situation is right and as he peers past the police officer and spots just what's going on in the cell block be abruptly lashes out, striking the armored officer right across the face with that bow before kicking him hard in the chest, sending him flying back. "We've got trouble! They're setting them all loose!" Well, that's first hand confirmation of what Batgirl is also reporting.

All of which can't be good. Oliver is already starting to draw an arrow.

Barry Allen has posed:
It's good to know that he is not the only one that senses something is off here, about this entire situation and Barry nods to both Windrose and Oliver. "It all fels like too big a coincidence. I know chance is a thing, but all of this just seems to be... pushing it. "I have to try and find one of the Captains. See if they know what's going on. This is so against regular proceedure..." Barry says with a shake of his head, following Irie out into the hall but turning in the other direction, towards the stairs that lead up to the upper level.

The voice in his ear sounds just as he is turning the corner and Barry pauses for a moment as Batgirl makes that report. "Copy that. Thanks for the heads up," he says quietly over those comms, sneaking a quick look around before that red and yellow costume explodes from the lightning ring he wears and in a blur Barry Allen is suddenly gone, leaving the Flash standing there instead. "Sounds like we just got an eyewitness account too," he adds, as he hears Oliver cry out.

"Everyone! Be careful. I don't think the police are on our side in this one," Barry calls out as he starts back around the corner, everything seeming to slow down around him as a crackle of that lightning seems to stretch out from him.

That little fact has probably become wildly apparent to those who have already gathered out by the entrance to the cell block, or who are trying to intervene with those officers carting the loads of would-be plunder straight towards the same criminals that have been trying for weeks to get their hands on it.

From up above, on that second floor balcony that overlooks the common area below a large, hulking figure steps out of one of the Captain's offices. Even if he didn't tower over everyone else spread out on the floor below there would be no missing his presence.

Because it is definitely a freakin' gorilla.

<< Too little, too late Flash, >> Grood projects into the minds of all those gathered, those psychic words like a terrible roar that delivers an instant headache to anyone without significant mental defenses. << I do appreciate you gathering all of my new followers and the technology I require in one place for me. Kill him. >>

And with that Captain David Singh and Captain Maggie Sawyer step out from behind Grood, taking aim at the speedster down below and unloading their sidearms at him.

But it is not just them that act. Across the precinct those words seem to be a sign and the police in their rio gear suddenly surge forward with those shields and nightsticks, piling towards Green Arrow and Shazam. The men pushing those carts loaded with high-tech electronics whirl towards Kid Flash, drawing weapons. Across the room plain clothed detectives leap from their desks, drawing their weapons as well as the entire MPD on site suddenly turns against their protectors.

And then there is the cell block. Those thirteen locked up Rogues are suddenly freed, suddenly armed once more, standing there with grins on their faces. It would be an impressive group photo if someone was their to capture the occasion.

"Looks like it's time for a little revenge boys," Leonard Snart says as he pulls the hood of that coat up and levels his freeze ray through that open gate. Other weapons quickly follow and an instant later a barrage of ice and fire, lightning and lasers, boomerang and exploding whoopie cushions are flooding out into the main room, adding to the chaos...

Richard Swift has posed:
Well. Now this was a conundrum. The Shade, a golden age nemesis of the Fastest Man Alive was watching everything with a sort of snarl and glee in his eyes! It was rare he got to see such devilish mayhem, and this was right up his alley. Top Hat. Long black cane. Black suit, shoes, and a bow tie to match! Yes. Bow Ties are cool.

So are shadows.

Whispering under his breath, "Now this is a who's who of do gooders." his eyes scan all present with an appraising air. "It would be foolish to get involved. Alas, I will watch, and see what happens...and be there at the end...just in case."

"Ah. Grodd." Shade taps his cane to the brim of his top hat. "Well done. Bravo. Surprise, surprise." Shade steps to the side to avoid any contact with a "hero". A distasteful look on his face. "Ah yes. The rest of the Rogue's. How...quaint."

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam takes a good share of the initial attack. The exploding boomerang is no problem. The exploding whoopee cushion actually gets a laugh. The freeze ray, however... that he takes in the face and it blinds him. Something else hits him hard and he swings back and misses, probably that Girder guy. He has no way of seeing the bolt of lightning coming at him, Probably a bad time to turn back to Billy as bullets are flattening on him already.

Audra Meridian has posed:
And there it is, the other shoe dropping. "I have mixed feelings if I should be upset or relieved that our concerns weren't misplaced," is Windrose's exasperated response to everything hitting the fan. Followed by a wince at the mental gloading from the real mastermind behind it all. "Goddamn it!" It might not be mind control, but it's definitely someone manipulating everything from the background to bring all those coincidences together. She pulls her goggles down into place and bolts out of the room to rejoin the others.

Right into absolute chaos as the Rogues storm out of the cell block armed and roaring for revenge. "If this wasn't an absolute disaster it would be something seeing so many famously infamous faces together..." Plus some of the cops are in on it too? Ugh, that just complicates things more.

Dodge fire, deflect ice, watching out for projectils... But lightning, lightning she can at least deal with. Windrose lunges in, engaging the conductive systems built into her supersuit, and holds out her hand. It works kind of light a technologically enhanced lightning rod, drawing the lightning to her instead of blasting Shazam back into his less powerful form. Sparks arc about and the tron-esque lines in her suit can be seen illuminating more brightly.

That's a bit more than she can safely store without frying the tech though. So Windrose throws out her other hand, turning the conduction into a circuit and sending a bolt of electrity hurtling back at the Rogues!

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Being that Batgirl is, so far, acting as Oracle on this assignment... she's a fair distance away from the action as it starts to unfold inside the MPD precinct. She's actively watching though, her software already in deep enough to give her access to the cameras inside the facility. She sees it all as it unfolds, and it makes her frown from her perch on the side of the building across the street.

Some part of her wants to rush in and help, but they have a heavy team in there already... and for a decade she stood by and watched her Bat-family from afar. She's used to this.

"Batgirl here. I am taking over control of the cell doors from their central computer system." She tells everyone who has access to the JLA comms now.

"If you can get the criminals back in their cell, the doors should be able to be closed, and relocked, and -stay- locked this time." She informs everyone.

The sound of sirens down the street do cause Batgirl's eyes to raise up, to look to the south toward the visible police cruisers running code, seemingly on their way back to their base.

Something about this is very wrong, and Babs is glad it's not happening in Gotham, that it's not happening to her father's department.

Oliver Queen has posed:
Well, this isn't good.

Which might be a dramatic understatement. It's not like they don't have a fair bit of power on their own side. Shazam. A woman with elemental gauntlets. Two speedsters. And not to mention his own not insignificant contributions. But there are thirteen Rogues swarming out of that lock-up. Not to mention the gorilla with the formidable strength and mental abilities. Including mind control. Enough mind control juju to take over an entire precinct of police offiers and turn them all against the good guys.
Green Arrow can't be blamed for feeling a little outnumbered here. And they have to play it at least a little safe to avoid actually hurting any of the officers of the law who are not in control of their own actions.

Oliver has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. But there isn't much he can do against that sustained barrage. All he can do is throw himself to the side, out of the line of fire as he sprawls on his back. But even like that, he is still well aware of the situation and he is loosing the arrow that he has already drawn even as he hits the floor. It flies -- not towards one of the Rogues -- but instead towards one of the police officers in the line of fire, the head of the arrow suddenly expanding to a good ol' boxing glove, striking the man in the side of the head and send him sprawling. Just as that freezing blast sweeps through the same space he was occupying an instant before.

His friends don't seem terribly relieved that their friend has come through without a scratch however and a half dozen of those riot police bear down on Ollie, leaving him to roll and scramble back to his feet, trying to avoid blows from those night sticks. Only the narrow hall keeps them from completely swarming over him, and even then he takes a face-full of riot shield, sending him staggering backward, reaching blindly over his shoulder to pluck an arrow from his quiver, firing it towards the nearest of those shields.

And when the taser arrow hits the shield, arcs of blue electricity flood out, spreading amongst that collection of officers, sending them into spasms before dropping them to the floor.

"That might be easier said then done Batiglr..." Green Arrow says drily, gaze sweeping the scene.

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam gets a break as Heatwave tries to cook him. He leans his face into the flames, burning away the ice. He shakes off the water just in time to see Girder's massive fist flying at him. He is surprised and gets knocked back and through a nearby wall.

In a moment he is back up and flying at the muscle man fists forward.

"You made a mistake. You're not the Juggernaut!"

Barry Allen has posed:
Bullets are flying, elemental energy is tossed and at least initially it is pretty much everything that the heroes onsite can do to just hold their own and not simply get overwhelmed. Maybe they could pull it off just facing the Rogues, though that group acts with surprising unity of purpose on this occasion. Likely instilled upon them by Grood. Add to that the interference of the police as well, and it is definitely fair to say the odds are stacked against them.

Windrose's intervention might very well have saved them all, as that bolt of lightning is intercepted before it can strike Shazam and really turn the odds against them. But as she hurls it back towards the Rogue's the Weather Wizard steps forward, catching that bolt on the wand he wields, that electricty crackling around the golden rod. "Two can play at that game girl," the man barks at her before hurling the energy right back towards the feet of Windrose and Shazam, sekeing to shatter the floor beneath them.

Captain Cold and Heat Wave work together, as is so often the case, laying down both ice and fire in sweeping patterns to keep anyone from approaching as they advance.

Girder might not be any real match for Shazam, but he is not alone either and as the powerhouse surges forward the black patch that inches along the ground suddenly surges up, tendrils of tar from Tar Pit seeking to ensare him in that burning grip. The Turtle adds to the fray as well, slowly gesturning with a hand towards Shazam, those waves of slowness washing towards him.

Green Arrow is no better off, not as Captain Boomerang appears at the end of the fall, a half dozen different boomerangs clutched in his hand. "Oi! Arrow! I've been waitin' a long time for this mate," he says, unleashing those exploding projectiles in a flurry. A moment later the Pied Piper is at his side as well, unleashing a barrage of sonics his way and flanked by Mirror Master who holds up a mirror in one hand, a laser bolt shooting from it to shatter the glass in the office door behind Ollie. All at once he vanishes -- and suddenly there are dozens of reflected images of the villain in all the shards of glass that liter the floor around Green Arrow.

While all of that is going on Trickster, The Top and Golden Glider are racing towards the waiting carts, starting to push them toward the nearest exit.

Watching this as he dodges the gun fire from the pair of Metropolis' best, the Flash shakes his head. As dangerous as all the Rogues might be, it is Grodd that makes them even more dangerous, Grood who lends them this coordination and Grood who has turned the MPD against them. Whirling, Barry is little more then a streak of red and gold when he starts up the stairs towards the massive ape, already building up a charge of lightning to hurl at the waiting gorilla. He can act at the speed of thought, but lets see him act at the speed of light!

He reaches the landing above and starts to deliver that punch which is exactly when a blur almost the exact opposite of his own suddenly matches his progress, a blurring punch of yellow and red lashing out, striking the Flash in the face. At that speed he almost immediately goes flying over the railing of the balcony to crash down amidst the desks below, a trio of homicide detectives surrounding him with sidearms drawn.

And up there, on the balcony standing beside Grood? Eobard Thawne. The Reverse-Flash.

Richard Swift has posed:
"Ooo. Electricity. Bullets. Cold. Arrows. Bats! Etc. At least I packed my long johns, with the weather looking colder." The Shade smiles and moves again to avoid being impacted by the heroes and villains of this particular play.

"It would be so easy to take a side...eenie, meenie..." The Shade leans forward, his cane firmly in front of him, his hands planted forward, leaning ever so slightly looking at the mayhem in front of him.

"Fascinating." The shadows flicker slightly as he remains neutral. With a frown and a sigh, he remains, calm. Thawn. AND Grodd. Discretion better part of yadda, yadda. "Good luck Flash and heroes, et al." The shadows envelop him and he was gone.

Barry Allen has posed:
While others present might be wholely unaware of the presence of the Shade, it seems that Grood is very much aware of the presence of the Master of Shadow. << I trust you understand what this demonstration means, Shade, >> comes that roaring voice in his head. Grodd's voice. << This is just the beginning. I told you it was past time that we learned to work together. Work as one. That we needed a League of our own. And today, we are one step closer to realizing that goal >> the powerful gorilla telepath projects at the mysterious figure before he is gone.

Richard Swift has posed:
As the Shade is enveloped in shadow, he pauses at the precipice of his exit. With a moment to look back, the Shade ponders the offer, and with a final tap of his cane to his top hat, thinks back, "Mayhaps your offer is one this old miscreant could not refuse. You may count me in, if you make it through the oncoming storm of heroes, "old friend"."

Then. He was gone.

Audra Meridian has posed:
Okay girl, just stay focused. This isn't anything you haven't dealt with before in some manner. It is just dealing with several of them at once that is different...

The escalating situation draws her attention back to the immeadiate problems. Shazam is definitely the best one to handle the big bruisers, but she can still give him some assistance besides lightning protection. Which is sending a burst of frost at Tar Pit to take some edge off the heat of his goo.

But before she can do more than that Weather Wizard sends the lightning back her way, this time to smash the floor apart! It crumbles down, Windrose collapsing with it, and threatening anyone that might be on the floors below besides. How dastardly!

Or at least, it would of.

But instead of a crushing crash Windrose rises back out of the hole with several pieces of the floor and infrastructure held in a spiral of air formed around her. "Enough reaping lightning, time to ride the whirlwind!" She uses the cyclone-like wind to send the bits of debris hurtling at Weather Wizard.

Then hurtling herself, with one of those reinforced boots aimed to deliver a galeforce kick at the other weather dominator!

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam slams into Girder and knocks the big man flying. He fought the Brainiac drones and learned to think fastThe lightning from Weather Wizard crackles but doesn't go far as he catches it and throws it at Grodd's massive form! Change up. That's when the sticky flaming tendrils engulf him and begin to drag him downward. He can engage these guys physically, no problem. He can ward the lightning from him and even redirect it, no problem but he can't do both. Those tendrils burn, he can feel it. They're reaching his face, in his nostrils. He might be invulnerable but there is a squick zone.

Shazam rises from the whole, encased in flaming, gooey tar and keeps going, through the roof, gaining speed. Even blind the hero know which way is up.

The stratosphere will extinguish the flames and freeze that mess of a villain. It might take him a minute.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Above the MPD precinct building, Batgirl's drones sweep overhead, the majority of them monitoring the exterior of the building to survey for changes in threats from beyond. But the threats ffrom within seem to be quite a handful ffor the gathering of heroes inside.

Batgirl lets out a sofft exhale then before she lowers her lefft wrist down to her side.

There's a scrape of boots against weather-worn concrete, followed by the flutter of material as Batgirl takes to the sky. Her cape flashes stiff behind her, her glider position active as she descends rapidly toward the roof of the building under siege.

Touching down on the roof's landing, Batgirl rushes past her parked drone, which remains utterly motionless as the caped woman rushes past it.

In her wake the roof door is left ripped open.

"Let me know if you need me to knock out the lights, or turn on the fire suppression systems." Her voice says over the comms to those within... should they get a moment to actually have time to reply or request.

Oliver Queen has posed:
"You have got to be kidding me..." Oliver complains as he suddenly finds himself under assault. Not that anyone else out there is any better off then him of course, but still, it's hard not to feel a little picked on here. As those explosive boomerangs start to explode around him it is all the Green Arrow can do to throw himself back through the open door and into that office.

Again he finds himself sprawled on the floor, sliding across the tile and coming up just short of the desk resting in one corner. Before he has time for much as all the glass all throughout the room suddenly shatters as the Pied Piper barrages the room with those sonic blasts, leaving the Arrow to clutch at his ears. Then those glass shards are all around him, all of them reflecting the image of the Mirror Master. The Mirror Master drawing his laser pistol. It takes just about everything he can manage, but Ollie throws himself over the desk, sliding to the far side of it as he draws yet another arrow. He unleashes it just as he dumps over the far side, immediately throwing his back against the desk to turn it over as the thermite arrow explodes just beyond.

Almost instantly all of that glass melts into patches of grey, non-reflective shards -- the Mirror Master's doorways cut off. But that burst of heat practically sucks all the oxygen from the room too, leaving Oliver gasping, knowing that he has bought himself precious time and space -- at the expense of, you know, breathing.

"Fire suppresison. Fire suppresion would be good," he manages to gasp over those Justice League comms.

He'd like to do more to help Barry. To help Shazam and Windrose. To help all those cops being mind controlled by that damn ape. But right now it's just about all Green Arrow can do just to survive.

Barry Allen has posed:
Then, just like that, their number dwindles again as Shazam goes crashing through the roof above, dragging Tar Pit along with him as those scorching tendrils start to burn holes in his costume. In a moment they are out of sight and while his collegues might be inclinded to worry about him, they kind of have their own problems to deal with right at the moment.

Golden Glider, the Top and the Trickster gather up those carts loaded with their original goals in the middle of the room, surrounding them, ready to fend off anyone who approaches. They are further bolstered by nearly a dozen of the mind controlled cops that join in creating that man-made barrier to keep any of the heroes at bay. Increasingly the other members of Flash's Rogue's Gallery are falling back there as well, the future 'wizard' Abra Kadabra hovering over the whole lot as he seems to be conjuring up some sort of strange dvice.

The heat of Green Arrow's unleashed Thermite arrow is enough to drive back Boomerang and the Piper, and Mirror Master emerges from a nearby glass window with a yelp, scorches marking his green and yellow costume. They too start to fall back towards the rest of them as the hallway they had been heading down continues to smolder and burn in the aftermath of Ollie's desperate ploy.

Windrose is having a little more luck in her duel with Weather Wizard and the man snarls at her, a trickle of perspiration rolling down the side of his face at the effort of hurling elemental forces back and forth. When she summons up that little whirlwind, hurling loose objects his way, the Wizard tries to compensate, to bring up a counter-gale, but is not able to do so in time, one of those chunks hitting him upside the head and dropping him.

But before she can follow up Snart and Rory are there, those alternating blasts of fire and ice directed towards her in sweeping arcs. The Turtle trudges in behind them, waving a hand towards the gauntleted woman, waves of slowness sweeping from him even as the Top darts forward to grab hold of Weather Wizard and start dragging him back to the pack.

Up above Grodd gives a little growl as he watches the scene below, before rather agilely leaping up onto the railing and jumping down to join the rest of them. << Abra Kadabra! Get that portal open. I think we've given them all enough of a preview of just what's to come, >> he says, words half snarl, half mocking laugh even in their minds.

The the yellow and red blur that is the Reverse Flash is racing down those stairs and onto the main floor as well, though it does not immediately move to join the others in the center of the room, pausing instead by the form of the fallen flash. Booted kicks lash out over and over again, catching Barry in the ribs and making him jerk upwards from the ground before he curls up, clutching at himself and trying to cover up. "You. Are. So. Stupid!" Thawne says inbetween each kick. "Now I have friends too Flash. We're going to take the entire world away from you," he says harshly, punctuating each word with another kick before speeding off to the center of the room.

Audra Meridian has posed:
Sometimes you have to think less about the weather and more what the weather can do. It pays off as Windrose's imitation of a tornado gets her the drop on Weather Wizard with the tossed debris. She sets down next to him sprawled on the floor. "You know, if it wasn't for the whole nefarious intentions I would be impressed. Even if the wizard motif is a little dorky." She leans down to grab him to toss back in a cell, but gets interrupted by the elemental shots hurtling from behind her.

So it becomes a duck, a juke forward, and then twisting back upright to fire off a burst of wind to disperse the fire shot. Only for a blast of cold to cause it to chill farther, forming frost over her gauntlets. While Top zips in to grab the downed Wizard. Unlucky timing.

"Hey, get back here, both of you!" Windrose deploys her vectors and stabilizers... but that's when the slowness wave stalls out her attempt to launch into a dash. Followed by timed shots from Heatwave and Cold to knock her back against the wall and pin down her arms with ice.

It won't take her too long to generate enough heat to melt that, but it's long enough for them to grab their ally and get the heck out of dodge.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The lights go out, with emergency lights popping on a second later. Following that, the 'skies' within the building open up and it begins to rain.

The fire suppression systems come on, specifically within the rooms with an active burning inferno within them, such as the hallway that the Green Arrow was near to.

It is right as Grodd leaps down toward his comrades, that Batgirl appears ffrom the shadows. She'd appeared behind him, and had narrowly missed a chance to hit the Great Ape from behind with a tranquilizer dart that she holds via the dart gun in her right hand.

Blasted missed opportunities. But she wasn't a Flash, she had to get down to this level via the stairs all on her own two legs.

Batgirl peers over the railing where Grodd had originally been observing, she now looking at the carnage below as the water pours down from above, matting her fiery red hair back against her cape. The dart gun is put back upon her belt, and Babs reaches ffor a aggressive looking batarang with long dagger-like ends to it.

She clutches it in her right hand, staring down at Grodd, and his minions. Her hand comes up then, and she prepares to hurl the Batarang at the whole of the villainous jail breakers.

Oliver Queen has posed:
That heat is nearly overwhelming.

As far as desperate gambits go, Oliver would probably not use that one again. Not unless there was no other choice. But being surrounded by hundreds of tiny Mirror Masters was really not somewhere that he wanted to be. His options just weren't very good.

But until the fire suppression units come online, there's really no way for the Green Arrow to provide any assistance to the rapidly depelted team out in the heart of MPD headquarters. Even with that barrier of the desk there is not much protection offered and he finally pulls out another arrow, struggling to nock it and angle it as he embeds it in the ceiling overhead, and deluge of fire-suppressing foam adding to the inevitable relief that Batgirl will bring as well when the fire suppression systems are engaged.

A wave of relief passes over him as that arrow is extinguised and while it feels like he has had the energy sucked right out of him, Green Arrow forces himself to keep going, hurtling back over the desk and out into that hallway once more.

"Flash? Flash?" he calls out as he spots Barry curled up in the middle of the floor, clutching at himself and pulls out one more arrow as he charges forward, starting to draw a bead on the group right in the center of the room.

Barry Allen has posed:
In the end, the numbers are just too great, the coordination to exacting. Normally a group that big, that diverse would probably fall to bickering, get pulled apart by their differing goals. But whether it is Grodd's influence or simply a realization of what has doomed them in the past, this time the Rogues work together to be far more effective then when apart. This time they take advantage of every opportunity that opens up, keep their foes pinned down and unable to come together to bring their pooled capabilities into one effective strike.

This time, the bad guys look like they're going to win.

Freed up from having to worry about Windrose, Captain Cold and Heatwave continue to focus on suppressing the opposition keeping them back, keeping them at Bay. The Turtle continues to gesture at the weather manipulator on the opposing team, keeping that field of slowness centered on her as the villains coalesce in the center of the room. And while they do, Leonard Snart and Mick Rory direct those fire and ice beams up towards that second level balcony, giving Batgirl something else to worry about.

With all of them gathered together except that unfortunate Tar Pit, Grodd stares up towards the hovering Abra Kadabra, the 'mage' from the future continuing to gesticulate wildly as a mechanical shell begins to form around the collection of Rogues. << It is time, >> the gorilla demands psychically, ignoring the others in the room now, a little smile of triumph etched on his fuzzy features.

Up above, Abra Kadabra giggles madly to himself and nods to their apparent leader, throwing his hands to the heavens as that mechanical orb begins to glow, begins to spin around them, faster and faster.

The police officers gathered begin to shake their heads, guns and nightsticks falling from their hands as Grodd apparently releases his mental hold on them, the effect fading but leaving them dazed.

The Flash also tires to recover from the rather savage beating at the hands of his opposite, trying to stand, one hand clutching at his ribs. But it is all he can do to get to one knee, spitting up blood. He'll heal, and heal fast, but right now it hurts like hell and try as he might Barry just can't get back to his feet. Not quite yet.

"This isn't over Grood," he says defiantly, a little trickle of blood running down to his chin.

<< No Flash. Not over. This is just the beginning. >> comes Grodd's counter.

Then in a brilliant flash of light, Grodd and his Rogues are gone leaving nothing but chaos and destruction in their wake.

Audra Meridian has posed:
It takes a few moments after the Rouges are gone and Turtle's slowness effect with it for Windrose to re-energize her gauntlets and ionize enough heat to melt the ice. Enough that she can break free, feet thumping to the floor. She lets out a sigh and a shake of the head to clear it, then stands up.

One hand waves at where the group was standing. "I wasn't seeing things, right? That they were being lead by a giant gorilla? I guess this was one big set-up after al-Oh!" She notices Flash's rough condition and Arrow skulking near him, and the cops still recovering from the daze. "I am starting to -really- dislike mind control powers..." First cursed rocks and Desparo, now psionic simians. What's next....

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara, with what time she has to view the group below, can see they're gathering up. She can see what seems to be an exit plan forming amongst them, whatever it may be... and she bides her time.

Right up to the poine song of ice and ffire comes her way!

Batgirl raises her protective cape up to shield her face from the flames and ice, as she darts to the side, seeing the group initiating their escape, her hand holding the batarang snaps outward, sending the bladed dagger-like device hurling toward the villains before they can vanish in to the night itself. Batgirl's thrown batarang whirls through the air toward the villains, vanishing along with them... its inner tracking beacon active and transmitting.

When they're gone, Batgirl descends the stairs down to the main level, walking beneath the falling fire water that pelts her body armor. She moves toward some of the bewildered officers, helping some of them up, and helping others find places to sit down. Naturally many of them are shocked by all of this, and by Batgirl's presence.

"We gotta get everyone out of the building. There's been a serious breach." She tells the first man wearing the highest rank insignia that she can find.

Her cowl-covered face regards the other heroes still within the area, and she calls out to them amongst the sound of the chaotic setting they find themselves in now.

"Is anyone hurt?"

Oliver Queen has posed:
Racing over, Green Arrow lowers his bow as the Rogues and that damn gorilla vanish in a flash of light, squinting a little at the after image left, trying to blink his eyes clear. He drops to a crouch beside Barry, looking him over, a flicker of concern on his expression there as he sees just how battered his old friend is. Though he is fairly confident that he's going to heal. "You okay?" he asks quietly to the other man.

At Audra comment, Oliver gives a quiet snort and a nod. "You weren't seeing things. That was Grodd and he's probably about the worst primate you're ever going to run into. Significant telepathic and telekinetic powers in addition to being way stronger then your average human. Looks like you two were right. There was someone else behind this whole thing," he says quietly, offering a hand to Barry to help him get back to his feet.

"Maybe a couple. What I know of the REverse Flash doesn't suggest that he's much of a follower too. Whatever they were up to, whatever they wanted that tech for and whatever they were trying to prove, it probably doesn't bode will for the rest of us," he says sourly.

Barry Allen has posed:
"I've had better days, but I'll survive. Just... gonna need a little time," Flash answers Batgirl's question.

He gives a little nod to Green Arrow, assuring him that he is okay, and with the other man's help manages to pull himself to his feet though he continues to clutch one arm around those damaged ribs, a little wince plain on his features.

"Whatever Grodd is planning, it can't be good. Especially if he needs all that help to pull it off. I've never seen so many of my foes work together like that. It was a little... alarming," he admits, turning his gaze out over the rest of the room.

The cops present might not be in as rough shape as them -- certainly not the Flash -- but confusion seems to reign supreme amongst them and more then a few look as if they are coming out of a mental fog.

When Batgirl asks for someone in charge, Captain David Singh and Captain Maggie Sawyer exchange glances before turning those gazes towards the Gotham vigilante. "Looks like that's us. I don't think either one of us is entirely sure of just what's going on, but we'll arrange for help to be brought in before we can get all of this," Sawyer says, motioning around the room with a vague sort of wave. "Sorted out and figured out. I don't know exactly what went on here, but I suspect that we all owe you," she says before turning along with her collegue, starting to bark orders at the other officers.

Bringing a little order to the chaos.