17339/Injustice For All: The Assault On Belle Reve

Injustice For All: The Assault On Belle Reve
Date of Scene:	12 March 2024
Location:	Belle Reve Prison Complex -- Louisiana
Synopsis:	The Justice League and their allies confront the Injustice League to try and prevent a mass breakout at Belle Reve.
Cast of Characters:	Barry Allen, Diana Prince, Monet St. Croix, M'gann M'orzz, Oliver Queen, Alura In-Ze

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Barry Allen has posed:
While it might have been several weeks since the Injustice League last made their presence known, there was never much chance that they would have gone to ground permanently. Not after the raid on the nuclear power facility outside of Metropolis. Not after managing to siphon off enough power to let their massive portal device finally reach out, to stretch beyond even the confines of the planet to recover their lost partners in crime, pulling them back to Earth and bringing their compliment of power back to nearly it's full potential once more.

Gorilla Grood, Morgan Le Fay, Deathstroke, Merlyn, Shadow Thief -- all of those hurled through space by the diverted spell, returned to the ranks of the Legion of Doom. And with them another new ally, an old enemy of the League returned. Felix Faust.

So while the temporary respite might have been very welcomed indeed, it was only a matter of time before the Justice League and their allies would surely be called upon again to confront their latest group of nemeses.

And when that call comes, well, it comes from a rather unlikely place.

Under most circumstances, the most isolated stretch of swamp in Louisiana is not exactly the sort of place one would expect trouble to develop, at least not the sort of trouble that would require the assistance of some of the world's most formidable protectors. But then Terrebonne Parish is home to more then just a handful of locals. It is also the location of one of the most formidable superhuman SuperMax facilities, designed to house the worst of the worst in the superhuman community. A prison packed full of some of the biggest threats in the world.

So perhaps it should come as no surprise that when the Injustice League hits, the alert comes from there.

The alert that does come is brief, reaching out over the customary channels, a snatch of radio communication. The sound of explosions, of tremendous crashes. Words barely able to be made out claiming that someone is smashing right through the walls. And then it's all cut off.

As is so often the case, when the alarm sounds, the Flash serves as one of the lead scouts, that tremendous speed letting him cross the country in a fraction of the time that it would take most, racing down into the darkness of those swamps, the single road leading to the facility the only clear path to Belle Reve itself, otherwise surrounded by copious amounts of twisted, thick vegetation and stagnant pools of water. In the distance smoke rises up from the prison facility, one outer wall crumbled in a number of places offering ominous, shadowed gaps in the otherwise formidable defenses.

<< Flash here. Approaching the scene now. I think it's safe to say that something is very wrong... >>

Diana Prince has posed:
Louisiana is not a normal stomping ground for Diana Prince.

But when the call came out to get here quickly, she responded. The Invisible Jet had been employed, and its utilization of high powered alien technology allowed it to get anywhere on Earth relatively quickly.

Case in point, Diana steps out of the thick foliage of the swampy environment. Dressed in her Eagle Armor, the Princess clenches her leather wrapped hands in to fists, before relaxing her hands once more.

With a look to the east, then back toward the locale they were directed to, Diana spoke over comms.

"Wonder Woman is on site." She softly says, her voice likely enough to identify her to the other memberse of the team here today.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
She wasn't necessarily familiar with all of them beyond brief encounters and their bios. But that was all the more to do research to familiarize herself. She wasn't of any association wtiht he Justice League, or even really in contact with most of them. But now this had become personal. She had been keeping track of things with this so-called Injustice League and hooked in the loop. So when the alert comes in for the latest breakout, she's taken a 'flight' in with one of the tohers to respond. It too far for her to remotely get there in any remotely useful timespan after all.

She had come along wtih Wonder Woman in the Invisible Jet, trying not to think about how Diana knew how to fly it so well without seeing any of the insturmentation. When the duo arrive, she comes out wearing her standard X-Men uniform, chiming in along with Diana. "M on site as well."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
When the call goes out, Miss Martian answers. She's been trying to be more active with the League while J'onn has been away (and now reacclimating to his return). While certainly not as quick as The Flash (or any of the Flash family, for that matter), she's still pretty speedy when she needs to be. So M'gann isn't too far behind when Barry calls out the initial intel.

<<Miss Martian, on site.>>

She'll slip into intangibility as she draws closer, easier to be able to move 'as the crow flies' rather than ducking and dodging around all of them. Moving to join up with the others, she approaches from the west.

<<I can try to do a scan of the facility, see where the largest concentration of people are.>>

Oliver Queen has posed:
It's fair to say that trips by superspeed are not exactly Oliver Queen's favorite thing in the world.

Oh, there is no denying the advantage of them naturally. At least not when someone needs to get where they are going fast. The Justice League's array of transporters helps of course, but it's not like there are receiving pads everywhere. So sometimes catching a ride is just a necessary evil.

Still, it is an assault on the senses and the convenience of the entire thing only partially makes up for the fact. Which is why Ollie grumbles some under his breath when his old friend finally sets them down on the outskirts of the prison up ahead, peering down that dark road towards those breached walls where smoke slowly wafts up from the incarceration facility.

"So, even if those Injustice scumbags aren't here, we're likely going to have to deal with a host of surly superhuman prisoners? That's the general jist of things? That's lovely," the blonde billionaire mutters, unslinging his bow and falling in with the rest of them.

Barry Allen has posed:
It is never exactly quiet in a swamp. The quiet lapping of water, the constant hum of insects in the air, the sounds of animals in the dark, of the evening breeze stirring through all that abundant vegetation. But any other sorts of sounds or signs of life are missing. At least at first.

There is no wail of alarms indicating that the facility is breached, no shouts from the prison staff as they try to deal with either an attack or breackout. But there there are no lights either. Not along the road, and not from the facility either. No bright floodlights or exterior illumination at all.

At least until the group grows closer.

By then there is the faintest glow seeping out from the gaps punched in the outer walls of Belle Reve, a sort of flickering light that suggests somewhere beyond those walls that fires are burning. But then those slow plumes of dark smoke rising up into the night air would have suggested as much. And mixed in with that? The faint, muted sounds of screaming, opf panic.

Whatever is going on beyond those walls does not seem particularorganized, which might suggest worse things for the defenders of the facilities.

For those with their extra sensory perception, it isn't exactly difficult to reach out, to sense the hundreds of minds within the facility. Most of them appear to be concentrated in the cellblocks naturaly enough, though at least the sheer mass that might otherwise be contained within a little more spread out, given the needs to keep much of the prison populace isolated, in their own special cells. Amongst those cellblocks however is also a sense of concentrated fear, terror even from some that might suggests that is a particularly likely area to start.

There is also an attached facility with fewer mental signatures, appearing to be an adjoining facility that seems much more calm. At least at the moment.

As they near the facility all remains quiet, that encompassing darkness prevelent so far from civilization prevailing. At least until a rather large, shadowy shape suddenly bursts forth from that gap in the walls, rising in an arc as it flies through the air. And then that arc meets it's apex and a large, armored transport begins to falls right towards them, tossed with seemingly casual ease.

That would certainly help explain the shattered walls. Something inside Belle Reve is pretty damn strong. And apparently angry.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana did not have a lot of dealings in the Louisiana swampland, but she did have some recent history within the Florida Everglades. What she'd certainly taken out of it, was that the wild life was not to be under estimated, and if trifled with, very unpleasant things could creep out from within its natural beauty, and boundless ecosystem.

Not far from the broken perimeter wall now, Diana lets her eyes roam over the other members of the JLA, as they arrive. "It is farily quiet." Diana speaks toward them, or over comms, depending on how far away the others are.

"But I hear something... screams." She says, her stare focusing forward on the wall's busted-in region.

"We should be quick, I believe the personel of this site is in grave danger."

A moment after she spoke that last word, the motion came, and the hurtling of a armored vehicle takes up a hefty amount of focus.

Diana is quick to react, by leaping toward it, to intercept it! She'll grasp its frame, and attempt to fall with it toward the ground, in a more controlled style!

"They know we are here!" She makes the obvious announcement!

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would frown with the others on their approach and then speak thoughtfully. "This si just a distraction. The prisoners.." Well, the many were the cover for the few. At least in her mind, that was obvious. Any responders would have to deal with the numerous prisoners causing chaos, or whomever had come from outside to organize this. And of course there would no doubt be prisoners that wanted nothing to do with it and were just hunkering down that were caught up int hings.

She goes to trade the infromation she can pick up over with M'Gann so the two could scan more efficiently. Marking the place of high fear, the place with fewer minds rationally.. Not having the best idea of where the guards or other civilian staff might be - but definitely easy to pick up the bulk of those causing chaos and damage.

As the armored vehicle goes to charge right towards them, those with enhanced hearing can hear.. "Again.." In response to Diana's comment. She was getting rather frustrated at this repetition. And she's going to charge on in from where said armored vehicle had been hurled to charge towards whomever or whatever had launched it!

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
Miss Martian can hear the screams, feel the panic and fear of those inside, sense the tension within the prison. And it's deeply concerning.

<<It does seem to track that we're being drawn into a trap of some sort. Belle Reve doesn't seem like it would be somewhere they would otherwise go.>>

Being intagible has its benefits, like not having to worry about incoming armored vehicles! The fires, however, those might pose a problem. She shies away from the flickering light and glances to the others.

<<I will need to find a way around. I will try to approach from the adjacent facility where the calmer minds prevail. Hopefully there will be less... fire... there.>>

Flying off, she sinks into the swampy morass and heads towards that other facility.

Oliver Queen has posed:
It is so rarely a good thing when big, heavy objects start plummetting out of the sky. Especially as far as Green Arrow is concerned.

Some of hteir number can probably catch things like that. Others can get out of the way with relative ease. It's a little bit more of a thing for Ollie though.

When that shadowy shape arches out of the prison facility ahead, it isn't exactly clear what it is. He can't see in the dark, and it is pretty damn dark. From a distance it doesn't seem anything too hazardous, but as it begins to arc closer it quickly becomes apparent that the hurled object is a lot bigger then it might initially look. Which is when Ollie begins to spring ahead, trying to get out of the way.

"Oh, c'mon!" he grouses, his headlong dash turning into a rolling dive, just to make sure he clears the area. One of the heavy hitters will probably take care of it, but sometimes it's a better idea not to absolutely count on it. "I'm guessing we're not sneaking up on anyone. Just once it would be nice to play their game and be all invisible until we can jump out at them," he complains, coming back to his feet in one smooth roll, bow already in hand as he launches a trio of flare arrows ahead to light the way.

Barry Allen has posed:
Certainly a degree of self preservation is no bad thing and it is, as a general rule, a good idea to get out of the way of falling objects. Especially when they are the sized of armored transports designed to cart around superhuman threats.

Still, there was never much doubt that someone was going to deal with that particular threat well before it could reach the ground, and it is no great surprise that it is Wonder Woman who soars up to catch the plummetting transport before it can land amongst them.

While it might be obvious, it is also very much a true warning. Clearly they were expected, and is soo ften the case they will have a gauntlet to run.

While not quite so dramatic as Ollie's efforts to avoid being smushed, Barry too gets out of the landing zone, though for him it is more of a simple sidestep. It's a little bit easier at superspeed admittedly.

"In fairness, what were the chances that we wouldn't answer a distress call from a superhuman SuperMax prison. I mean, I like the night off as much as the next guy but bailing on this might have been a little hard to justify," the Flash points out mildly. While it keeps him in the open, he sticks to the solitary roadway that runs towards Belle Reve. Racing around at superspeed through a swamp, in the dark? That seems like a good way to trip and get throughly soaked in swamp water. No thank you.

"Could be. It's definitely isolated," Barry agrees with a nod for Miss Martian. "But I'd wager that the Injustice Leaguers we have managed to lock up -- Parasite, Tala, and Heat Wave -- are probably all currently residents here. They seem to be on a kick of showing that membership has rewards. Like get out of jail cards for everyone," he points out.

The backside of the complex does indeed not show the same damage, though it is just as blacked out -- not a difficult thing to pull off with the powers at their disposal -- but no fires wait on this particular entrance path.

Green Arrow's flare arrows cut through the night with that brilliant glow, thunking into the walls and ground around that gap in the wall. And reveal the figure most likely responsible for the hurled vehicle standing there right in the center of the gap. A towering figure of tremendous size, his flesh is cadaverous white and tattered black clothes hang from his form, quite nearly rags, pants held up by a length of twisted rope. Dull eyes stare straight ahead, seemingly unphased by the approaching heroes.

Instead the figure only mutters, words repeated over and over. "Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday..."

Diana Prince has posed:
With the armored vehicle set down upon the road, Wonder Woman twists herself back around to face the prison complex. "Be careful." She says over the team comms. "The more that we engage with these villains, the more they will be preparing for our abilities. It will yield them devious ideas to spring traps specifically designed to capture us." Or worse.

With the flare arrows lighting up the path ahead, and the figure of a creature / man-thing up ahead that Diana is not familiar with, she merely lowers her chin, and draws her javelin and shield from her back.

Diana takes three sturdy steps, each one gaining a bit more momentum than the last, before she leaps in to the air, this time on an arching course that will take her right in to the prison property, behind where Grundy is chanting his beloved melody.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Oh lovely, it's that shambling corpse mound. Monet doesn't even bother to try and read its mind - that never goes well, even if its thought patterns were sufficiently close enough to human for her to grasp. It's a thing of reanimated magic that might as well be an elemental for how it has been able to respawn itself time and time again, pressed up by whatever aura causes it to continuously rise.

"Oh shut -up-! For all you know you were born on a Tuesday. Or a Wednesday! You can hardly presume that one day out of seven was the one that you came into being at!" That prospect of his entire life's origin being thrown into question might make Grundy pause then and have to reflect for a few stunned moments on what may have been a permanent fabrication.

But let's be serious here, it mostly means that M is probably going to be clobbered. <<Some of us should stay and deal with this -thing- while the others bypass it and go inside. This thing is meant purely as a delaying action for the rest of us. Probably summoned and charged by whatever is leading this morass of a melee.>>

Going to backup Diana to try and pincer Grundy while Diana would go to brawl with the giant size man-thing.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
Miss Martian will take the back route, her vision unimpeded by the dark and allowing her to avoid the flames that are at the front. Phasing through the walls, she seeks out some of those calm minds they picked up on from the earlier scan, tracking them through the compound to see if they perhaps have a better idea of the situation within.

<<I will try to seek out some of the staff, determine the situation within, and see if they have any idea of precisely what and who they're seeking. Whether it's their captured comrades or some other captive who's skills they need.>>

She tries to avoid poking out into the rooms themselves until she can get a bead on someone that might have information they can use.

Oliver Queen has posed:
As Barry rather casually steps out of the way of the falling transport, Ollie mutters and shakes his head. "Show off," he says quietly, a faint smirk slipping across his features.

But the smirk doesn't exactly last all that long when there bright flares illuminate the figure that stands in their path. "That's great. That's just great. Zombie Hulk," Green Arrow says, stalking ahead deliberately, that bow still drawn. "Big, dumb, and bone crushingly dumb. And probably dead, so you can't actually hurt him. I like my baddies to actually, you know, cry a little when you stick them full of arrow holes."

At the suggestion that maybe it is time to split up, the Emerald Archer brightens a little. "Agreed. I volunteer to skip this particular fight too," he chimes in, pulling out a grapnel arrow and aimming it to the wall above where the undead abomination stands blocking the path, giving a jaunty little wave before taking to the sky, soaring upwards.

Barry Allen has posed:
The strength of Solomon Grundy is undeniable, but his mental acuity is not exactly on the same level. It does make him a likely candidate for having smashed down the walls of Belle Reve admittedly, but it is unlikely that he did so on his own. Though he is also known to inhabit swamps, so it's still not completely out of the question. Still, it's more likely that he is a guided weapon in this instance.

With at least some of those that he likely was meant to ward against simply going around him, Grundy still doesn't abandon his chosen ground -- at least not yet. He does pluck up some of the crumbled wall from nearby and hurl it after Wonder Woman, chunks of concrete raining down towards her. He tehn turns to the shattered wall beside him as Green Arrow practically flies up it, grabbing hold of it and beginning to rip even more of it down, threatening to send it into further collapse under Ollie.

"Well then. Looks like we get to deal with the magic zombie," Barry suggests with a tight grin for Monet.

And then the Flash is streaking forward in a blur of red and gold, racing towards that big, pale obstruction in the gap of that shattered wall. Lunging in, he rains down dozens of blows each second, striking at that mass of pale muscled flesh over and over again, making use of the sheer number of concentrated strikes to try and divert the undead monstrocity's attention from the others as much as anything else.

Especially since none of the blows seems to particularly phase Grundy who swings wildly at the Flash's darting form. None of those huge fists comes that close, but then Barry can strike him a hundred, a thousand times and it might not stop him. Grundy only needs to connect once.

For those that bypass the muttering zombie entirely, the cellblocks beyond have also been broken into. They also prove to be the source of both the fires and the screams. The broken wall reveals the darkened interior -- the power out here as well -- though the glow of scattered fires offers some illumination. There is also a mix of smoke and a sickly greenish-yellow haze of gas that hangs over the block. Those guards within who aren't slumped over, sprawled unconscious on the floor, appear to be the source of the screams as they cower in corners, backs pressed up against the wall, weapons forgotten. Wide eyes peer at things only they seem to see. Things that quite clearly terrify them.

As Miss Martian passes through the office and barracks facility, it won't take her long to find that while any automated systems have been cut off due to the power outtage, those within aren't entirely lacking in a response. Just outside a heavily armored door that would appear to lead into the cellblock, a heavily armed and armored response team is gathered up, their riot gear supplemented by gas masks. "...Waller has authorized deadly force so you see anyone in their you shoot first. This is a level five emergency. The priority is to lock it down however we can," the man in the lead says. "Prepare to breach..."

Alura In-Ze has posed:
The boom of Alura's shockwave is still far behind her when she lands. A veil of particulates fills the air around her as she replies to Barry, "I've got him." Her eyes fixed on the massive creature that is Solomon Grundy. She read the report by Kal-El where the undead monster almost killed him. We learn from the mistakes.

An intense light beams down upon her from above. Above the battlefield there is a crystalline star floating in the sky - Alura's Kryptonian scout ship. It is projecting concentrated solar energy directly down upon her.

It's a bit of a rush when it hits her. Everything feels jittery and her cheeks feel flushed. Her eyes begin to glow red but she can hold it back thanks to her Amazon training. She darts in faster than usual and catches his fist in her arms and twirls around to pull him away from attacking the Green Arrow.

She turns around on him and points, "You and me big guy. We're going to have a percussive discussion on the meaning of love." Despite saying this she plants a fist in to her other palm and flies in at him again.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana spends only a moment beneath the saving grace of her round shield, as concrete chunks rain down upon it. When it subsides, she tips her shield off to one side, then slings the chunks out in to the prison yard. A glance is given over her shoulder, toward Grundy, but she can see the Flash has already engaged him. She decides to move further on.

"Miss Martian," Diana says over team comms. "Keep your senses peeled, we have innocent people here, and they become the priority over the activity of our enemies. Save who you can, how you can, but keep your guard up."

All of this is relayed, as Diana makes her way toward the cell block. Seeing it's already sustained damage, she peers inside the broken down exterior wall, and spies the poison gas lingering within the air inside. Poison doesn't concern her, and with a careful step through the broken facade, Wonder Woman ventures within the besieged cell block.

She finds guards crouching, clearly distressed, and with a light shake of her head, Diana exchanges her shield for her lasso...

With a few momentum swings, the lasso darts out, snaring a guard by a wrist, followed by a second, whilst the Princess holds the lasso by its center, the length of twine glowing brightly.

"Look at me." She tells them. "Who am I?" She asks them, compelling them to see the truth through the toxin. "Come with me." She states, as she leads them through the smashed in wall, out in to the prison yard beyond.

The team of Waller-agents is yet addressed by Wonder Woman, as the terrified guards take precident.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The others can handle what's inside more effectively. Monet isn't nearly as fast as the others to try and bypass Grundy anyways or mobile enough to navigate her way through. She of course will be bcakup when it comes to being on call to assist them if need be. She's also however not exactly sure /how/ to stop Grundy. Her blows aren't gonig to phase him, she has no way to telepathically attack him, and thanks to him being a super strong corpse he doesn't have weak points he can strike at or things she can break. So instead she goes to take back several steps, and goes to pick up some rocks, taking her hands over to break htem into chunks.. And goe sto start hurling them at him like barbs. They're aimed at points like eyes, neck, elbows, knees.. She times them for when Diana isn't in the way to strike, and goes to coordinate with the arriving Superwoman and Flash via quick exchanges of information when she would be about to attack. She's not nearly strong enough to evne have Grundy notice her hits.

But hopefully the hurled, barbed things launched at him from afar mid combat would throw off Grundy's own strikes against Diana and Flash just enough for them to have a small advantage against him. Two heroes punching hard at him and thrown things at him in between the dance of fisticuffs hopefully enough to slow him down a bit and overwhelm him.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
<<Our targets are likely inside the room behind the armored door. The guards are preparing to breach, use of lethal force has been authorized.>>

M'gann will report back, then phase through the wall and into the hallway to look at the response team, "Perhaps I can assist with the door? Best you stay at range, given who is likely to be within."

She glances back to the direction Wonder Woman dragged the guard, then up to the guards again. "And perhaps some of you could assist your non-mask wearing coworkers to safety? We are here to assist." That should help to keep some of the guards out of the way, at least!

Moving up to the door, M'gann applies her strength, both physical and telekinetic, on pulling the armored door open.

Oliver Queen has posed:
Landing on that wall, Green Arrow doesn't linger. Which is a good thing, because he has barely touched down before the ground beneath him starts to shake, new cracks forming in the already abused structure as Grundy starts to crumble it further below.

Fortunately he is not entirely left on his own as Barry rushes in below to distract the undead strong man, giving him time to steady his footing and fire off another arrow, gradding hold of the line that trails after it and using it to sldie down into the lower court yard near Wonder Woman, peering into the cell block and the mix of fires, smoke and sickly looking gas within.

"Well that just doesn't look like a healthy mix," he comments drily, fishing through his gear for a moment before pulling out a rebreather. "Crane's gas I'd wager. They've made use of that before. I'll start trying to pull out some of the guards," he says as he fastens the device in place and starts into the cell block, bow at the ready as he peers through the haze, picking his way over towards one of the downed men and beginning to drag him out towards the fresh air.

Barry Allen has posed:
While Grundy might be difficult to hurt, he is quite a bit easier to confuse, fortunately enough. And between the Flash's barrage of punches and M hurling everything but the kitchen sink at him, the pale giant flails about, those dull eyes filling with a little more fire. A little more anger.

One definitely doesn't want to get in his way right at the moment.

Of course, the question of finding a way to match his strength becomes something of a moot point as Superwoman makes her sudden appearance, that hovering ship above bathing her in that power-giving light. Not that Grundy seems particularly phased of course, though it is an open question if anything can actually phase him. He simply growls, straightens and steps forward to keep that gap blocked, as if that is his sole purpose in life.

Who knows. Right now, it is entirely possible that it is.

As their reinforcements arrive, Flash flicks a quick salute Alura's way along with that tight grin. "Works for me. My fists were getting sore anyway," he admits.

Then he is off once more, streaking through that gap with ease, that red and gold blur racing towards the cell block. to join Ollie and Diana there. "I'll drag out as many of them as I can," he offers up, taking a deep breath before he plunges into that sickly cloud of gas and smoke, zipping back and forth as he helps to facilitate that evacuation of downed guards.

That, is of course, made a little more difficult by those still conscious. Normally it might be the other way around, but the terrified guards do not appear to be entirely with it, seeing things only they can see. Trapped in the horrors their own minds conjure up. Though as Diana's lasso wraps around one of them magic pits itself against the deranged chemistry of Jonathan Crane. And magic seems to win. The instruction seems to cut through the haze and the terrified man's eyes focus on her. "Won... Wonder Woman," he manages before breaking down sobbing, but no longer wrapped in that prison of fear.

While Green Arrow, Flash and Wonder Woman might be evacuating from one end of the cell block, Miss Martian and the assault team of agents prepare to breach the far end of block. Her sudden appearance amongst them draws a stir of discomfort and a few of the weapons start to raise her way before the agent in the lead lifts a hand. "Stand down." He pauses for a moment as if receiving instructions -- which he probably is -- before giving a curt nod to the green skinned woman. "Very well. We'll follow on your six," he says, waiting for her to take the lead.

When that door opens, the preparations wit hteh gas masks prove wise. That same yellow-green haze of fear toxin hangs in the air at this end of the cell block, the nearby fires showing that several of the cell doors have been battered down and their inhabitants presumably freed. A bright glowing circle hangs only a few inches off the ground, the radius easily wide enough for a trio of figures to pass through comfortably. A number of Rogue's flank the portal -- most notably Captain Cold and a recently freed Heat Wave -- and as soon as Miss Martian and the Tac Team breach that door they are met with an onslaught of fire and ice. "Time's just about up! Finish clearing out those cells pronto," Snart calls out to further, unseen allies further down the block.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Grundy seems to exist now just as a golem does. Charged wtih a single purpose and unable to act beyond it. So the best they can do is seemingly try to keep him occupied while the rest bypass him. Monet goes to realize what her own limitations are and that Superwoman has more reason to be worried about the fight if Monet is helping. So Monet gives a quick nod to Alura, and then is going at high speed to blast along to head in to join the others inside. Presuming that Grundy's not fast enough to cut her off and slam into her. Because she's far from the fastest man alive able to slip right past, so it's completely reasonable he might catch her by surprise.

Diana Prince has posed:
With the help of Oliver, followed by the arrival of the Flash, Diana is able to breathe a sigh of relief when they are able to evacuate the guards in danger. She can hear some of what is happening on the other side of the cell block, as well as Miss Martian's rundown of what is taking place there.

"I think our foes are cornered on the far side of the building. "She informs those still with her. "Let us make haste." She's talking to you specifically, Barry, obviously.

Dashing inside the heavily damaged cell block once more, Diana waves her way between the fires, using her balled-up fist to smash the emergency fire alarm glass cover, hoping to pull the lever and activate any water sprinklers from above, less they've been damaged in the chaos.

Rushing through the cell blocks, Wonder Woman arrives at the tail end of the siege team progressing toward the situation unfolding near the portals!

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Alura slams in to Grundy as he squares up against the prison. It's not hard to figure out what his intention is. That he's already failed at his charge is probably beyond him. She sweeps around in flight and stares eye to eye with him, "It seems you've bested me."

"As the elephant and the number 6 strode down the gasp lit corridors," ... nonsense. She's speaking nonsense to the creature. "Of course did you consider how the bottom of the sphere is always at the top?" She flies back and forth quickly and moves in for an uppercut against Grundy.

The big man stumbles back from the mighty blow and lashes out with his own fist. The ship above emits another beam and it grabs at that arm. A tractor beam. It yanks his punch up and misses Alura.

She flies in and strikes him in the tummy. The big undead creature takes a half step back and yanking with his arm shifts the ship in the air. "...Prototypes are best tested before being used in the field, but you didn't give me much time."

Grundy grunts as the beam falters. He swings both arms. The second catching Alura and sending her crashing in to the swamp. She rises back out and emits a blech!, "Frizzle on the egg toppings red cabbage..."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
M'gann gets the door open without issue, but what's beyond poses a bit more of a problem.

Fire. FIRE!

That racial fear kicks in HARD as the response team pours through the doorway and Miss Martian hangs back, staying well away from Heat Wave and the threat he presents. She stares, wide-eyed and helpless, inches away from shrieking like a child and bolting away from the flames. Sinking to the floor and breathing heavily as she shakes her head slowly, taken out of the fight by one of man's earliest 'inventions'.

Thankfully, there's backup on the way!

Oliver Queen has posed:
That sound certainly speed things up.

Dragging out each individual victim of the attack was going to take a little time, even if they didn't have to deal with the flailing and fighting of those drugged into mind-numbing terror.

While Ollie doesn't have any magic rope that can snap people out of that haze of fear and presume that Diana can't spare the time to zap the no doubt dozens of guards effected, he takes a different tact. He fights chemistry with cemistry, sedatives liberally applied to still the struggles of those effected by the fear toxin. At least until they can get proper care.

"I'll have Overwatch send medical personnel to deal wit hthe victims," the Emerald Archer offers up.

And then, while he can't follow after Diana or Barry quite so fast, and making sure that rebreather is securedly in place, the Green Arrow slips in after the others, taking to the upper level to stalk along, bow drawn and ready.

Barry Allen has posed:
For what he lacks in intelligence seemingly, he makes up in durability. If he feels pain, he certainly gives no sign of it -- though that might be no bad thing in Superwoman's case as there is little need to hold back at the very least.

The combination of the Kryptonian's strength and the helping hand from that craft hovering above proves to be a potent combination, but again Grundy shows that he only has to connect once to make a difference, sending Superwoman flying for a very unwelcome bath.

"...born on a Monday..." the unnatural creature continues to mumble, those dull eyes still peering out into the night, indifferent to it's seeming failures in letting the other quartet through. Instead it picks up more of those concrete chunks, hurling them towards his current advesary and the ship floating above, lending it's helping hand.

Whether or not Heat Wave knows of the psychological fears within Martians or whether it is just good fortune, he is more then happy to blanket the area with flames, the pyro only too happy to be reunited with his favorite toy. "You're all gonna burn!" Mick Rory bellows, spraying the area and the approaching tac team with those flames even as his partner in crime lets that ice beam wash over one of the approaching agents, incasing them in ice.

As answering fire begins to spray their way, Captain Cold turns his attention towards building up walls of ice that offer cover, shielding the approach to the portal for those who are not yet there. "Double time in already," Snart shouts once again.

Further down the cell block, towards the approaching group of heroes, one more door is wrenched open revealling the purple skinned monstrocity within, the PArasite offering up a grin as his restraints are removed, clawed talons slashing through them rather casually. Then leading the way, the Cheetah motions towards the glowing portal. "Membership has it's rewards. Welcome home," she snarls before turning that feral gaze up the block, fixing on the approaching Amazon and the other heroes.

From the upper level, the vantage point just across from the portal offering an advantageous perch shots suddenly ring out, blasts striking the ground by Arrow, Diana, Monet and even the Flash despite that blurring speed as Deathstroke peers through the scope of that rifle.

If that weren't enough, a single figure steps in front of the approaching heroes. The redheaded woman looks innocuous enough at first. Until she suddenly begins to swell, growing larger and larger until she literally busts through the roof above, sending debris dropping down in a deadly rain.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The blasting of fire at Miss Martian has Monet flying in at high speed. Her fellow telepath is by far the more capable one in this fight, and she needs to be freed for other things. Monet goes to calculate her vector, approach, trajectory.. And then just goe sfor the rather simple way as she braces her arms in front of her, waits for the flamer to not be pointing at her as she moves to ready..

And then goes to slam into Heat Wave from the side, hopefully just smashing into him at Mach 2 before he has a chance to react to her and to blast her over with those flames that can melt metal. She's in no rush to see what they do to her body. She's already been smashed enough times this last year and set on fire to add to the experience.

But, acting as a human cannonball, she hopefully can smash into him to disable his flamers, send him pinging off the wall and unconscious.. Before he can blast at her, and stop his flames at the others. All the while restraining herself enough to just at most break some bones of his rather than cripple.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Alura shakes it off. He hits hard there's no doubt about that. Those vacant eyes and the rhyme do make her wonder. Magical things are not her forte at all. "Christened on a Tuesday..." She read the poem that Batman put in the Grundy file. "Married on a Wednesday."

Because she knows how it ends. Why is he saying it at all. "Took ill on a Thursday. Grew worse on a Friday." She floats back toward him and stays just out of range of those big mitts of his. "Died on a Saturday. Buried on a Sunday. -- That was the end, of Solomon Grundy."

Reciting the poem almost makes her think the undead creature is in pain. Certainly not from physical pain but perhaps some sort of mental anguish. "Who did this to you?"

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's javelin extends out toward the Parasite, the long metal tip jabbing toward it's throat, as the Princess' dares it not to step another inch closer toward her. She waits for a second of attracting its attention before she just bypasses it with a sudden lunge forward, past it toward the walls of ice being placed throughout the corridor and beyond, barriers meant to block them out.

With shield in her left hand, Diana bashes right through the first wall of ice, only to see bullets raining down from above, and a woman growing quite giant. Her shield comes up to block the sniper shots from Deathstroke, as she ducks behind a cement pylon for cover.

"They are evacuating allies. We need to know where they are going. I will try to make for the portal." She says over comms, as she sweeps around the opposite side of the cement pylon, raises her shield, and begins to advance forward, attemtping to break through the line of defense, and get to the portal itself.

Along the way, she bashes both ice walls, and the form of Cheetah, just for good measure!

Oliver Queen has posed:
This is the real trouble with the Injustice League. It has turned a bunch of individual threats that could be formidable enough on their own into a dangerous pack. They might not always work together wit hthe practiced ease of the League and their allies, but the fact that they work together at all makes then so much more dangerous.

Racing through that cell block, Green Arrow spots the escaping shapes of some of those freed. Of the Parasite grinning as he makes his way towards freedom, bringing his bow up to launch arrows at the drained villain.

But before he can get the shot off he instead finds himself under fire, having to throw himself to the side and instead launch his counter strike in his old enemy's direction, loosing the arrow towards Deathstroke instead, a scowl sliding over his expression.

Before he can follow up with it though, Giganta is suddenly swelling up, filling the cell block in front of him, cutting off sight of any of the other foes. And then she literallly brings the roof down.

Glancing upwards at the falling debris heading right for him, Ollie manages a 'Oh shit...' before the world goes black.

Barry Allen has posed:
Very little seems to capture it's attention, to engage it, beyond fulfilling whatever purpose has been imbued within Grundy and those dull eyes hardly seem to change at all.

At least not until Alura begins to recite that verse, taking it beyond that single, solitary line that the pale amalgamation of flesh repeats over and over again, completing it. And with each verse she speaks, those dull, lifeless eyes at last seems to stir, to fix upon her.

For a moment Grundy's eyes remain locked on her, just a hint of light there, a glimmer of intelligence. Slight, barely there, but still discernable. Just enough. Grundy stirs, shifts, that gaze finally breaking from Superwoman's. And he begins to walk out of that gap that leads into the shattered remains of Belle Reve, begins to trudge away into the swamp and the dark night waiting to swallow him up without another look back.

Streaking down the length of the cellblock before anyone can bring their attacks to bear on her, M slams into the unsuspecting Heat Wave, diverting that steady stream of fire that has been washing over the tac team, helping keep them at bay if not lighting them on fire entirely. And keeping Miss Martian back, though there is no shortage of flaming debris that might very well continue to do so, congesting that entrance way. But Heat Wave is most definitely out of the picture as he is slammed down hard, a muttered curse escaping him along with a pained grunt as he clutches one shoulder.

But that does draw an almost instant reprisal as Captain Cold lifts that freeze gun, sending a barrage of icy, razor sharp shards towards the mutant powerhouse, advancing enough to loop an arm under his partner and begin to drag him away, concentrated cold continuing to pour forth from that unique weapon.

As Diana leaps forward, the Parasite suddenly finds himself cut off from escape, the portal so close. But the tip of that javelin a whole lot closer. With her practically in reach, the purple skinned man looks at the Amazon hungrily, fingers twitching, seeming to practically taste her strength and power. Then she whirls away, taking shelter from Deathstroke's timely attack and smashing those icy barricades instead. For a moment Parasite stares after her hungrily. But a growled 'Go,' spurs him into motion and he dives for that portal.

While Deathstroke's barrage on Wonder Woman below is disrupted by the Emerald Archer's arrow, he doesn't linger in place -- especially not when that roof starts to come down. Instead he agilely leaps from that perch, the fifteen foot drop not phasing him in the least as he lands in a crouch and starts backing up towards that portal. "Follow your own advice," he shouts towards Cheetah, bringing that rifle up one more to fire off some cover fire, picking off enough of the approaching tac team that begins to creep around those outer ice barriers.

Unwilling to completely forsake the chance to get a shot or two in, Cheetah does not, in fact, follow her own advice. And instead she leaps at Wonder Woman, claws extended towards the Amazon. "...tear you to shreds..." she hisses.

The giant woman, even the falling roof is no real threat to the Flash as he blurs his way down the cell block. At least until he spots some of that same falling debris collapse on Ollie, burying the man. In a heartbeat his path diverts, racing up towars the upper level, speeding along and flinging some of that debris aside until he can free his old friend. "Arrow's down. Evacuating him. Be right back," he calls out.

The he spees off.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet can only take so much. She's read what the ice ray can do. She has no particular wish of being frozen up like a popsicle and them needing a specialized heater to get her out before she would die of hypothermia, put at almost absolute zero. So when the ice ray goes to blast over at her, she can only snap up her arms in front of her face even as flame and steam are instantly transmogrifited, ice particulates in teh air freezing solid, then dropping down to the ground to shatter, making a waterfall frozen in place for just a few seconds of a twisted sculpture. Before more ice blasts out, and the foundation collapses, leaving more ice upon the walls, upon the ceiling, and in Monet's case fully pinning her left arm over with a block of ice completely immobilizing it. She yelps, going to rapidly head towards one of the walls of the place that was smoldering some to melt it just enough to smash her way free of it - arm completely numb and useless now. Going to turn around - but having lost Captain Cold and Heat Wave over in the withdraw.

Diana Prince has posed:
Cheetah intercepts Diana before she can reach the portal, and with respectable speed, agility, and cunning, the two end up in a bit of a scrum versus one another. The 'apex predator' has been a thorn in Diana's side for several years now, causing injury to people she cares about, causing danger to so many others, but they'd yet to have a real one on one battle, let alone a chance for Diana to try and reason with the strange half-woman, half-cat creature.

With Cheetah's claws striking at Diana in blinding speed, Wonder Woman raises her shield up to block them away, causing a streak of sparks to whip across the floor. The next strike is blocked by the forearm bracer covering Diana's right arm! She begins to back up, her footwork carrying her lightly across the floor, allowing the aggressive cat to perceive an upper-hand on the Amazon. But it's all a ruse. Diana is baiting Cheetah in to striking again, and again, while feigning a reduction in endurance, durability, and a sense of her own ability to keep up.

In actuality, the ruse is simply set to get Cheetah to believe in herself as an impending victor, and thati s when Diana strikes back. Her javelin twirls around the side of her body, as Diana suddenly has a second wind, and a burst of speed that carries her forward! Her javelin swings now for the side of Cheetah's face, cracking hard staff against solid fur and bone! The hit is savagely hard, coming in so fast that Diana's movement is barely perceptable to the common eye's ability to keep up.

She follows the javelin butt-strike with a kick to the side of Cheetah's left knee, intending to either harm, or outright shatter bone, tear ligaments, or otherwise deliver a crippling strike.

But it does not end there, Diana's right foot lands on solid ground, and her shield smashes forward right in to the middle of the cat lady, a thrust of body and strength meant to blast the cat backward in to one of the solid cement walls on the far side of the chamber.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Alura feels like she has learnt something today. That slight glimmer in his eyes. The way he gives up on his mission. There is a deeper, sadder, story there than she fully understands. Perhaps some of her magically inclined friends will be able to shed some light on Grundy's plight.

She lowers back to the ground and shuts off the solar energy ray falling down upon her. << "Grundy is gone." >> That's all she has to say about that right now. Her eyes focus on to the supermax and the way the infrastructure is caving in. The villains are making a proper jail break through one of those less than scientifically explainable portals.

She lifts up her gauntlet and holographic symbols dance above it. A few swishes of her fingers through the air. Her ship repositions itself with an angle through the opening to the portal. A small crystalline shard fires off through the chaos and through the portal.

<< "Attempting to triangulate where that portal ends." >> She activates all her Kryptonian satellites to track her tracer.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
With the flames diverted, at least temporarily, M'gann is able to regain enough of herself to fight through the lingering fear and take stock of the situation. She can't get to the portal without going through the fire and flames, so that's out. She can't reach Parasite without having to go through the same. Diana is dealing with Cheetah. Alura has taken care of Grundy. And there's a huge effing redhead that's breaking the ceiling and causing massive amounts of damage.

Now that she can deal with!

Time to put those Martian shapeshifting skills to the test! Being more considerate of her teammates and the inmates, Miss Martian phases through what's left of the ceiling before she starts her gambit. Starting to grow... and grow... and grow. A massive M'gann starts to take shape, the force of effort in the shapeshifting pushing her limits even as her density shifting helps her keep mass to go with the size. She can't reach Giganta's size, but she CAN take the form of something much, much scarier.

As she gains size and mass, her form shifts and changes as well. Her upper body maintains the appearance of Mg'ann, but a very pointed, sharp carapace and writhing, slick muscle starts to grow up and around her, spreading out below her into some monstrous creation with four massive tentacles tipped with barbs and viscous yellow bulbs, a mass of smaller tentacles whipping around and protruding from the pointed base of the carapace. Her uppoer body starts to lose definition with the effort to keep the shape, more of the tentacles sprouting along her shoulders while her arms and hands lengthen, growing sharply tipped claws, her face melding into nothing but a single wide eye in the center of where her forehead used to be.

A maw full of pointed, dripping fangs opens to loose a scream of pure rage at the giantess as the thing that was M'gann lashes out with all four tentacles, wrapping around knees and elbows, pointed carapace biting into flesh as Miss Martian levies the brute strength aided by telekinetic power in the attempt to lift Giganta bodily into the air to be flung south towards whatever bay, cove, or gulf feeds the swamp surrounding Belle Reve.

Barry Allen has posed:
Sometimes discretion is just the better part of valor. Sometimes there is more to gain in disengaging from a fight then pushing it as long and as hard as possible, to one's ultimate detriment. It's the reason that Flash races off with the Green Arrow to insure that he is attended to as quick as possible. Though admittedly it helps to know that he will be able to return in mere moments, despite racing their fellow Leaguer to proper medical facilities all the way in the nearest city of any size, St. Roch.

But it is a pretty good reason for M to take cover to. Before all of this, Leonard Snart was clever and dangerous, but there were lines that the Rogue's didn't cross. But under the influence of Grood, of Hector Hammond? Those lines don't seem quite so firmly defined any more. So even as Captain Cold retreats with Heat Wave in tow, he keeps up that freezing assault, that blue beam of icy cold still lashing out again and again until the pair disappear through the portal.

With the roof of the cell block falling in all around them, it would seem that Giganta has done her job and while she might not have been able to keep the Justice League and their allies from reaching the close environs of the portal, she has at least diverted a few of them.

So with that, the gigantic redheaded woman takes two shuffling steps back before starting to shrink back down once more to something that will actually fit through the portal, clearly intending to vanish through to the other side.

Or she would have if she weren't suddenly grappled by tentacles descending out of the sky. Shocked and struggling she starts to struggle, to fight, and finally to scream when she sees just what is actually holding her. Try as she might she can't quite manage to slip away.

With the fierce battle still underway between Cheetah and Diana, the feral woman presses the attack, unwilling to simply take the victory of freeing some of their imprisoned members -- and perhaps recruiting even more reinforcements.

Instead Cheetah seems to seize on every advantage she can gain over the hated Amazon, claws lashing out again and again as she presses the attack, trying to penetrate those defenses, darting claws seeking out flesh that she can rip and tear and coming up short again and again.

Then Diana turns the tables on her, the trap sprung and Cheetah finds herself over exposed. Now it's her that can barely keep the Amazon Princess at bay with desperately flailing limbs. Before she can be brought low more blasts lash out from Deathstroke at the fringe of the portal, that pin point accuracy directed Wonder Woman's way with that sniper rigle raised to his one good eye. "Unless you want to be the next person we have to try and rscue -- if we even bother -- get over here. Now," the deadly mercenary barks out, waiting for the cat woman to retreat before backing through the portal, still lacing shots to keep the Amazon at bay.

As the last of them step through, the portal begins to rapidly shrink, quickly beginning to fade away to nothing. But before it can entirely disappear, that hovering vessel above suddenly launches that probe that streaks down, disappearing through the portal in the instant before it can.

Magic is a tricky thing and for several moments the telementry information sent back to Superwoman's craft is a mass of contridictions and impossibilities. But finally that probe begins to signal with a clear, unmistakable location.

Slaughter Swamp, on the outskirts of Gotham City.

Diana Prince has posed:
With Cheetah suffering some from Diana's onslaught of returned attacks, and Deathstroke now firing upon the Amazon again, Diana takes refuge behind her shield again. It does cut her off from any further pressing blows toward the predatorial thorn in her side, allowing Cheetah to retreat. The Princesss had uncoiled the lasso, in preparation to lash it out at her fleeing foes, but they were already gone by the time she could lower her shield again..

Diana's fist balls up around the length of glowing golden rope clenched within it.

"Everyone who is not injured, fan out, search for survivors, and those in need of aid. We need to check this place over from north to south, east to west, and re-secure any prisoners that may have gotten out, and not been associated with these monsters."

She turns, directing her attention to what remains of the prison authorities, moving toward them to confer with whomever is in charge of the team.