#its always so much easier and less stressful when he's mot with us

[hawkswildfireheart]

Only thing that's kept me sane through Chicago with the fam was DPR Live and seeing Monsta X

[gorogues]

Fictober ficlets

Day 19: “Oh please, like this is the worst I have done.”

 “Thawne!  Why do you torment me?” Barry pleaded, looking at the remains of his living room and particularly at the awful turd on the couch.  “And did…did you eat a burrito before coming here?”

 “Yep,” Eobard said proudly.  “With extra beans and cheese.  The food in this time period is delicious, by the way.”

 “It is!  I’ve been to the future and everything’s so bland there, and --- that’s not important.  You ruined Iris’ birthday!”

 “Oh please, like this is the worst I have done.”

 He’s got me there, Barry thought ruefully.  

 In the end, there didn’t seem to be much point to chasing him out, so Eobard ultimately attended Iris’ scaled-down birthday party and proved to be a surprisingly charming and popular guest. He zipped out to replace the wine bottles he’d broken earlier, and regaled the crowd with witty bon mots about academia while artfully eating wiener hors d’oeuvres.  Everyone agreed he was perfectly behaved and contributed a lot to the evening’s success.  He made sure to publicly de-pants Barry before leaving, though.

 ********************

 Day 20: “I hope you have a speech prepared.”

 The day had come when Central City was invaded by aliens from a planet the Rogues had never heard of.  The villains were prepared to defend their city just as the Flash Family was, but word was dispatched to the superhuman community that the aliens wanted to talk.

 “We should go while we’ve got the chance,” Len told Sam, who nodded.  Time was of the essence, so he pulled Roscoe aside and told the other Rogues to keep watch for any nefarious activity…and fight back if needed.

 “Stay alert,” Sam warned his colleagues as they approached the alien delegation.  “I’ll be watching your backs for signs of an attack, and if so then I’ll get us out of there ASAP with a mirror portal.  You guys will do the talking.”

 “Luckily that’s Dillon’s favourite activity,” Len smirked, and Roscoe glowered at him.

 Sam seemed a bit stressed out by the squabbling and gave them both a stern look which told them to knock it off if they valued their lives.  After taking a moment to regain his composure, he turned to Roscoe with the most businesslike demeanour he could manage.  “I hope you have a speech prepared.”

 “You know I always do,” Roscoe replied briskly, and cleared his throat.

 Ten minutes later, he finished his spiel about the Rogues and what skills they possessed, detailing their power levels and those of the Flashes, and letting the aliens know in strong terms that nobody would allow their city to be taken without a fight.  There was some adept exaggeration about how much raw power the superhuman community had at their disposal, but not enough to be an obvious lie, and the aliens listened attentively.

 “The Grand Hegemony must confer,” the alien spokeswoman declared after he’d finished speaking, so the Rogues stepped back to their corner to allow the officials to discuss matters.

 “I knew you like to hear yourself talk and all, but damn,” Len whistled with genuine admiration. “That was some quality bullshit.”

 “Thank you,” Roscoe said coldly, well aware of the insults embedded in his words but still pleased with himself anyway.

 “I didn’t see anything threatening while you were talking…” Sam mused aloud to himself, but still kept a watchful eye on their surroundings.

 One of the aliens then banged his staff on the ground a few times to get everyone’s attention, and all those assembled held their breath.

 “The Imperium have decided that our attention is best directed elsewhere,” announced the alien spokeswoman.  “Our resources are not infinite, and we feel there is not enough value in this place to stretch ourselves and further our explorations here. So this is farewell, humans, and may both our peoples go in peace.”

 “And may peace accompany all your travels,” Roscoe answered with maximum charm and a polite bow.  Len and Sam made half-hearted bows to the leadership as well and the Rogues began walking away, warily observing the aliens as they passed.

 “Well, this turned out to be a huge waste of time,” one alien told another in their language as they watched the humans leave. “And by the gods, was that ever some good bullshit.”

 *******************

 Day 21: “Impressive, truly.”

 “It’s twelve inches long, and slightly curved. Quite hard, but still has some give to it.  Wanna see?”

 “It’s quite a sight.”

 “Thanks, mate, I `ppreciate that.  It’s my pride and joy, after all.  You can touch it, but be gentle.”

 “Truly impressive, Digger.”

 “Too right.  I got me father to thank for it, of course…his one good legacy to me.”

 There was an audible gasp outside the cell, followed by several pairs of footsteps hurrying away.

 “Just what kind of operation are you running around here, Ms Waller?” demanded a familiar voice as it faded into the distance, and the head of Task Force X could be heard calmly-but-desperately offering soothing platitudes as explanation.  

 ***

 “Down Under,” Amanda Waller seethed at a shrugging Digger the next day, “I'll release you from your sentence early if you'll promise to never show off your boomerangs when the president is visiting Belle Reve!”

 ********************

 Day 22: “I know how you love to play games.”

 “Welcome back to Hell,” the demon said with a broad false smile.  “We’d missed you for a while, but I knew you’d return eventually.”

 “Yes, well.  It will not last,” Roscoe muttered.  His soul’s wrists were bound with an infernal substance similar to barbed wire, and just as comfortable.

 “Oh, I’d expect nothing less from you,” the demon grinned, and Roscoe could see his face reflected in the creature’s chromed teeth, which had been designed for maximum intimidation.  That was de rigueur for Hell and its demonic host, and something he was accustomed to.  “But I’d like to make things interesting…and maybe help you out a bit.”

 That kind of talk never boded well, as everything in Hell came at a steep price and was generally intended to trip you up and torture you further.  Roscoe’s pulse quickened with stress, though he tried vainly to hide it because showing fear was also a very bad thing.

 “Really,” Roscoe said with obvious skepticism.  You will not trap me so easily, he vowed inside his head.  “And how would you do that?”

 “I’m prepared to offer your freedom, no strings attached --- provided you’re willing to pay my small fee for it.  A simple thing.”

 And there it is. “What fee would that be?”

 The demon’s awful smile broadened even further, and the captive soul flinched at how unnatural it looked.

 “You must sign over the soul of your beloved.”

 Roscoe’s eyes widened.  “I beg your pardon.  No deal.”

 “Oh come on,” the demon wheedled with syrupy smarm, though it was well aware how much the conversation bothered Roscoe; he was doing his best not to show fear, but it was written all over his face and delighted his foe to no end.  “We already have Lisa here anyway, so it’s not a high price.  You’d just need to officially sign her over to us, and you’d be free as a bird.”

 “Which would legally trap her further in the Pit and make it impossible to get her out,” Roscoe said coldly.  “I too know how this works.  No deal.”

 “Well, it’s not as though most of the damned get out,” the demon replied in a conversational tone, as though they were discussing the sale of a car.  “The odds of her ever escaping are very low anyway.  But you…you are special, and I could make your life so much easier.”

 “I said no. Though I would absolutely trade her brother’s life and soul for my freedom.”

 “Yes, I suppose he did kill you this time around, didn’t he.  It’s an interesting offer, especially because we had him earlier but Neron foolishly gave him back,” the demon mused.  “What about tossing in the lives of your other former friends?”

 Roscoe thought about the other Rogues for a few moments.  He didn’t exactly have fond feelings for them, as they’d thrown in their lot with Cold and seemed happy to let him rot in prison, but he didn’t hate them enough to send them to Hell.  He still considered them family, after all, and had hopes they’d someday accept him back. “Just Len,” he said firmly.

 “Ah, well, that isn’t good enough.  As you said, no deal, so back into the Pit you go,” the demon chuckled with obvious glee. “And I think you’ll find it rougher there than usual for some reason.  But maybe I’ll make you the offer again in a decade or so, to see if you’ve changed your tune…you might be eager to throw everyone you love under the bus after you’ve suffered under Belial’s special attention for a few years. Take him away,” it instructed a nearby minor demon.

 “I do not need you, and will escape on my own,” Roscoe spat as the lesser demon yanked him by the barbed wire, hurting them both. But that’s what the minor ones were there for.

 “Of course you will, of course!  Hold out that hope in the Pit, my friend.  But if not, you’ll be begging to sign away your beloved’s soul and jump through any number of hoops to get out of here.  It will be very entertaining, and I know how you love to play games.  We do too.”

 “Do your worst,” the damned soul muttered as he was led away, and the demon grinned ever further.  They certainly would.

 **********************

 Day 24: “You know this, you know this to be true.”

 Mark tested the straps holding him to his chair, finding them uncomfortably tight and probably impossible to break.  He was completely at Warden Wolfe’s mercy, and the warden kept walking in slow circles around him as though he were prey.

 “Do you remember our last conversation?” Wolfe inquired, but Mark gritted his teeth and said nothing.  Of course he remembered that strange searing pain as he’d been interrogated during his prison intake; it had been extremely traumatic, as was the beating afterwards.

 “I know you’re not enjoying this,” Wolfe continued, stating the obvious.  “You’re a control freak, a man who manipulates the weather to his own whims, and you completely hate this loss of control over your own life.  But that’s what Iron Heights is all about: showing you the consequences of your own foul actions, and giving you a taste of what you dish out to people on a regular basis.”

 Mark narrowed his eyes.  “I’m not claiming to be a choir boy, but we Rogues go out of our way to not harm innocents.”

 “Oh, is that so?  Wasn’t your brother an innocent, Wizard?”

 “I didn’t kill my brother!  I told you that last time!” Mark retorted furiously.  His face had turned red with stress or exertion, and Wolfe knew he was futilely trying to whip up a storm without his wand.  

 In an instant, Mark’s muscles began to cramp and he grimaced while trying not to scream.

 “I don’t like liars, Wizard,” Wolfe said in a low tone, staring the prisoner right in the eyes as he squirmed with pain.

 “Are you doing this?!” Mark gasped, though the warden ignored him.

 “Answer my original question: did you kill your brother? I’ve read your files, and the police reports were quite thorough about the lightning at the crime scene.  Don’t you have a guilty conscience?  You know you want to confess to ease your mind, to let your mother know the truth.  Don’t you think she deserves that?”

 The pain eased for a moment, though Mark still panted with discomfort and exhaustion.  “N-no…I didn’t do it,” he said through heavy breathing.  “Clyde died of a heart attack.”

 He cried out as the muscle spasms intensified. “You murdered him!   You know it’s true!” Wolfe shouted at him in a fury.

 “Why do you even care?” Mark groaned.  “You’ve got me here in prison already, and I’m facing a life sentence.  What does it matter?”

 “Because I want to hear you say it,” Wolfe said coldly. “I want you to acknowledge who’s in charge around here.  And I want you to finally tell the truth about what kind of scum you are.”

 Mark took a deep breath, sweat running down his brow. “Well, I didn’t do it,” he replied firmly, eyes locked on the warden’s.  “Find someone else to break.”

 Wolfe stared at Mark for several moments, who continued to defiantly glower back, and threw down his nightstick in frustration. “We’re done here today, but this isn’t over.  We will talk again, Wizard.”

 “I look forward to it,” Mark said in a low voice, with as much strength as he could muster.

 **********************

 Day 25: “Go forward, do not stray.”

 Evan was exhausted.  He was sure he’d been travelling in circles or just getting increasingly lost for hours, as he didn’t see anything familiar in his surroundings.  It was his first time visiting the Mirrorverse, the first real outing which wasn’t just a quick jump from one location to the next.  But he was now hopelessly lost.

 He pulled out Sam Scudder’s notes and studied them again. Sam had mentioned that certain phenomena in the Mirrorverse could theoretically be used to find one’s way, but everything looked the same to Evan and he was becoming increasingly worried.  He knew that truly getting lost in there was likely a death sentence, and hoped he’d simply gotten turned around and could reorient himself once he’d found his bearings.  It was beginning to seem unlikely, however, and he sat down to calm himself.  Panic would do him no favours.

 “Ye tremendous numpty,” he muttered under his breath, and even he wasn’t sure whether it was directed at Sam or himself. Maybe to both: himself for ever getting involved in this nonsense, but Sam had started the research into the science to begin with.

 The notes were ultimately no help in this situation, as Sam had never run into the problem; Evan was starting to suspect that even his brief exploration today was more than his predecessor had done, perhaps for good reason.

 “Ahm fucked,” Evan eventually breathed, pulling off his cowl.  What good would it do him now?

 “Don’t give up,” said a strange voice, and the Scotsman jumped to his feet with his gun out.  He couldn’t see anyone, but that was no comfort.

 “Who’s there?” Evan demanded.  This place was usually completely silent, and he knew very few people could access it.  Nobody should be speaking to him.

 “We’ve never met, but…” the voice said, and then a man in a near-identical costume materialized in front of him.  “I’m Sam Scudder.  I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but you’re wearing my uniform and using my notes.”

 “Fuck off, yer not Scudder.  He’s deed.”

 “Yeah, I’m dead, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely gone.  Part of me exists in the Mirrorverse, kind of a reflection…or an echo…of the man I was. Same thing will happen to you someday.”

 “Not likely, as a’ll be trapped in here for eternity,” Evan snorted.  “No reflection, just tha genuine article.”

 Sam chuckled slightly.  “That’s why I’m here: I want to help you escape.  Pretender to my name or not, nobody deserves this fate.”

 “Ye would do that f’r me?  How do a’ know ye willnae trap me further?”

 “Are you really that suspicious or that stupid? You’re already stuck here, so what would I have to gain?  Trust me on this, because you’re not getting out otherwise,” Sam said incredulously, shaking his head.  He couldn’t believe that this man was the legacy of his life’s work.

 “Fine, ya weapon.  Whit help can ye give me?”

 “You’re welcome,” Sam replied with obvious irritation. “Look, as a reflection within the Mirrorverse, I understand it better than anyone living, because I’m a part of it. To start, you’re going to want to travel in that direction.”  He pointed it out with an ethereal finger.

 “Tha’s where a’d been coming from, so a’ was travelling farther fae home.”

 Sam nodded.  “Correct.  And there’s one crucial trick to finding your way in here: you need to follow the law of reflection, which is—”

 “---the angle at which tha light ray approaches tha mirror surface is equal to tha angle at which it departs from tha mirror,” Evan interrupted him, at which Sam smiled.

 “Exactly!  You can gauge the direction of the mirror gates by the angle of the light reflecting off them, and that will help you tell up from down, and whether you’re travelling in the right direction.  And that will help you find the gateway you want.”

 Evan scribbled this down in his own notes, and then looked up at Sam with obvious admiration.  “Thanks, man.  Ye haven’t just helped me tae find ma way home, ye’ve helped me understand this place better f’r the future.  A’ appreciate that, an’ ahm glad to have met ye.  Yer wairk is top notch.”

 “Well, I couldn’t just leave you to die,” Sam admitted with a bit of self-consciousness, if only because he didn’t want to be trapped with his successor forever.  But he’d learned something too.  “I was wrong about you, and I think you’re a worthy legacy after all…and you deserve a chance to improve your skills and make something of yourself.  We were all new once.”

 “Aye, well done,” Evan nodded respectfully, and shook the hand which was offered to him.  “Thanks.”

 “All right, get going and remember what I told you,” Sam said with a slight smile.  “Go forward, and don’t stray from the path.  Good luck, and say hi to the guys for me.”