Once it had been Belle Reeve, a prison situated in the Louisiana
swamps, that had been dedicated to holding the supervillains. Outside
Gotham stood Arkham Asylum, the most mad and deranged villains contained
in it's high walls. Iron Heights held the supercriminals of Keystone and
Central City, the Rogues Gallery of the Flash. As the years passed many
facilities closed, criminals were shifted around, and ultimately a new
prison was created.
The Fortress was a massive construction, taller than some
skyscrapers and equipped with the most advanced restraint technologies
available. Fifty floors tall, a mile across, and descending into the
Earth it was the holding ground for those superhumans that chose to
violate the law. There had never been a successful jail break there...
but there was always a first time.
"Care to play a game, officer?" the redheaded woman in gambling
gear asked as she was lead down the row of glass fronted cells, looking
almost like a casino girl.
"Sorry, Roulette," the young man said, "your probability
shifting powers won't work with those dampers on." He nodded to the
wristbands she wore, gleaming silver in the artificial light.
"You can't blame a girl for trying," Roulette shrugged.
"Here we are," a glass barrier slid up silently and she was
pushed forward into the little cell. Sounding like he gave the speech
regularly he continued on, "You'll get your meals through the wall
compartment at six a.m., noon, and eight p.m. You get two hours
community time out of the cells with the power dampers active around two
p.m."
"Thank you," Roulette gave him a cheerful wave as he left. She
stalked over to where a bed was set up against one wall and sat down
with a thump. Softly, so that it could barely be heard she seemed to ask
herself, "Now what?"
The voice rang in the woman's mind, not heard so much as felt.
"Well done, little one," the woman's voice said, "now you have but to
wait."
"Who am I looking for, exactly?" Roulette murmured softly.
"Metallix, Scarecrow, Vox, Obsidian and the Enchantress," the
soft voice vibrated in her mind, "to begin with."
"I thought Obsidian was purely a second stringer?' Roulette
asked.
"He possesses a connection to the old League," the voice
explained softly, "something that could make them hesitate at a critical
moment."
"Fair enough," Roulette agreed. She lay back on the mattress,
tucking her arms behind her head, "Hope this plan of yours works, lady.
I don't want to serve out that sentence."
"It will," the voice answered simply, then it was gone.
The morning went by quietly, Roulette working out in her cell
between her meals. Two p.m. finally rolled around and the door slid up
on her and many other cells, releasing the captives that were normally
held within. Roulette walked out, studying the figures nearby.
Most of the normal prisoners were dressed in the standard orange
jumpsuits, but all the super-criminals were dressed in their distinctive
costumes. 'Guess it makes us stand out a bit more,' Roulette noted, 'so
the guards can spot us easier.' She looked around, feeling a bit of awe
at some of the beings who were imprisoned there.
The Cyborg shuffled by in a primitive looking robotic body, the
being who had nearly slain Superman brought so low. There was the mad
god called Gog, whom the entire JLA had barely been able to defeat.
Parallax, the being composed of pure temporal energy and master of time.
Piper, the fey madman who had slain his predecessor for the sound
technology. They were there, and dozens of others, the best of the
worst.
'Enough hero worship,' Roulette thought, 'time to get to work.'
She scanned the crowd, looking for her targets, and spotted one after a
few moments of wandering.
The butchy looking blonde looked intense as she watched the
crowd, a metallic circlet closed around her neck. The black clad woman
saw Roulette approaching her and tilted her head to the side, waiting
until she got near. There was a rasp to her voice, "What do you want?"
"You're Vox?" Roulette asked her. A slight smile teased her lips
as she continued on, "You're Allison Queen, is that right?"
A muscle jumped in Vox's neck, "Don't mention that name."
"You don't like your parents very much," Roulette said quietly,
"Dinah Lance or... him. How'd you like the chance to do them some real
damage?"
"In here?" Vox looked around the prison block, "Don't make me
laugh."
"And if I could get you out of here?" Roulette asked.
"I'd kill both of them for free," Vox said with a cold little
smile.
"I'll contact you," Roulette said simply. 'For a professional
hitwoman, offering to kill her parents for free is a hell of a thing,'
she mused.
It took until the next day for Roulette to find another one of
her targets. It was the soft whimpers of fear that drew Roulette towards
her, hidden away in a corner of the massive prison. The girl tried to
dig herself deeper into the corner, soft sounds of terror coming from
her throat as the figure dressed in medical whites gazed on
thoughtfully.
"How on Earth did you manage to sneak in any of your fear
chemicals?" a wary Roulette asked her curiously.
"I didn't," the black haired woman flashed a smile, "it seems
this poor dear has a phobia about doctors." She turned from the girl to
look at Roulette thoughtfully. "What do you want with me," she asked,
"what do you want from the Scarecrow?"
"I understand that Kestrel stopped your experiments in emotion
manipulation in Gotham City," Roulette said softly. "I'm impressed with
your research, so much so that I want to let you experiment on a much
larger scale."
"How much larger?" Scarecrow asked, the fear struck girl trying
to crawl away. She let the child go, her gaze focused on Roulette.
"The entire country," Roulette said softly, "possibly the
world."
Scarecrow nodded slightly. "If you can get me out of this
place," she smiled madly, "as entertaining as it might be, I would be
most interested."
"Wait and see," Roulette said.
Obsidian was just a waste of her time, a figure clothed in
shadows huddled fearfully in the corner of his cell. Still, there was
something in his eyes... Roulette got the feeling that all hell would
break loose if he was ever taken out of the influence of those power
dampers.
"You get me out of here," Metallix had smiled, the teenaged
woman's living metal form gleaming, "and I'll do whatever you want."
"I don't want much," Roulette said with a smile.
"Oh?" Metallix looked curious.
"Just as much chaos as you can generate," Roulette laughed as
she strode away.
Her final stop was near the top of the Fortress, a cell set
apart from all the others. It was partially to protect the other
prisoners, and in part it was to protect her. The figure wore a green
cloak that swirled around her, black hair flowing down her back.
"What do you want?" the woman asked.
"Enchantress," Roulette said, "or would you prefer if I call you
Zatanna?"
"Zatanna is dead," the former heroine looked at Roulette with
dead eyes, "only the Enchantress remains. Speak."
"The Justice League failed you in allowing the dark spirit to
possess you," Roulette chose her words carefully, "then betrayed you by
locking you away here instead of seeking a cure."
"The League's sins are many," Enchantress said coldly, "and I
would make them pay for each and every one of them." A little pause,
"Sadly, we are all held here."
"That might not be a permanent condition," Roulette said.
Silently she thought, 'This plan of yours had better work.'
'It will, child,' the woman's voice was warm, 'and you will be
rewarded once we arrive.'
"Your magic could tear this place down if the dampers stopped
working, right?" Roulette asked the Enchantress aloud.
"Of course," Enchantress nodded gravely.
"My power is to manipulate probabilities," Roulette smiled,
"like the chance my dampers might fail completely." She stripped her
wristbands off, holding her hands up above her head. "Or the chance
EVERY damper in this place would fail!"
Explosions echoed in the lower levels seconds after Roulette
acted, and Enchantress smiled coldly. She gestured, "Sllaw emoc gnillaf
nwod!
BOOM!
In moments where a mighty Fortress once stood.. rubble and ash
remained. They exploded from the ruins, scattering to the four winds
before anyone could possibly stop them. Villains, killers, thieves, they
were all free, all ready to bring forth their own special brand of evil.
On a rise not far from the Fortress they stood, hidden from
prying eyes. "You delivered as promised," the Scarecrow murmured, "I'm
impressed."
"Not bad at all," Metallix extended finger blades, morphing her
form happily.
"So, you have a plan?" Vox asked.
The Enchantress nodded, "I'm curious myself."
"I have a certain Patron who arranged my arrival in the
Fortress," Roulette said calmly, "and she's got plans for us. Like the
destruction of the Justice League, to start with. Once we gather a few
more recruits, of course."
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