Worst Case Scenario

Chapter 51: B.R.E.C.-I.

Robin tumbled forwards onto a hard floor, followed a second later by his best friend, who, of course, landed on top of him.

Wally groaned as they got to their feet. Only then did he look up and immediately wished he hadn't.

They were in a large room of some sort, made of darker grey concrete than wherever they'd been. And they weren't alone. Twenty other people were present including such welcoming faces as Sportsmaster, Cheshire, Black Manta, Mr. Freeze, Zatanna (in new, evil-colored threads, no less) a weak-looking Psimon and a dozen other guys, many of whom had very dangerous-looking guns. The others seemed stunned at the new arrivals for a second, but quickly recovered and pointed their various weapons at the two boys.

From the shadows, the infamous jar-shape of the Brain appeared, flanked by his gorilla lackey.

"It seems we have intruders" Brain said. "Please, if you all would deal with them."

"Uh, Rob?" whispered Wally as his friend slowly got to his feet.

"Yeah?"

"I totally blame you for this."

Belle Reve

December 28, 11:34 CST

"And, here we are" said Hugo Strange, gesturing to a solid steel door sticking out of a thick concrete wall. Painted in red above were the words "Belle Reve Extreme Containment—Isolation."

The Flash rolled his eyes at the warden's theatrics. "Stop stalling" said the speedster. "Stalling?" replied Strange, nodding to a nearby guard and placing his eye in front of a retinal scanner. "I have no idea what you mean. I am merely following protocol. After all, the Justice League may have a charter from the United Nations, but the U.S. government is under no obligation to allow you access to maximum security inmates. It is only because I wish to convince you that you are mistaken that I am bending the rules as much as I am. After all, the sooner we can determine why you continue to believe that prisoners are escaping, the sooner we can put a stop to it and I can get back to doing my job."

Flash suppressed a scowl but said nothing. They had no evidence of wrongdoing on Strange's part, but between the Ice Fortresses, Professor Ivo's appearance in New Orleans and now Mr. Freeze again, there was just too much of a coincidence. And that's why he was here instead of running off to help Bats get Wally back.

There was an electronic beep as the retinal scan was approved and the four-ton door slid into the wall.

"This is the only way in or out of E.C.-I." Strange said as they stepped into a short hall. "Any other way would require pounding through over thirty feet of concrete or slipping through filtered air vents the size of rats. And we keep an electric current running through those just in case." The door closed behind them and the hall darkened. Beams of all frequencies of electromagnetic radiation washed over them, scanning for hidden weapons. Seeing that they were clean, another guard in a bullet-proof glass box waved them through into another hallway. This one was lined by smaller steel doors, each of which had a control panel and a television monitor mounted next to it.

"Even during the riot in September," Strange continued in full tour-guide mode "our boys in Extreme Containment were able to seal it off and keep its prisoners under control. Which is good, since its sole purpose is to hold the inmates too powerful or dangerous for the general population."

Flash nodded, glancing at the cell to his right. From the outside, it looked like a bank vault with a series of odd glowing runes stuck to it. The screen revealed its contents, however: Wotan the Sorcerer, quietly meditating on the floor, inhibitor collar clasped around his neck.