Recruitment Drive 1: Escape

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Shawna winced every time the ball landed. Sound didn't carry that well in here—each of their cells muffled whatever the other prisoners were up to—so at least Mark wasn't giving her a headache, but that almost made those faint thuds more irritating.

Thud.

"Hey! What the hell!"

Shawna glanced off in the direction of Mark's cell. What was he yelling about now?

"Hey! Hey!"

Seconds later, she knew... far too late to do anything about it. Gas rushed into her cell, just like every time the STAR Labs group needed to move one of their prisoners. But from the sounds of yelling, all of them were being gassed.

Why?

She tried to teleport, to find even a single flaw in her cell that could keep her safe, but the place was designed too well for that. She was unconscious before she slammed into the wall.

—FLASH SIDEWAYS: RECRUITMENT—

Shawna blinked several times, but her vision remained dark. She tried to stand up, swayed on her feet, and made a quick grab for the netting hanging next to her.

She shook her head. What had they gassed her with this time? She couldn't remember being this dizzy before....

No. It wasn't the gas. She could hear a faint rumbling beneath her feet. She was moving!

She looked around as the last traces of the gas faded and she could finally see again. They were all here, the other metas who'd been held prisoner with her. But here, there were no cells, nothing to stop them from fighting their way free—

"Agh!" Kyle screamed. "It's not working!"

Shawna shrugged. It took only a second to see what he meant... her own power wasn't working in here. Not that it would matter if it did; she could see inside the truck well enough to teleport, but without some way to see outside she could never escape.

Mark was the last to regain his feet. He stood, glared at the others, held out his hand, and.... nothing.

He frowned down at his hand.

"Don't bother," Shawna told him. "Your powers don't work in here. None of ours do."

"What the hell is going on?" Mark asked.

"They're moving us," Roy said.

"Where?" Mark demanded.

"Funny, I didn't get an itinerary," Roy replied.

Mark growled, spun around, and slammed a hand into one of the walls.

"Hey!" Shawna snapped. "Tall, dark, and handsome. I said your powers are off-line."

"All brawn, no brains," Kyle said. He grinned.

Shawna rolled her eyes.

Mark stared at Kyle. "I know you, don't I?" He approached the other man slowly. "Kyle Nimbus. Used to be a member of the Darbinyan Crime Family."

"That's right," Kyle replied.

"Weren't you, uh, executed about a year ago?" Mark asked.

"It didn't take," Kyle said. His grin widened.

Mark shook his head. "Darbinyans weren't known for hiring the best and brightest," he said. "You couldn't even die right."

Kyle's grin faded.

"So you're so stupid-mad right now, Mardon," Shawna said, "you're just going to pick a fight with anyone?"

"Guess so," Mark replied.

"If I had my powers right now," Kyle said, "I would gas you all out of existence."

Jake snickered. "And then you'd be standing in a container with four corpses. What would that get you?"

"Peace and quiet," Kyle replied.

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Mark said, "but I don't need my powers to fill this rig full of bodies." He took another step in the direction of the other metas. "Come on."

His approach was interrupted as the truck made a sharp turn and knocked him and Kyle off of their feet.

"What was that?" Roy asked.

"Wherever they're taking us," Jake said, "we're here."

Mark shook his head and launched himself at Kyle.

"Turning on each other won't solve anything!" Jake insisted. He tried to pull Kyle back, but the other man whirled and shoved him to the floor.

"Don't ever touch me," Kyle snapped.

"Wait," Mark said.

Shawna blinked. Now he grew a brain? After he'd already provoked Kyle?

"Look," Mark said, pointing to Kyle's chest.

Kyle looked down and stared at the green gas.

Mark opened his hand again and chuckled at the miniature storm that formed within. "Whoops."

Jake climbed back to his feet. "If you gentlemen don't mind," he said, "perhaps we could set our dispute aside and take on our real enemy?"

"The Flash," Mark agreed. "May I?"

"Be my guest," Roy said.

"Let's see what you got," Shawna said.

"All right." Mark grabbed some of the netting and wrapped it around one arm. "I'm not used to doing this when I can't see where I'm aiming," he explained, "so it might get a little rough."

Jake nodded. "Once we are sure they are distracted, I'll use my power to free us, and then...."

"The Flash is going down," Shawna finished.

"And all of his friends," Jake added. "They'll all pay for locking us up."

"Trying to concentrate, here," Mark growled.

The miniature storm in Mark's hand grew until Shawna feared it might tear the entire rig apart. But before she could call out a warning....

The storm within simply vanished. The thunder outside proved that the trick had worked; Mardon could use his power even without seeing what he was doing. But could he direct the storm when he couldn't even aim?

An explosion outside made Shawna jump. She stared, wide-eyed, in the direction of that sound. "What did you hit?" she asked.

The wind roared outside.

"Mardon!" she said.

He blinked down at her. The sounds of the storm outside faded.

"What the hell did you hit?"

Mark only shrugged.

"It's only collateral damage," Jake said, "whatever it was."

Only collateral damage? Shawna felt sick. What if Mark had killed someone innocent?

"Now are we going to get out of here," Jake continued, "or are we going to let the enemy recover?" He blasted the lock off of the doors before the prisoners could lose their advantage.

Mark pushed the doors open with a quick burst of wind. "Trip's cancelled!" he called out.

"Take your last breath," Kyle snarled, and he turned himself into a cloud of gas.

The Flash rushed after the gas cloud while the other members of his team ran for cover.

The cop began shooting at the newly escaped prisoners. Most of his shots went wide, but a few pinged off the truck and forced Shawna and two of the other metas to duck back inside.

Shawna stared at the battle going on outside. This wasn't simply an escape attempt; these people were actually trying to kill each other!

"I'm out of here," she said. She teleported away as soon as she saw an opening.