Sell you a Bridge chapter 120

Blackgate Penitentiary November 11th 2010 12:00 PM EDT

I'd  expected the actual breakout to be the most stressful point in the  prison break, but I'd been wrong. I'd underestimate Blackgate, or rather  prison in general. More specifically I'd underestimated that most  hallowed of prison experiences, yard time. The absolute discomfort of  being trapped in a small courtyard with dozens of incredibly tense and  pissed off criminals, some of whom had super powers even I would be wary  of, was not to be discounted. If it wasn't for the dampener collars  they had on the inmates (collars which didn't work on me because of the  source of my powers and which I'd disabled on my teammates) I'd probably  have noped out of there within minutes.

We  were, of course, targeted pretty quickly by nearby criminals.  Specifically a pair of incredibly large men, who got right up in our  personal space. Since we didn't want to draw attention we naturally  tried to deescalate things. I help up my hands as the closest man, a  blonde with a tattoo across his bare chest reading "Some Body" loomed  over me, and the other, a massive bald man, towered over Robin. "Whoa  there guys. We don't want any trouble. We're just here to serve our time  and be on our way." I tried to inject a bit of nervousness and pleading  into my tone. I could bench press these idiots, but they didn't need to  know that.

Baldie  grinned down at the boy wonder, addressing me without taking his eyes  off my ally. "Maybe you don't get to decide when you get trouble. When  Czonk wants to hassle you, all you can do is get hassled boy. Isn't that  right Faceless?" He bared his yellowed, crooked teeth at the sidekick,  clearly trying to come off as creepy and intimidating, and succeeding,  though mostly because his grin was coming across as more of a leer and  it kind of looked like he wanted to make Robin his bitch. Though given  we were in prison, that actually might have been the vibe he was going  for, who knew.

Before  we could respond though, another voice cut in. "No Titus." The voice  was calm and measured, confident and absolutely certain of it's control,  and baldy looked off to one side, his eyes widening with fear. A  handsome guy with a blonde ponytail and a chin full of rugged stubble  stood off to one side, cold, intelligent eyes fixed on the bald man.  "They're too young. You know I don't allow harming children." The bald  man, Titus apparently, which made sense because Czonk wasn't actually a  name, just nodded, face pale, and stepped back from Robin, eyes on the  ground.

Faceless,  as Titus had called him, stepped back at the same time, as ponytail  strode forward to offer us a smile. It was surprisingly warm. "Sorry  about that. Things can be tough around here, but I try to watch out for  kids. Got one of my own actually, though I don't go into details, isn't  safe in a place like this." He offered a hand. "Arthur. Or Cluemaster,  if that's your preference. Both names hold equal value to me." He  gestured over to a set of nearby bleachers. "Come sit down, no one will  bother you when you're with us. Honestly your little clique might have  been enough on its own if you weren't so young."

I  turned to see that the others had come up behind us, Superboy was  glaring at Titus, clearly more than willing to throw down if need be.  Useful guy, that one. Still, since there wouldn't be a fight we decided  to head over to sit down on the bleachers to talk. I smiled at Arthur.  "Thanks, as you can tell we're a bit new. This place is kind of  intimidating." It was, though we could have crushed everyone here given  they were power dampened and we weren't. Still it would have drawn loads  of attention which would have spoiled the job. Jim oddly, was nowhere  to be seen, but knowing him he was probably off scouting so I put it out  of my head, there was nothing here I couldn't handle and he knew it.

I  looked around, taking in all the criminals and powerhouses. "So. Since  you're down to play tour guide, can you give me the four one one on who  the big dogs are around here?" I wanted to know who the hell to stay  away from during my time in this place. A few more guys had gathered  around us once we made it up onto the bleachers but not a huge amount, I  got the impression Arthur's boys were something of a mid to small sized  crew in here. Enough to keep the carrion feeders off us but not enough  to piss off the big boys, which I personally thought was perfect. The  last thing we needed was to get sucked into a prison gang war. I'd had  quite enough of those on the outside.

Arthur  chuckled. "Ah, of course, I imagine not knowing what's going on must be  unsettling. It isn't too complicated, there are hundreds of inmates,  but the two main factions here consist of two leaders at least on the  men's side, one recent and one established." He gestured over to the  side of the yard. "For the old guard we have Emperor Blackgate. He's  been around for years. His powers are...complicated, but basically he  has a cocktail of super drugs in him that make his skin incredibly tough  and make him super strong and fast. Since its physiological the  dampener doesn't really shut it down completely, meaning he's stronger  than most in here."

He  nodded off to a corner. "Over there is the new blood. Bane just got  here before the lockdown, only a month or two. He's a genius and a  ruthless bastard, as well as being strong as an ox. Almost everyone who  doesn't work for Blackgate works for Bane now. It was looking like a  turf war for a while there, but the lockdown has the guards on edge, so  no one is willing to start anything right now. Honestly you got here at a  pretty stable time." I stared at the two people he'd indicated, each of  them surrounded by groups of men with unusually strong auras.

Bane  was, as literally everyone know, huge. Absolutely jacked and wearing a  luchador mask. I'd heard he needed his venom to stay functional but I  didn't see his rig, so I could only suspect they were rationing it to  him somehow. Despite the physical presence though, what really stood out  from his aura was the towering intellect. People talk about Bane like  he was some kind of thug, but from what I was seeing the man was a  literal genius in every sense. Arthur himself was clearly brilliant,  with a keen mind that made him a true danger to anyone who  underestimated the man, but Bane made him look like an idiot.

Blackgate  on the other hand was not nearly as intelligent, not as vital  physically, but what the grey skinned man missed out on in brains he  made up for in ruthlessness. Bane was willing to go the distance to get  things done, but he had at least some code. There was a moral framework.  Blackgate had none of that. The man had the soul of a jackal and the  morals of a pit viper. Most criminals could be ruthless to get ahead,  but Blackgate LIKED betraying people. Your average thief would stick a  knife in your back to snatch a score, but this guy would stab you in the  back so he would have somewhere to hang his coat.

I  could easily see why men like this would be in charge of this place.  They both had their own assets in terms of leadership. Bane was an  inspiring figure how empowered his men with confidence just by taking  the field. He was the general who led from the front, the force  multiplier that made his people feel safer for having him. Blackgate  meanwhile was everything  tyrannical about the word Emperor. He was an  iron fisted brute who terrified his people into obedience and submission  by tormenting those who went against him.

Arthur  saw me looking and shook his head. "Avoid those two if you have the  choice kid. They absolutely aren't people you want to mess with." As I  averted my eyes he nodded and went back to explaining. "As for the  women's side, that's a bit more confusing, but pretty much all the  different forces answer to a single person. Sofia Falcone. Old Carmine's  little girl, though she isn't so little. They call her Gigante, and in a  place where powers are suppressed she's Queen bitch. Huge, terrifying,  and dangerous, even Blackgate doesn't fuck with her. She protects the  women from Blackgate and some of his more...despicable lieutenants, and  in return they follow her lead."

The  blood drained from my face. Shit. I forgot I had an aunt in here. My  dad's older sister was considered hardcore even by Falcone standards. I  sincerely hoped we didn't run into her here. I wasn't sure what her  relationship with the old man was like, but I'd had about enough of my  extended family. Between one Uncle being a serial killer, another being  an undead assassin, and a cousin who had become the new Queen of a hell  dimension, both sides of my family put the dis in disfunctional, and I  could do without adding to the roster. I was about to ask about some of  her lieutenants so I could steer clear when I felt the ground shake,  nearly throwing me from my seat.

An  explosion rocked the air and I slipped to the ground, rolling under the  bleachers to try to keep myself from getting crushed by whatever was  hitting the ground. The yard was a riot of bellows and  curses, but no  screams of fear, say what you wanted about the prisoners here, they  weren't the whimpering type. I looked around, trying to see what the  hell was going on. There was smoke and dust everywhere and when I was  finally able to focus on something it wasn't exactly good news. About  twenty feet away was a crater with a big flaming rock in it.

That  would have been much more confusing to see if I didn't see another  three of them arcing down at us. From the angle it looked like they had  been hurled, and I pretty much immediately got what was happening.  Trebuchets. The fucking Amazons were here. I turned to Robin, whose eyes  were wide with alarm, cursing myself for an idiot. "FUCK! Rob, the  other half of this place is a womens prison. Half the female inmates are  powerful metas. If those nutcases bust this place open a good chunk of  them will join up, and even the ones who don't will flood the city and  make this mess a hundred times worse!"

Robin's  eyes were wide with terror. "You're missing the worst part! Why would  they stop at Blackgate? If they're springing powerful metas this is only  half of the captive supply. We need to stop this and get in touch with  someone on the mainland, they're going to go after Arkham next if they  haven't already. Busting out the criminals here is one thing, at least  they're all sane. Arkham is full of monsters! If they let the inmates  loose they'll burn the whole city to the ground." His voice was full of  genuine fear at the idea, and I didn't blame him.

Another  crash rocked the ground around us, but before a third wave could be  incoming there was a loud noise. A massive pulse of energy shot up from  the main prison compound splintering into a massive stream of arcs that  joined together to form a shimmering dome over the island. As I stared  in astonishment as that massive shield Blackgate's warden must have  erected though, something out of the corner of my eye made my blood  freeze. I followed the movement and spotted a number of huge holes in  the wall, some leading to another ward and some having blown open some  of the cell blocks. And so began the largest riot in Blackgate prison  history.