Villains Club Training Camp (5)

Break Out

Raven

For now Jesse and I both ran! With magic being suppressed throughout the dome there was no other option. I was reassured to see Sharkie's grandfather running up to Jesse as able-bodies began fleeing to the slowly opening gap under the rim of the dome. Seconds later and Jesse was riding the huge villain's back as they bolted for the exit!

Inside I heard faintly as Penny decreed, "Ladies and not so gentle-villains, your exits are Everywhere!" I had to get up there.

"LUCY! That's Enough! Bring the magic back!" I called, to find the red haired villainess struggling in the air with Zantanna in what amounted to mud-wrestling.

Lucyfar still floated and had magic, and I hesitated, before getting my answer "Kinda Busy! You have the power to push through this, so Do it already!"

I nodded. Closed my eyes. Tried to meditate, and felt the glow of my magic, pressed down on. "Zinth.." No, the meditation just pressed down harder. My eyes snapped back open in rage "IF I DO THIS and go bad. YOU PROTECT PEOPLE!" I yelled, getting both magic users attention.

The wrestling stopped as I called out "I am Sin Raven! And I can beat everyone here, cause I HAVE ULTIMATE CONTROL!"

A glimmer of pride. A glimmer of my sin, I felt the connection flare and pushed outside of the dimensional barrier to see, hell.

Overlaid on Earth, the two worlds sitting layered with demonic slimy ape creatures walking blindly in and out of the buildings. Unlike my usual trick, where my human body remained there, and I moved it using my spirit body, this time the opposite was true. I was the real one, my body floating in this space while the growing cloud of my demonic form spread out into the real world. I billowed, expanding like black ribbons of paper towel, in long thin sheets before surrounding me and taking the form of a large, vaguely humanoid Raven.

Sin Raven. "My Soul Self revealed!" I flew, or my soul self flew, going for Penny at the centre. "Bad Penny! This is out of Hand! There are way too many villains free at this point, the-"

The Audit was on the ground, clutching her head, Bad Penny standing over her. Casually, in complete defiance of our earlier conversation, the tech villain pulled a single penny from the hem of her glove, dropping it on her mother. It stuck to the woman's clothes casually, and afterwards the woman breathed, then stood.

"Bad Penny! I thought we agreed, no more cursed pennies till I know what they are?" I demanded, sweeping in and alighting on the ground, a six foot tall being of shadow. Horrifically from my partly otherworld plane of existance, I could see what the pennies did. Coming from somewhere in the Penny's back, a long thin tentacle had reached out across the space, unseen, to lay it's end across the cheek of Penny's target.

"Apparition, that is you in there right?" Penny asserted, as her mother nodded and spoke, the voice sounded hoarse and week.

"The Audit's mind is like a steel trap, I couldn't pry my way in!"

Penny nodded, "Raven! I know this is extreme, but-"

"But nothing! Lower the barrier, Crow will be outside by now, we need to stop the break out!"

Penny's face-plate flickered, multiple colours running by in succession as she caught up with the problem. "Raven, Go hero! Organize any of our team who want to help, block the hole around the dome the best you can! Apparition, you're going to help me restore power! Then we all meet back at the middle to warp out!"

"I, You're still trying to finish the break out? This is bad Penny! Like, real, real bad!" All I got was a nod, Penny looking at the floor rather than me.

With a sigh, I ran to do as bid, calling out to the plant villains, "We need to plug the hole! Lower the Dome, Something!" I told them, "The magic portal out will arrive in a minute, but we can't let all these villains escape!"

That got Zantana and Lucyfar's attention, Lucy responding with a casual "Awwww, why not!"

With Zantana asking, "Wait, Kid; are you and your team thinking of helping me right now?"

My shadowy raven form nodded, "This is an order from Bad Penny! She's taking the blame for it, trying to get your electronics back online. Please accept our assistance!"

We looked around at the mess, Lucyfar easing up her magical blockage, "Bad P's sure about this? The league of villains would pay out big for this?" Lucy sounded distracted as she spoke, watching the chaos on the ground instead of paying attention to Zantanna. As magic started working again, Zantanna flew up to the dome and re powered her spell circles.

Quinn, Briar and Ivy moved quickly, causing knots of vines and tangles to block up the holes. Some villains still tried to power through. Some succeeded. Cautiously, the giant redwood eased back, lowering the dome back into position.

"Raven!" Zantanna approached, "I need your help rounding up escaped convicts! Are you able bodied!"

I looked back at the tower, one by one lights were coming on. I wouldn't tell her that the Audit was possessed and most of the technicians currently pocket sized. I'd just do the job in front of me.

"I'm Ready!" I decided, I wouldn't try to contain people in force-bubbles like Zantanna had, there was an easier way. Scooping each of the villains up into my body, I deposited them into the dimensional space with my human form. Once there, like most humans, they went still. As far as they knew they floated in an endless black void of nothing. Some were aware enough to scream, but the two of us sortied out of the dome and fetched as many of the prisoners as possible. Except the ones Penny had chosen.

From the sky I watched the activity inside the dome.

A flicker, a black ball of energy, tinged with green as Jesse activated the gateway, pulling the Villains Club from the prison.

We'd succeeded.

But at what cost?