Post by Al David on Nov 2, 2017 4:25:31 GMT
The Flash
#17: Rise of the Rogues Part 5
“Through the Wind and Rain”
‘I’m late!’
The Flash swerved around the hail of bullets, and knocked the armed bank robber out with a single punch. The bad news? His two cohorts had used his gunfire as a distraction to take off in their getaway truck. They had already forced their way through half a dozen cars to the end of the block. The distance wasn’t a problem; the endangered and injured civilians were.
‘I don’t have time for this!’
“Mom—Mom, are you—HELP!!!”
The Flash sped to the side of a crashed Prius and vibrated its driver’s side window out of its socket. Inside, an elderly woman had passed out, and wasn’t responding to her middle-aged son’s screams.
“Does she have heart problems?” the Flash asked.
The man frantically nodded. “An arrhythmia. The truck just—I think she’s—she’s going into cardiac arrest.”
“Never tried this before, but here goes nothing.” The Flash rubbed his hands together at superhuman speed, creating sparks of electricity between them. “Hold her steady.”
The man did as he was told, as the Flash placed his charged hands onto the woman’s chest, sending a jolt through her body. She spasmed, but didn’t awaken.
“Round two,” the Flash repeated the process. Still no luck.
The truck had reached a clear path two blocks down the street.
“Oh God, please…” the man sobbed.
“It’s gonna be okay,” the Flash promised, charging his hands again. “Third time’s the charm.”
With no time to steady his quivering hands, the Flash tried to shock the woman back to life again. She lurched forward with a gasp, and leaned against the steering wheel. The man immediately embraced his mother, tears falling over his arched, smiling lips.
“Thank you,” he managed. “Thank—”
But the Flash was already gone, speeding from car to car to check on everyone else. Thankfully no one else was seriously hurt. That just left the criminals.
Scowling, he zoomed up to the side of their truck and said, “Pull over.”
The thug in shotgun leaned over the driver and shattered the window with gunfire. The Flash sped around to his side, vibrated out his window, and grabbed the criminal by the collar. Without a word, he slammed the thug’s head down on the dash, knocking him out. He then tossed the unconscious criminal’s gun at the driver for the KO.
Vibrating into the vehicle, the Flash took the steering wheel, swerved around a car, and then hit the brakes. A teenaged couple was crossing the street at the end of the block. They froze in fear. The truck screeched over the pavement, slowing at a snail’s pace. At this rate, it would hit them.
Racing for an idea, the Flash switched the truck into neutral, vibrated back out of it and sped around in front of the teenagers, facing the oncoming truck. He then circled his arms to create two whirlwinds. The cyclones trapped the vehicle and pushed it back into a lurching halt.
When he faced the near-victims, the Flash forced his best supportive smile, struggling for words, “Flash Fact: whirlwinds are an everyday occurrence caused by local atmospheric instability. You just don’t notice most of them because they’re so small, formed by the sun’s heat and tiny air pockets.”
The boy’s jaw dropped. “You’re a nerd.”
The Flash released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding in, and checked his watch. Its face was shattered, making it unreadable. He rolled his eyes and took off down the street.
‘I’m gonna be late!’
…
Barry clipped on his bowtie as he burst through the court room’s entrance. Suddenly, the whole room—from the judge, to the jury, to Iris and Joe, and even his father—had their eyes on him. Henry sent a thankful smile his way, but it didn’t make Barry feel any better. He blushed and shrunk forward.
“Sorry,” he managed.
Barry slid into the front row just behind his father and right next to Iris. He was surprised to discover Gehenna sitting on her other side. He wasn’t sure whether to be touched or embarrassed.
Iris reached over to Barry and squeezed his hand as the defending attorney said, “As I was saying, Your Honor, my client was forced to confess prior to receiving access to my counsel. Despite prior claims, we are prepared to defend his case.”
Barry grew slack-jawed. What the hell did that mean? His father had plead guilty. What case?
“Your dad…he plead not guilty,” Iris whispered. “They’re going to trial.”
Barry stared at his father, speechless.
What the hell had Barry missed?
…
“I’d like to call Detective Joe West to the floor,” the district attorney stated.
Barry took a deep breath as his father’s one-time partner stood up and walked around to be interviewed. Joe looked like just as much of a mess as Henry. Both had the same sunken eyes. However, Joe’s were filled with equal parts regret and anger. Barry figured he’d see a lot of that look in the coming trial.
“Detective West, you’ve previously told me that prior to his arrest, you considered Henry Allen to be your best friend,” the prosecutor began.
Joe stared down at the floor, and nodded. “Yes.”
“And you worked together in the CCPD for 24 years, correct?”
“Yes. 16 as partners,” Joe agreed.
“Which is what makes your testimony so important. By all accounts, you should be biased in the defendant’s favor, but you firmly believe he committed the crimes he’s accused of, correct?”
“Yes, sir. I believe Henry Allen is not the man I thought he was,” Joe said. This time, he looked up at Henry, his face a mask of betrayal. “I believe he murdered innocent people in cold blood.”
Barry felt nauseous. He wanted to leave, but he couldn’t. He and Gehenna were the only ones here who knew the truth. They were the only ones who supported his father.
Why the hell had he plead not guilty? When they’d last talked, he’d seemed so content in his decision to surrender. What had changed?
“Detective West, would you please recount the events that led up to the defendant’s arrest?” the prosecutor asked.
Joe gritted his teeth, struggling to begin. Barry glanced at Iris, who was nearly in tears.
“Detective West…?”
Joe opened his mouth to speak.
WEEEOOOO!
Sirens. Tornado sirens. Oh no.
Barry looked over at Gehenna, who flashed her phone screen. ‘THREE F5s NEARING CITY,’ it read, ‘MARDON.’
“Everyone, please remain calm. We’ll evacuate to the basement,” the judge began.
Barry had already reached the back of the court room. He ignored Iris as she called his name. He didn’t dare to look back to see if his father had watched him leave. He had a job to do—lives to save.
Barry bumped shoulders with a man in a black hoodie as he walked down the court steps, and muttered, “Sorry.”
The man didn’t respond.
When Barry was in the clear, he sped off.
…
“Please walk to the exit,” a security guard yelled over the courtroom’s ruckus. “Don’t run.”
Gehenna tried to fall back to the edge of the crowd so she could keep up with Barry on her phone, but was forced forward by Iris, who took her by the arm.
“Gehenna, right? From STAR Labs?” Iris began. Gen nodded, eyes on her phone, tracking Barry to the first tornado. “Barry’s told me a lot about you. I’m glad he’s found friends who share his passions. You’re good for him.”
Gehenna chuckled to a joke only she understood, “Yeah, I don’t know about that.”
“Really, though,” Iris said, “He’s always had trouble making friends. Not because he’s rude, but just…introverted. Quiet. He deserves better. He deserves the best.”
“You’re his friend,” Gehenna pointed out, finally looking up.
“Yeah, but we—there’s always been this wall between us. Like he can’t be completely honest with me,” Iris explained. “I don’t know what it is, but—like how he ducked out just now. He keeps so many secrets, and I just wish he…” She shrugged.
“You mean a lot to him,” Gehenna said as they exited the courtroom.
“Yeah,” Iris sighed, then whispered, “But that’s not enough.”
“What was that?” Gehenna wondered.
Before Iris could reply, a voice boomed from the entrance, “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!”
Mark Mardon stood with his arms out wide, a black hoodie over his head, his weather wand in hand. He waved it, and lightning burst from its tip three times, striking each of the security guards.
Mardon cracked his neck, his eyes darkened with cold rage. “Get the hell out of my way.”
…
The three cyclones swirled about fifty yards apart from one another, each marching across the Midwestern plains toward Central City. They’d reach it in five minutes, tops. Until then, they would rip apart untold miles of farmland, building up a wall of debris that would make the initial strike that much worse.
The Flash ran circles around the first tornado, staying far enough away that he didn’t get caught in its grip. He didn’t have any chemicals. The comms were out, so Chester and Gehenna couldn’t help. He was on his own…just how he wanted it, right?
What the hell was he going to do?
…
“Barry, come in,” Gehenna whispered into her phone. She received only static in return. “Barry, please, Mardon is in the court. We need y…”
She choked on that last word as thunder crackled overhead. Her heart began to race, and her knees threatened to give out from beneath her. The gunfire. Why was there gunfire?
Mardon marched toward the crowd. It split before him, giving him free reign to target Joe West, who, to his credit, stood his ground even without a weapon. Henry hid further back in the crowd, having been marched away by guards who now lay in smoldering heaps against the wall.
“Joe West. My man. Ain’t second time the charm, Clyde?” Mark uttered. To whom, Gehenna had no clue. “Now we’re just missing—”
Henry pushed through the crowd. “Leave Joe. I’m the one who went undercover in the cartel. I’m the one who got you arrested.”
“See, that ain’t gonna cut it. Clyde and I both got sent to The Heights, so we’re gonna need two bodies,” Mark said, raising his hand.
Thunder roared again. Gehenna heard gunfire. The world seemed to spin around her. The blood on the guards…
“Henry…” Joe began.
“Not now,” Henry growled back.
“Who wants to go first?” Mark asked. The tip of his wand crackled. “How ‘bout the goodie two shoes?” He flicked his arm toward Joe.
Iris stepped in front of her father.
“Oh, for the love of—” Mark exclaimed.
“Iris, move!” Joe demanded, grabbing her arm.
Iris didn’t so much as flinch. How the hell was she so strong?? How the hell could anyone stand up to a monster like Mardon??? It was like Afghanistan all over again. Gehenna was going to stand frozen in fear as she watched a hero die.
Iris began, “Mardon, you deserved what you got. You were muscle for murderers. You sold drugs to teenagers. You killed your own brother.”
“I didn’t—” Mark stumbled back a step. “Clyde is right here! Why does everyone keep—he’s right here!!”
Mark motioned behind him. Nobody was there. He was hallucinating about his brother.
“Iris, please,” Joe begged.
“You murdered your little brother,” Iris stated.
“No…no no nonononono—NO!” Mark jerked around, aiming his wand at Iris. Suddenly, his voice grew eerily steady. “But you best believe I’ll murder you.”
Gehenna moved without thinking. She dived in front of Iris just as the lightning bolt exploded from the wand’s tip.
It struck her dead-center in the chest.
…
The tornadoes were a hundred yards from civilization, and picking up speed. The Flash needed to act now. To cut them all off, he needed something hot—something massive. His options were limited. In fact, he only saw one, but it was going to be dangerous.
The Flash threw off his costume, now in nothing but his boxers and undershirt. Then, without any time to lose, he sprinted across the fields of grass, now drenched in rain, hoping that a single strang would catch fire. His clothes began to smoke, and then finally lit up. He ignored the searing pain and continued to run faster and faster…
The field lit up like fireworks. A fire roared to life, and Barry helped it along with two cyclones of his own, formed by whirling his arms at super speed. The flames raced up each, sending a wave of fire across the plains. Within seconds, the tornadoes were blocked off by a massive wall of flame. Barry sped around their sides and blew the flames up the tornadoes’ cold drafts. They began to shrink, giving Barry the opportunity to pat out his flaming clothes and put on his friction-proof costume.
His clothes had burned him, but he would heal. The fields would regrow. The tornadoes were already nearly gone.
He’d saved the day again. Now he just needed to put the fires out.
All in a day’s work.
…
“Why would she…” Mark stared at Gehenna’s scorched body. “She’s not…I don’t kill innocent people. I wouldn’t—” He dry swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
Then, with a wave, he knocked everyone back with a gust of wind. Mark scrambled out of the court and down its steps. He’d nearly reached the bottom when he heard a voice.
“Mardon…”
It was coming from a puddle.
“Scudder,” Mark stammered. “I told you, I—oh God, what did I do?”
Sirens blared in the distance. Mark looked up at the edge of the city. The tornadoes were gone, a smoking field left in their wake. A red blur raced ever closer.
“You get one more chance. Come with me or die a nobody in the Heights, just like your brother,” Scudder growled.
Mark looked down at his quivering hands, clenched them, and stepped into the puddle.
…
“You knocked me out, stole the wand, and ran out on some ridiculous suicide mission,” Sam said as Mardon emerged from the Mirror Dimension. “That’s not gonna cut it. Not for a Rogue.”
Mardon muttered to himself as he paced around the hideout—the one-time lair of Snart and Rory. He seemed not to have heard Sam. In fact, he seemed to be losing his absolute-goddamn-mind.
Sam massaged his temple in frustration. “This was a mistake. This was a huge—”
“Is Clyde here?” Mark blurted, looking at Sam.
A moment, and then he responded, “No. You’ve been imagining him the entire time.”
“I didn’t kill him,” Mark said. “I remember now. I was framed. Framed because I talked to myself. Framed because everyone already thought I was crazy. The cartel, they did it. I swear to God, they did it.”
“Uh huh.”
“I’m not lying!” Mark roared, then grew quiet. “Clyde’s dead. Jesus.”
Tears creeped down Mark’s cheeks, and his legs gave out from under him. Slumping down to the floor, he muttered something that Sam couldn’t hear.
“What was that?” Sam asked.
“I’ll join your freak squad,” Mark spoke up. “But you have to swear—you have to swear you’ll keep me steady. Do what Clyde did. I lose control, and I—I need someone to—”
“Sure,” Sam nodded. “No problem. Consider me your new warden.”
“I’m not a prisoner,” Mark growled.
“It was a joke.”
“Not a prisoner,” Mark repeated.
“Fine, yeah, I’ll be your…your Clyde. Your switch,” Sam agreed.
“You’re the brains. I’m the muscle,” Mark said.
Sam grinned. “You read my mind.”
…
‘I was too late.’
Barry collapsed back into a seat outside the emergency room. The security guards had died before he could reach them. Gehenna, on the other hand, wasn’t dead, but she was in critical condition. He’d gotten there fast enough to speed her to the ER, but he was too slow to save her entirely. This was what happened to people close to him. His dad, Max, now Gen…
“Barry!” Chester sprinted over to him and tackled him with a bear hug. “Is she…?”
“I don’t know. The doctors are doing everything they can, but…” Barry shrugged, loosely returning Chess’ embrace.
“Shit,” Chester sat beside Barry and put his head in his hands. “It’s like we’re cursed to forever visit this hospital.” He perked up and forced a smile. “Hey, maybe when Gen wakes up, she’ll have superpowers like you.”
Barry didn’t respond. He wasn’t in the mood to laugh, and he certainly wasn’t about to scold Chester. Not in this situation.
Suddenly, Dr. Chapel exited the ER. Barry and Chess got up to meet her. Neither had the courage to speak first.
“Gehenna’s tough,” Chapel began. “She’s stable for now.”
Chester exhaled, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“For now…?” Barry asked. They weren’t in the clear yet.
Chapel glanced at the ground. “There may be complications. Being struck by lightning is a traumatic experience for the mind and body. Given that, she may not…she may not wake up.”
“How long before we know?” Barry pushed.
“It’s tough to tell. A few hours…a few weeks. The lightning from the—the—”
“Weather wand,” Chester interjected.
“It was unusual. There are traces of radiation that we can’t identify all throughout her body. Inside all of the victims, for that matter,” Chapel explained. “These aren’t ordinary circumstances.” She then mumbled to herself, “God, they never are nowadays.”
“Thank you,” Barry said, hugging her.
“We’ll keep you updated,” Chapel assured him, before being embraced by Chess. “Both of you. For now, just…do what you can to establish some normalcy in your lives. Try to get your mind off her, as hard as it may be.”
Neither Barry not Chester replied. She bid them farewell, then returned to the emergency room. The instant the doors shut, Barry cracked.
“I can’t work with you anymore.”
“What?” Chester muttered.
“This can’t…Team Flash shouldn’t exist. All it does is endanger you, and—” He refused to give Chester a chance to speak, to stop him. “This is my decision, and mine alone. I’m the Flash, so it’s my call that—that Team Flash is finished.”
“Barry—”
The blond gave his friend one last hug. “Maybe we can still hang out sometimes, grab dinner or something, but you can’t be a part of this. I’m sorry.”
“From now on, I go at it alone.”