Flames light the Keystone City skies, matched by an eerie keening.
A volley of twinned arrows soar through the air, attacking the mobile forest that occupies the city streets. As each hits its mark, it ignites. From the rooftop of the capitol building, the Spider grins at the Bolt. "That looks like the end of Maldita Toxicohedron's forces."
The Bolt shudders. "The very idea of that two-headed, intelligent, telepathic plant which controls other plants just gives me the willies. I hope after this attack she's gone for good."
The Spider's face is illuminated in the darkness, the flickering lights accentuating the stark quality of his facial features. "And if our plan works, our salt bomb timed to explode over her base at the same time we burn down her troops, will be more than enough to do the job. In fact she ... " He whirls around as his bow disappears from his hand. "Bolt, did you ... ?"
The Bolt, empty-handed, stares at his partner. "Spider, what ... "
A crimson whirlwind dances across the rooftops and the two men are struck down, their questions silenced.
The blonde woman looks at the exercise equipment dubiously. "So how does this work, exactly?"
The man with her chuckles, "It's been a while, but the time shows on the display in the front. It's not hard to read. You just get on the treadmill and run."
The woman reaches behind her, taking her locks in hand and tying it back with an elastic band. "Running I don't have any problem with." She kisses the red-haired man on the cheek, climbs aboard the treadmill, takes a deep breath, and starts.
Soon, she picks up speed, and her companion watches as the Cosmic Treadmill vanishes, taking its passenger into the past. "Just don't screw anything up, Jessie," he mutters.
"Did you really think you'd be able to steal the campaign fund from an old folk's home again, Viper?" In a blur of blue and white, the thief finds his ill-gotten gains pulled from his hands.
The blur slows down, reforming into a man, his face bearing a broad smile. He is wearing white tights and boots, a blue aviator's mask and a gold belt. His blue tunic is emblazoned with a white circle with an inset letter "J" on his chest, and two wavy gold bands at each wrist.
The man identified as the Viper scowls, "Curse you, Jet Jordan!"
"You really thought that just because Ultra-Man was out of town, you could go back to your old tricks?" Jet Jordan shakes his head. "Let me take these somewhere safe and, and I'll be back in a flash." He turns to run, and suddenly finds himself moving at normal speed. Caught off-guard and surprised by the lack of momentum, he stumbles to the ground.
The Viper gloats, "Well well well, it looks as if the fastest man alive has run out of gas." He approaches the fallen speedster, releasing the poisonous snakes he keeps concealed in his sleeves.
"Fortunately, he's not the only one around."
The Viper looks over to see another man, dressed similarly to his opponent. "What is this, some sort of trick?"
The man leaps towards him in a series of acrobatic flips, landing with his feet in the Viper's face. He catches the poisonous snakes in each hand, gripping them by the backs of their skulls, then dashes their heads against the wall.
Jet Jordan stands to greet his rescuer. "Quicksilver! It looks like I owe you twice. What do I owe the pleasure?"
Quicksilver says, "A chance to return the favor. Let's drop the bad guy off, and go talk to your old ally Black Box. I may need some help in getting home."
# 209
"Speed Force":
By Mikel Midnight
and Jonah Rite
Highway 30, outside Keystone City
A group uniformed in red and yellow, and a pair in blue and white, meet on a highway in the Nebraska plains.
Flash stares curiously at Jet Jordan. "Max told me about you. This isn't the first time I've met someone who so closely resembles myself, but the effect is still startling."
Jet Jordan nods, "When I first met him with the Freedom Fighters, I assumed he was some sort of counterpart to myself, as our costumes are so similar. But it wouldn't have taken much for my folks to have named me Jason Garrick instead of Jordan Garrick."
The Ray folds his arms over his chest. "The three of you make quite a trio. As does Johnny with his little harem over there, I'm starting to feel left out."
Joanie Swift grins, "I'm just glad to be included, although I know it must have been something serious for Johnny to call me. I thought my speedster days were over."
Johnny Quick grumbles to himself, "Yeah well, so did I. And I still don't know what to make of your claims, young lady," he says, addressing the other woman whose uniform so closely resembles his own.
Jessie Quick grins, her eyes sparkling. "I'm your descendent from the 21st century. I know that's a lot to swallow, but is time travel harder than alternate dimensions?"
Joanie Swift looks at the other woman, "Hey, you've given me something to hope for, Jessie." Her hand seeks out Johnny's, who only looks embarrassed.
Quicksilver shakes his head, "Nothing odd about time travel at all."
The Ray waves his hands dismissively. "Are we done with the introductions? Flash and I haven't worked together since the Parsifal fiasco, and I see he's called out all the stops on this case. What's the fuss, tell me what's happening."
Flash tilts up his helmet, scratching his head, "I called you all here today because I've gotten into a fix I can't get out of myself ... and because I fear all our livelyhoods are in danger. Some of you may have noticed fluctuations in your ability to use your normal amount of speed. I think someone has been interfering with the medium of transference that we all access."
Johnny Quick scoffs, "Joanie and I ... and Jessie, I guess ... use a magic equation. I don't know what you mean by 'medium of transference,' though I guess there's something to it because I have had the problems you mention."
Quicksilver nods, "It's something Jay and I encountered when we were up against a bad guy named Screaming Skull."
Flash continues, "Whatever it is, it's crossing dimensional barriers, because even Jet Jordan got hit. Someone's concentrating speedsters in Keystone and, like some sort of gravitational center, the effect is concentrating the medium here and drawing it from elsewhere. Consequently the core of speedsters in town are getting faster, and the rest of you except for the Ray are getting slower."
Quicksilver says, "We'll probably be able to use the effect to our advantage once we're in Keystone, but I don't know what the long-term effects are if we don't put a stop to it."
Flash sighs. "They've been forcing the citizenry everybody indoors. I was out of town enjoying my retirement when this all happened, and they evidently took out my replacement, the Spider, in a fraction of a second. That's why I called you people rather than my old friends in the JSA."
Jessie Quick recalls her father, much older than the man before her now, explaining his memories of her in his past, but sticks to her cover story. "This effect is even traveling up the time stream, which is why I came here once my chrono-sensors detected the source of the interference."
Joanie Swift chews her lower lip anxiously. "I don't have a lot of experience with fighting, but I'll do what I can. Do you even know who we're up against?"
Flash shakes his head, "We won't know until we're in."
"We're expecting quite a nasty collection. So we're set?" Johnny Quick asks.
Flash nods, "Just be prepared that your speed may fluctuate unpredictably. But hopefully whatever effects us will be effecting our opponents the same way."
The squadron follows Flash into the center of town. The sun sets above their heads, taking the evening sky and igniting it into a gold back-drop, dashed by violently crimson clouds. The ground beneath seems a dull, somber gray in contrast. They see a variety of shops and other businesses, mainly closed. Their path into the city is noticed, and a whirl of activity trails along the rooftops, finally coalescing into a circle around the mysterymen at the crossing of Fifty-First and Lambers Rd:
Badra, a beautiful, raven-haired woman. She is wearing black tights, white boots and leotard which also covers the arms and hands, and a white cape attached at the wrists and along the arms.
Charley Drake, thin and dark, with a moustache. He is wearing a black bodystocking, and white belt.
Gary Trouble, a man dressed all in red: red shirt, red tights, red boots, and wearing a red helm of Mercury (sans wings).
Major Zoom, a man with a yellow and black costume which covers his body. He has a white lightning bolt on his chest, from top right shoulder to left abdomen area, and a helmet with the familiar insignia of the Schutzstaffel 'SS' on it. He carries a great sneer on his face.
Reverse Flash, a robot attired in a loose yellow tunic, covered with a large red lightning bolt from the waist up. It wears tight white trousers and yellow, red-winged boots. Its outfit is topped off by a familiar yellow, red-winged helmet, a replica of Hermes, the messenger god's helmet.
Rival, a tall, thin man clad in a deep scarlet tunic with a yellow lightning bolt on his chest, tight fitting navy trousers and deep scarlet winged boots. His outfit is topped off by a silver winged helmet. His features are concealed behind a black face-veil.
Speed Demon, a man wearing a blue bodysuit and cowl with yellow boots, lightning streaks on his wrists and waist.
Zyklon, a fast-moving person who is dressed in a blue bodysuit with purple trunks, gloves, and boots. His chest is emblazoned with a logo featuring two small lightning bolts. A yellow swastika is stuck right in the middle of his forehead. If you could see his face through his blue mask, he'd probably be sneering.
Siegfried Schnell, a man wearing a costume reminiscent of Zyklon. He has a blue bodysuit with purple boots, gloves, and trunks. His chest is emblazoned with two small lightning bolts. A yellow swastika is on the forehead of his blue full-face mask.
Rival comes forth as the spokesman, "So you've come to join our merry little group, then?"
Flash quirks a half-smile. "You don't even understand the consequences of your actions. Rival, whatever problem you have, it's with me alone. Why don't we leave the population of Keystone out of this and take it on privately."
Rival shrugs, "It's not my decision to make."
Johnny Quick scoffs, "So, you're not the leader of these banana nut breads?"
Zyklon snarls, in his German-accented English, "We call ourselves the Speed Force, and it's a name you'll soon learn to respect."
Jessie Quick's eyes widen at his use of the familiar term.
Major Zoom says, "Dr. Noon and Spaceman thought I was foolish to come to your 'positive matter universe,' but those slow-moving imbeciles had no sense of what could be learned here."
Jet Jordan shakes his head, "I've seen enough of costumed characters occupying towns like military encampments, on my own Earth. I won't be a part of a community that involves victimising others."
Rival sighs, "Remember, we gave you your chance." At the last word he lunges at the Flash, and both teams scatter in a blur.
The entire battle rages on a single street corner, a four-way intersection complete with black asphalt, green street signs, and one dazzling 1945 Ford, re-painted, that some poor patron of Keystone City forgot to move in his hustle to get off the city streets. The sound inside the uproar is a series of crashes, crunches, and indiscriminate explosions that melds into one long "boom." Anyone far enough away from the action, which is everyone, is spared the sound completely. On the outskirts of the city, women huddle in their neighbor's basement, hugging their children and listening to the eerie silence. The fight containing itself on the single street crossing, the cacophony of violence exists in its own bubble, feeding off of itself. The theory of perpetual motion in motion.
Flash evades Rival's attack, only to find himself caught under the steel-hard fists of Reverse Flash. He vibrates through them, but Rival matches his frequency and uses his accelerated momentum to throw Flash against the wall of a brownstone.
Jet Jordan and Major Zoom match each other, arms whirling with twin hurricanes, the winds building at the center of the square.
Charley Drake takes off after Johnny Quick, who soars evasively across the Keystone skies, Speed Demon tracking them from the rooftops.
Jessie Quick flies into an attack at Zyklon, "You Nazis bedeviled my family long enough, it's time for payback!" He narrowly evades her and the pair grapple fiercely.
Joanie Swift rushes forward and delivers an open-handed slap to the face of Siegfried Schnell, who takes off after her with outrage.
Badra grins, "I've always wanted to test myself against you, prettyboy ... maybe I'll make you part of my harem when this is all over." She pursues the Ray, who taunts her, "In your dreams, lady."
Quicksilver leaps into a series of acrobatic flips, landing with his feet in the Gary Trouble's face, "I thought you'd retired." The villain takes off into the air. "Someone made me a better offer."
Jessie Quick is the first thrown from the fight. She flies through the air so fast it whistles and burns her ears...
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIII-Crash!
She blinks repeatedly to will the pain away. The athletic blonde peels her body from the collapsed shell of what was once a beautiful, classic car. Long legs wobble beneath her as she struggles to find her center of balance. Stretching into an erect position, her back cries out in argument, and for one moment her entire body is wracked with the sensation that back feels... pure, blistering, white pain. It sends her to her knees, but with a grunt and eyes screwed tightly shut, slowly the heroine curls herself into a standing position.
"Ouch," she says as she pulls a small glass shard from her thigh and flicks it away.
She touches her head only to pull away as her fingers discover a wet, warm sensation. Her fingertips are red with blood, as is her hair. Jessie strokes her head, probing for wounds or contusions. Finding none, she decides the blood is not her own. Thoughts of whether or not this should cause relief or disgust are pushed aside.
Crystal blue eyes take in the catastrophe before her. In the middle of the most normal, commonplace pieces of American scenery her young mind can ever remember seeing, a war rages. It's like a picture taken from a postcard, she thinks, the kind of little city that only seem to exist on postcards... and here a set of Titans have chosen to make their stand. It makes sense- in a kind of way that doesn't make sense at all... irony would be the best word for it- that the mythic, and grand, and cosmically weird, would collide in a completely average slice of America. But that's Keystone City, she says to herself. The one city in history where time and space could intersect just for the sake of a showdown.
Eventually, that's what she decides to call it. Because it's less a clash of super-powered demigods and more a showdown... the lawful versus the lawless, fighting it out because that's what they do.
And at the heart of it all- the general commanding his army, the sheriff directing his cadre of law-abiding vigilantes- is her hero, Jay Garrick, the original Flash. He is the same now, in his heyday, as he will be thirty or forty years later. There are over a dozen speedsters here, seven for him, nine against him. Some are likely much more powerful or skilled than he is. But he's still the man at the heart of the fight, barking orders. Only he commands the thunder.
Sigfried Schnell stands meters away from the thoughtful speedsteress, and with the speed of a barreling train, whips a loose brick at her head that threatens to end her reverie and her life.
The chunk of brown streaks through the air, and Jessie has only time enough to throw her head back and scream, as it makes her way towards her face, only to be knocked away and diced into pieces by a trashcan lid, hurtling through the air, directly intersecting it's path. Sigfried Schnell, the blue-clad Nazi, only curses and shoots off to rejoin the battle.
Johnny Quick shouts and runs up to the young woman he has just saved, his strong jaw and flowing blonde hair cutting an impressive figure. Jessie allows herself a smile. She has seen pictures of her father in his glory days but... it's another things to watch his exploits first hand.
"You ought to pay more attention, young lady," he scolds mildly.
Jessie cops an aloof grin. "Maybe you're just being over-protective. Must mean you believe my story."
"Please," he grins. "If you were related to me, you would have seen that brick coming a mile away. Or didn't my great-grandaughter get any of my cat-like reflexes? What is it anyway? Great-grandaughter? Distant cousin? You feel like telling me exactly how we're related?"
"Nope. But I'm alive to see your cat-like reflexes turn to bifocals, old-timer."
Jessie reminds herself to save his shocked expression in the back of her mind for when she returns home. Only then does the body of the Flash come streaking through the air, knocking Johnny back into the already wrecked car.
"Oof!," the blond speedster shouts as the other man's body carries him into the automobile with a crunch.
Johnny groans as he picks himself back up, but Jay shoots up again in no time, wise eyes scanning the picture before. He reaches down and pulls his tarnished silver helmet onto his head and cups his hands to his mouth. "This isn't working! Ray! Hey- Ray! Get off the ground! Pick off some of the Speed Force members from the air as long as you can. I want you to draw off the flyers!"
Across the street, the golden-garbed figure of the Ray only salutes and winks. He fires off a blast of pure golden energy into the fray, then starts to rise. He sails effortlessly over the battle, with the skill and precision only possible to a man accustomed to walking on sun-beams, and fires, again and again, twisting and turning as he streaks through the sky. Beams of golden energy strike into Badra and Gary Trouble, knocking the two into the ground. The black-clad beauty, her muscles rippling under his ebony leotard, casts her eyes to the sky. Her hate-filled gaze falls on the Ray. She beckons Trouble to her cause then spreads her arms. The wind catches her white cape and the sole survivor from the ruined planet of Hator soars up into the air at superspeed, a crimson flash of light following behind her. The two bodies lift up into the air, gliding behind the the Ray.
Got their attention, Happy Terrill thinks to himself. Great.
He raises his arm and cuts forward through the sky, gaining as much distance as possible, before turning one-hundred and eighty degrees, perfectly, with all the grace of the sun itself. His outstretched palms shimmer with light as two beams of light shoot out from them, only to be deftly avoided by Badra and Gary Trouble.
A blonde eyebrow cocks beneath the hood of his uniform. Experienced eyes calculate the distance between him and his assailants. His tounge licks the wind before he clenches it beneath his teeth. Knowledge and practice tell him he has enough time to wait. He considers himself the master of the sky.
But Badra and Garty Trouble do not. They increase their speed at the last second, riding a billow of wind like they were boats on the sea... and shoot forward. A white-gloved fist cracks the Ray in the fist, while Gary Trouble shoots two jabs into his stomach. They fly forward, circling around for the next attack as the Ray doubles over, wavering in the air. They fall on him again. This time the extraterrestrially-trained muscles of Badra strike alone. She soars straight up into the air, dropping both fists onto the do-gooder's back in a double hammer-strike. Fists that once challenged the great Hippolyta knock the Ray straight downwards. His golden body crumbles, falling limply through the air, only to be met by Gary Trouble. The other flying speedster kicks a strong leg out, knocking the hero's body back upward through the air.
Badra swings her leg upward, preparing to bring it down in a devastating axe kick upon the poor hero's head, but at the last second Terrill jerks his body around and catches the villainess by the calf, holding her aloft. He flashes a cocky, tooth-filled smile. "Ooh, someone's been working out. Now, do you feel like telling me what this is all about? Who's behind you jokers?"
"Insolent fool!," is Badra's only reply as she jerks her leg free and launches forward, fist outstretched.
"Guess not," The Ray mumbles as he rotates, grabbing her arm and judo-flipping the startled woman straight down into the path of the oncoming Gary Trouble.
"Watch ou-!," he cries, before the two collide with a loud SMACK!
The two hover in the air, desperate to recover their bearings, only to have the Ray soar down to their level and grab them both by their necks. His entire body begins to glow, and the noble gold of his full-body costume turns to a searing white, as waves of light emanate from his form, knocking the two Speed Force member unconscious.
"Two down!," he shouts to the Flash below, unsure if the man hears him.
At the far end of the fight, the time-hopping hero known only as Qucksilver finds himself on the losing end of a battle with the fascist Zyklon. The large man's powerful arms wrap the hero in a full-nelson, twisting Quicksilver's body nearly to the breaking point.
"Ha! You will be the first to fall, weakling!," Zyklon taunts, his muscles rippling beneath his blue uniform. The wrinkle in the swastika on his forehead betrays his brow, furrowed with the strain of containing his prey.
"Same old talk," Quicksilver mumbles through gritted teeth. His speed was gone, temporarily sapped by the disturbance affecting the more moral speedsters. "Please God, don't let me die listening to this."
Zyklon only increases the pressure, and leans his head in closer. "What was that, little super-hero? Speak up, don't let me miss your dying breath."
Across the field, Sigfried Schnell catches the struggle from the corner of his eye. No reason I should let the first kill belong to Zyklon, he thinks, and dashes forward, fists arced back, zero-ing in on the prone form of Quicksilver, intent on the kill.
Quicksilver smiles, "I said your mother had a moustache like the Fuhrer's." With that, he kicks his feet up into the air. Gaining momentum, he rocks his body downward, dragging the oafish Zyklon with him. The criminal's shoulder falls forward, and his body flips over his smaller captive. The hero rocks back again, coming to a standing position, ready to continue the fight despite the loss of his speed. Zyklon struggles to rise, eventually righting himself, only to have the speeding figure of Sigfried Schnell come smashing into him from behind, knocking both to the ground.
Zyklon slaps Siegfried Schnell on the head. "You incompetent little fool! You would not even be here were it not for that Projekt Bildergeschichte. You should go back home to your airplanes and cry on the shoulders of your precious Dame Deutschland."
Both men crawl to their feet. "Now attack the hero and try not to kill one of our own members while doing so."
Quicksilver assumes a fighting stance as the two leer at him. Suddenly, strong arms like a brush of wind grab him around the waist and wisk him up a flight of cement stairs, through the grand oak doors of the Keystone Public library on the corner. "Quicksilver. It's delightful how we keep running into each other."
"Jet Jordan," the just-saved superhero praises. The two men stand inside an open, marble hall. Jordan has his arms crossed across his thick chest. "I'm thrilled you think so," Quicksilver comments as he wipes sweat off of his brow. "Do you have any kind of plan? I seem to have lost my powers for the moment."
Jordan curses. "No. But I'm sure we can make something up. I bet those two morons don't even know where we-"
An exploding door cuts off Jet Jordan's sentence as two very angry, similarly dress, speed-enhanced Natzi's stepped through the shattered doorway.
"Your heads belong to me!," the enraged Schnell shouts, his cries echoing throughout the hall.
"Okay, now I've got a plan," whispers Jordan as he grabs Quicksilver and once again zips off into the library. He beats his legs furiously, desperate to achieve any space needed between himself and his attackers. He leaps up a flight of stairs, his improvisational partner clutched at his side. The erstwhile crusader streaks into the main area of the library, its carpeted, warm interior so far untouched by the madness outside its wall. He drops off Quicksilver at the farthest wall, behind rows upon rows of bookshelves. "Okay, I'll attempt to draw their attention. And you?... You be ready to push," he instructs, zipping off again to face his attackers.
Ten rows down, he finds the two villainous speedsters enacting their search for him. "Miss me?," he shoots coyly, jumping through the air to kick both men in the face at the same time.
"Give up now. You can not save your friend, or this city, or even your own worthless life," Schnell threatens.
"Then why would give up, you ridiculous-?," Jordan trails off, dashing around Schnell and backhanding him at the base of the skull. The much larger Zyklon steps forward, arms stretched wide, but Jet Jordan only cocks his leg and fires a straight and true side kick into the behemoth's stomach. Zyklon crumples, and Jet Jordan throws a slicing karate chop into the supervillain'sneck.
As Zyklon struggles on the floor, Schnell grabs Jordan by the front of his uniform and whips him around, decking him solidly across the face. Once, twice, three times! Blood trickles from the mouth of Jet Jordan as he rolls with the punches to the best of his ability. Sigfried Schnell only presses his advantage, grabbing the man by the hair and pulling his face down into a vicious blow with the knee. Jordan's eyes droop as he fights to keep focus. Schnell whips him around again, locking the hero's neck into his arm and holding him there.
Zyklon cracks his knuckles as he stands.
"Perfect. Holding him for me to deliver the killing blow. At least you have some sense, Schnell," says Zyklon as he smiles beneath his mask. He rears back a powerful fist.
"Quicksilver, now!," Jet Jordan shouts, despite the pressure on his throat. He kicks his body up into the air, placing both feet on Zyklon's blue chest, kicking once again to gain the momentum he needs. His nimble body backflips over Schnell's shoulder, slipping out of the headlock, landing gracefully on both feet, at the same instant Zyklon's fist collides with Sigfried Schnell's face, and at the exact same instant a bookcase tumbles down above their heads.
As the two Speed Force members try to untangle themselves, Jet Jordan backflips once more, to clear himself from the path of a dozen tall, heavy wooden bookshelves crashing down in a merciless domino effect on the heads of Zyklon and Sigfried Schnell.
Quicksilver bounds up to his partner as both wait to see that their two assailants are sufficiently knocked out. Jordan puts his hands on his knees, panting and wheezing with exertion.
"You...*guh*...waited?," he pants, wiping blood from his lip.
Quicksilver just puts up his hands in defense. "It looked like you had it covered."
Outside the building, the battle continues on unceasingly. A small gray, stone pizzeria had lost a corner, and the street surrounding it has been decimated. Rubble and debris are scattered all over the ground, and all present consider it with the same attitude they would a war zone. In the center of a ring of demolished pavement, Charley Drake stands with the unconscious body of Joanie Swift. He grips the girl viciously by the neck, her limp form sagging beneath him. To his back stands the Speed Demon and the Reverse Flash.
"Not one step closer!," Drake shouts out to Johnny and Jessie Quick, a distance away. Both similarly garbed speedsters stand poised for action, their bodies frozen by the unexpected capture of their comrade. The two look at each other anxiously.
"What do we do?," Jessie asks.
"Nothing," Johnny hisses back.
"Good," Drake taunted as he thumbs the girl's neck. "Now, this foolishness has gone on long enough. Look at these people... brawling like ignorant children. This ends now. You will pledge you allegiance to I, Charley Drake, then you will round up your pathetic band of idiots, and then we will find a corner for you children to sit in while we carry out our plan. And if you have any objections, I'll squeeze the life out of this little beauty's lungs so fast it will make your head spin."
"Now, do you give up?"
Johnny Quick grits his teeth and looks around him in frustration. There is no savior in sight. His eyes fall again upon the sight of the girl before him, his one-time competitor and possible partner, her life subject to the whims of a madman. "I... I give up," he admits.
"Johnny!," Jessie protests.
"Do it, Jessie!," he implores the woman beside him.
She looks at the ground dejectedly, unable to argue with this still-living incarnation of her father. "You win."
"Ha!," an obnoxious, nasal bark rises from Charley Drake's lips. "Finally you fools have admitted who your master is! Why, I've never been so proud in my- WUHF!"
In a burst of silver too fast for any eye to follow, Drake's face jerks to the side. The fantastic crack of his jaw resounds in everyone's ears as blood spurted from his mouth. Jessie Quick's keen eyes can't even register what was happening until she sees the same silver disk, highlighted by wings on each side, ricochet off of the captor's face and into the hand holding Joanie.
Charley Drake releases his hostage and jerks his hand back with a howl as the helm of The Flash spins its way back to its owner. It whistles as his strong hand clasps the armored shell again.
"Now, Johnny!," he shouts.
With a burst of speed, Johnny Quick catapults forward, crossing the gap until Joanie is safely in his arms. The three criminals prepare to follow, but a loud "Ki-yah," and a flying scissor kick puts paid to the faces of the Speed Demon and the Reverse Flash.
The two men reel and Jessie Quick lands in a fighting stance, the smirk on her face a challenge to the three men surrounding her.
"Well my, my, my...," she feigns. "A flock of gentlemen callers."
"Get her," Drake growls.
Metal gears churn away inside the android body of the Reverse Flash as he leaps upon his target. Quick fires off a spinning back kick, simultaneously jumping backwards to gain distance on her opponent, but her intent is wasted. Though a primitive robot, the Reverse Flash is still gifted with the power of super speed, and, due to the disturbance surrounding Keystone City, that power is augmented and increased. The robot rolls with the kick and spins it's body, landing a perfect chop to the back of Jessie Quick's soft, human neck.
Drake and the Speed Demon choose the same instant to press their attack, but both are failed instantly by an outstretched foot that, moments ago, had not been in their way. Johnny Quick appears before them in a crouching stance with his arms folded over his chest.
"Sorry boys, you'll never be fast enough to match me," he goads, standing up to take off on another run. But as he does so, he feet fumble beneath him and he falls to the floor. Perfect, he berates himself, now my speed is gone. Way to get cocky!
As the crimson and gold speedster turns around on the ground to watch the approach of his two smiling attackers, he sets his gaze and waits for the rush. His eyes close involuntarily, for only a second, and when they are open again, Charley Drake is on the ground, grappling with Joanie Swift.
"-and this... is for knocking me OUT!," she menaces, slamming a gloved fist into his surprised face.
A boot to the stomach brings Johnny's mind back to the matter at hand. Speed Demon stands above him.
"Ugh... you again?," Johnny coughs. "I was hoping to take my beating from a higher class of moron than you."
"What are you talking about? We've never met -- oh, you must be talking about Robert, Stanley or Hiram, other members of the Speed Demon gang."
Johnny shrugs as he stands. "I never could tell the difference between the lot of you ... ugly masks or not you were all a bunch of anonymous ugly mugs to me." He smiles as he draws himself into a fighting stance and gestures his opponent to him. "So are we going to do this or-"
Speed Demon lurches forward, running at full tilt toward his adversary. Johnny takes advantage of his years of knowledge gained as the superhero to time his foe's speed and turn his body at exactly the right time. He manages to grab the scruff of the Speed Demon's collar, guiding him painfully towards the ground.
"Care to try again, Chuckles?"
"RAAARGH!," the Speed Demon howls, charging again. Johnny just sidesteps and lets the villain charge again. He runs forward, arms at the ready, only to be met with a palm shooting upwards through his chin, stopping him dead in his tracks. He only stands there, dazed, as Johnny rears back a mighty fist and lets it loose on the man's face.
Johnny streaks to the aid of Jessie Quick who stands away from the Reverse Flash, cradling what appears to be a bruised hip.
"Jessie! Allez Oop!," Johnny cries, dashing forward.
With only an instant's thought, Jessie whips her body around, loose hair flapping behind her head and sets her body firmly. Johnny charges up behind her nimbly and shoots himself into the the air. His red boots land on her slim shoulders, and the Reverse Flash can only watch as he springs into the air, clutching his arms around him, and cutting over the head of the robot in a perfect double somersault.
"One..Two..Three...," Jessie says, then arches her body sideways, executing a hop sidekick into what would be the Reverse Flash's gut and Johnny does the same to the back of the robot's head. The thing doubles over, collapsing to one knee as Jessie kicks it in the face, sending its head reeling backwards.
Before Johnny can deliver the final blow, however, he finds himself lifted into the air by strong hands. Surprised and suspended, the speedless Johnny Quick is hurled through the air into the girl who is possibly his descendant from a time not yet come. Charley Drake wipes the dust off of his hand as he watches the two struggle to stand. He takes off, rushing them to capture the element of surprise, but is met by a spark of gold that erupts into sight. As Joanie Swift materializes before him he throws a flurry of vicious attacks, a virtual maelstrom of jabs and hooks that are met tit for tat by Joanie's superspeed blocks and parries. He throws a fist to her face, but she casually brushes it away, swinging her arms to meet another fist aimed at her stomach. She rolls along the length of another punch, sliding along Drake's body like butter until she is crouched behind him, and elbows him in the back. He jerks around, kneeing her in the face, but only enjoys his small triumph long enough to release a ridiculous "Wuh-WOAH!," as Joanie trips him and he falls to the ground.
They grapple on the ground, until Joanie finally captures the top, pulling back for a punch... until a metal fist sends her flying. Jessie Quick catches her in mid-hurtle while the Reverse Flash helps his partner to stand. The two prepare for another charge, until the Reverse Flash starts to hover into the air. The dull metal robot shakes its body parts, desperate to find the source of its predicament. But it can only flail about as its ascent into the evening sky starts to pick up speed.
All present stop to try and follow its strange misfortune, looking dumbly up at the sky. "It's okay! I've got him!," shouts the Ray from up above, jerking the android up by its tunic.
"No matter! No matter at all," barks Charley Drake. He tenses his muscles, waiting for waiting for his opponents to attack. The equationary trio circle him, reading a strike. "I'll simply have to take care of you all myself."
He turns slowly, staring each of them down, assessing what way would be best to challenge them, and following that, defeat them, and following that, murder them. He turns slowly, until he notices the group stopping their movement around him.
"What," he asks, more dumbly than intended. Joanie Swift only smiles. Drake watches each speedster from his peripheral vision, mentally preparing for any opposition. Suddenly, he hears a whistling from above him, and the ground he stand on begins to get slightly darker. He looks up, following the gaze of Joanie Swift...
As the thousand pound form of the Reverse Flash comes barreling down upon him, dropped from the sky by the Ray.
Minutes later, he had still not crawled from beneath his compatriot. No one expected him to. The robot, created by the mathematical genius Norman Empire to act as Flash's "opposite number," had cancelled out the negative counterpart to Johnny Quick.
Victory on the other side of the field, however, seems to be leaning towards evil. Jay Garrick, having lost his speed powers in the last second, struggles valiantly against the combined forces of Major Zoom and the Rival. Beaten and tired, his face covered in soot, his suit ripped and frayed at the corners, the yellow lightning bolt at the center of his chest is still predominant. His adversaries are both at peak performance. Their powers are amplified, their bodies in much better condition, but still his fatigued muscles strain to keep him one step ahead of deadly harm. He grits his teeth and wipes the sweat from his eyes, an instant before Major Zoom leaps upon him, delivering a furious three punches along the arc of his spine. He throws his head back crying out in pain, only to be silence by a swift kick across his skull, courtesy of the Rival.
The Rival, a virtual copy of the Flash, his face garbed in a long black veil, places his boot atop the head of his fallen counterpart. "Look at you," he whispers, just loud enough so that he knows that Jay Garrick can hear him. "Pathetic. Weak. I knew since I scooped up those chemicals at Midwestern U, that I was destined to be something great. But you ran with it and took it instead. You're the Flash. Keystone's protector and savior. Well, when I crush your brain beneath my foot, Keystone's going to remember me... as the man who killed the Flash!"
Jay's eyes snap open as he feels impossible pressure pushing down upon his had. With a surge of strength, the kind that comes from adrenaline when nothing else is left, he pushes his body up off the ground, sending his enemy falling backwards.
Major Zoom is the first upon him, rushing up to take the Rival's place. With the power of a whirlwind he races up and kicks the Flash in the ribs. Jay coughs and grabs his side as the Major just laughs, sending a fist down upon his head.
"Cocky fool. The Rival's just another chump, looking to get a piece. Probably never beat you once. But me... I'm a member of the Crime Legion, son. My name, Jay Garrick, resounds as the greatest criminal of my entire world, and I'm about to become the best on yours too."
The Flash just whips around and sends a jagged rock into the man's chest, knocking him backwards. "Brother," he jabs, "I could name this town's local Boy Scout troop the 'Crime Legion' and it still wouldn't make them master criminals. You're better off sticking up liquor stores than playing with the big boys."
Zoom's eyebrows only furrow in anger. "Why you-!"
He charges forward, sending a flying kick towards the Flash's head. It is blocked, but as soon as he lands he sends a volley of chops at every open space on his opponent's body. The Flash's body pulses and snaps in mid-air, caught by the fury of the attack. When he falls, the Rival returns, kicking him in the back and the head.
Jay falls to the ground, his eyes fluttering. Almost.... closing... in defeat...
... until he hears a rush of wind in his ears. His eyes lose focus as he looks around but a blaze of color creeps into his muddled vision. When finally his eyes readjust, he breathes a sigh of relief that is very, very rare for him. The sigh of man who's been saved by someone else.
The prone form of the Flash lies on the ground, supported in the arms of Jessie Quick. In a semi-circle around them stands a cadre of brightly garbed champions. Each has his or her fists raised in preparation for a fight. Johnny Quick, Jet Jordan, Quicksilver, and Joanie Swift stand poised for battle behind their leader as the Ray floats down to join them, arms crossed over his chest.
"Your partners are gone. It's two against seven now. You can give up whenever it feels good to you," the Ray informs the worried villains.
Major Zoom looks up, eyes widened in a sudden appeal, as he whispers an invocation.
"What was that," Jet Jordan enquires of his alternate-world counterpart, "Save it, Arn? There's no Arnolds here to help you."
Jessie Quick's face pales as she recognises the name ... Savitar. He couldn't have been here, now, so early? Her attention is caught by a frighteningly familiar dark-skinned man, so much younger than when she'd last encountered him, standing on a rooftop overlooking the crossing of Fifty-First and Lambers Rd.
Johnny Quick reacts first. "3X2(9YZ)4A" he shouts, soaring upwards toward the interloper. The man appears to stand motionless, eyeing the opponent flying to greet him.
Jessie flashes back to the other hero's future death at the man's hand. "Daddy, STOP!" she shouts out through sudden tears.
Johnny whips around mid-air, suddenly distracted, "Daddy?!?" Jessie screams as the interloper seems to pass through the aerial hero, robbing him of his speed and arcing down to tap the shoulders of Major Zoom and the Rival. The Ray flashes in, catching Johnny Quick effortlessly in mid-air as the villainous trio make a sudden exit.
The Flash looks up at Jessie. "I think you have some explaining to do, young lady."
"Oh ... damnit!" she cries out, whirling out from under him and running into the horizon. Joanie Swift watches her, eyes wide. Johnny's daughter? My daughter too, maybe? I'll maybe have a beautiful baby like that?
Quicksilver strokes his chin thoughtfully. "That's pretty harsh language from a girl," he drawls, eyeing Johnny Quick with a dubious expression.
Johnny Quick sighs. Just like her mother, he thinks to himself, you ought to have seen the resemblance to Libby right away. He grins gamely, "Well, these future mores, who knows?"
Jet Jordan gives his remaining alternate-world counterpart a hand up. "Looks like you still got some cleaning up to do," he notes. "I'm game to stick around and help if you need it, otherwise I think it's time to get back to my own Earth."
The Flash cracks his knuckles and shows his trademark crooked grin, "I think between the rest of us we can make a big enough broom to sweep up those remaining bits of trash."
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