A/N: AU that takes place during the episode "Going Rogue".
Officer assistance needed at 23 and Howard for a possible 211…
Robbery.
Len hears the call come in and wonders if it's worth his time to go check it out. He waits to see in any more info comes over the pipeline.
10-4, Central. We've just pulled up, and there's an officer already on the scene.
Len relaxes against the driver's side door of his boosted, ice blue Buick Skylark, throwing an arm casually over the back of the bench seat. Another bust, but on the upside, Len's really starting to dig this car. The '68 Skylark's a vehicle with the muscle required to fare decently in a car chase, but falls under the radar enough that Len probably won't attract any attention, thus ensuring he won't get into one. And this one happens to be in near mint condition.
Ooo la la.
He's parked in a shadowy spot across the street from the Motor Car Diner. With his glasses on and the hood of his sweatshirt pulled down, Len manages to keep his profile low. He feigns reading a newspaper while, behind tinted lenses, his eyes scan the diner windows and sweep the streets. He watches the police cruisers drive up and pull away. He takes note of their plate numbers, mentally tallying which ones return and which ones don't, maintaining a count in his head. In the quiet of the midweek evening, he doesn't have to turn the volume up too high on his portable police scanner, lying on the passenger seat, to hear what's going on. Patiently he waits for a robbery, a mugging, possibly an attempted murder.
Anything that will lure a superhero out of hiding.
Len would normally hole up in the diner and listen to the radios in there, but Len is a wanted man in Central City after his failed attempt at acquiring the Kahndaq Dynasty Diamond. Even being parked here is a ballsy move. He's not quite done with his one job in Central City. One and gone. That's the way he works it. He should have that stupid diamond and be in the wind by now, but there have been a few unexpected kinks he's had to deal with.
Namely him.
Len's design was simple - snatch the diamond, hightail it out of town, and lay low for another six months - until Captain Super Speed came along and foiled everything. Which is why Len's roaming the streets, putting himself in danger of being caught for one reason, and one reason only.
To track down the guardian angel of Central City – the one they call The Streak.
Len's not wild about the name, but the man fascinates him. What is he? How did he come to be? Is he the born with special powers variety superhero, or is he the bitten by a radioactive spider type? Because if this super speed comes in a bottle, Len might be interested in taking a sip.
Or being bitten. That would work, too.
Len's seen some oddball crap in his time, maybe even one or two things that can top this, but the fact still remains - he's dying to know who the man is underneath that mask.
Len's actually risking his neck doing the intelligent thing – scoping out his adversary, stepping up his game, rethinking the way he operates. But Len's not simply learning this Streak's strengths and weaknesses; he's considering multiple angles. This man, zooming around Central City at impossible speeds, defying the laws of science and logic, could be the perfect accomplice.
What would it take to tip this man over to the dark side?
Depending on which way he swings, finding out could definitely be interesting.
Len's eager to see him in action. He's even come up with a few ways to lead him where he wants him, but Len's situation is sensitive. He can't put himself on the line to unearth this scarlet vigilante, not with the way his luck's been behaving lately.
Fortunately, Len's not the only criminal in Central City.
He figured this was the best place to start – stake out a local police hangout and wait until something worthwhile pops through the scanners. Occasionally, he cruises around the city, hoping he'll end up in the right place at the right time, but not for too long. He doesn't want to attract the attention of a bored officer on patrol and get his ass pulled over. Len has been lurking all day, waiting for another sighting. He's had a few leads, but The Streak's always in and out of every location before Len ever arrives. At one stop, Len caught sight of The Streak's trail, but he was too far for Len to give any kind of chase, blinking out in the distance before he could put his Buick into gear.
But at close to midnight, the diner scene looks dead, so Len decides to do more hunting. He pulls away from his parking space and heads down the street, the cops none the wiser that the man currently on their most wanted list just slipped away unnoticed.
That, in itself, is a tremendous rush.
He's halfway through his circuit of the city when the call he's been waiting for comes in.
All units, be advised, we have a fire in progress at 6-17 North Keystone. A fire in progress at 6-17 North Keystone. Call fire and tell them respond local station…
Len looks up at the first street sign he can find. 600 North Keystone. He grins. Seems like luck is finally back on his side. He slams on the gas, flooring it before he hears a single siren hit the air.
617 North Keystone is the location of a privately owned building, a towering complex of mostly offices and a few apartments, so even at this time of the early morning, there are people inside on almost every floor. Len sees a mass of them flooding through the lobby door while the rooftop blazes out of control, something up top fizzing and exploding like fireworks, spitting golden sparks into the sky.
Even if The Streak doesn't show, these pyrotechnics are definitely one hell of a show. 10/10 would definitely watch it burn again.
Len pulls to the side of the road, close enough to the action to get a clear view of the entire inferno once it hits the bottom floor, but far enough away as to not arouse any suspicions as to why he's there, parked on the side of the road, watching a building burn. Fire crews have yet to arrive, and there's not a police car in sight. As far as Len's concerned, he's hit the jackpot. It's only a matter of time…
Just as he's beginning to bemoan not swiping a bag of popcorn somewhere along the way, the hairs on the back of his neck creep up. Pressure builds in his ears, muffling the screams of the escapees and the crackle of the fire above. With a boom, like the individual threads of time and space splitting apart, The Streak appears, flying down the street in a haze of crimson, running so fast he scales the building on contact.
Something about a man in skin-tight red leather racing up a sheer glass wall gets under Len's skin, makes his whole body spark and hum. This particular reaction has little to nothing to do with the professional implications of The Streak's namesake talent.
It brings to Len's mind again the idea that coaxing this man over to his side of the law might be an intriguing venture.
Glass shatters, and this man that Len's cohorts labeled "The Blur" races back down, right as the windows burst. It's breathtaking, watching this fiery flash of energy fly up the side of the building – back and forth, back and forth – pulling people out of the path of danger. Level by level, the windows blow out as the fire jumps floors, but The Streak stays one step ahead, evacuating each level seconds before it's demolished by the flames, the group of survivors he's gathered a block away growing by the second. The fire finally reaches the lobby level of the building, and the rest of the windows explode, spraying the incoming police and fire crews with a shower of glass. With no one to save, the fire department starts the arduous task of putting out the flames, and The Streak, his job done, takes off in a snap of electricity, barreling in Len's direction.
Len slides down in his seat, obscuring himself from view, but with his eyes peeled on the man in the mask.
"God," he moans, as The Streak flies past his car in a tide of red lightning, "that's so hot!"
With a sharp bang, The Streak zips away, igniting another fire in his wake, this one inside Len. Breathing hard, or maybe he's holding his breath, Len watches The Streak's trail fade out in the direction he came. One way or another, Len has got to find a way to unlock the mystery of this man. As ally or foe, this Streak definitely promises to be the start of a great new adventure.