Follow The Green Music Notes
Wally West aka the Flash was one of the fastest men alive. His brain processed events a thousand times faster than the average man but even he was never certain of what had happened that day. One minute he had been battling Abra Kadabra whilst trying to keep Captain Cold from killing the man even as the Pied Piper tried to hypnotize all three of them at once. The last thing he remembered was the magician rattling off some spell as he raced to stop him and then everything went black.
"Wh-where am I?" Wally asked groggily as he sat up, wincing as his head sharply reminded him that magicians' and their spells always left the recipient with a splitting headache.
"How should I know?" Captain Cold grumbled from Wally's left. He pushed the hood of his parka back and ran a hand through his thinning brown hair.
"Where's Piper?" Wally jumped up and began looking around wildly. "Piper!" he yelled. "Piper, where are you?"
No one answered, the only sounds that Wally could hear was his own heartbeat. Green music notes floated past him in the air and he blinked. He took careful note of his surroundings; both he and Cold were in a field that appeared to be composed of nothing but music notes. Even the trees and flowers were music notes although they were all different colors, carefully composed so that they matched their real life counterparts.
"I don't think we're in Central City anymore," Wally said at last.
"What gives you that idea?" Cold grumbled as he too stood. "And what's with all the music notes? Looks like something Hartley would've thought up…" his voice trailed off as something occurred to both him and Wally at the same time.
"Please don't tell me that we're in his mind," Wally groaned.
"Okay, I won't."
"So where is he?" Wally broke the silence that had been bordering on awkward.
"Flash, I've known Hartley a lot longer than you have and believe you me when I say that you don't really want to go poking around in his head," Cold's voice was serious as he looked Wally straight in the eye.
"But he's my best friend," Wally argued. "Besides, he can probably tell us how to get out of here."
Cold just shook his head but he did fall in step next to Wally as they began to follow the green music notes that were floating in the air. As they walked Wally noticed something strange; their footsteps had been quieted by the music notes underneath their feet but as they continued walking the sounds grew fainter and fainter until he couldn't hear anything anymore, not even his own heartbeat. He opened his mouth to say something but no sounds came out. Panicked, he grabbed his throat and tried speaking again. He then turned to Cold who just raised an eyebrow in amusement then pointed to Wally's chest. Confused, Wally looked down and almost jumped out of his skin when he realized that the words he had been unable to hear were floating in front of him.
"Hartley was born deaf remember?" Cold said, his words also floating. "This is probably what the first few years of his life were like; completely silent."
Wally shuddered in revulsion, feeling a new kinship and respect growing for his best friend. He never could have lived like this, not even for an hour. Well at least he now understood Piper's obsession with music. Never again would he make fun of his friend for not being able to sleep without a song playing.
They kept walking and eventually the music notes began to form shapes. They were now facing a door, one which had the Rathaway's family crest on it complete with the door knocker. Wally recognized it from his few visits to the family estate and hesitated, unsure of whether or not he should knock. Cold solved his problem by simply kicking in the door.
"What?" he shrugged. "If Hartley doesn't want us here then it's a little late for that."
Wally just rolled his eyes and they entered the mansion. It was lavishly furnished with expensive furniture and fixtures that must have cost more than ten years of Wally's salary combined. Two people stood next to the door, Wally recognized them as Piper's parents. They looked much younger than they did now; they were both dressed in fancy clothes as if they were fixing to go out for the evening. Sitting in the middle of the room was Piper; but he was a toddler, his eyes wide as he looked at his parents. The most unusual thing about him, however, was what he was wearing. He wore a one-piece green spandex suit with a few white stripes at the top along with a green hood and ridiculous black boots and shoulder guards.
"Okay," Cold blinked. "That's just weird."
"Hi," the four-year-old waved happily.
"Hello, Hartley," Cold bent down so that the two were at eyelevel. "Do you know who we are?"
"Uh-huh," Hartley nodded. "You're Len and that's Wally," he scowled. "I don't like Wally."
"Why not?" Wally asked, feeling more than a little hurt.
"I don't know," Hartley shrugged. "I don't really remember you very much except for your name."
Looks like re-revealing my secret identity to him didn't completely restore his memories, Wally thought. Was that a side effect of the Top restoring his mind or something else entirely? Everyone else regained all of their memories of me and Uncle Barry so why not Piper?
"Do you know how we can get out of here?" Cold asked gently.
"Nope," Hartley shook his head cheerfully. "But one of the others might know. I can take you to them," he offered.
"How many of you are there?" Wally asked in trepidation.
"No more than ten," Hartley assured him as he grasped Cold's hand tightly. "We'll have to talk to Piper next though," he shivered.
"Oh joy," Len said sarcastically. "Just the person I wanted to see."
"But aren't you Piper?" Wally was confused.
"You really are an idiot," Hartley proclaimed.
"I'll explain it to you later," Len sighed as Hartley led them through the mansion.
The intruders are here, what should I do?
Bring them to us. That is what they want, is it not?
What's going to happen to them?
That is none of your concern, child. Just bring them here and you shall be rewarded.
All right.
They were walking down a dirt road now, the music notes forming many more shapes and people, some of whom Wally recognized. He saw Doctor Will Magnus peering into Hartley's ear then he could hear again. But now his footsteps seemed unusually loud and he could hear every vibration from Len and Hartley's heartbeats now. Judging by the way Len was frowning he suspected that the other man was experiencing it as well though it didn't seem to affect the toddler as he happily skipped along, occasionally pointing out someone special to him like his little sister Jerrie. But Hartley was now dragging his feet and was practically glued to Len's leg as he clutched tightly at the Rogue.
"We're almost there," Hartley's face was pale and his words were so faint that Wally had to squint in order to read them.
This time they were in a bedroom, a little girl was sitting on the bed listening to the sound of flute music. This version of Piper was dressed in black, wearing a ragged green cloak with matching boots. This Piper seemed so dark that Wally shivered momentarily, especially since he recognized it as his friend's current costume. Len's lips were pursed together tightly and he stepped forward, keeping Hartley behind him protectively.
"Hello, Piper," Len said conversationally.
The figure turned and Piper pushed his hood back. He looked to be no older than ten and he glowered at them as he said, "It's good to see you too, Len. But what's dork-boy doing here?" he jerked his thumb toward Wally who frowned, feeling as though his very honor had been affronted.
"I'm not even sure why I'm here," Len replied. "But we want out. Can you help us?"
"What's in it for me?" Piper asked, cocking his head to one side.
Can I kill them?
No. We need them alive.
Why? It would be so much fun to destroy them. Can I at least kill him?
No.
Why not?
Just shut up and do what you're told! You're an annoying little brat.
"You can have your mind back to yourself," Len crossed his arms and evenly returned Piper's stare.
"Good enough," Piper shrugged. "But I'm afraid that only the real versions of us have the ability to do that. And I don't know where the real Hartley is but I can take you to someone who knows where the real Piper is."
Len's grimace grew but he said, "Alright."
"I'm confused," Wally said, glancing back and forth between the Hartley hiding behind Len and the Piper standing in the middle of the room, holding a flute. "Why is everybody talking like Piper and Hartley are two different people?"
"And you call yourself our best friend," Piper snorted in derision. "We are two different people or personalities as you might say. I'm the Pied Piper; his dark side. I don't mind doing whatever it takes to ensure my survival. For example, I just mastered my hypnotic flute on our sister Jerrie, inadvertently causing her brain damage, something which will go on to torment Hartley for the rest of his life, creating a fear of doing the same to others, hence the reason he doesn't like to use his flute very often."
"I don't like hurting people," Hartley spoke up then retreated behind Len once more.
"I feel bad about hurting Jerrie but at least this means Mother and Father will never be on her case about living up to the Rathaway expectations," Piper explained. "Hartley on the other hand will spend the rest of his life trying to atone for what I've just done."
"I've got a headache now," Wally groaned.
"You really didn't know that they were different people?" Len shook his head in amazement. "I figured that out after about two team-ups with him."
Wally scowled but followed Len, Hartley and Piper who was now walking out of the room. He was now mentally kicking himself as he began thinking about his best friend's behavior. True, Piper had acted odd at times but he never would have contributed it to another personality completely. What did it say about him that he couldn't have even noticed something so important about his best friend while Captain Cold of all people had noticed it? He really was a terrible best friend, he thought glumly.
"So why are you guys wearing different costumes?" Wally asked.
"This was the saddest and loneliest time of my life," Hartley said as he tugged at his costume's sleeve. "I think it used to be happier but I can't remember most of it."
"Hartley finally decided to start embracing the dark side," Piper said shortly and left it at that.
"So where are we headed anyways?" Len looked around warily at the various images the music notes produced.
"Our eighteenth birthday," Hartley said as he idly kicked at a few lonely music notes. "Also known as the day that we were kicked out."
"Parents are for dweebs," Piper announced.
"Not all parents are like yours," Wally sighed. Normally he would have protested bad-mouthing one's elders but he had had the dubious pleasure of meeting the Rathaway's before and couldn't say that he really blamed Piper for turning to a life of crime just to spite them.
"Some are worse," Len grumbled, obviously thinking of his own. "So I'm assuming that all of you represent major turning points in your life?"
"Pretty much," Piper agreed. "Here we are," he stopped inside of the living room once more.
"Hey, older Hartley," the toddler waved.
The Hartley that turned to face them was once again wearing the ridiculous green spandex. His hair was short and he looked highly annoyed once his eyes fell on Wally and Len. "Why are they here?" he demanded.
"They got trapped here so we need you to take them to the real Piper so they can get out," Piper said shortly.
"No way," Hartley said automatically. "I'm not talking to that psycho for any reason; I can barely tolerate talking to you."
"Please?" Wally begged. "Your mind is really weird and slightly creepy. I just want to go home."
"I don't know where he is," Hartley crossed his arms with a huff. "I'll take you to another me though; he might know."
Wally groaned. "How many of you are there?" he demanded.
"I think just three more," Hartley answered after a brief pause. "Of course that's not including the real versions of us. They hid themselves away pretty good, especially the real me."
"You're in the next memory, Wally," the toddler Hartley informed him happily.
"Really?" Wally brightened. Maybe the next memory would be a good one unlike the previous ones. But, judging from the smirk on Len's face, he strongly suspected that that wouldn't be the case.
Flash is happy; he thinks it is a good memory.
Bring him to me and we shall see if he still thinks so. This is truly fun, I must admit. I shall almost be sorry when it is all over.
As will I but it is necessary. Besides, do you really want him wandering through our mind forever?
Only if I don't have to be here.
Flash looked so thrilled to find out that he was going to be in a memory that Len almost, almost felt sorry for him. He suspected that he knew which memory was coming up and if that was the case then Flash was going to be crushed. Len allowed himself a small smirk as he glanced down at the small Hartley he had somehow been granted custody of. Why is the brat sticking with me? Hart and I haven't been on good terms since the first Flash played with Roscoe's mind, turning him against us. Of course Roscoe claimed that he brainwashed Hartley too but if that's the case then he should have come back when Trickster did. So either Roscoe didn't fully release him from his control or Hartley took the reins for awhile. Piper never would have reformed so all Roscoe did was probably seal him away and let Hartley took over. Why on Earth did my sister have to fall in love with that madman? If it wasn't for her I probably would have killed Roscoe long before Flash ever got his hands on him and then none of this would have ever happened.
Wally was excited; he was in a memory! He was Pi-er, Hartley's best friend, therefore this memory should be happy. He wanted to run on ahead but reasoned that this was Hartley's mind and so he shouldn't go anywhere without permission. Besides, whenever he tried to run the music notes would wrap themselves around his ankles and he was fearful of accidentally hurting Hartley. Len was also watching his step as he patiently listened to all of little Hartley's chatter. Piper and teenage Hartley were walking next to each other, not speaking or even looking at one another. Hartley's mind was truly a mess he decided.
The music notes were beginning to take shape again. The location was slightly familiar but Wally concentrated only on the two figures standing in the middle. The red of his Flash suit stood out starkly against the green background while Hartley's green spandex blended in perfectly. Green music notes hovered in the air, looking suspiciously like rain which confused Wally. If he was correct then this was the day he had asked Hartley to reform and it most certainly hadn't been raining then. He took a cautious step forward and peered at his friend's face; Hartley looked extremely sad as he gazed at the fake Wally. Both the sad look and the rain suddenly made sense as Wally realized that Hartley was crying, or at least had wanted to. But why? Why would Wally asking him to reform make the criminal so sad?
"I hate you," Hartley hissed suddenly, forcing Wally to take a step back.
"What?" Wally was really confused now.
"I hate you!" Hartley yelled again then turned around so that his back was facing Wally.
"We all hate him," Len grinned. "What else is new?"
"But why do you hate me?" Wally was desperate now; why did Hartley hate him so much?
"If you don't know then I certainly don't see any reason to enlighten you," Hartley sniffed.
Why do we hate him? I can barely recall who he is but I always feel an enormous surge of hatred whenever I think of him.
I do not know. Perhaps he can tell us why when he opens the door.
So we're really going through with this?
I want out of this body just as much as you want me gone; this is the only way.
"Just ignore the dweeb," Piper said. "We need to find the real me."
"Who on Earth is stupid enough to want to go see him?" Hartley raised an eyebrow. "Never mind; I think I already know," he cast a disapproving look at Wally.
"All I want to do is get out of here so I can go home to my wife," Wally growled through clenched teeth. "I didn't ask to get stuck here so I really wish that you guys would stop treating me like your enemy!"
"But you are our enemy," Piper spoke up. "You're the Flash and we're Rogues; therefore you are our enemy."
"Once a Rogue, always a Rogue," the Hartley's said in unison.
Len grimaced as he was painfully reminded of that motto he had spoken long ago and the one that he had broken. At least he wasn't the only one who had broken it, he reminded himself.
"Can we just get this over with?" Wally sighed heavily. "Where to next?"
The Hartley's and Piper looked at each other. "Roscoe," they said as one.
As they walked, this time Wally paid special attention to the memories. He was appearing more and more frequently, his red suit a dead giveaway. But he noticed something peculiar; in almost every one of them, where the face was supposed to be, it was empty as was Linda's. On a few the faces were so blurry that Wally had trouble making them out. It looked as if someone had come through, erased the memories and then tried to fill them back in with a crayon, resulting in a very messed-up memory. No wonder Hartley hated him; he couldn't even really remember Wally or Linda at all. Wally made a mental note to ask the Martian Manhunter about that the next time he saw him; the telepath might have the answers or tools needed to fix things.
Up ahead the Flash suit appeared again, along with the familiar green and yellow of the Top and Piper's dark ensemble. Wally remembered this day; it was the day all hell had broken loose; the day of the Rogue War.
Len's scowl drew as they approached the scene. The Rogue War would never be a happy memory for him; even if they weren't his Rogues they had still taken the name and of course the reformed Rogues had been fighting on a different side. At least until Roscoe came along and undid his little mind-wiping trick but still. Tensions had been running high between the Rogues Gallery for months afterwards and Trickster re-reforming hadn't helped matters any. If he ever got his hands on Roscoe again…the man was lucky he was already dead. Of course if he came back to life Len had dibs on killing him as many times as he possibly could until Roscoe died permanently.
You spin me right round, baby, right round.
Must you sing?
It reminds me of Roscoe. He was telling the truth about being family, wasn't he?
Yes he was.
"Oh great it's the dork-squad and Len," the older Piper sighed as he turned to face them.
"I am not a dork," the younger Piper scowled as he crossed his arms.
"How come you never call him a dork?" Wally complained as he pointed at Len accusingly.
"Because we actually like him," Piper explained calmly. "I gather that the two of you are attempting to find the real versions of us so that you can escape from this place? Follow me then." He turned and began walking away rapidly.
"I like him the best," Wally decided as they picked up their pace.
Len just threw the younger man a dubious look. Wasn't he supposed to be one of the smartest men in the world thanks to his superfast brain? Len was a high-school dropout and he could smell a trap from a mile away. He knew Piper; unless he had an ulterior motive the kid would have already killed Flash and possibly Len as well. Something was most definitely up and Len resolved to keep his eyes peeled as he had no intentions whatsoever of dying in here.
Wally was beginning to get a bad feeling about the next memory when he saw the train. The music notes were no longer green but a dark red instead, like blood. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Deadshot standing there, holding his gun while Piper knelt there, cradling the Trickster's body close to his chest. Behind him he could hear Len cursing under his breath and the toddler version of Hartley was crying. As Wally stood there he could almost hear himself telling Hartley that he didn't believe him. He had been angry; he could see that now. He had still been upset because Hartley had chosen to go to the Trickster instead of him when accused of murdering his parents and he had taken it out on him then. And because of that his so-called best friend had been handcuffed to a dead man for who knows how long. No wonder they all hated him, Wally thought sadly. He would have hated himself too.
"Why are you here?" the blood-stained Piper asked at last, not even bothering to look up. "None of you ever come here; this is our worst memory."
"We asked them to bring us here," Len said gruffly as he looked at anywhere but Trickster's corpse.
Piper looked up, the sadness and pain in his eyes quickly replaced by pure, unadulterated anger and hatred. "Go away!" he hissed. "You're not supposed to be here! You can't see him; you don't deserve to see him!"
"Piper," Wally stepped forward then stopped when he saw the tears running down his friend's face.
"You don't deserve to see him," Piper repeated as he rocked Trickster and himself back and forth. "Just go away, please."
"Where can we find the next one?" Len asked.
"That way," Piper pointed then began humming something that Wally recognized but couldn't place. "I'd take you myself but I can't leave him."
"Let's go," the kid Piper said eagerly. "This place gives all of us the creeps."
Needing no further encouragement Wally followed them away from the train and as he did his hatred for himself grew just a little bit more.
They're coming.
I know; we sensed them when they first arrived.
He hates himself now; I can feel it.
That's good. He should; he is responsible. But do not worry; he will pay for what he has done to us.
Can I leave then? Can I finally be freed from these chains?
Of course, you can go wherever you like. You need not be tied to the Trickster forever, he can stay there instead.
I would like that very much indeed.
"Do you have any idea where we are?" Len asked abruptly.
"I wish I could say no but I'm afraid that I do," Wally looked around uneasily. Fires surrounded them on all sides and he could see Piper standing there against a backdrop of flames. "This is Apokolips."
"Apokolips?" Len repeated, looking very uneasy. Anyone who had read the newspapers knew about Apokolips; it was the worst place ever to go.
"I think that used to be Desaad," Wally nudged the headless body carefully with his foot. "But why was Piper here? That makes no sense whatsoever; from what I've heard Apokolips was completely destroyed."
"We destroyed it," Piper said as he turned to face them. "Or rather I did; I am the real Pied Piper at your service." He gave a mocking bow then straightened as he glared at the various fake Piper's and Hartley's. "You know better than to bring people here," he scolded. "Especially him," the glare was directed towards Wally who sighed heavily.
"But they insisted," the older Piper argued. "Besides, Len was with him. So we thought it would be all right."
"Well Len is welcome here," Piper said thoughtfully. "So what can I do for you guys?"
"We want out of here," Len answered. "And everyone else says that you can help us."
They're here; we shall be there soon. Will you let us in?
Perhaps…I still haven't decided yet.
Well hurry up and make up your mind already.
You're far too impatient but fine. Len will be allowed to enter if he chooses; he is the only one that I shall open the door for.
Thank you.
"They told you wrong," Piper tucked his flute into his utility belt. "However, Hartley can help you assuming we can even find him."
"You don't know where he is?" Wally stepped forward.
"Oh I do but I can't reach him. You see, in an effort to protect himself Hartley barricaded himself and none of us can break through the door," Piper explained. "Maybe one of you can though."
"Fine," Len sighed, surrendering to the inevitable. "Show us where it is."
Piper walked forwards, through the backdrop of flames and led them to a decrepit building that looked like it should have been condemned. Several of the windows were broken and the paint was peeling off the walls. The door was just as old and missing a doorknob.
"You can't break through that?" Len raised an eyebrow incredulously. He recognized this place; it was one of the Rogues' earlier hideouts.
"Fine then you can try it," Piper huffed as he stepped back.
Len shrugged and fired his cold gun at the door, freezing it solid. He kicked it with his boot and the door shattered. "Seriously?"
"He was locking us out," the toddler protested, his eyes wide and innocent.
Len and Wally stepped inside then their eyes widened and they stopped in their tracks. In the center of the room was a pool table and several members of the Rogues Gallery sat around it, holding playing cards in their hands. Younger versions of Captain Cold, Heatwave, Weather Wizard, the first Mirror Master and Trickster were playing with Hartley who was wearing his first costume; a floppy green stocking cap, green tights and pixie boots along with a green shirt that had white polka dots on it. The Top and Golden Glider sat on the couch, whispering to each other while Captain Boomerang and Rainbow Raider appeared to be having a drinking contest in the corner.
"This is where all of our happy memories are," the child Piper said abruptly. "Hartley locked them and himself in here and let Piper have the run of the place."
"He just wanted to be happy again," the real Piper glared at his younger self. "Is that so wrong?"
"But how come he gets to be happy and we don't?" teenage Hartley asked. "It's not fair."
"Life never is," the real Hartley spoke. "But don't worry; you'll be happy soon enough."
"We brought them here just as you requested," the reformed Hartley said, stepping away from the two intruders.
"Excellent," Hartley smiled as he stood up.
"What are you talking about?" Wally demanded. "We asked them to bring us here; not the other way around."
"Oh please," Hartley snorted. "I could have had them kill you at anytime if I had wanted to but I didn't."
"Why is that?" Len crossed his arms, intent on standing there until he had a straight answer.
"We had an idea," Piper answered. "If we kill you in here then what happens to your bodies?"
"Oh boy," Wally groaned. "I don't think I like where this is going."
"This spell is only temporary, I'm sure of it and if it isn't then Martian Manhunter or someone else will come along and reverse the effects. But if I kill you at that exact moment then it will put me in your body instead and I'll finally be free of these idiots," Piper smiled in satisfaction.
"What about me?" Len raised an eyebrow.
"We'll leave you alone; we like you after all," Hartley smiled.
"That's it!" Wally yelled. "I've had it up to here with you guys! You all keep saying that you hate me but no one will tell me why!"
"We don't know!" the reformed Hartley yelled back. "None of us can remember why; all we know is that you were responsible for ruining our lives but we don't know how. Every time we try to remember we wind up at another door and none of us can open it!"
"Look as much as I dislike the Flash and I don't really have a problem with you taking over his body why don't you take us to the door?" Len suggested. "We opened this one after all; the other one should be a cinch."
The Hartley's and Piper's looked at each other then nodded.
"Follow me," the real Hartley sighed as he turned to the back door of the hideout.
"More doors," Wally sighed as he walked through.
The scenery was different this time; everything was pitch black and silent, much like in the first memory they had found themselves in. This door was humongous and made of some weird metal that Wally couldn't identify. Len tried to freeze the door and then crack it like he had earlier but when he did the entire door burst into flames, forcing him back a step.
"I don't like this door," he declared, holstering his weapon. "Your turn, Flash."
Wally threw him a look of disbelief but walked towards the door anyways. To his surprise the flames weren't the least bit hot; in fact they died away as soon as he stepped directly in their path. Hesitantly he touched the door and it fell open under his hand. Something told him that that wasn't a good thing but he forced himself to enter, Len and the others right behind him.
A baby floated in the middle of the room, his eyes screwed shut and his not fully developed appendages, informing Wally that he was still a fetus. Somehow they all knew that this was Hartley but the truly frightening thing about the memory was the fact that Desaad's hand was resting on his tiny head, something flowing from the villain into the baby.
"What is he doing?" Wally asked quietly.
"I assume he is placing the Anti-Life Equation inside of us," Piper replied, his head cocked to one side. "This was where our life truly began."
"But that doesn't have anything to do with you hating Flash," Len pointed out.
"There's more up ahead," Wally said. "I can sense it."
Len followed but even he couldn't quite suppress a shudder as he passed by the baby. To him that was just cruel; he didn't care if Hartley couldn't even feel it. Babies were innocent and were supposed to be left alone. His thoughts momentarily wandered to Mark's son, Josh, and he sighed heavily.
"This is it!" Hartley shouted triumphantly. "This is why we hate you."
Wally stopped and stared at the sight in front of him. The Flash stood in front of him, larger than life and behind him stood Desaad, who was, strangely enough, so transparent that Wally could see right through him. Hartley sat in a chair, his eyes blank as he stared at nothing in particular. "Uncle Barry?" Wally whispered as he stepped forward then frowned when he caught sight of something in his uncle's hand. Cautiously he grasped it and pulled it out.
"It looks like a computer chip," Len frowned as he peered over Wally's shoulder.
"It is," Wally said absent-mindedly as he studied it. "I believe that this is Apokoliptian technology; it's undetectable by Earth standards. Even Batman would have had a hard time finding this baby."
"Well what was your uncle doing with it?" Len crossed his arms.
Wally shrugged.
"Isn't it obvious?" Piper walked over to Desaad and glared at him. "Desaad manipulated your uncle into putting this in our head so that we would turn against the Rogues and break our spirit."
"I hate to say it but that is a possibility," Wally admitted. "Desaad probably erased Uncle Barry's memories of the event afterwards."
"And Hartley's as well no doubt," Len muttered. "Then whenever Hartley tried to remember why he left the Rogues all he saw was the Flash and so he just blamed you."
"I don't care if my uncle was being mind controlled or not," Wally hissed. "What he did was still wrong."
"So what do we do now?" Piper asked. "I still want out of this body and your uncle has to pay."
"All of this could have been avoided if he hadn't done this," Hartley agreed. "If I hadn't left the Rogues there's no telling how things could have turned out."
Wally hesitated. He had very strict rules about time travel but the others had a good point. Maybe, just maybe if Hartley hadn't left the Rogues then there was a good chance that they wouldn't have turned out so bloodthirsty and Bart wouldn't have been killed. There were so many things that could have been different and lives that could have been saved… "We could go back in time," he said briskly. "I can go back and stop Uncle Barry from putting that chip in Piper."
"And what if he says no?" Len raised an eyebrow. "Are you really going to fight your uncle quite possibly to the death?"
"Take us with you," Piper smiled. "And we'll let you leave our mind intact."
Barry Allen hesitated as he held the chip in his hand. Some distant part of him was shouting out that this was wrong, that heroes didn't do things like this. But another voice was whispering to him, telling him just how dangerous the Pied Piper was and that if he wasn't stopped soon then a lot of people would die. The voice won out and he stepped closer to the figure slumped over in the chair. The urge to apologize for what he was doing was quickly quelled and he forced himself not to think about the fact that Piper was only nineteen and hadn't hurt anyone yet. His hand was shaking and he had to steady it with the other one. Everything about this had to be perfect; he couldn't afford to make even the slightest mistake or else Piper could wind up with brain damage.
"Uncle Barry?" the voice was hesitant and strangely familiar.
Startled, Barry spun around and his eyes widened in shock when he saw an exact replica of himself standing there. But that was Wally's voice coming from the figure and as he watched the figure pulled back his cowl, revealing himself to be an adult version of Wally. "Wally?" he whispered in disbelief. "How did…when did…"
"I'm from the future," Wally replied, his eyes full of sadness. "And I came back to stop you."
His shock over seeing Wally fully-grown died away once the words had sunk in. "No," he stated firmly. "This needs to happen, Wally. He's far too dangerous to be left on his own."
"But it's wrong," Wally argued. "You have no idea what you're doing, Uncle Barry. Desaad is controlling you; he's forcing you to do this. Heroes don't do things like this."
"I'm the Flash; no one can control me," Barry laughed. "And it's because I'm a hero that I'm doing this. The Pied Piper is by far the most dangerous Rogue simply because no one knows the limits of what he can do or how far he's willing to go. If he's not stopped now then one day he might decide to take over the world just for the fun of it and I'm not willing to let that happen."
"You're forgetting that I've seen the future, Uncle Barry," Wally stepped forward. "It's true that Piper does become a superhero but I'm not sure that the cost is really worth it. The Rogues are nothing more than a bunch of murderers; I mean they kill your grandson for crying out loud!"
"Grandson?" Barry whispered.
"You're dead and my children were killed by another Zoom. Piper blew up a planet for crying out loud!" Wally shouted. "Are you still going to tell me that it's worth it?"
Barry hesitated and he looked down at the chip in his hand again. "Is Iris still alive?" he asked abruptly.
"Yes," Wally eyed him warily.
"Then it's worth it," Barry replied, thinking of the dream he had had that always ended in the same way; with Piper killing his beloved wife.
"So you're still going to go through with it?" Wally bowed his head in defeat. "I'm sorry about this, Uncle Barry. I just wish that it didn't have to come down to this."
"You're not going to stop me," Barry said confidentially. "You could never hurt me."
"Perhaps not," Wally agreed. "But I didn't come alone either." He took a step back and stood in the doorway.
"Hello, Flash," Captain Cold grinned as he and a cloaked figure emerged from the shadows. "It's time for you to pay for what you did."
The cloaked figure raised a flute to his lips and that was when Barry felt the first waves of terror wash over him at the same time as the music. "Iris," he whispered then fell to the floor.
"Is he dead?" Wally asked.
"No I merely put him to sleep," Piper replied. He walked around the prone figure of the Flash and over to his younger self. "Hartley?" he whispered. "I want you to listen to me, okay? You are your own person; never let anyone tell you who you are or who you aren't. You will never allow anyone to control your life ever again. Remember the Rogue's rules and you'll be just fine. They are your family and only you can take that away."
"What if he tries to control you again though?" Wally asked as he checked his uncle's pulse.
"Once he wakes up he won't want to control anyone anymore, not even Roscoe," Piper smiled mysteriously.
"I suppose we better get him back to the hideout," Len sighed as he picked up the unconscious Hartley.
"You do that I've got an errand to run," Piper opened up a portal and stepped through it.
"Wait!" Wally called. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to go and have a talk with myself," he muttered then disappeared.
"What happened to 'don't change the past'?" Len grumbled. "Oh well I guess it doesn't really matter now."
The Rogues were enjoying one of their nightly poker games when the door opened. Within seconds every Rogue had their weapons pointed at the door (although Digger did take the opportunity to steal all of the cash on the table) but were unpleasantly surprised when someone entered carrying Piper.
"Piper!" James cried and flew over to the intruder. "Who are you?" he demanded with a snarl. James was all fun and games until one of his teammates was threatened then he turned serious so fast it was unreal.
"Who do you think?" the man grinned and that was when they all realized that he was dressed just like Captain Cold.
"Put Hartley down now," Cold ordered, not caring if this person looked like him or not. No one messed with one of his Rogues and lived to tell about it.
"I had forgotten just how overprotective I used to be," the lookalike sighed but did place Piper on the couch, albeit gently.
"James?" Cold questioned.
"He's still breathing," James called and a collective sigh of relief filled the room.
"All right start talking and don't think I won't kill you," Cold smirked.
"It's fairly obvious who I am don't you think, Lenny?" the hood of his parka was pushed back and Captain Cold found himself staring at an older version of himself.
"So if there's two Len's which one do we listen to?" Mark asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"Who are you?" Cold repeated.
"I'm you from the future," the older man replied. "And I just saved Piper from a very unpleasant fate. Hopefully this means that things will be different now."
"Different how?" Mick asked suspiciously. He might not get along with Len all that well but he was willing to back up him when it counted.
"Just different," the Len from the future said evasively. "A word of advice though; never break your rules."
"Okay," Len blinked.
"I mean it; you have them for a reason and if you break even one then the next thing you know Flash is dead and you're on the FBI's ten most wanted list."
"I do like the sound of Flash being dead," Roscoe grinned.
"And you," Len snarled. "Keep your mind to yourself."
"You're not makin' any sense, mate," Digger said.
"One more thing; Lisa is the most important person in our life. Keep her safe, please."
"Understood," Len put his weapon up only to re-draw it when a gust of wind whipped through the building, revealing the Flash. At the same time a portal opened up and a cloaked figure stepped out.
"What is this? Grand Central Station?" Roy complained.
"Apparently," Len grumbled.
"Can we go now?" Flash demanded. "The longer we stay here the more likely we are to disturb things and we've already changed enough of the future as it is."
"Well I'm ready," the cloaked figure idly played with the flute in his hand. "I just had to pay a little visit to my old friend Desaad."
"I'm not even going to ask," Flash groaned as he grabbed their wrists. "Time to go!"
"Don't trust Abra Kadabra!" the future Captain Cold yelled just before they disappeared in a blur of red. "He'll just sell you out later!"
"That was…weird," Roscoe said diplomatically.
"Plum crazy is what it was," Len grunted.
"So what now?" Len asked as Wally ran.
"We go back to the future and see what happened I guess," Wally replied.
"Lovely," Piper sighed. "Quick question though; what's going to happen to us? Because won't there already be other versions of us there?"
"He's got a point," Len pointed out. "What's happening?"
Images were swirling around them; things that had already happened and some things that hadn't happened yet. There were people that Len recognized and some that he didn't. He saw Lisa and Roscoe standing in front of an altar and then Piper and James were kissing. Digger was bouncing a baby on his knee while Mark was flying high in the sky with his son Josh. Mick held a fire extinguisher in one hand and a lighter in the other while Evan stood in front of Sam's grave and Axel was following James around like a lost puppy. But other images were mixing in as well, ones that didn't fit. Lisa rocked a baby in her arms as Roscoe stood behind her proudly. This time Piper was kissing Evan while James stood with a familiar woman in front of a priest, her bulging stomach indicating the reason for the wedding. Digger was showing a teenager how to throw boomerangs while Mark kissed a female police officer, Josh standing behind them making faces. Then images from their past joined in the mix while voices began swirling around them along with the sound of beautiful music.
"We're in the speed force!" Wally shouted. "This is where all the timelines converge. We're seeing parallel worlds right now."
"How do we know which one is ours?" Piper asked.
"All we have to do is focus on getting back to our time," Wally replied. "Just concentrate on home."
"Easy for you to say," Piper retorted. "Some of us don't have a home!"
"Just shut up and concentrate," Len barked.
Piper rolled his eyes but did as ordered. Soon they were surrounded by images of their life and then Wally could make out the street where the battle between them and Abra Kadabra had occurred. In a burst of speed the three fell out of the speed force and hit the ground hard.
"Ow," Piper groaned as he sat up, ruefully rubbing his head. "That hurt."
"You need to work on your landings, kid," Len grumbled as he stood up.
"Agreed," Wally moaned as he got out of the mud puddle that he had landed in facedown.
"So did it work?" Piper broke the uneasy silence as he dusted off his cloak.
"I'm…not sure," Wally admitted as he looked around. Everything still looked the same; a crowd of curious onlookers had gathered and were now gaping at the three of them.
"I don't feel different," Len glowered.
"Well this is just a theory mind you," Piper said carefully. "But it is possible that when we went back in time that we accidentally created an alternate timeline. In that timeline everything happened the same way that it did here but the Flash never brainwashed Roscoe or me but in this one he did."
"So in other words we didn't really change anything for us," Len clarified.
"Yes," Piper nodded.
"Great," Len's scowl grew as he reached for his weapon.
"So what do we do now?" Wally wondered out loud.
"We don't do anything," Piper shot him a look. "I'm going somewhere far away from all of you."
"There are always banks that need robbing," Len shrugged as he pulled the hood of his parka back up.
"So where exactly are you going, Piper?" Wally asked.
"I'm not sure yet," Piper admitted. "I've been experimenting with alternate dimensional travel so I might do that for a while."
"Why on Earth would you want to do that?" the tone of Len's voice suggested that he thought it was a very stupid idea.
"So I can see what the other worlds out there are like," Piper said with a shrug. "Besides, I want to see if I can find that alternate timeline that we just created. I would like to know that there is at least one universe out there where we didn't get the short end of the stick as it were."
Wally was tempted to point out that the Rogues had brought all of their hardships on themselves but wisely held his tongue. Even he wasn't stupid enough to make a remark like that in front of two men who had made it perfectly clear that they not only hated him but wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
"Got room for one more?" Len asked abruptly. "Robbing banks does seem kind of cliché when you compare it to traveling to different dimensions."
Piper's face wasn't visible beneath his green hood but Wally had no doubt that his eyes were sizing Len up as if trying to gauge his sincerity. "I guess it couldn't hurt to have a little company," his voice and words were both neutral.
Wally blinked as he tried to imagine the two Rogues running rampant through alternate dimensions, changing history and shuddered. "I guess that means I have to come to," he sighed, not looking forward to how he was going to have that conversation with Linda. Hi, honey, I'm not going to be home for dinner because I'm giving up my gig as a superhero to go traveling through alternate dimensions with Captain Cold and the Pied Piper. That was so not going to go over well.
"Haven't we already made it perfectly clear to you, Flash? You're not welcome," Piper hissed.
"Then I'll just arrest both of you but you're crazy if you think I'm just going to let you run free, doing who knows what without any supervision," Wally did his best to sound intimidating, even crossing his arms but, somehow, he didn't think that it was working.
"And you're crazy if you think that you're even going to remember this conversation," the flute was raised to Piper's lips and the world spun for a second. When everything cleared Wally found himself facing Piper and Captain Cold, Abra Kadabra having long since disappeared.
"You're going down, Cold, you too, Piper," Wally declared as he prepared to take off running.
Len looked uneasily at the three figures facing off as the portal closed behind them. "So how exactly did you make copies of us again?"
"DNA and music," the smile on Piper's face hinted at both mischief and mystery. "Now let's get going, we've got a lot of worlds to explore and not very much time to do it in."
"Oh so you're the leader now? We'll just have to see about that."
300 Years Later
Hartley fell to the ground, sobbing, hiding his face in his blood stained hands, paying the portal behind him no mind as it closed. His slight frame shook with sobs as he curled up in a fetal position, smearing the blood on his clothes even more. "No," he whimpered. "I didn't do it, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He whispered the mantra over and over, trying to force himself to believe it but was unable to do so. The images in his mind played as if on repeat, forcing him to relive the feelings of horror upon discovering that he had killed the Rogues. Digger had been the first to fall, his head exploding like many of the others. James had been killed when Len's gun went off as he died, his head the only one still intact. Hartley couldn't even remember what he had been thinking when he destroyed them. His only memories of that time were bloody faces and looks of horror when they realized just who their destroyer was. Even then they had been reluctant to shoot him, attacking only after he had killed Digger. Only idle curiosity at where his doppelganger was remained and if he would discover the truth. What would happen then? Would he come after Hartley or would he kill himself like so many others had done?
After Len's death so many years ago Piper had simply continued to drift through the parallel worlds, much like a ghost. At first he had simply been content to watch, taking notes on things done differently and which actions carried out properly resulted in a favorable outcome. After a time, however, curiosity had gotten the better of him and he began to meddle. In the beginning it hadn't been much, a different costume here and there, a different decision on this world but, eventually, he had taken it to the next level. A Rogue gone here, a hero there, a villain on that world and things had started changing rapidly. He remembered, how, on one particularly destitute world he had killed a version of himself and watched in fascination as the world imploded. Things continued escalating until; at last, he had killed the Rogues, the only family that he had ever known.
His tears continued to fall and he began to sob even harder. This…wasn't the life that he had envisioned for himself, ever. "I wish," he began haltingly then tried again. "I wish that James was still alive and that I had never left the Rogues."
"That's a very interesting wish," a voice observed.
Startled, Hartley looked up, having to blink the tears out of his eyes for several seconds before his vision was clear enough to determine that Captain Marvel was sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of him. "What are you doing here?" he whispered.
Captain Marvel smiled. "I am a being of magic but then you already knew that didn't you, Hartley? I sensed your portal opening and came to see what it was. Imagine my surprise when I found a member of the Rogues Gallery here when I could have sworn that you were on the news an hour ago, robbing a bank."
"I'm not from here," Piper replied carefully as he maneuvered himself into a sitting position, one hand reaching into the folds of his cloak to grasp the flute he had hidden there. It was extremely difficult to kill Captain Marvel but he could at least hypnotize the child within while he made his getaway.
"I know and, just so you know, the flute won't work on me or Billy. I put an anti-hypnosis spell on us before coming here."
"Smart," Piper's grip on the flute relaxed but he didn't fully release it. Even if hypnosis was out, murder wasn't.
"Is any of the blood yours? It looked like Heatwave managed to singe your cloak before you killed him," Captain Marvel said conversationally, not all freaked out about the fact that he was talking to a blood-stained villain.
"How did you know that?" Hartley demanded as he jumped to his feet.
"I watched you, well, actually I've been watching you for quite some time and I believe that you'll be perfect for my needs."
"What do you mean by that?" having met several evil versions of Captain Marvel, Piper knew better than to trust any of them. Despite the fact that he was still technically a child, the man could still be quite sadistic both in mortal and god form.
"Everything has to come from somewhere, Hartley, and I am the original Captain Marvel although I prefer Shazam. I, more than any of my counterparts, know the importance of keeping things in balance unlike you. You've been wreaking quite a bit of havoc in my universes and I don't like that. It took me millennia to get everything just the way that I like it and then you came along and messed everything up so I believe that you owe me."
"What exactly do you want from me?" Piper was even more suspicious now. All of his research had indicated that the world might have had a beginning world, a starting point if you will and anyone from that world would no doubt be even more powerful than the cheap knockoffs he had encountered.
"Well for starters you can help me fix it," Shazam rose to his feet graciously, his white cape not the least bit stained from the damp ground.
"I don't think so," Piper turned and began to walk away.
"What if I returned James Jesse to you?" Shazam called after him.
Hartley froze, his eyes widening momentarily. Not long after he and Len had begun traveling together he had gone to the underworld one day in a daring attempt to retrieve James's soul. He and Neron had haggled over the price for hours before Neron reluctantly agreed to turn it over. While the soul hung in between life and death, neither in the underworld nor in the real world something tragic had happened; Flash had re-written the timeline. In the process James's soul had been lost and despite his searching Hartley had never been able to find it again. Eventually he had given up and merely contented himself with keeping a special eye on the worlds where different versions of James lived on which were rapidly becoming fewer.
"You can do that?" Hartley hated the way that his voice broke, it spoke of weakness and longing, a trait not encouraged in the Rogues.
"There are fifty-six worlds, each of which has fifty-six Earths, not including my world which only has one Earth. However, there is a fifty-seventh Earth which is where the souls of those who are lost go. If he is anywhere, it would be there. But I cannot tell you where it is; only you can find it."
"And helping you will help me find it?" Hartley focused on Shazam's heartbeat and breathing, confident in his ability to detect a lie.
"That is correct," Shazam confirmed. "One other thing you should know, Piper, that world is blank. Neither its fate nor its path has been written yet."
"I could create my own world," Piper breathed in understanding. He could put everything that he had learned to good use, he could make the perfect world; one where the Rogues were all still alive and they were happy and not trying to kill each other. He could even erase the Flash if he wanted! A smile spread across his face, looking rather macabre and out of place among the blood and tear stains. "I'll take you up on that offer," he decided.
"First there are a few conditions; you have to go when and where I tell you to and no major meddling. I don't mind the occasional thing being changed but I don't want any dead bodies piling up if you can help it."
Hartley winced, the Rogues flashing through his mind then he nodded. "It's a deal," he extended his right hand and Shazam took it. There was a flash of light and when they released hands Piper discovered that his costume was not only clean but had also been replaced and he was now holding his blood-stained one in his left hand. Confused, he looked at Shazam.
"A reminder. Once you're able to destroy it then and only then will you be able to find James. Good luck on your journey, Pied Piper, and may you find what you're looking for." Shazam snapped his fingers and disappeared leaving behind no trace that he had ever been there.
Piper looked at the costume in his hands, at the now dried blood and felt nothing. There was nothing there anymore; there was no remorse for what he had done or for what he was about to do. All he had to do was find James and then he could bring them all back to life. It would be like they had never died. So what if there was now a world bereft of them and another Piper who, no doubt, had already discovered what had happened and was mourning the loss of his family? None of that mattered now; nothing mattered except for finding James and making the world in his image. He was a god after all; hadn't he brought down Apokolips and countless other worlds? Yes, he was a god and he pitied the fool that stood in his way.
He pulled a match out of his utility belt and lit it. He held it close to the costume, close enough to set it on fire but, even though the flame shone bright, the costume never burned. He snorted in derision as he stomped out the match then dropped the costume on the ground. "Stupid old fool," he opened a portal and stepped through it, leaving the costume behind him.
Shazam reappeared, a disappointed look on his face. "Oh, Piper," he sighed as he picked up the costume. "You may not realize it yet but one day you will. It may not be for another three centuries but eventually you'll come to understand that until you learn not only to live with yourself but also how to forgive yourself you'll never find true happiness." He shook his head sadly as he picked up the discarded costume. "I should probably put this in a safe place," he sighed then vanished once more.
Piper walked down the street, uncaring of the fact that Flash lay dead two feet behind him or that his new costume was already covered in blood. He whistled a jaunty tune, his thoughts already moving on to his next destination. "I'm coming, James, I'm coming," he whispered then lifted his flute to his lips once more. The familiar strains of ABBA wafted throughout Central City, unnerving the horrified citizens even more. They all stood, frozen in place, and remained that way until long after Piper had left the world behind, and started on the next one. He had a lot of worlds to search and make right and all the time in the world to do so…