The Bolt Episode 1 Pilot
His foot tapped quickly against the ground below him. Sitting forward in the chair proved impossible while he tried to maintain his anxiety, as well as keep eye contact with the man sitting a yard in front of him, while he was holding a pen and paper in his hand.
The man in front of him was calm, and collected. He was examining his young friend carefully, as if there would be a test about it. He pushed up his glasses and sat back, relaxing his muscles before preparing to ask the first question. "So," He began, "Sean White, correct?"
Sean made eye contact, and managed to keep it for a decent amount of time, before it dropped back to the floor. He held his hands together tight, and breathed slowly, "Yeah, that's me, I guess."
"You guess?" The man asked him, "You almost sound unsure."
"Well, that's kind of why I'm here, isn't it?" Sean asked, "I'm just so confused with myself."
The man tilted his head to the side in confusion of his own, "Why are you confused?"
Sean immediately stood up and started pacing around the room, "I don't know, I just- look," he stopped, and gestured toward him, "I don't know what to think about anything right now. About my feelings, my choices, my name even. Look at me! I'm a blank slate! I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about any of this."
The man held his hands up, "Slow down, what do you mean 'blank slate'?"
"That's what they called me."
"Who did?"
Sean just looked at him for a moment, before he breathed deep and sat back down, locking his hands together, but keeping eye contact, "That's what the doctor called me when I woke up."
2 WEEKS EARLIER
The detective stroked his chin as he waited for the doctor to come back into the room. He almost felt as though he was intruding, just being alone with the unconscious boy laying on the bed in front of him. He examined the wires placed onto his body, and his heartrate on the monitor. He had seen things similar to this before, but this was different somehow. Was it because the boy in the bed was so young? He almost reminded him of so many other young careless victims. Problem with this one was that they didn't know what he was a victim of.
The doctor walked through the door with his charts in hand. "Thank you for waiting detective. I'm doctor Howard," He said, shaking the detectives hand.
"Detective Victor Phillip. So what do we got?" He gestured to the boy in the bed.
The doctor took a look at his papers, "He was found in the street last night. He was injured severely like he had been in a fight. Bruises to his ribs, a few cuts scattered around his body. He had lost a lot of blood. The only thing we found on him was a watch. Looks a lot like some of those new 'Apple Watches' everyone talks about." He gestured to the watch around the boys left wrist.
"Hold on," Victor said, "You said he had cuts, I don't see any cuts."
Doctor Howard sighed and put the clipboard on the table. "He's completely healed. We checked on him this morning and all his wounds were gone as if they were never there."
Immediately Victors mind went to only one explanation, "So this kid, is he a Meta-Human?"
"We don't know for sure," The doctor said, "But it is likely. In the meantime, we're still waiting for someone to claim him. We had his blood test sent out but it didn't match anyone in the city."
"How old is he?"
The doctor took another look at his papers, "We estimated him at about 16 years old. Still a minor."
"Damn," Victor cursed, "They get younger every day."
Doctor Howard blinked twice, "'They'?" he asks.
"I see a lot of people get into some trouble. 10 years ago the youngest was 21. Now it's easy to see regular kids be at the wrong place at the wrong time," Victor sighed. If he was to be honest with himself, those kind of people are all he knew. He isn't an old time cop, rather he's been on the force a total of 4 years.
"Detective," Howard started, clearly somewhat offended by his prejudice accusation, "While I understand you are experienced with situations similar to this, we still don't know for sure what it is that happened to him. For all we know he could have been in some kind of accident."
"Yeah, still," Victor said, "Was there anyone else seen last night? Who was it that found him?"
Before doctor Howard could answer, the boy stirred and groaned, slowly opening his eyes, only to close them seconds later from the blinding light. Doctor Howard rushed to his side, "Take it easy, how are you feeling?"
The boy took a moment to let his eyes adjust to his surroundings. He examined the wires pressed to his arms and chest, then his eyes moved to the doctor standing to his right side. His head tilted in confusion and innocence, "I …don't know," He muttered, just loud enough to be heard.
"That's ok, we expected you would be confused. Do you remember what happened?"
"I …don't know," He said again, a little louder this time.
"How about your name," Howard asked, "What's your name? Maybe we can contact your family."
"I …I don't know."
Victor stepped forward, "Trust me, you'll want your parents here. I'm sure they're worried."
"No," he said, "I mean I …I don't know my name."
Doctor Howard takes a moment tom process his words before muttering quietly, "Blank slate," He said. Victor looks at him confused, "It's what we call people here who have amnesia."
"That seems insensitive," Victor said, "But I'll bite. So he's a Meta with amnesia."
"Meta?" The boy asked.
Victor gestured his words aside, "Don't worry about it. I'll send out a report about a missing teen and we'll see who picks it up." With that final sentence, Detective Victor left the room, with only the doctor and the patient to remain.
"And did they find anyone?"
The man jotted down Sean's words carefully, before asking again, "They must have found your family eventually."
"Maybe I just didn't have a family to find me," Sean replied quickly, "They never found anyone. They kept me in the hospital as long as they could but eventually they had to let me go."
The man pondered at what he was saying for a moment before continuing, "So, where did they send you?"
"The first option was an orphanage," he said, "But then someone heard my story and made a phone call."
Doctor Howard strolled through the hospital hallway when the front desk phone rings. The lady at the desk picked it up, "Hello? …Yes this is the Alter City Medical Hospital how can I help you? …Ok," She put the phone on hold, "Doctor Howard! You have a call on line 1."
Doctor Howard picks up the nearest phone and presses the '1' button, "Hello this is Doctor Howard, how can I help you? …yes …you want to …? There's paperwork to be done …yes I understand that …alright, meet with me in an hour… your welcome, see you then." He hung up, and leaned against the wall with a sigh.
The couple across the table waited for Doctor Howard to finish with the paper work he was signing, "So you understand this is a big responsibility."
"We understand that," the man said.
Howard put the pen down and locked his hands together, "Mr. and Mrs. White, you understand this may not last. Eventually, someone may claim him as their son, and you'll have to give him up. Keeping that in mind, why would you feel implied to do this?"
Before Mr. White could speak, his wife stood up, holding her hands together, "Doctor Howard, the only other option for him Is the orphanage. I know it seems strange, but I don't wish that on him. I've been in the system before, for most of my life actually. And I know if you put that boy into the system while he is defenseless and alone, it'll destroy him, whether he remembers who he is or not. We don't expect to keep him; we just want to give him a temporary place to stay."
"Out of the goodness of your heart?" Howard questioned.
Mr. White stood up beside his wife, "I understand that people these days don't do good deeds unless they get something out of it, but we are the 1% in that matter. We just want to help him, to keep him safe until he can go home."
Howard thought long and hard on their words. He took a look at the papers of background checks on the table. Nothing in it had anything horrible to show they were unfit to take care of him. They were well financed, law following citizens, to put it simply. The situation seemed almost perfect. Still, he read further into the papers, "And this isn't because of any personal issues?"
They stayed silent, and avoided eye contact. Howard continued to read, "It says here, 10 years ago you lost a son, who was about the same age, in an accident."
"We lost him, yes," Mr. White said, "But that was no accident. Please, just give us a chance."
Howard sighed and leaned back into the chair, "If you're willing to do so, very well. He will be placed into your custody until his real family can be identified," he slid a small stack of papers toward them, "Just sign here." They did not hesitate to grab the nearest pen and sign the paper.
Howard brings the couple into the hospital room where the boy was. He was already fully dressed in a clean pair of cloths, and was staring out the window. Howard cleared his through to get his attention. The boy turns slowly to them. "Hello again," Howard said, "This is Ethan and Abigail White. They'll be taking care of you until further notice. You'll be going home with them today."
The boy approaches the three slowly, and examines the married couple, " …hello," he said.
"Hello," Abigail replied, "We're going to take good care of you, I promise."
He does not react any further than blinking, "Ok," he says simply.
"It may take him time to adjust, his amnesia is very severe."
"Of course," Ethan said, putting a hand on the boys shoulder, "Let's get you home," they walk out the door.
MEANWHILE
The empty streets rang of sirens and smelled of smoke. The man couldn't stand the stench, but still kept walking. It was daylight, so he didn't have to worry about anything too serious happening, but it also made him easier to be seen. As he approached the Pawn shop in front of him, he examined the diamonds in the window display. They priced to at least 10,000$ according to the note cards below them.
The man puts his hood up, and tightened the muscles in his hands, then lifted them slowly. The ground beneath him began to shake immensely. The people in the store run out in panic, dodging the large vines coming out of the ground. Police arrive quickly to see the man lunge his hands forward, causing the vines to crash through the window, and take hold of the diamonds. Placing them into his own hands, he took a look at the police, guns pointing at him, "Freeze!" one yelled.
The man, instead of obeying, throws his hand diagonally, and a large vine smacks the police car, sending it flying overhead. Everyone looked back to the crashed car in awe, before turning back to the man, who had been long since gone from the area, "I hate Meta-Humans," An officer said.
The sound of a click could be heard as Mr. White slide his key into the lock, twisting and opening the door to his home. He allowed the boy to take the first step into the house, before he and his wife followed, closing the door behind them, "So, what do you think?" He asked, watching the boy walk slowly around the living room, examining every inch of it like it was completely new to him. He ran his hand along the TV and the couch in curiosity, "It's …nice," He said after a long pause, "May I ask you something?"
"Of course, anything," Abigail said.
The boy takes a moment to compose himself before asking, "What's my name?"
The couple weren't sure how to answer, so they stayed silent as he spoke again, "The doctor's in the hospital didn't know, and I don't know either. Some called me John Doe though, is my name John?"
"No, sweetie," Abigail said, "Tell you what, why don't you pick a name for yourself? Just say the first thing to pop into your head when you think of yourself."
He nodded, and took a seat on the couch, awaiting a thought to come by.
Ethan asked if he wants something to eat. After receiving a quick nod, he made his way to the kitchen. Abigail, however, stayed in the room with the boy, sitting in the chair across from the couch. She examined him, while he almost pretended as if she wasn't there. Not out of disrespect, but because he was too deep into thought. She wanted to break the ice but didn't quite know how. He was a lost boy with no memory, and she knew what it was like to be alone. She didn't want that on him. She had to talk to him, to give him a voice that he can run to anytime he's scared. "Um," she started, immediately regretting beginning the conversation with such a simple sound, "So if you like, I can show you to your room," When the boy said nothing, she sighed, "I know things are confusing. But I'm sure soon, you'll start remembering things. You can't force it, it'll just hit you like a bolt of lightning-"
"Sean," He immediately said. Abigail stares at him in confusing, and asks him to repeat himself, "My name," he said, "First name to pop into my head was Sean. I want to be Sean."
"Sean … Sean White. I like that," she smiled as Ethan comes back into the room with a bowl, "Hope you like macaroni, it's leftovers though,"
"Honey," Abigail grabbed his attention, "What do you think of Sean White?"
Ethan smiled, placing the macaroni in Sean's lap, "It's perfect."
Sean immediately started eating as fast as he can, shoving large bits of macaroni into his mouth, "Hey, slow down champ," Ethan said. Sean stared at him for a moment, before continuing to eat. "I'm starving," Sean said, "Is this what a craving is? Because the doctors at the hospital said I had massive cravings. Apparently 6 meals a day is weird."
The couple stared for a moment, before they started laughing. Sean, not understanding, put it together, "So…it IS weird then," This made them laugh harder. Sean just shrugged and laughed along with them.
Slipping on a pair of shorts, Sean pulled the covers over his body as Abigail shut off the lights, "Mrs. White," Sean said, grabbing her attention as she asked what's wrong, "Nothing," Sean reassured her, "I just wanted to say, thank you for taking care of me. I know adding a third person to your household might be much but, I appreciate what you're doing."
She smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, "It's no trouble. We were more than happy to take care of you," She made for the door and grabbed the handle, "Goodnight Sean."
"Goodnight Mrs. White."
As she closed the door behind her, she sighed. It seemed like it would never happen, knowing the circumstances. And the idea seemed improbable and ridiculous. But deep down, she wanted more than anything for him to call her Mom.
Sean tossed and turned in his sleep. Images flashed by in his head, voices murmur, both lasting no more than half a second, maybe less. He felt surges throughout his body, giving him great pain. His sweat began to soil the sheets he slept in. In an instant he jumped awake, sitting up in his bed, gasping for the breath he could not take hold of.
He wiped his head of sweat, to discover his hand vibrating very quickly. He watched it for a moment, before he tried to grasp it to calm it down. Suddenly his other hand started vibrating as well. He could do nothing but watch in horror and wonder. The same surges he felt moments ago he now felt in his hand, but without the shooting pain. When the horror and vibration subsided, he became curious. Was this what the detective meant when he called Sean a 'Meta'? If so, what does it mean to be a Meta? What even is a Meta?
Sean couldn't push it aside any longer, and he got up.
Sneaking out of his room, he went downstairs to the computer on the kitchen table. He opened it up and turned it on. He was lucky to find it didn't need a password, it was already opened, probably left on by one of the adults sleeping upstairs. He entered the internet browser and started typing 'META HUMAN'.
Not realizing he hit the caps button rather than shift, he deleted it and retyped it again, with a question mark at the end.
An article came up about a blog by 'Iris West'. Once he opened it, the screen was flooded with images about 'Meta-Humans'. People with extraordinary abilities like strength, flight, and speed. Images of people using these abilities came up, and he was in awe. He sat back in the chair and read the article carefully. It mentioned facts about a dark matter explosion from a placed titled S.T.A.R labs giving people abilities. It was tough for him to fully understand the science, but he did his best to make sense of it.
The lights in the room turned on, and Sean flung his head around to see Ethan White standing there in his robe, "Couldn't sleep?" He asked. His voice tells Sean he isn't angry for sneaking out of his room, and he immediately relaxes his muscles, "At the hospital," Sean started, "A detective came to see me. He and the doctors talked about Meta-Humans. I got …curious."
"Curiosity is natural," He said, grabbing the computer and closing it up, "I can understand that you're restless, not knowing who you are. Come on, let's get you back to bed, I'll give you some medicine to help you sleep."
Sure enough, Ethan brought him back to bed, and gave him the medicine. Sean was out like a light just an hour later, his lasts thoughts on one of the images he saw on the website, of a man in a red uniform, before his thoughts drifted into dreams.
All the news could talk about the next morning was a Meta-Human attack on a Pawn shop. Even as they drove by, the TV's in windows only showed the pictures taken at the scene. Sean wanted to see the town, and his first impression was that it wasn't safe.
They stopped at the park and took a walk with Sean. "Sometimes it seems grim because of Meta-Humans," Ethan said, "But it can be good too. Places like this haven't changed yet," He gestured to the tree's around them. Sean looked about to the people scattered across the park, and smiled. It felt nice to see such a peaceful environment around him. He almost felt as though he was lacking in that previously. "You two wait here," Ethan said, "I'll go buy us something to eat, how does a hotdog sound?"
"Sounds good to me," Sean said, still smiling, and actually hungry from the smell of hotdogs in the distance. Ethan quickly took off in that same direction.
Sean took a step forward, examining his surroundings carefully, "It's so peaceful, it almost seems impossible."
"Alter City is very nice, it's why we moved here." She said.
Sean turned his head to the sound of Sirens in the distance. They roared by in a hurry, chasing after another car. Sean suddenly felt a surge go through his body again.
"Well, almost peaceful," Abigail says, looking back to Sean, only to find he was gone.
A blur of white zoomed by the police cars and into a nearby ally, crashing into a pile of garbage. Pieces of trash go flying as Sean carefully pulled himself out of the bags, and he stumbles back. "What the heck was that?!" Sean exclaimed. He felt his hand vibrate again. When he examined it, he didn't feel any pain, just like before. But now, it was sparking with white lightning. He gasped for air, "What's happening to me?" He looked to the entrance of the ally and tried walking to it, but he is suddenly propelled forward, and landed into the street on his back.
Immediately he heard the sirens getting closer to him. Even as he stood up, he couldn't find the time to get out of the way as the car reached him.
But it didn't hit.
Sean looked forward to the car and saw it moving slowly. Very slowly, as well as the police cars behind it. He saw his body sparking with white electricity. In curiosity, he stepped slowly out of the way of the car's. He noticed his movement left a trail of white lightning behind him, which quickly vanished as everything seemed to return to normal speed. The cars zipped by and continued the chase. Sean watched as they got farther way, then stared at feet, with a curious look.
He started walking. Then he began to jog, already he felt the surges in his body, all the way to his feet. The moment he started to run, he took off in a blaze of white lightning, at unbelievable speeds.
The silver car in front swerved and weaved around pedestrians and street lights. "Out of the way!" The driver yelled. The police cars followed close behind, trying to shoot out his tires.
"We're never going to catch him like this!" One officer yelled to the other vehicle.
Sean past the officers quickly as time slowed for him once more, just by willing it to be. He saw the silver car beginning to screech as a bullet hit the tire. Looking over the silver car as it started to crash, he saw a girl his own age standing on the sidewalk, directly in the path of the car. With a look of confidence, time resumes as he sped in and grabbed her, pulling her out of the way of the car as they both landed in a bush. The car flipped and crashed into a lamp post, landing upside down.
The girl looked to the crashed car, "Oh my god-what-what just-" She looked in awe to see Sean, just realizing he was there. Sean could only stare back, clearly in awe himself.
Before she could speak again, he got up and ran, triggering his speed once more as left in a cloud of dust.
Sean caught himself on a lamppost, almost flinging into the air from the sudden stop. He couldn't stop gasping for air as he felt a mixture of emotions. "How… what just …whoa …" he was at a loss for words and couldn't form a complete sentence. The surges slowly left his body as his heart rate returned too normal.
"Sean!"
He twitched at the sound of his newly found name. Ethan and Abigail approached him with worry on their faces, "What happened? Where did you go?"
Sean stared at them, "Sorry …I was admiring the sights."
He wasn't sure why he lied. But he did.
The only thing he could do on the car ride back was watch his hand vibrate, making it stop when Ethan and Abigail would look back at him. He wondered why he had these abilities and how many more people like him there were. "Hey, Sean," Ethan said, keeping his hand on the wheel, "How about I introduce you to Big Belly Burger?"
"Sounds unhealthy," Sean said, "Sure."
The doctors weren't lying about his appetite. Sean ordered several orders of burgers and fries, all in a size large. They could only watch as he chowed down one burger after another. "This is amazing!" Sean said with his mouth full, "This should have been our first stop!"
"Slow down Sean," Ethan cautioned.
The news on the restaurant TV caught Sean's gaze as he pauses his meal to watch.
"We are live at the Alter City national bank …"
MEANWHILE
"… where a dangerous Meta-Human is currently escaping on foot with over 500,000 dollars in cash. Police are warning everyone to stay off the streets until the matter is dealt with."
The Meta-Human leapt over a car, and flung his hands to the side, causing a vine to escape the ground and block the police's path. Even as the officers got over the large vine, he was gone.
The apartment was empty of everything but coloring books, toys, a few blankets and pillows, and several bags of money. The man dropped his two newest bags with the rest, and sat down with a sigh. "How's my favorite boy?"
The little boy in the corner gets up and hugs his father, who brushed his blonde hair aside, "I've been good daddy," The boy said. The boy looked no older than 6 years old. The father smiles, "Adda boy Collin. Way to stay strong." He sighed and let go of his son, "We've almost got enough for operation Vanish-point."
"Sweet!" he said, "Then we can stop hiding in creepy closets!"
He shook Collins hair, "That's right. Then we can live normal lives, away from all the madness."
He moved to the window, slipping a few hundred dollar bills into his wallet. He took a glance at his I.D. "Jack Nichols." He almost felt ashamed to still have an official I.D after everything he's done. But he has to do it. For his son. For Collin.
Ting went the window. Then again. And again. Though Sean was trying to sleep, he couldn't because of the constant irritating sound coming from the window. Being unable to stand it further, he approached the window and opened it, just as a rock came flying and wacked him in the head, knocking him over, "Ow!" He held his head where he was hit.
"Oo! Sorry!"
The sudden new voice surprised Sean enough to ignore the pain and get back up to look out the window. There was a girl standing on the ground outside, a pile of rocks by her feet. "Did you just throw a rock at me?!" Sean asked.
"Sorry. Consider it payback for not allowing me to thank you, you know, for saving my life."
It was then that he immediately recognized her as the girl he saved earlier that day.
"You …you're … how did you find me?" Sean asked.
"I … may have followed you home after you left Big Belly Burger. Come down so we can talk, please?"
The only response she received was the sound of a window slamming shut.
He had completely forgotten that the girl saw him! He was too concerned about his new abilities; the moment had just slipped his mind. He didn't think this day could get any worse.
Until the doorbell rang.
Stumbling about, he rushed to the bottom of the stairs to find Ethan already greeting her.
"Sean," Ethan said, gesturing to the girl, "This is where you went to earlier today at the park?"
" …Sorry what?" Sean asks, clearly confused.
"Sean, hey," the girl said, "We never finished our conversation in the park,"
"…Right, so …how about we do that," He pushed past the adults, "Excuse us for like, 2 minutes, maybe more," he pulled the girl outside with him and shut the door.
"So," She started, "Hi."
She sat with her hands on her chin, in awe as Sean finished his explanation. She understood he was in a weird situation, and probably wouldn't have breathed a word of it to her, if he already wasn't so confused with himself. But with the day he's had, he felt he had to talk to someone, anyone about what he felt, saw and did, "That is …a hell of a story," She sighed, "A meta with no memory."
"Your turn you know," He interrupted, "What's your name?"
She smiled, "Olive. Olive Camilla." She took hold of his hand, "Thank you for saving my life Sean. I guess speedsters are inherently good. Well … minus a few."
"'Inherently good?' What makes you say that?" He asked.
"Because of The Flash. He's … a Meta-Human in Central City. Good guy. Saves people, like how you saved me."
Sean thought on this for a moment. He had been conscious for two days and all he heard about Meta-Humans were bad things. But it was nice to hear something about a good Meta, someone who used their powers to do good things. He felt proud of that fact for some reason. What if there was a reason Sean had these abilities? Just who was he before he lost his memory?
"So what else can you do?" Olive asked.
"No idea," Sean shook his head, "I know I can crash into piles of trash."
"So THAT'S why you smelled of garbage." Sean nodded in conformation.
Screeching to a stop, a mail truck parked in front of the mailbox and a man took out a newspaper. "Sean!" Abigail called out from inside, "Can you get that?"
"Sure!" He called back, walking over to the truck and taking the papers personally from the mail man, "Thank you," He said as he watched them drive off.
As he walked back, he took a glance at the headline on the front page.
'L.S LABS CEO PUBLIC SPEAKING'.
Sean felt his mind clutter. Flashes and sounds, along with glances of the L.S LABS logo. All of which combined with a background of a lightning storm, raging through a wasteland.
"Sean, are you ok?" Olive asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face.
"L.S LABS," Sean muttered, "I know that place! Something about it I just know!" He dropped the newspaper, and turns to Olive, grabbing her shoulders, "Where is it? Where's L.S LABS?"
Startled, she worked out an answer, "Alter City Square is directly in front of it."
"Then that's where I have to go if I want to find out what happened to me!"
"But what about your parents?" She asked, "You don't have any memory. You said you were assigned to them. Should you really be allowed to leave their supervision?"
She made a point. They are legally in charge of him, and they wouldn't leave him with just anyone. He would have to take them along. But they would never take part in what Sean was thinking. No, there had to be a loophole he could take. Picking up the newspaper he read it carefully. "What do you hope to find?" Olive asked.
"A time," He answered, pointing to a paragraph on the page, "The head of L.S LABS is having a public meeting today at 6. All we have to do is show up. I'll 'accidentally' get separated from Ethan and Abigail, and then I'll take it from there."
"Well …ok, sounds like a plan." She said.
As Sean headed for the door to his house, he suddenly stopped and turned around, "You called them my parents."
"Well, yeah," she crossed her arms "Aren't they?"
She never received a response.
The city square was filled with thousands of people, all of which were hyped to see the head of special projects in L.S LABS make an appearance. He had been promising to talk about their latest work for months, and now it's finally come to pass. Many of the participants in the crowd were wearing T-shirts with the logo for L.S LABS on it. People were clearly excited. But all Sean was concerned with was getting some answers. He understood wanting them, but he didn't understand why he was as driven as he was to get them. Perhaps it was because of his abilities, or out of extreme curiosity. It so, he hoped it wasn't true how curiosity killed the cat.
"This is exciting isn't it?" Abigail said, attempting to break the silence, despite the thousands of chatting people, "What do you think Olive?"
"I think it's great. We would have been here sooner of Sean hadn't left me in the park," She said, gesturing to him, who shrugged as an apology. They had formed a simple excuse that Olive met Sean in the park, and invited him to this event, but he ran off in the worry of his guardians. It seemed believable. Thinking on that, Sean began wondering why Olive wanted to help him in his goal to regain his memories. Was it pity? Could she really just be that much of a good person. Looking at her, she didn't seem all that threatening. But he didn't actually know anything about her. No more than he knew about himself. "Olive," He reached for her shoulder, but is interrupted when the crowd goes crazy with excitement in seeing a man in a clean suit walk onto the stage in front of them.
The man waved and smiled to the crowd as he made his way to the microphone at the front of the stage. His appearance told him as simple business man. His behavior had yet to tell its own story. As he spoke, it felt as though it was rehearsed. Of course this wouldn't surprise anyone, it only makes sense to practice your speech before a serious event, "Thank you all for coming," he spoke into the microphone, sending his voice into the crowd, "I am Peter Morrison, CEO of L.S LABS," the crowd cheered, all except for Sean, who just watched as Peter continues to speak, "I called this meeting today to unveil our latest scientific breakthrough. I know I've been teasing you about this for some time now, but finally, the wait can end. I am proud to announce, The L.S satellite!" Everyone began to cheer, "Settle down now settle down. Now, this satellite is already in orbit, looking down on Alter City. Once activated, it will allow an aerial space view of our city, so we may easily track not only regular criminals, but Meta-Humans as well." Everyone begins to clap again.
Sean blinked his eyes from his headache.
"You ok?" Olive asked. Sean gave her a reassuring nod, "Time to move then, right?" She asked.
Sean nodded and starts moving slowly away from Abigail and Ethan and further into the sea of people. Making his way using 'excuse me' and 'pardon me', he reached the right side of the crowd, next to the steps that lead to the stage. Peter Morrison had just started walking off the stage. "Here we go," Sean said, making his approached.
"Excuse me?" Sean said, grabbing Peters attention.
Suddenly the ground began to shake immensely. Most of the crowd fell to their knees from the intensity. Large vines started shooting out of the ground and swinging in random directions, hitting several civilians. Everyone screamed and ran in opposite directions. All but Sean, who now on his knees from the shaking, looked directly at the source.
Jack Nichols held his arms to waist height, his glare more menacing than his act, "You aren't going to track people like us!" He launched his hand toward Peter, sending a vine directly his way.
Sean felt the surge once again. His body was overcome with the same power he used before. His foot took one step, and he took off at blinding speed in a trail of white lightning. Peter and himself were gone from the area only seconds later, just as the vine strikes the stage.
They stop about a mile away, falling and rolling onto their backs. Sean's body was still pulsing with electricity. "Ow …I need to work on my stops," He groaned. When he noticed Peter getting up, he sped off once again.
Peter looked up fast enough to see Sean run off in blinding light, "That's interesting," he said.
Pain overtook Jack as a white blur tackles him to the ground and pins him, "Agh!" He yelled, "Who the hell ae you supposed to be?!"
Sean kept him pinned, "I should ask YOU that! Why did you attack the rally?!"
"So that they wouldn't track people like you and me."
Sean lowered his brows, "I'm not like you. I'm not a criminal. And I won't let you hurt anyone!"
Jack sighed, "Kid, to people like them, people like us are all criminals," A vine quickly took hold of Sean and yanked him off, throwing him onto the stage. By the time Sean got back up, Jack Nichols was without a trace.
"Great, that went well," Sean sighed stressfully.
"Where did you go?!"
Slamming the door shut, Abigail sat Sean down with a thump. "You can't keep doing this!" She shouted, "You've been with us 2 days! I don't want this to become habit! We worry, 'I' worry, and I don't want anything to-"
Sean looked up when she suddenly stopped talking. She looked sad, like she was suddenly overcome with …grief?
She sat down next to him, holding her hands together, "I'm sorry," She said, "I keep forgetting …"
Sean sighed, "You forgot I'm not your son."
She stares into space for a moment, thinking on her next few words before speaking up, hesitantly, "I keep forgetting you're not Daniel." She muttered.
Sean immediately understood.
"I'm so sorry," Sean said, "But, I'm ...not him, you know? I'm 16, you don't need to worry too much about me."
"I know, but I want to," She started, "Sean. I spent most of my life in the system, moving from one orphanage to another. I craved for someone-anyone-to comfort me and worry about me. I wanted someone to protect me, and care for my wellbeing. When I heard about you, I didn't want you to just float about the system without anyone to claim or love you. You deserved love Sean," She finished, looking away slightly.
Of course Sean understood her motives. She felt unloved in her childhood, lost and afraid. She just wanted him to have what she didn't. After her son, the one she lost, she must have hoped for redemption.
She felt a pair of arms wrap around her. A smile crept over her face, knowing that Sean was understanding of her feelings and was willing to return them. She knew then she had not made a mistake taking Sean in. "You deserved happiness too, Abigail," Sean said.
Ting went the window again. Sean put aside his irritation of the sound and just opened the window, catching the incoming rock at super-speed before it hit him. "Sorry!" Olive yelled to him.
"I saw it coming that time," he dropped the rock, "Where did you go after the rally?"
"Gathering info. I'm decent at that," She answered, pulling out a flash drive and waving it like a chew toy for a dog, "You got a computer?"
The files were shocking to see. Scrolling one after another, he read every entry on the flash drive. Bio reports on Meta-Humans, all listed together. At least 2 dozen Meta's with a full report of abilities, names, addresses, and so on. "Where did you get this?" Sean couldn't take his eyes off the screen. He was too deep into thought as to how these were all collected, and why Olive had it in her possession, "Did you put all this together?"
"No," Olive said, "I just snatched it off the guy who did."
Sean stares at her, silently asking for an answer. "Peter Morrison," She said, "I went back to the stage at the rally and found it. Guess he dropped it when you sped off with him."
"Peter Morrison had a flash drive on Meta's?"
"Sure," Olive tilted her head, "L.S LABS has entire funded projects on studying Meta-Humans. Why do you think they built the satellite?"
Sean felt pretty dumb at that moment. But it did make sense, "So then he might be able to help me find the meta at the rally. According to this, his name is Jack Nichols. And apparently …he has a son?"
"A son?" Olive asked.
"Yeah, apparently he's been seen with Jack at a few crime scenes. Like a family on the run. The kid isn't even eight yet. I doubt he even knows what his dad really does. All the more reason to get Peters help."
"If you can convince him." Olive reminded him.
"I saved his life," Sean said, getting up and taking the flash drive, "He owes me."
The lobby was crowded with people all trying to get from point A to point B. The ceiling was at least several stories high, with catwalks connecting the floors together. The skylight at the top shined down on the company symbol at the center of the floor. What was Sean thinking? He thought he could get an audience with the CEO of L.S LABS at a time like this. Not only was he not a worker, but being as young as he was made him stand out by default.
"Excuse me," He approached the lady at the front counter. The lady looks at him strangely, "I know, I know, I'm young," he answered her unasked question, "But I was hoping I could get a meeting with Mr. Morrison? It's urgent."
"You'll have to schedule," She said, sounding annoyed, and proud as if she just burned him.
"Ma'am," He retorted, "I don't need you to be rude, I just need-"
Everyone stops still, staring at the front entrance in awe. Peter Morrison, their CEO, finally returned to the building after the rally. Immediately he was bombarded with questions about what happened.
"Never mind," Sean said, walking toward Peter, stopping immediately when he hears the lady at the counter call security, "Hey!" Sean yelled, "I didn't even do anything!"
Two guards grabbed him by the shoulders and started dragging him out, "Hey! Come on!" They passed by Mr. Morrison, and Sean tried to get his attention, "Mr. Morrison! I need to talk to you about the rally! Please!" he kept struggling, "Oh come on. My name is Sean White! I was there at the rally! You saw me remember?! Peter Morrison please!"
Peter quickly turned around and looked at Sean, recognizing him as the boy from the rally who tried to get his attention, and as the one who saved him from Jack, "Sean?" He muttered, walking over to him, "Let him go," he gestured to the guards, who dropped him on the ground rather rudely, and left immediately for the building.
Brushing himself off, he stared directly into the eyes of Peter Morrison, "So," he started, shaking Sean's hand, "I didn't get to properly thank you for saving my life, Sean White."
"Yeah," Sean shook his hand in return, "I get that a lot."
Finishing his explanation, Sean sits back, awaiting his response, "So, that's my whole story," he said, "Your caught up. So, will you help me?"
Peter stood up and paced, setting down his pen and paper, "Quite the story," He said, "I have only one question for you," Crossing his arms, he sat back down and pushed his glasses back up, "Why trust me with all this?"
Sean wasn't sure how to answer that question. Perhaps he felt he had nowhere to go. In a way, it's true. He had no leads to Jack's whereabouts. But it wasn't as though he even had to get involved. So why was he? Why was he going through all this effort? "I guess you're my only option," He said, "Jack Nichols was on that list of Meta-Humans from your flash drive. My first question is why? Then my second is why you had this list in the first place."
It was clear Peter didn't want to answer his question. But Jack was a problem, and Sean was offering to help take care of it. "He and those others on the list are the ones I've found in the city. I planned to find them and bring them in. Problem is I don't have the means. I have my satellite, but no one can handle people like him," he grinned, "No one, except you."
"Come again?"
Peter stood, "It's why you're here isn't it? You want to bring him in."
"I want to keep him from hurting people."
"As do I," Peter began to pace again, "But I can't do it on my own. And neither can you. I have the tech to track him down, and you have the abilities to stop him. We both want the same thing. So, here's the deal; You help me bring him in, and I will make sure my satellite doesn't track where you go when you speed around the city."
Sean raised an eyebrow, "You'd do that?"
"Of course. You don't want the police to arrest you, do you?"
"… Ok," Sean questioned, "So, your satellite, is it up and running?"
"It will be. I assure you. It could pick up him up at any time so I want you to be ready," He went to his desk and pulled something out of the drawer, "Here," He handed him an earpiece.
"What's this for?" Sean asked.
"It's to keep in contact with me. I'll call you when I have something."
Sean stared a moment before placing the device in his ear, "Thanks," He said, making his way to the door. "Oh and Sean," Peter said, stopping Sean before he leaves, "Your secret is safe with me."
With a blur of white lightning, Sean speeds back into his room, where Olive was waiting for him. "Hey," She said. From her tone, he immediately felt as though something was wrong. "Is everything ok?" He asked her.
"Yeah," She says, holding up his watch, "You left this behind."
"Oh, right, thanks," He took it from her, slipping it back around his wrist.
"Where did you get that watch?" She asked. Sean froze and stared at her. Something was definitely wrong. "Ok, what's the matter?" he asked with concern.
Olive bite her bottom lip, "I was playing around with the watch while you were gone and … well, press the button on the side. The blue one." In utter confusion, he pressed the button on the side like instructed.
What happened next shocked him, and only raised a thousand more questions.
Shot out of a small hole in the watch, something grew and formed in an instant, landing on his bed. It was an outfit unlike anything he's ever seen. Its orange color stood out against the darker grey. The suit was a combination of leather, cloth and armor plating on the shoulders, elbows, chest and knees. The only piece that was cloth was the full headed mask, with white plastic pieces for the eyes. Around the eyes was a sharp grey design, reaching the forehead and the nose. Boots and gloves of a sleek orange and grey design sat on the bed next to the suit. A grey lightning bolt stretched down the orange leggings on both sides. But what caught his eye most was the two small thunderbolts side by side on the chest, showing where the orange and grey split off. Sean took the suit into his hands with care, curiosity and almost fear of what this meant for his life before his loss in memory. "What is this?"
"It goes back into the watch too," Olive said. Her voice rang of a strange mix of concern, and joy, "Guess you must have been something special before, huh?"
Sean observed the suit carefully in disbelief. Was this really his? Why did he have it? And how did it fit inside his watch? Out of all the questions, the loudest was why? It only made him question further who he was before he lost his memory, before he forgot who he was. "This is mine?" He said.
"Maybe you took after The Flash a bit," Olive said, "Except I've just never heard of any other speedster's running around."
Sean dropped the costume on the bed and backs away, sitting down in deep thought. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. Looking at that suit he could only think of the life that was no longer his. "It feels as though the more I want the truth, the more confusing it becomes."
Olive sat down, wrapping an arm around him, "Life in general is confusing. Not much to be done about it. These last three years alone have been strange with all these Meta-Humans. But we keep going. We accept the change and learn from it. If we didn't, we'd be stuck in one spot forever. Whoever you were before, it's not you right now. And that person isn't someone to be scared of."
His silence spoke a thousand sentences. But his eyes spoke beyond infinity. They spoke of someone with a strong desire to do right with what he has. And that's exactly what he plans to do.
"Sean," Peter Morrison spoke into Sean's earpiece, "I got him. He's on Fourth and Skyward street. You better get there quickly."
He stood up and approached his newly found outfit.
"Sean," Olive placed a hand on his shoulder, "Are you sure you can do this?"
She got her answer when he took his suit, and was gone in a flash.
The car went flying into the building, completely destroying the door to the bank. This was his final stop. The last job, then he could finally escape this city and make his way out to a new, danger free life with his son. Keeping those thoughts together is what prevented him from caring about the screams of horror that rang around him. Police officers attempted to shoot him down, but vines would grow behind him and catch the bullets in their stems. "This isn't working!" an officer shouts, just as a large vine grows beneath the car he stood next to, lifting it into the air.
"You never learn! Average officers like you can't take down a Meta like me!" The vine hurled the car in a random direction, falling toward a woman and her daughter.
"Ma'am take cover!" An officer yelled. But the woman doesn't hear her, she is too deep in fright and just shielded her child from the vehicle.
In a second a blur of orange zoomed by, grabbing the woman and child, and pulled them out of the way, just before the car hit the ground and exploded where they once stood. The woman was dazed, but was able to keep her balance while holding her child, "Go!" the orange figure yelled, as they run off. The boy in orange turned around, and faced his target with a strong stance.
"Who the hell is that?" An officer said, being unable to see him behind the flames of the car's remains, "Flash?"
The boy walked beyond the flames and revealed himself. He stood 5ft 6, and white lightning sparked off of his feet. His orange and grey design showed that he was not The Flash, but someone completely different, "Not exactly," Sean said, his identity hidden by his full headed cowl, "Get out of here! I'll take care of this." He sped by the officers and stood just yards away from Jack Nichols.
"You're the kid from the rally, aren't you?" Jack asked, "You dressing up now? Think you're some kind of hero?"
Sean clenched his fists, adjusting to his gloves. He was surprised that he could see so well. On the outside, the mask's eye pieces were pure white, but inside, he could see as if he was looking through clean glass, "You're robbing banks now? Think you're some kind of crook?" Sean retorted, "It doesn't have to be like this Jack. I know about your son. There are better ways."
Jack scoffed, "Not for people like us. This is my only option."
Breathing slowly, Sean took a step toward Jack, "There is always another way. If you turn yourself in, I promise you, your son will be taken care of. No harm will come to him."
"Lies!" a vine shot out at Sean, who uses his speed to dodge by sliding to the left, "This is my only chance!" Jack yelled, "I won't let some Flash wannabe ruin it for me and my son!" More vines shoot out, one after another. Sean barely dodges each one with his speed, finding that they can keep up well. The problem wasn't his speed; it was his reaction time. This costed him when a vine creeps up from behind and smacks him into the nearest wall. "Agh!" He groaned in pain.
The ground beneath him cracks as more vines grow and attack him. The pain from the attacks were unbearable, and he collapses to the ground.
"Had enough?" Jack asked, summoning another vine and picking him up, pinning him to the wall, "You're out of your league. I'm doing what's best for my son, and you can't stop me."
The vine began to tighten around Sean's chest, rendering it difficult to breath, "Sean!" Peter called out through the earpiece, "Sean pick up!"
With what strength he still had, he ripped his arm out from the vines trap, and pressed on the earpiece in his mask, "I'm a little busy!" He groaned, "Jack has me pinned with a vine! I can't get out-agh!" The vine tightened further.
"Sean, listen, you can escape, but only if you do exactly as I say."
At the moment, he was out of options, "I'm all ears!"
"I've studied The Flash in action and I've seen some of the tricks he's pulled. Listen closely, if you can …ugh, what's the word?"
The vine began to choke him, "Mr. Morrison!"
"-Vibrate!" He finally answered, "If you can vibrate your free hand at the right speed, you'll be able to chop the vine off like a knife cutting bread. But you have to move your molecules faster than the molecules of the vine in order to do so."
It seemed like a longshot, but he was willing to try, "Ok, here goes nothing!" Focusing on his free hand, he began to vibrate it quickly. His hand blurred with the blinding speed. But even as he tried to chop through the vine, his hand only bounced off. "I can't do it!" Sean said, "I'm not fast enough!"
For a moment, there was only silence from Morrison. Then he spoke carefully, with confidence, "Sean, listen to me. You are fast enough. You just have to tell yourself you are. Whoever you were before, he must have been strong. Because on instinct, you saved my life, as well as your friends and the people at the rally. You never put thought into your actions, you just did it. That takes strength, and even with a lost memory, that strength seeps through to the surface. But it isn't something you force. It's something that just hits you, like a bolt of lightning. And if it means anything, I believe in you. Your friend believes in you. And you have to believe too. You can do this Sean; you can take him down. So stop wasting time, and do it! Show the world who you are! Show your strength!"
His words inspired him. He felt the surge of power once more, as lightning coursed through his eyes, coming out of his mask as a glare of light, one that frightened Jack greatly. Sean's hand blurred in vibration once again, and quickly he chopped straight through the vine. With a second, stronger chop, he was free of its grasp and he landed on two feet, sparking with lightning, "I told you before," Sean said, approaching Jack as he began backing up, "I won't let you hurt anyone."
"Kid, take it easy," Jack pleaded.
Blurs of white lightning zoom past Jack, over and over again. Sean's fists connected with him countless times. The officers just watched as the mysterious speedster moved at speeds their eyes couldn't keep up with. He stopped and speed punched his stomach, making Jack cough and nearly lose balance. "I'll always be there to stop people like you," Sean said, sending a strong uppercut of lightning at him, then finishing with a straight punch to the chest. He watched as Jack went flying to the pavement, unable to lift himself up.
The shock was worse than the pain. He hadn't anticipated that this boy would have such speed, "You're pretty-agh!- fast kid," he choked out.
Sean kneeled before him, "Believe me, I didn't want this for you. But I promise, your son will be in good hands."
"…Thank you," he said, "You should go …before he finds you."
He froze at his sentence, and tilted his head to the side, "Before who finds me?"
The police began to approach them, "Hands up, both of you!"
Jack put a hand on Sean's shoulder, "Run, just run!"
Confused and scared, Sean took off in blinding light as the officers apprehend Jack.
"Well done Sean," Peter said as he clapped for Sean's victory.
Jack had been taken away to Iron heights according to the news currently on the large screen in Peters office. Sean sat back in the guest chair and watched the newscast go on about how a Meta was on a rampage, and that the police apprehended him. Peter thought it best to hide Sean's 'first appearance' for his safety. He had contacts in the police force to help tell a different story. There was still plenty of damage at the scene, but the news said it'll be cleaned up quickly, "I am very impressed," Peter continued, "You performed wonderfully. Thanks to you, Jack Nichols is safely locked up in Iron Heights prison."
Sean's gaze glanced up as he raised an eye brow, "And Collin? His son?"
"Police found him in an abandoned apartment," He answered, straightening his tie, "He's being sent to a foster home until further notice."
A sigh came from Sean in hearing that. He was happy that the poor kid would be safe and sound, and taken care of like he was after he had woken up, "So, what happens now?"
Peter gave him a strange grin, "Now, I make you an offer."
Confusion was first, then curiosity took hold. He decided to listen to what he had to say, "What do you have in mind?"
"Hear me out," Peter began pacing around his desk, "As you know, there are still 23 other Meta's on that flash drive. Those Meta's are still somewhere in the city. I have the tech to find them. And you have the skills and abilities to take them in. I think together, we have the means to do what the police can't."
"You mean catch Meta-Humans?"
Peter grabbed the arm rests of Sean's chair and leans down, "I mean save lives. This is a new world, Sean. A world like this needs saving. And you and I can do the saving," he stood up straight, "So what do you say?"
He wasn't sure what to say, and less of what he thought. It wasn't for sure if he could really trust Peter Morrison, but at the same time it's not like he had much of a choice. Peter knew about his powers and could turn him in at any time. Besides, Sean wanted to help people. Maybe siding with L.S LABS is the best way to do it. "Ok," Sean said, "I'm in. I'll just need my own place to work."
"That can be arranged," He shook Sean's hands, "Welcome to Light-Speed Labs, Sean."
A sign that says "Scheduled for deconstruction", caution tape on the door, and some broken windows were enough to disguise what was inside the building. Inside this supposed old building was a series of computers scattered around the corners of the room, and tables of tech and tools. The room was well equipped, and Olive couldn't stop staring. "It's perfect. And he just gave this all to you?"
"Yeah," Sean said, "That's the deal. All I have to do is find those other Meta-Humans."
"Sweet," She said, examining some of the computers.
"Olive," Sean said, grabbing her gently by the shoulder and turning her around, "Thanks. I'm happy to know I'm not in this alone."
Olive smiled, and hugged him, "Least I can do, you saved my life after all."
"Yeah, I guess."
On one of the computers, the news was playing. The lady on the screen talked of a holdup at a local gas station.
"I guess that's my cue," Sean said.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Olive lightly bumped his shoulder, "Start running."
With a smile, he grabbed his suit out of his watch, and zoomed out of the building.
THE BOLT
A pair of electronically powered doors opened wide to the L.S experimentation lab, allowing the man to walk into the strange room. He kept his arms behind himself as he turned on the lights. The room was purely metallic, and large in size. Computers sat on every wall in the room, each with numbers and letters scrolling down the screens "Good evening. It's very good to see you again, Mr. Nichols."
Jack sat in a cell of pure energy, pulsating all around him. He looked beat up, and bloody. The new scars didn't come from the fight with Sean, that much was clear. His stare was cold and hateful toward his visitor, "What do you want now?" He scoffs.
Morrison approaches the cell, "You and your friends are a pain, running away like that. Thankfully, I now have the means to bring you all back," He presses a keypad on the cell, releasing a blue gas into the chamber. Jack starts coughing in pain, as he watched Morrison walk away, "You can't do this!" Jack coughed, "When the kid finds out what you're doing, he'll kill you!"
"No he won't," Peter smiles, "Because he works for me, at least, until he's outlived his usefulness." He walks out of the room, locking the door behind him as he listened to Jacks screams from inside.
Written by Timelord2024
I do not own The DC universe. This includes the CW Television shows, ARROW, THE FLASH, LEGENDS OF TOMMOROW, and SUPERGIRL.
All Original characters are owned by Timelord 2024
THE BOLT created by Timelord 2024