VELOCITY
A Justice League Fan-Fiction by neomage
(DISCLAIMER: Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and all characters therein are owned by DC Comics and the Warner Bros. animation studios.)
Chapter 10
En route to STAR Labs' Central City branch, 5:25 p.m.
A little while later, Wally, Hunter, Chyre and Morillo had driven off from City Hall and were now back on their way to STAR Labs. "So, Wally…what was up with you and that reporter girl?" Hunter, at the wheel, asked with a faintly amused smirk. "Asking her out on a date, were we?"
"What? Hey, no, it's nothing like THAT!" Wally exclaimed, his face flushing a bright shade of red.
"Sure, sure." Hunter shook his head. "We all saw how you were looking at her back there. And I do have to admit, she's not so bad on the eyes."
"I wouldn't encourage him, Zolomon." Morillo, sitting beside Wally, looked grave. "No matter how pretty she may be, she's still a reporter. And reporters are good at one thing only—sticking their noses where they don't belong, WHEN they don't belong there."
"I agree," Chyre grunted as he turned in his seat to look at Wally. "Hey, kid, I think you should keep away from that lady. Before you know it, she'll likely squeegee all the scandalous secrets of the private lives of every cop in Central City out of you and make a juicy little story out of it all. That's what reporters are born to do."
Wally rubbed the back of his head. "Aw, c'mon, guys, you're just being paranoid here. I mean, it's just gonna be a cup of coff—" Suddenly his eyes widened and he clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Aha! So it is a date, then!" Hunter pounced on that.
"Hey, I never said that!" Wally cried defensively.
Morillo ran a hand over his own face. "Geez…already he's decided not to follow our advice before it's even sunk in."
"Heh, heh." Then suddenly the chuckle vanished and Hunter's face was more serious. "But you listen to me, Wally. These guys are right about reporters—those folks are always working to uncover something that'll make a news story for them, even when they appear to be least intimidating or dedicated. I've heard a lot of stories about officials who ran their mouths off around seemingly dull reporters who claim to be off duty—only to see something incriminating about themselves in the paper or on the morning news the next day. So, be real careful what you do or say around that girl."
"Guys, it's not like I'd deliberately spill any secrets I wouldn't want out in the open," Wally protested.
"Maybe you wouldn't do it on purpose, but you never can tell with those inquisitive people," Chyre answered. "They've got a way of twiddling you around their fingers until they get you to say exactly what they want to hear from you. Believe me, reporters are nothing but trouble best left avoided."
Presently Hunter sat up briskly in his seat. "Well, fellows, here we are."
The police cruiser was pulling up near the steps of a gray-slab building. The steps themselves looked almost like the steps one would find outside a courthouse, except these were fewer in number, only about ten or so. At the top of them was a huge star-shaped monument, chiseled out of ebony marble of some rare and rich-looking kind, with the words Central City STAR Labs emblazoned in big gold letters on its front. Behind this monument were three pairs of revolving glass doors, through which a number of persons were coming and going.
"All right…time to get this inside," Wally reached down and took up the evidence box, securing it under his arm before opening his door.
"Mr. West! About time you got here, young man!"
Alighting from the cruiser, the four cops looked up at the sound of the authoritative voice. Wally smiled when he saw who it was. "Hey there, doc! Been a while, hasn't it?"
From the top of the steps, walking down to meet the group, was a rather tall, raven-haired woman in a lab technician's white coat with a purple dress underneath. "Don't try to sweet-talk me, Mr. West; you should have been here long ago! Time is precious to me and my work here at the lab, you know!" she scolded him.
"Sorry about that," Wally apologized. "There was a little bit of trouble when we were passing by City Hall…"
The woman's eyebrows rose up at this. "Oh, you mean with those super-criminals crashing Amunet Black's presentation? Yes, I saw that on the news…but that's still no excuse! You should have just come straight here, instead of stopping and getting mixed up in that entire hullabaloo!"
"Well, she does raise a bit of a point…" Morillo looked a little sheepish.
"Oh—forgot my manners," Wally said suddenly, blushing in the process. "Guys, meet Dr. Tina McGee, one of the head honchos here at STAR Labs."
He wasn't prepared for the sharp slap across the ear. "OW!" he cried out, very nearly dropping the evidence box as he swiftly raised one hand to his ear.
"You KNOW I do not tolerate the use of slang, Wallace West!" Dr. McGee snapped. "But you never seem to get it through that thick head of yours, do you?"
Morillo nudged Chyre. "Guess we can understand why she's a head honcho…"
Dr. McGee leveled a glare in Morillo's direction. "Excuse me, did you say something?"
Morillo looked trapped. "Uh…no, no…nothing important…"
Hunter stepped forward to defuse the situation. "Um, Dr. McGee, the point is that we're here now, and so is the Thinker case evidence we need STAR Labs to analyze for us…" and he gestured to the box Wally was holding. "Would it be too much trouble for you to examine it and tell us what you think?"
"Humph!" Dr. McGee put one hand on her hip in an authoritative manner. "Well, since the Central City PD already called ahead to say you were coming, I suppose it would be a real bother to send you back so soon after you've arrived. All right, then, hand it here."
A little hesitantly, Wally stepped forward, holding the evidence box out to her; he flinched a little as she snatched it away from him. "So, uh, heh-heh…how soon can you look at that, doc?" he asked.
"Well, I can't promise you any near-to-the-future dates," Dr. McGee replied. "The soonest I can promise is tomorrow evening, and that's not a guarantee."
"As long as it gets done, it's fine," Chyre spoke up. "Well…I guess we shouldn't take up much more of your time, then. You must be a busy woman, after all."
"At least ONE among you is mature enough to appreciate my workload," Dr. McGee replied. "Well, I'll call your department as soon as we have something to share about this bit of evidence. Until then, good day, gentlemen." And with that, she turned and walked back toward the building's revolving doors.
"There goes a strong-willed woman," Morillo sighed. "Good luck to the man who marries her."
Wally chuckled. "She is married."
"HUH?" Morillo turned and stared sharply at him. "Married? Her? But—then she must have the poor guy whipped!"
"Not really," Wally shook his head. "He's the other person in charge of this STAR Labs branch."
Morillo sighed and shook his head. "I won't even try to understand it…"
"Anyhow, the delivery's done, so can we head back now?" asked Chyre, turning and walking back to the cruiser.
"Yes, boys; we do still have work to do back at the office," agreed Hunter, and he turned and headed for the car as well, with Wally and Morillo only a few steps behind him.
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Justice League Watchtower, 7:00 p.m.
"WHEW! Finally, all the chores are DONE!" Booster Gold shouted jubilantly.
He, Dr. Light and Skeets were in the storage room, putting away the cleaning tools they'd been using to clean out the Watchtower's bathrooms. "It's quite amazing you were able to finish so quickly, even with help from Dr. Light," Skeets remarked. "By the way, Dr. Light, thank you for rendering assistance to Booster. According to my calculations, he would have been at it up until tomorrow if not for you."
"Would not, Skeets!" Booster glowered at the robot.
Dr. Light chuckled. "It was my pleasure," she assured both of them.
"Well, anyway, let's finish putting away all this stuff," Booster continued. "Then you can keep your end of the bargain we've made!"
"Patience, Booster, patience," Dr. Light admonished him. "One thing at a time." And she slid the broom she'd been holding into a nearby closet.
"Patience? Come on, doc!" Booster protested, even as he leaned the mop and bucket in his hands against a nearby wall. "All my chores are done as of now, and then I'm gonna go up against Green Lantern! How can I possibly be patient?"
"Lesson number one, Booster." Dr. Light turned to face him, a glint in her eyes. "You are far too eager to rush into a confrontation with Green Lantern. Face him with such a reckless attitude, even in a sparring match, and he will certainly humble and embarrass you."
"Well, what do you want me to do?" Booster asked in growing agitation.
Dr. Light crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Very well, then. Attack me."
"W-what?" Booster blinked, certain he hadn't heard her right.
"I said, attack me. Come at me as though you were going to bash my face in. Strike me with all the wild fury you have within you." Dr. Light's face was without a shard of emotion.
"Booster, the stress level of Dr. Light's voice indicates that you should indeed do as she has asked," Skeets remarked, floating a little ways away from the duo.
Booster looked from one to the other of them. Then he shrugged. "All right, doc, if you say so. Just don't hate me later 'cuz I did as you asked."
"Stop talking and just do it." A note of irritation was starting to creep into Dr. Light's tone.
Whereupon Booster cracked his knuckles, then clenched his fist tightly. "Here I COME! YAAAAAAAH!" he yelled out, drawing his arm back and dashing at Dr. Light. Almost upon her, he thrust his fist forward…
…but to his utter astonishment, he suddenly found the world spinning a full 360 degrees and then felt a sharp blow to the whole length of his back, followed by something heavy pressing down on his neck and a twisting feeling in his whole arm from the wrist down! "Urk…what…what the…" he managed to choke out, as the thing on his neck was somewhat constricting his breathing.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Skeets hovering over his face. "Allow me to break it down for you, Booster," it said. "The moment you threw your fist at Dr. Light, first she sidestepped the attack, then grabbed your wrist and sent her right elbow into your lower left ribcage. From there, while still holding your wrist, she slipped under your arm and behind you, then twisted your wrist while kicking your right foot out from underneath you in the same movement. That forced your whole body to flip, causing you to land on the ground on your back. At this moment Dr. Light is still holding and twisting your arm, and she also has one foot pressed down on the side of your neck just underneath your right jaw. Oh, and by the way, all of that happened in exactly 4.5 seconds."
"O…kay…but I don't think I recall being hit in the ribs…" Booster managed to say.
"Of course not. Your brain would not have had the chance to register that first counterattack, judging from Dr. Light's speed of movement," Skeets replied.
Dr. Light's grip on Booster's wrist remained firm. "Now answer me this, Booster Gold. What was your first mistake?"
Wincing from the ache in his whole arm, Booster tried to shift his neck a little so that the chafing of Dr. Light's boot was at least more bearable. "Uh…warning you out loud before I attacked?"
"No, that was actually your third mistake." Dr. Light stepped down a little harder on his neck, causing him to flinch; if she saw it, she ignored it entirely. "Your second mistake…was to actually agree to try hitting me at all. And your first mistake…was not heeding my advice in the first place to curtail your impatience."
"All right. Got it." Booster sucked in air between his teeth as he felt the heel of Dr. Light's boot digging into his neck.
"Actually, I'm not yet certain you do." Dr. Light's grip on his wrist tightened; this elicited a small yelp of pain from Booster. "I agreed to give you some help in preparing for the sparring match against Green Lantern," she went on. "Therefore, I must make absolutely certain that you know whose role is whose here. Now…who is the teacher?"
"Urgh…you…!" Booster choked out.
"And who is the student?"
"Me…"
"And who leads whom?"
Booster gasped for breath; Dr. Light's foot was really constricting him, and the pain in his twisted arm wasn't making his situation any better. "Teacher…leads student…!"
"And who follows and obeys whom?" Dr. Light eyed him.
"Student…obeys…teacher!" Booster gasped.
"And therefore, that means…?" Dr. Light prompted.
Booster clenched his teeth, doing his utmost best to block out the numbness that was starting to develop in his hand. "I'll…I'll do whatever you tell me…ma'am!"
"Good. That's what I thought, too." At last Dr. Light released Booster's wrist and stepped off his neck. Immediately Booster curled up in the fetal position, holding his sore wrist and coughing as he fought to regain his breath.
"Booster, I believe this is what you humans call 'getting schooled,'" Skeets remarked.
"All right—now will you exercise patience until we're done here and have gotten down to the training room?" Dr. Light asked.
"Yes, ma'am," Booster sighed, defeated.
"Good." Dr. Light nodded. "In that case, let's finish putting away these cleaning tools."
----------
The teleporter's pod glowed bright white for a moment…then the Flash materialized into view. "Hello, Watchtower!" he exclaimed. "Man, it's good to be back up here after a whole day of work, work, work…"
"Good to see you're back with us, Flash," Mr. Terrific called to him from his control platform. "I was beginning to wonder if I'd have to send Superman down to Central City after you."
"Huh? Why's that?" Flash cocked a curious eyebrow.
"Well, he's been up here waiting on you to show up for the last hour and a half or so," Mr. Terrific explained. "Him and Dr. Fate."
"Ooookaaaaayyyy…so where are they at?" Flash wondered.
"Just a second…" Mr. Terrific tapped a few buttons on his platform's keyboard, then held down one with his finger. "Yes, Superman, he's here. Where should he look for you…? Oh, all right. I'll let him know."
Flash looked up expectantly. "So…?"
Mr. Terrific looked back down at him. "Conference room."
"All right, I'm there!" Flash nodded—then a second later was gone in a blur of red.
----------
Ten seconds later found Flash standing outside the doors to the Justice League's conference room. "Okay…here I go!" he announced, stepping toward the doors even as they automatically opened for him.
Inside the conference room, there was a large round table flanked by seven chairs. On the back of one of those chairs, Flash noted with some humor, was his own logo—he'd painted it on sometime after the whole Luthor/Brainiac fiasco. And at this moment, sitting in two of the other chairs, were Superman and Dr. Fate. "Glad you could join us at last, Flash," Superman addressed him. "Please, sit down."
"Yeah, well…I'd have gotten here sooner, but like I told you earlier, Supes, I had to get all my work at my day-job done first," Flash answered as he sat. "And then I had to pay a few people around Central City a visit, like I'd promised. And the Fastest Man Alive always keeps his promises to his most loyal fans!"
"I'm sure," Superman nodded.
Flash then turned and beheld Dr. Fate. "Hey there, Doc Fate, how's it going over in Salem? Hope nobody's started hunting you…"
Whether Dr. Fate was amused or annoyed at the attempted joke, his helmet didn't show it. "Superman stopped by my abode earlier today and asked me to come and speak to you," he explained.
Flash placed his hands on the table. "Well, it must be a real big reason he had for you to be here, and in the conference room at that. After all, usually it's original members only in here…"
Suddenly he paused. "Hey…wait a second…" He swiveled in his chair and leveled an accusing glare at Superman. "This isn't about that again, is it? Because if it is, I am SO out of here!"
"Look, Wally, I'm sorry if you feel imposed upon," Superman said quietly, leaning forward in his seat, "but I simply can't just stand by and let this go unchecked. You came close to disappearing today, just like four years ago…I'm not going to risk it happening again. You're too important to the League for us to lose you."
"And you're taking the whole 'big brother' concept too far," Flash snorted.
"Superman explained to me what happened four years ago, and also what happened today," Dr. Fate stepped in. "As you know, normally I do not make the happenings of the mortal world a major priority—unless, of course, something mystical is involved and my expertise is required to understand or to combat it. With this in mind, had the matter not been deemed serious enough, Superman never would have contacted me. Now, four years ago you came into contact with an extra-dimensional plane you called the 'Speed Force.' What I want to do is determine whether or not that dimensional plane is the same thing that you experienced today, and whether it is detrimental to your existence…if nothing else, it will at least give us all some certainty regarding your welfare in this matter."
Flash sighed. "Well, since Superman went to the trouble of getting you to come out of your tower and come up here, I guess I may as well humor him. So, what're you gonna do, doc? Read my mind? Test my inner energy?"
"No, nothing that complicated—unless it becomes called for," answered Dr. Fate. "For now, I want you to just tell me…in your own words…what you experienced that night. How you felt. What you saw and heard. Everything."
Flash looked at Superman, then back at Dr. Fate. Then, sighing, he leaned back in his chair. "Well…all right. Fine."
Superman and Dr. Fate looked at each other and nodded. Then both looked back at Flash expectantly.
"It's…kinda hard to describe it all in words, to be honest," Flash admitted. "All I know for sure…is that I was staring down Luthor when he was fused with Brainiac…then I just, well, turned and ran. And all I was gonna do was build up enough speed to knock him down and try to get his armor off, and that way we could have an advantage…but then, somehow, I realized it wasn't going to be enough. I was the only one still standing, the only one who could still beat them both. Everyone was counting on me…and I couldn't afford to let any of them down. So…I just started going faster, and faster, and then…" He paused.
"Go on," Dr. Fate encouraged him.
Flash nodded. "Then…the next thing I knew, I could feel my whole body…becoming lighter…and I saw everything around me—it was all standing still, but at the same time it was all going by in a blur, you know? And then…even when I was tearing Brainiac out of Luthor's body, I could feel…almost, like, a calm feeling washing over me…like an afterglow of sorts, you know what I mean?"
"I see," Dr. Fate said thoughtfully. "And then what happened?"
"After that…for a couple of seconds, I could see energy flashing all around my body, like I was a walking power plant," Flash went on. "And then…I saw Superman running to grab me, and then suddenly none of them were there any longer…and I could feel myself, being pulled into, like, a blanket of soft, warm light. And I could hear a voice, too…"
"A voice?" Dr. Fate asked, now very impressed.
"Yeah, a voice…a soft, mom-like voice," Flash explained. "I couldn't tell which direction it was coming from…it was as if it was all around me, echoing or something. And…it was calling to me…telling me to come home…that that was where I belonged."
As he spoke, a small, sad smile came over Flash's face. Both Superman and Dr. Fate noticed it. "And then Shayera Hol and the others were able to reach you in that momentary dimensional tear, and they pulled you back to this side of existence," Dr. Fate said to Flash.
"Yeah, that's it," Flash nodded. "And ever since then, I've been trying my best to watch my speed, or else the same thing could happen again…"
"And it almost did today, when we went up against Cobalt Blue and his lackeys," Superman interrupted. "And you were fighting your hardest not to get sucked into it again."
Flash shook his head. "But you know…it's kinda funny…"
"What is it?" Dr. Fate asked him.
Flash ran a hand over his face and sighed. "Back then…when the others were pulling me back into this world…it was like I couldn't make up my mind. Should I go back, or should I stay? That's what I was asking myself in that moment. And…today, too…the option was right there in front of me: to stay here in this world, where I know Central City and the League need me…or to remain there, where I wouldn't have to fight crime, battle super-villains and risk my life all the time anymore, where I could just…rest. But with one option, I'd be throwing away the best experience I've ever had, and with the other I'd just be selfish. It's confusing."
He looked imploringly at the other two men. "What would you guys do? Which would you choose? To continue an endless fight for other people, while never feeling really like you're complete…or to just put an end to that fight and be at peace, at the cost of other lives?"
Superman and Dr. Fate looked at him as he asked the question, and then looked at each other. There wasn't anything either of them could say in answer to that.
CHAPTER 10 COMPLETE! CHAPTER 11 COMING UP!
(NOTE TO BE MADE: Dr. Tina McGee is an actual supporting character from the Flash comics, but I had to take liberties with her character for this story since I've never read the actual comics and consequently don't know what sort of person she was. Also, there will be ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION in this story of the affair she and Wally had in the comics, so comic purists, know that from now. And as for Flash's question that was posed to Superman and Dr. Fate…that's something I've been wondering whether Wally ever asked himself in the comics. Something worth thinking about, no?)