Important notice! Within this chapter I make a… slight crossover, with the JLU (Justice League Unlimited) universe. The episode "The Great Brain Robbery" is mentioned herein. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly suggest it, awesome Wally episode ;D
Now read!
Vandal Savage trudged through another thick set of vines, clearing his way through the Olympic National Forest. The man, immortal as he was, never truly felt pressed for time. And having roamed the earth long before the Roman's built their roadways and the Industrial revolution brought forth air transportation, he felt perfectly fine with traversing by foot through the thick forest. Rainforest, in fact, the only one of its kind within the United States.
His destination was an old Cadmus facility, long abandoned years ago when that branch of the corporation was shut down. However, he had it on high suspicion that it was currently being occupied. And by one of the members of the Light, no less.
Klarion had been absent for the past week and a half. It wasn't that their group was concerned for the witchling, but when you're apart of a select group of world (and sometimes galaxy) class criminals, suspicions and double crossing was natural. Therefore, Vandal had vigilantly watched each of the members, to make sure that not only would there be a minimal amount of bad blood between them, but also that nobody attempted to undermine his work. As said before, being an immortal, he had all the time he would ever need to follow through on his plans, hindered or not.
It didn't change the fact that he didn't like to be kept waiting.
Shoving through some dense foliage, he managed to locate the hidden facility. In front of him it looked old and decayed, the forest having taken over years ago, crawling through the windows and breaking apart the concrete walls. It looked like it had been a regular one story office building, just large enough to have a helicopter land on top (there was, after all, no other true way to get to the facility). This of course was the cover up piece, according to records; the building went as far as thirty stories down.
It had been one of the smaller research facilities.
Passing the decayed remains, he walked around until he found what he was looking for. An electrical box, or at least what appeared to be one. Though it was just as much claimed by the jungle, a few of the vines had been torn away recently. Ripping open the box, he came face to face with the beautiful shine of technology, unclaimed by the jungle. Typing in a sequence of codes, the computer booted to life, opening an elevator thirty feet away in what had seemed to be a very real tree. Stepping in, he didn't even flinch as the tube whooshed down the shaft at speeds dangerous to most elevators and lifts.
Coming to a stop, the world class criminal stepped out into a fully lit and intact Cadmus research lab. It truly had been closed down, and most things had been taken in the liquidation, but a few dusty beacons and test tubes sat forlornly on the surrounding tables. A couple still held questionable liquids, even.
Vandal shook his head. If they were going to leave this much evidence behind, they should have just started the forest on fire and destroyed it during the commotion. He'd have to file away that thought for later…
Stepping out of the large room he came to a low ceiling hallway, running for miles in either direction, curving and twisting through the underground. Klarion could be anywhere, but Vandal had a notion the upstart Lord of Chaos would be to the right, the old control center was in that direction. Glancing around the bare hallways, he wondered once again what the immature magician could be doing that had been so secretive and so time consuming that he failed to call in on scheduled meetings. Vandal Savage never hid what happened to members that were deemed… unfit for the title.
However, he did not think that would be the case with Klarion. The boy was… difficult to work with. The fact that he wasn't truly an immature child, that he was in fact a living embodiment of chaos, didn't help matters. It made him careless, impulsive and more dangerous. If it weren't for how 'fun' and 'interesting' the Light was the child would merely find his entertainment by setting off volcanoes, or lighting a fire in New York city that couldn't be put out. No, Klarion's membership within the Light was not in question, second to Luthor, he was the closest one to being dedicated to the cause (because of the chaos, naturally).
But he had been called several times already, and none of the summons were answered, or acknowledged. And it's not like the witchling had died, and Ra's al Ghul hadn't felt dimensional disturbances recently, so what was keeping the bratty villain from-
Savage paused, not startled, but merely curious to see if he could hear the sound again, and was not disappointed.
The sound of something being slammed echoed through the hall.
It wasn't accompanied by Klarion's normal annoying dialogue, so the immortal tread quietly, curious to find the source. As it grew louder, a faint blue glow came into view, pulsing brighter when the slamming noise occurred and then receding back to its original glow.
"Argh!"
Vandal paused, faintly surprised as his ears registered a human noise of frustration. Cautiously, he moved close enough to see that the light was a force field, covering a standard Cadmus holding cell, a large one at that. Moving further, the villain glanced to see what was within.
Well, this was certainly unexpected.
A teenager, practically still a child, was locked inside. He had a shock of orange hair, his clothing and overall appearance somewhat rumpled, but unharmed. As the sounds had entailed, he was clearly aggravated in some way, clenching his fists and occasionally growling and grabbing at his hair, pacing. Swiftly taking in the other surroundings, it appeared the boy was simply left in the barren room, save for a suspiciously large amount of pizza in the far corner.
His attention turned back to the boy, who was apparently talking to himself. Savage narrowed his eyes; there was something about him…
"They didn't betray me." The teenager rubbed at his head in obvious aggravation, his tone sounding more like he was convincing himself than truly believing it. "Just… have to make it through this. They didn't betray me." He shook his head angrily, looking up to the vacant space in the room and shouting. "You hear me you sicko! My team will come for me!" Clearly the pep talk wasn't working, because all at once he yelled out in pent up fury.
And moved.
Though the sight of a mere boy entrapped within the abandoned facility had surprised him, seeing that shocked him more. He couldn't make out the child any longer. He could see nothing but a blindingly fast blur of orange and denim blue that banged into the walls fiercely, chipping off rock and scuffing it in several places. The force field he had been looking through was attacked so ferociously that the increase in light blazed on for a full minute until the attacks finally receded and the vibrations ended.
The villain moved further, so he was standing dead center in front of the door. The boy was doubled over, gasping for air, trying to compensate for the sudden workout he had just done. His body was rigid with stress, his eyes looking haunted, desperate.
Savage smiled, the pieces finally falling together.
It was shaping up to be a good day.
Finally catching his breath, the speedster glanced around the room, assessing the damage he had managed to cause. It was somewhat notable. The walls glowing with innumerable spots of clean cut stone, and the floor practically covered in shoe scuffs. And when the boy turned to glance at the force field, and saw him, Savage was rewarded with an entertainingly incredulous double take on the sidekick's part.
The boy straightened immediately, backing up a step as if Savage would charge in on him right then. A nice change in pace, considering the last one-on-one confrontation Vandal had with him Kid Flash had been nothing but cocky.
"Vandal Savage?"
The shock and horror in his tone was highly appealing. And it was strange associating that ridiculously juvenile and young voice with the distracting, aggravating meta-hero it usually came out of. Seeing the boy's attention on him, the man smiled darkly, his scars stretching. "You're even younger than I expected."
"What?" The red head's face instantly turned confused. Funny, those costumes really did hide a person's character. Despite the overly bubbly and obnoxious personality, he hadn't imagined the boys face to be so animated before all this.
Savage continued as if he hadn't heard the teen. "Your mask hid the freckles well."
"My-" Oh, that look of realization was worth this whole trip alone. In dismay, Kid Flash's hands super-sped to his face, finding nothing but skin.
He sneered as he took in the sidekick's distress. "I suppose you have a name to go with that civilian form?"
The alarmed look instantly shut down at his tone, the face working up into a more familiar cool-and-cocky façade. "Yeah. They call me JD, stands for John Doe." Ah, so the boy did still have some spunk left in him. The helpless teen fidgeted under the villain's unwavering stare. "What do you want, Savage?"
He smiled wider at the boy's discomfort. "Nothing you need to be concerned about." But that was right, he really did need to find Klarion soon. Even immortals had to live within the confines of time, and if he didn't finish this soon, he might be late for a rather important meeting in Italy.
Wally frowned at him, his eyes narrowing. Clearly, he didn't buy it. "Where's Klarion?"
"Here, I'm presuming. Since we haven't been in contact with him recently. Though," he made a point to look emphatically towards the boy and then his cell, "I can see he's been busy playing 'lord and master'."
"He is not my master!" Kid Flash clenched his teeth, looking as though he wished that maybe there wasn't a force field to keep him from attacking Savage. "Nobody owns me!" Hmm, that appeared to be a definite sore spot for the prisoner.
Again Vandal acted as though he did not hear. "Your situation seems to dictate differently." His smile turned cynical, deciding to jam the knife further into the wound. "And how has that been, does Klarion like to play with his new pet?"
"Shut up!" Savage didn't even flinch, merely smiled more, as the captured speedster ran at the force field, causing the magic to pulse brightly. "I am nobody's pet." And then the little boy glared at him, as if the red hair, green eyes, and freckled face could be menacing while trapped within the cell. "Pets are loyal, prisoners are held against their will."
"And if you're in the care of the Lord of Chaos," Vandal leaned forward, his face inches from touching the magic-laced energy. "How long before your mind breaks and you don't know the difference?"
He felt a hum of satisfaction from his throat as the boy's eyes flew from their burning anger back to the lost, scared look. He'd have to ask Klarion just what he'd done thus far; it was really enjoyable to be around a quiet speedster.
Ah, and speaking of the devil, here he came. As the red flare of energy faded and left the witch boy in its place, Savage couldn't help but notice that, despite Klarion appearing in the hallway, not the cell, the speedster brat still stepped further away, fearfully.
"Should've known one of you old geezers would show up." Klarion crossed his arms in a pout, looking anything but happy at Savage's arrival. Out of all the members of the Light, however, Savage was the only one who could really get the dimension jumper to listen.
Raising one eyebrow, Savage frowned at the fellow immortal's attitude. "We need to talk."
With a long suffering sigh Klarion waved his hand. Instantly Vandal was engulfed by the mystic red energy, then just as quickly appearing within the control room he had been heading to all along. Klarion sat in an old desk chair, absently petting his familiar. "You guys miss me?" He gave the leader a crooked grin.
Savage frowned deeper. "You've been deliberately avoiding meetings. For what, play time with your caught sidekick? And why do you have such a thing here in the first place?"
"My pet, Savage." Klarion sniffed indignantly, not liking that he had to deal with a higher authority after all the time he'd been playing the authority with Kid Flash. "He's far more important to train then your meetings."
The immortal had picked up a lot of habits over the years, but one he absolutely abhorred was the general sarcastic rolling of eyes. Nonetheless, he was hard pressed not to mimic such a gesture at the Lord of Chaos' words. "For your sake, I'd suggest you explain yourself."
Klarion turned to him and grinned, like he had just given permission to rip America in half, literally. Teekl jumped over to the controls and watched as its master began to perform a spell, forming a red mist in front of them. With the final casting, images began to flicker to life within the mist. Savage, recognizing this spell, leaned forward. It was a way to spy within areas not normally seen; it could even be used to procure images from another's memory, though it wasn't easy. Klarion did not cast such a complex spell for just anything.
Raising his eyebrows in shock, Savage realized he was looking within the Watchtower, the whole scene splattered with heroes of every color, more than he had realized were within the league. But soon his eyes began to notice further differences, the technology on the console, the zeta beams were different. He recognized the heroes yet saw slight alterations to their outfits. His mind quickly put the pieces together. "This is not our dimension's watchtower."
Behind him, Klarion giggled. "Nope! I was spying on old fart-face-Fate in this parallel universe. When I saw this."
Knowing there was a point to this, Savage remain quiet and faced the screen. He watched, to his astonishment, for the next twenty minutes as the Justice League's Flash tore apart the entire tower. He had kept a close eye on all heroes, it was natural as a villain planning to use the League as pawns. And with the Flash being one of the founders, Savage certainly had a large file both on him and his sidekick. But what he was seeing… this was incredible. He knew heroes were inclined to hold back when attacking; otherwise their golden rule might risk getting broken. It certainly applied to Superman and Wonderwoman, who were the definition of superior strength. But he never considered the Flash would also be a part of such a category. In awe, he watched at the scarlet speedster caused doors to explode, sped through the tower in a matter of seconds and knocked out countless heroes, he took out the Green Lantern with a high speed pudding cup. The central control room, the cafeteria, landing back, secondary panel, all turned into a warzone with heroes helplessly tossed about amidst the debris. Even Savage could admit, the display of power was remarkable.
He turned to regard the fellow villain, who looked quite pleased with himself. "As interesting as this is, I feel inclined to point out that your choice is about two feet too small."
Klarion laughed at the remark. "Oh no, he's the right one. This parallel dimension is ahead by four years at least. At some point, the sidekick in our dimension turned into the Flash of that dimension."
"And you plan for the boy…"
"To become mine." He turned back to the screen, watching again the chaos that ensued. It was abrupt, treacherous, and lethal. "I want to turn him into this. To control that chaos, I want it to be my chaos." His sharp-toothed grin was absolutely predatory. Clearly, the witchling had already decided he owned the poor speedster.
Savage turned away, sighing, when he noticed out of the corner of his eye the blinking light of one of the ancient security cameras. Evidently Klarion hadn't noticed. He passed a dark look to it, knowing exactly who was on the other side. Apparently he wasn't the only member of the Light who hated to be kept in the dark. "As long as this doesn't interfere with our plans," He called over his shoulder. "I will allow this, but make sure you control your… pet. I don't need a feral speedster on the loose."
"Whatever Savage." The Lord of Chaos replied, which, the elder appearing immortal mused, was as good an answer as he would get. With one last look to the camera, smiling to himself, the villain left.
XXX
As soon as the old bag-of-bones was gone, Klarion instantly shifted the misty screen back to the speedster within their dimension. Wally was again huddling himself within a far corner, running his hands through his wild, windblown locks.
Klarion had meant it when he told Savage he was going to change Wally. That chaos, that power that Wally West held back for the sake up 'the greater good', it was criminal, and Klarion would know, he was a super villain.
Ignoring Teekl's glare the magic user teleported back into the forlorn cell. Instantly the speedster looked up at him, his breath automatically hitching in anxiety. Ever since his precious little runner had broken down, Klarion had had… strange instances. Like right now, seeing the fear on his pet's face, seeing the uncertainty of what Klarion would do, but believing it to be harmful, it left an uncomfortable pang in his chest.
It wasn't love, the Lord of Chaos was smart enough to acknowledge that, but… his pet was becoming more than just a fun little side project.
Oh well, not important.
Trying to conceal his nervousness, Wally glared up defiantly at his captor. He had made a point to appear angry every time Klarion came now, as if it would help erase that helpless moment when he broke down. It made Klarion smile, seeing his pet try to put up such façades of control. "What happened to Savage?"
The witch gracefully landed in front of the speedster, noting that the pizzas were finally gone. "Doesn't matter." He instantly began to scrutinize Wally. "What did he say to you, pet?"
He felt another sore pang as Wally's face instantly became indignant. "I. Am. Not. A. PET."
Klarion reached out and tugged warningly on the boys red locks, closing in the space between them. "What. Did. He. Say?" He mimicked with a smirk, letting his eyes change briefly to show Wally he meant business.
The speedster, upon seeing the threatening red eyes, instantly cringed, subtly curling in on himself. "Nothing! He mocked me, okay? Gave the standard superior villain 'shpeel." His frantic eyes were telling the captor otherwise. Clearly something had bothered pet, and that was unacceptable. He wouldn't have pet worrying about this, Wally only needed to think and care about him.
Narrowing his eyes, he quickly brought his hands to the sidekick's temple and pushed into the speedster's mind. Wally instantly tried to fight back, but Klarion overshadowed him quicker than he could get away. Carefully he led the body down as it became slumped in relaxed submission. "Now show me what happened, Wally."
Instantly the mind complied, despite the mental objections from the once again scared meta. From within, Klarion could not only see what played out, but feel the emotions attached. Quickly he dove in, watching the exchange, carving every detail into his mind till the end.
"He is not my master! Nobody owns me!" A shot of doubt ran through Wally, uncontrollably fast flashbacks of his days being held whipping through his head.
"Your situation seems to dictate differently. And how has that been, does Klarion like to play with his new pet?"
An instant of anger, of hatred towards that term 'pet' coursed through him. Disgust and apprehension at the way the words were said quickly followed. "Shut up! I am nobody's pet. Pets are loyal, prisoners are held against their will."
"And if you're in the care of the Lord of Chaos, how long before your mind breaks and you don't know the difference?"
Klarion couldn't help but smile as he felt the speedster's vulnerable fear flood from those words. The fear of it happening, of it coming true. The pang returned as well, but Klarion deftly ignored it. Carefully coming out of the link, not wanting to damage his stolen prize, he opened his eyes to see Wally was already recovering, gulping in air like he had woken from a nightmare. Startled, scared green eyes looked into its master's, trying to gouge how Klarion had taken it. His hand slid down to cup Wally's cheek, enjoying the revolted shudder that brushed through him. "I promised not to hurt you pet, didn't I?" Wally began to shake his head once again, now the only sign he ever showed of not believing Klarion. The witch let his hand tuck loose strands of orange behind the boy's ear, allowing a silent spell to sink into the boy's skin. "Just do as I say, and I will give you what you want. Freedom to run, no more hurt, no more cell." His voice lowered, so Wally would have to strain to hear him, to listen even closer as his fingers traced the spell over him.
The boy trembled, still fighting the magically suggestive prodding within the words. "What you want is for me to give up… I won't be free if I give in."
Klarion narrowed his eyes, showing his slight annoyance at the boy's perceptiveness, but inwardly proud. He loved how his pet challenged him. "But you would be better off than you are now. Do you want to stay like this forever?"
The boy tried to shy away from the touch, and the Lord of Chaos allowed it. "My friends…" His face took on a look of helpless, desperate dismay. He couldn't even finish the sentence.
Klarion was more than happy to respond anyway. "No, they won't Wally." He leaned in and lifted the little hero's chin, making the sad desperately lost green orbs gaze into his own fathomless black. He let the spell continue to lace through his fingers, telling Wally what he didn't want to hear. His friends wouldn't come. His friend's didn't care. His friends would hurt him if they came.
He was better off with Klarion.
"No, they won't."
Okaaaaaay… I think, even though ch. 9 was pretty descent (tooting my own horn right there), this chapter kinda upped the level of creepiness. Mailbox time!
LadyKittania: I'm really glad you're getting into the story LadyKittania! Luckily, rumor is we might see him this next Friday, so fingers crossed! (both for us, and the producers sake if that's not the case). Heheheh, send Klarion to protective custody in a hell dimension, if only… Anyway, let me know what you thought of Savage jumping in! I figured since he's the only other big villain Wally's gone toe-to-toe with (Ep 20, Coldhearted), he'd get a shot in the villain chap!
Pottyandweezlbe89: Sorry, but Wally will break a bit, just not completely. What is the saying? 'pressed but not crushed… struck down but not destroyed', something like that, that's what Wally is. I'm sorry, but I really love how up in arms you and the other reviewers get towards Klarion it's… cynically entertaining.
Eternal mist: Oh, and Wally WILL continue to fall, you can count on that, the next few chapters will be both epic (not tooting my own horn, no, not at all), and absolutely harsh. Because with Wally it's always a roller coaster. ;) By the way, just want to give a quick shout out and say you're doing great on your fic so far, keep up the good work!
Kyer: D: Why do comic producers have to ruin the good stuff? Well, no worries, when their marketing charts start showing those steep declines, they'll get the hint REAL fast and pick up on what we want. Such is the life of comic marketing, yes? I kind aknow what you mean, even though I used the abusive parents within mine, I want to write another fic where they aren't just to give them a chance. But… but having abusive parents for a character just gives so much easier material! It's hard to want to give up easy material. Always good to hear from you Kyer! Thanks for the updates!
S.: XD haha, I laughed when I got your first review attempt and it literally said something like 'I'm sor-' and then just cut. I figured that was the case, you're always great at reviewing! I'll make nine feedback quick: I'M SO GLAD YOU LOVED THE ANGST! You're not a sicko you just have certain… tastes in literature XD. How'd you like the furthing hinting of jealous Teekl in this chap? Yes, it's BC therapy time when he finally gets away, for sure. :D I thought about the collar bit too for awhile, but it seemed to cliché (I've read far too many cute-girl-turned-pet-by-bad-boy-character to be comfortable doing that). Now for ten: I KNOW! I would have been with Robin in the whole 'mind your own business guys!', but I needed it to get out somehow, and Roy was SO accommodating XD. Yes, I've never made the timeline clear unless it's outside with the team. So it's really been two weeks. But with speedsters, time moves slower, so he's been agonizingly guessing how long he's been there, trying to figure it out himself. Hope this chap helped wrap up some of your questions! Dr. Fate will be back soon! XD I tell you nothing of Roy's idea, you'll have to find out yourself! And your not cruel for the collar thing, trust me. And I wouldn't say EVIL… possibly cynical though. Let me know what you thought of this chap! LONGEST REVIEW AWARD GOES TO YOU! :D
Dextra2: ;) Thanks again Dextra, I'm glad you're following my work!
Psychics-R-Us: Welcome! Thanks for your review! Yes, I know I'm twisted, I've been calling this story my 'guilty pleasure' fic, because I'm enjoying the Wally whump a LITTLE too much. Glad your still reading! Let me know what you thought of the chap!
MysticSpeedForce1234: :D I do that, trust me, it won't be the last cliff-hanger either. I'm glad you were okay with Robin's bit. D: How can you hate Megan though? I mean, well, NOW after these last to episodes and her vegtablizing aliens, MAYBE you could hate her, but she's so… sweet! I have heard far too many stories about the horrors of auto correct, I plan on never having it on my phone XD.
Angelic Gamer: No, I don't think he will either. Knowing they know about his past will probably just add salt to the wounds, but boy will it be interesting to read! Barry will be soon, I promise! This was the villain chap, I couldn't very well have the second coolest speedster in it! But the apprentice bonding memories/ fluffiness/ smuther-in-loveness will come! :D I loved your insight on how Wally would feel if he heard his friends!
Cunningham0208487: Yeah, I do that… no regrets. :] You will find out of Red Arrow's lead soon! I promise!
Plummy-kins: :bows: thank you for your kind and REALLY uplifting words plummy, it's awesome to see you perceive what I write the way you do, seriously! Conner's perspective was my favorite part to write, Superboy doesn't get enough 'emotion' time in my opinion, and he's the best one! Because he's a 'baby' and everything is still so new to him! Wally had BETTER appear, I will literally petition for his return if that's not the case! But! I've heard a rumor he's supposed to be in next Friday's episode, so… fingers crossed! Hope you liked the villain chapter!
Bat-dove: He is always a beast, in fact, I right now make the statement that all good-looking men who happen to also be protective older brothers are BEASTS. :D And yes, he does know, but WHAT does he know, hmm? Thanks again for your reviews!
Mad-Wiccan: I've always been more pro WallyxLinda, but until Linda appears in the series, I will steadfastly support WallyxArtemis. However, I will deviate from what you said and pronounce that I DEFINETLY support the supermartian pairing. Yeah, there's big kinks in it, but it's cute, and the kinks can work out into plot drama for later ;D Thanks so much for the kind words on my chapter! Especially with the character's point of view, I'm glad that came across the way it did for you. Klarion's looking the same as of recent episode, but we only saw a shoulder shot, so I can't be too sure on that count. Thanks again for the review! Hope you liked the villain chapter! If there's anything I could improve on , especially with Savage, please let me know!
Ansa88: :"D Totally made me blush when you said my fic was superbly awesome, just so you know. Don't kill the umbridge just yet! I need him for the plot! At the end of the story, I will gladly throw him to 'the wolves' (that's all you wonderful reviewers who are trying to kill him off!), but until then he must stay around for the sake of the plot! :D You really do leave awesome reviews, thank you Ansa!
Meima: Thanks for the review Meima! I'm glad you feel that way about the torture. In my opinion, that is the worse of the two as well, but then, that's why I chose it the way I did. I'm glad you liked the team's opinions, Superboy was my favorite to write. What'd you think of Savage? Was he okay? Thanks again for your review!
Zewy: :] Well then, because of your review, I will be sure to make sure that Megan gets her own POV in one of the later chapters (probably when they rescue Wally, just so you know!). I was a sucker for the long hair too, but not sure if I'm missing the whole 'hello Megan!' bit (speaking of, Image, like, one of the best episodes ever, explained so much!). :D Glad you liked the cliff hanger, so many people can't stand it! :] I'm cynical that way, putting in cliff hangers when nobody wants them…
Star'sdreams: Thank you, Conner's was my fav. What'd you think for this chapter? Klarion's part, of Savages? Even though Savage got a bigger chunk…
Rowena Prince: Thanks Rowena! So glad your reading my fic! Hope you continue to enjoy it!
PHEW! Well, that's everyone. Now, I have a request for all of you. I'm really happy that this fic has received as much attention as it has, I never expected this kind of response, but I gotta say, I have a goal I was wondering if you guy could help me beat, see, these last two chapters, I've had a solid amount of reviewers, NINETEEN a piece.
So I was wondering… will you guys be willing to help me push past twenty? Because, seriously? Sitting on the brink of nineteen is… aggravating. So let's see if we can't make twenty reviews this chap! Whadda ya say?
Within the next two chapters, ze rescue of ze speedster will COMMENCE!