Hello Everyone,
Starting off, I am sorry I am late. This was supposed to be Monday update and the delay has a justified reason.
Now, this chapter is different. As mentioned on my previous Justice Academy update, I have a new Beta. Phantom Prince. Do let me know in the comments if you enjoyed the beta work done on the chapter. I am super excited to work with my beta to make this story better.
Also, do show some love to his story, Flip a Coin. Maybe leave a review on his story, saying Akiatta sent you. ?
Second important thing… I have a facebook page that's solely dedicated to everything related to Karry. The page is called Karry Across Space and Time. Do check out the page by searching KarrySpaceAndTime on Facebook. It would be really amazing for the page and for me to get the support.
As usual, do ensure to leave your reviews on the story down below.
I hope you guys enjoy this update of Power Couple. And, Welcome Back! Enjoy!
Year One: Speed, Legacy and Family!
Things had been extremely trying for Barry the past week, even more so than having superpowers normally justified. In a span of a day, the kid traveled across time and space, professed his feelings for the girl he had been crushing on for weeks, and found out the existence of the murderer who took his mother away from him.
Oliver took the chance to see what he was missing, what he had been taking away from his family, and what his future might hold for him. Meanwhile, Kara went from the angry girl to the happiest girl in the whole academy, practically skipping through the halls.
As their past loomed over them like a building wave, the three look forward to the bright future so close at hand… But will the past ever truly leave them alone?
Star Laboratories, Central City,
"Barry, you're going too hard on your body. Even with your regeneration, without time to rest, you could injure yourself severely at your pace...…" Caitlin called out from the observation deck as Cisco was excitedly watching his friend work the magic on the new Treadmill he designed.
"Mr. Allen, I think Ms. Caitlin is right. Any more strain to your physique and we could see some lasting effects." Wells warned through the comms in his wheelchair, his eyes sharp.
As the two said that, a voice came to the observation deck, panting with exertion.
"Cisco, what's my speed?"
"10 times your previous record! You da man!" Cisco said in excitement, inviting glares from Wells and Caitlin. "What, guys… He is a speedster. It's natural he wants to be faster…" He defended.
Caitlin gave a disappointed look as Wells simply shook his head and turned his chair, rolling out of the room. Cisco huffed and turned back to monitoring the Treadmill's condition...and Barry's too, that was also important.
Within a few minutes, Barry stopped as he panted furiously and said, "Cisco, can you see if you can reduce the friction on the Treadmill a bit more?"
"That would make so many hazardous effects to your body!" Caitlin said in a stern tone. Though being the eldest of the three, she found it difficult to have Barry or Cisco obey. And worse was how Cisco has become more resistant to her warnings with the presence of Barry making his confidence grow.
"You can up my Oxygen Intake with the face mask attached to the prototype suit. That should help me out avoid any negative side effects." Barry tried to reason.
Caitlin paused trying to keep her surprise from showing on her face. His suggestion was correct after all. It was sometimes hard to remember that Barry was far from dumb, given how often he put himself in dangerous situations.
"I'll… go and work on the updates." Cisco decided as he picked up his scanner, clearly looking to avoid the worried Caitlin.
Before he took two steps, however, the emergency alarms went off in the room.
Barry shot Cisco and Caitlin a look and rushed out of the room. Caitlin and Cisco ran towards the Cortex, knowing that Barry would need their help.
Within a few minutes, Barry was in the comms asking, "Where am I headed to?"
"Picture News. There seems to be an attack, possibly metahuman." Caitlin reported promptly, eying the local news alert.
"On it. I'll give you a description as soon as I reach the spot. Might help if you start on the database check…" Barry replied.
"Vibe at work," Cisco replied enthusiastically, immediately setting to his task with fervor.
"Vibe?" Barry questioned, darting around the highway.
"Well, I figured we would eventually need to alter egos…" Cisco replied with a grin, still working on the database.
Caitlin was more and more worried as she sat opposite the monitors checking his vitals as she said, "Barry, you are stressing yourself too much. You need to calm down. Otherwise, your metabolism might overcharge, and you'll pass out."
"Caitlin, I need to keep running or else…" Barry stopped himself from revealing what he knew. He stayed quiet, ignoring the expectant silence on the other end and soon, reached Picture News.
Inside the building, as Barry entered the newspaper office to find the interior looking like a tornado had gone through. Everything was a mess, upturned tables and papers lying everywhere, and there were no employees in the office. Except for one man lying unconscious on the floor in front of the editor's office...
As Barry skid to a halt in front of the man, he felt a weariness trickling in. He looked carefully as he spotted...no one? He shook off a nagging feeling to take a step closer to the body. "Activating the chest cam. Can you check if any vitals are…" Barry whispered.
No response from the other end of the line.
Barry pressed his chest piece as he moved closer to the man, observing him. The man didn't have any marks on him, no bruises or blood. If it weren't for the officer's condition and the alert, it would seem like a heart attack. "Seems like a murder…"
"Barry, there's heat signature detected in the building with you," Caitlin warned.
Before Barry could process the warning, he heard a phone ring on the other end in the lab, then turn off before the voicemail could kick in. Someone else was here. Barry flickered through the office, but found no one, returning to where the dead man's body was.
"Flash! You can't play smart with me…" Barry heard a voice behind him growl mockingly.
Barry cautiously turned around as he spotted the person who had spoken… The Man in Yellow, casually standing across from him, with an amused smirk. Lightning began to spark off of his suit as he realized what had happened. This was a trap.
"You…"
"What's the matter, Allen? Not so quick with your mouth, are you?" The man in yellow smirked.
Before his team could speak to him or ask how the man knew him, Barry turned off his comms and glared at the man opposite to him. "You… You killed my mother…"
"I thoroughly enjoyed it." The man said with a grin.
Barry couldn't hold it any longer. Lightning roared through his veins, and his entire world became focused on rushing at the man, the man who had killed his mother. Before he could make it halfway to his enemy, the floor began to spin, and Barry vaguely recognized the sensation of falling to his knees, darkness enclosing his vision...
Sometime later, Star Labs,
Barry slowly opened his eyes as he watched his surroundings slowly come into focus around him, wincing at the light invading his eyes. His head and body felt insanely heavy as if all of his energy had been leached out of him.
As he slowly tried to get up from his bed, a voice pushed him back down with brutal strength. "I warned you repeatedly. Now, look what happened!" Caitlin growled.
"Cait… Caitlin. What happened?" Barry tried to ask. His tongue felt leaden in his mouth, and a headache began pounding at his temples.
"Well, apparently, you running too much drained all the glucose content in your body or something like that, and just as you ran to Reverse Flash, you fainted," Cisco explained.
"Wait, then… How did I get back? How am I not...dead?"
"I believe you would want to find that on your own…" Dr. Wells rolled into the room with a tablet in his hands, a stoic look on his face as Barry managed to sit up in the bed, mercifully not being pushed down by Caitlin again.
As Dr. Wells passed the tablet, Barry saw the news and was astonished. It was, after all, a man in a yellow suit, a speedster, announcing himself as the Reverse Flash. As Barry tried to shift to the side, Barry felt a clenching pain in both his arms,
"Yeah. He broke them. And he showed your broken body in front of TV and left you lying there. Thankfully, we managed to reach the location using the tracker on your suit and were able to get you back here." Wells informed him. Barry swallowed as he saw his own body, twisted and mutilated, on the tablet and turned away.
"How… I heal… fast, right?" Barry followed up desperately.
"Yeah, given how much energy you lost… You won't have any speed for at least 2 weeks. And that's the best-case scenario." Caitlin said in a stern tone.
"I shouldn't have cut the comms… I have to go find him, I can't have no speed." Everyone stayed quiet, and Barry tried to clench his fists, only to receive a sharp reminder his arms were recently broken.
"There might be a different issue at hand. Your friend Arrow called. Something about a danger." Wells diverted, taking his tablet back.
Barry was shocked, but didn't hesitate, ripping off the detectors, placing his hand on the bed rail and walked towards the door, "Gotta find that guy…" He muttered to himself, limping out of the room.
A few minutes later, ARGUS Headquarters, Star City,
Barry teleported into the ARGUS Headquarters for the first time ever. As he walked into the building for the first time, he could feel the authoritarian feel in the whole place, so opposite to STAR Labs, but grounding him in the same way that Oliver did.
Barry walked over to one agent and asked, "Can you tell me where I can find Arrow?"
The agent simply gave an expectant stare, and took his comms, relaying, "Allen's here…" The agent made a gesture and returned to his work.
Barry looked surprised but before he could reply, Barry was led into the medical bay. As he opened the door, Laurel was there on the other side. Seeing Barry, she saw him and ran into his arms, tears flowing in her eyes.
"What… What happened?" Barry asked, trying to calm the girl down but instead making himself more panicked.
"Ollie… He was…" Laurel broke into fresh tears and began to recount her story.
An hour ago, Happy Harbor Park,
Laurel walked into the park archery range to find Oliver was there talking to the kids. Laurel smiled as she heard Oliver say to a small girl, "See that tree, hold the bow. Take a deep breath and go for it."
The girl nodded and took a breath. With that, she pulled back the string and fired at the tree. The arrow left the bow with a twang and the arrowhead buried itself in the center of the tree.
The other kids cheered as they swarmed around Oliver. Oliver smiled behind his hair locks as he helped every kid with their aiming, gently giving advice to those that got discouraged. Laurel was watching in the corner with a grin, seeing the ever-brooding Oliver Queen be adored by smiling children.
After Oliver helped everyone, he looked up at Laurel with a grin. He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her hips, letting her lean her head against him. "You know, given how scared everyone is of you, these kids are really brave." She teased.
Oliver grinned and replied, "They're the only ones who don't judge."
"You should have called me sooner. I would have volunteered too." Laurel replied. From her first day in the academy, she knew Oliver volunteered at the local orphanage and helps those kids. Turns out learning to shoot things did wonder for one's mental state.
"I really wish I had." Oliver grinned and gave her a kiss.
Laurel kissed back with a smile on her lips. She had been noticing how Oliver has been spending lesser and lesser time as Arrow. He did disappear for a day with Laurel having no clue where he went, but… Since that day, Laurel noted a change.
"You mentioned you had a surprise for me," Laurel asked after the kiss.
Oliver nodded and opened his mouth, but as he was about to say something, his phone rang.
Laurel watched as Oliver looked confused and answered the phone, his expression falling flat after a few seconds. He went aside as he spoke to the person and came back after a brief minute. "Laurel, I have to leave. Can you…" He trailed off pleadingly.
"I'll get the kids back to the home," Laurel replied with a smile.
Oliver, despite looking worried as hell, gave her a quick smile and a kiss, grabbing his jacket and rushing off. Laurel shook off a sudden chill as she caught a brief look at his face. She watched the Arrow run off, and turned back to the kids, putting on a smile.
Present Time, ARGUS Headquarters,
"After I got the kids back to the orphanage, I got a call from ARGUS, saying that they found him. They're not sure if he's just unconscious or in a coma." Laurel cried onto Barry's shoulder as Barry stared down at Oliver. The only comfort he could still take was that his chest was still moving, slow as it was.
He turned to the agent in the room and asked, "Do you have any clue who might have done this?"
"We would be investigating, but as of now, we just want to ensure that our former agent hasn't given any confidential information." The agent reported.
"Wait… Former Agent?"
The agent nodded, "Arrow resigned a week ago. He relinquished all his privileges and agreed to co-operate through the closing processes. He mentioned something about a new life."
"A new life?" Barry said in confusion. He got up on his feet as he reached for Oliver's jacket. As he tried his best to open the jacket zipper with his broken arms, Laurel took the jacket and opened it.
She reached into the jacket and out what looked like train tickets to… Star City?
Half an hour later,
Barry and Laurel waited anxiously, doing little more than watching Oliver, hoping against hope that he would wake up. Oliver finally opened his eyes and groaned, looking at his surroundings blearily.
Seeing his friend finally wake up, Barry rushed to his side with Laurel on his heels "What happened?" He asked with concern.
"Barry…" Oliver muttered harshly, struggling to form words. "Kara is in danger... You have to go. Now!" Oliver got out. The effort was clearly incredibly taxing, and his brow was already beaded with sweat.
Barry's throat went dry and his stomach dropped out. "What… What happened to Kara?" He asked desperately, resisting the urge to run off immediately.
"I… She called me, worried about you, said something about the man in yellow holding your body in Live TV. But, as she was saying to me, her voice got distorted and I heard a scream. I left to get to National to see what happened, but before I could get there, I was attacked by this…" Oliver paused as he hesitated, "I was attacked…"
Barry struggled to his feet as he gave Oliver and Laurel a determined look and ran from the room, still moving at human speeds. Laurel stepped closer to Oliver's bed and asked, "Ollie, what were you going to say to me before you left?"
Oliver thought about it for a moment and said, "I… Nothing. Nothing whatsoever." Oliver lied. Laurel didn't push him. When he was ready to tell her, he would. Hopefully.
A few minutes later, Department of Extranormal Operations, National City,
Barry struggled as he shuffled out of the teleporter tube. He didn't even bother asking for directions, and he felt a flicker of power fill him. He jolted forward, rushing through the halls.
As various agents spotted an unfamiliar boy running along their corridors with surprising agility and anxiety, they began to follow along, readying their weapons. But, before anyone could catch on, Barry reached the room he was looking for.
As he stood in the Kryptonite room door, he saw a woman leaning over Kara's comatose body, her uniform identifying her as an agent, but Barry's gaze was drawn to the pulsating purple creature attached to her chest. The creature was oddly plant-like, but was clearly not on this Earth, and was clearly not doing anything good.
As Barry reached for the handle to open the door, a hand clamped itself on his shoulder, pulling him away from the door with robotic strength. "Kid, what you're is trespassing. Please leave or else we will have to call the Academy." Hank Henshaw warned grimly.
"Try me!" Barry retorted, wrestling his way out of Hank's grip and he flung open the door, rushing to Kara's bedside in an instant.
Alex tried to shove him away from Kara, but Barry dodged her and managed to get her away from Kara, his eyes wild.
"What the hell is this? Who are you?" Alex pulled out her gun, leveling it on Barry, stepped in front of Kara protectively, unsure of whether the plant was messing with her invulnerability.
"What have you done to her?" Barry shrieked, looking ready to tear the DEO apart if he didn't get answers.
"Why would I do this to my sister? Who the hell are you?" Alex shouted in confusion.
Barry didn't reply, putting her out of his mind entirely after finding out she wasn't a threat. He bent down closer to the unconscious Kara and took her left hand, trying not to notice how cold and limp it was. As he gripped her hand, he felt an odd tingling over his skin, and his attention was finally brought to the glowing Kryptonite emitters on the side of the bed.
The moment was ruined as Hank burst into the room with a small army of agents, weapons at the ready. "Leave now, Flash," Hank ordered.
Barry didn't reply, feeling a slow rage bubble inside him as he continued staring at the Kryptonite emitters, and turned back to the agents who all assumed that they knew what they were doing.
In the space of an instant, Barry was gone, and Kara's bed had disappeared with him. Everyone burst out into murmurs, and people tried to move outside to find where he had gone to, but Barry reappeared in a flicker of lightning. "Get some aspirin to the Photo Development lab that you have here." He ordered. "I don't want to waste time looking for some." Then he was gone again.
Hank, Alex, and the rest all rushed to the Photo Development lab, aspirin in hand. They didn't know much about the Flash, but he was powerful, and apparently didn't wish to harm Kara. Best to do what he wanted.
The Photo Development lab was bathed in a red light, and Kara's bed lay at the center of it, Barry holding her hand and staring intently at her sleeping expression. The most notable aspect was the utter lack of the Black Mercy on her chest.
Without speaking, Barry took the aspirin tablets from the agent that had retrieved them, crushing them into a glass of water and gently raising it to Kara's mouth. After a few sips, Kara's eyes fluttered open
"Kara… Kara…" Barry tried not to sob with relief, tears filling his eyes as he hugged her tightly, actually making her wince, but she didn't tell him off and curled herself into his arms. "Kara, what happened? Oliver said…"
"I... I don't want to talk about it." Kara muttered, burying her head in his chest. The room was silent for a few moments until Hank spoke up in disbelief.
"How...What did you do?" They had been trying for hours to remove the Black Mercy, but this kid did it in mere seconds.
Barry shot the DEO agents an angry glare, still not letting go of Kara. "You would probably know if you actually spent any time talking to her instead of ordering her around." He hissed. "Do you even know what a Black Mercy is?"
No one responded to the Flash's sudden rage, staring at him dumbfounded as he continued. "I can't believe that you would risk her life with your utter lack of knowledge about Kryptonian physiology. Didn't you wonder why a freaking plant was able to get its teeth in her when everything else on the planet can? That's because it was designed to be used against Kryptonians, and let me guess, you thought that using Kryptonite on Kara would help you remove its grip on her?"
"Yes?" One of the scientists said hesitantly. It was the wrong thing to say, and the man who had spoken won himself the enraged eyes of Barry Allen.
"Do you know who else thought of that? The guy who designed the damn thing. That's why he made it so that Kryptonite would make it stronger."
"So then, the reason you brought her to this room…" Hank muttered, glancing at the red light surrounding them.
"Yeah, red light has a similar frequency to the radiation of a red sun. All the benefit of getting the Black Mercy removed from Kara without the downside of killing her." Barry bit out.
People began to filter out of the room, seeing as Barry was not a threat and had actually done their job for them, leaving it down to just Barry, Kara, Hank and Alex.
"You never answered my question." Alex brought up, still staring at Barry suspiciously, though now for a different reason, seeing how tenderly he was holding her sister.
"I don't have to answer to you." Barry shot back. She might be Kara's sister, and this may have been where she operated, but given how much of a risk they had put Kara under, Barry didn't even give a passing thought to acting politely.
Alex looked pissed and stepped closer to Barry threateningly. "Step away from her, or I swear…" She ordered sternly.
Kara pulled away from Barry slightly. "You have no right to talk to my boyfriend like that." She said in a weak tone, more from exhaustion than from the experience.
"Boyfriend!" Alex exclaimed in shock.
"Boyfriend…" Hank muttered as if trying to recall something.
"Boyfriend?" Barry looked down at Kara in confusion, a giddy feeling filling his chest as she stared down Alex resolutely. Did he just hear that right? Was he Kara's...boyfriend?
Meanwhile, Unknown Location,
The room was dark, with nothing visible, owing entirely to the near-complete absence of light. The only thing saving the room from the total darkness was a table in the center that had a slight glow to it, just enough to be visible, but not enough to see the faces of anyone who stood nearby.
The silence and stillness of the room were broken by a door creaking open, two people stepping inside; a man and woman. From the brief light of the outside, one could see the man was surprisingly youthful, though a mask covered his face, whereas the woman was very distinguished.
As the two walked to the table, a harsh yellow light filled the room for a brief second. When the light faded, there was another person there, surprisingly neither the youthful man nor the distinguished woman.
Despite the lack of light, there was a definite feeling of victory and amusement in the air, and each person placed an item on the table that was of particular importance.
The man in yellow placed a badge on the table, one that had previously belonged to the now deceased Editor-in-Chief of the Central City Picture News. The other man placed a soft piece of fabric on the table, a blood stained green hood. The woman placed a glowing hunk of green metal on the table.
"I see things went as we planned." The man in the mask said with the grin.
The woman nodded and said, "Soon, my army would be ready to go ahead with the invasion. Good timing though…" The woman thought about it for a moment and added, "Deathstroke."
Deathstroke grinned behind his mask. "Have to say, it was so nice to see and destroy Oliver's dream. You took care of the speedster with ease…"
The woman nodded and said, "True. We would have gone ahead with our old plans, ending nowhere fruitful. Your plan is a brilliant one, Reverse Flash."
Reverse Flash grinned and said, "Astra… It's not over yet… Something seems off. You sure your niece…?"
"Don't worry. I planted the doubt in her mind. It's just a matter of time before she sees which side is right. And with her in our side, everything would be...how do you humans put it? A piece of cake." Astra finished with a grin as the other two nodded their agreement.
"What about the Arrow?" Reverse Flash followed up, a frown marring his face.
Deathstroke's face has a smirk behind the mask as he picked up the hood and out of which he pulled out a hair, "Already working on the Antidote. With that ready, we should be able to proceed as planned."
Reverse Flash nodded and replied, "As per planned. Iris will go ahead and join Picture News. Everything is right on track."
"They have no clue what's heading towards them…" Deathstroke smirked. A feeling of euphoria surged through the three and they broke into peals of laughter, filling the room with the sounds of their madness.
And that's all for Year One: Speed, Legacy and Family!
Now, coming back to the main topic discussed above, this chapter incorporates the changes that I had mentioned a few chapters ago and I would really like it if you leave your response and your thoughts in your reviews. The more interactive you are, the easier it is for me and my beta to improve.
As for the Trivia Question, the previous question about the theories stays active. It is a bit weird to see no attempts. Well, the prize that was supposed to be one Original Character, fully made with your input, making a cameo(Or an extended role if it's an intriguing character.)
For the conclusion…
Walk Along the History – Kara, Barry and the whole gang face a new tremor as Oliver's and Barry's secrets are out. Rules have been broken and there would be repercussions for that. What punishments would they face? Will the gang endure the struggle? Find out next time in another update of Adventures of Justice Academy!
Until Next Time!
