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 12

Central City Airport, 8:00 p.m.

Two men in brown suits stood near the entrance of the airport's main lobby, keeping a sharp eye out. Around them, there was not a very big crowd coming or going, as the airport only catered to commercial flights; but the few security guards on duty were just as vigilant as if they were at an international facility. Travelers were either hurrying to the check-in desk with their luggage, or emerging from the arrival lobby after having sat in their airplane seats for a few hours. As the travelers passed by the two suits, their chatter was mixed up with the general noise of the main lobby and the occasional P.A. announcement…but the two men paid no mind to the noises surrounding them, only keeping their eyes peeled and scanning the crowd.

"Any sign of him yet?" one asked presently.

"Nada," the other answered. "He's got to be here by now, though. It won't be hard to spot him in this crowd."

Suddenly he stiffened. "Ah…there he is now."

There was a group of people approaching the exit…and standing out amongst them was a rather tall, broad-shouldered man. He was clad in a gray overcoat, a black fedora and semi-dark sunglasses, and he was carrying only one piece of luggage, a brown traveling bag. He had his head down slightly, so that both the fedora and the shades obscured most of the upper half of his face. The lower half was partially concealed by the big collar of the overcoat, leaving only the nose truly visible. Now, as he got closer to the exit, he managed to ease himself out of the crowd and headed over to the suited men.

"Welcome to Central City, sir," one of the suits addressed him. "Our employer has been awaiting your arrival here tonight."

"Right," the mystery man replied in a deep, raspy voice.

"Well, let's get going, then. We don't want to keep Ms. Black waiting," the other suit spoke up.

"Hmmm…" the mystery man nodded briefly.

----------

Justice League Watchtower, 8:05 p.m.

Green Lantern was standing in the hallway, staring out the window at the stars with a very foul look on his face. So absorbed in his own thoughts was he that he barely took note of the approaching footsteps. Until, that is, he heard a familiar voice behind him. "Pretty nice view out, huh?"

He turned, finding himself face-to-face with Superman. "Oh, hey. What brought you along this end?"

"Just felt like taking a little walk," Superman shrugged. "You found Flash at sickbay, like I told you?"

Lantern shrugged. "Yeah, I did," he answered. "From what I was able to hear when I got there, they haven't found anything wrong with him."

Superman cocked an eyebrow. "I…take it that's not all that went down, is it?"

"Nope," Lantern admitted. "Simply put, Wally's being a moron."

The Man of Steel chuckled at that as he stood beside Lantern and looked out the window. "And what makes you call him that, I wonder? Has he stuffed himself on three dozen burgers again?"

"I'm serious, man—this is more than just him being himself," Lantern growled. "It has to do with what went down in Central City today…with a certain cop."

"A Central City cop?" Superman asked, now interested.

"Yeah…" Lantern looked out the window again. "This morning Flash, Dr. Light and I fought the Thinker, and we beat him…then a little while after that, that ungrateful cop came along saying how we shouldn't have butted in. Then, a couple hours ago, Flash and I were at Central City Hall fighting off some more of his enemies…and that cop was there again, insulting us and acting as if we had the plague."

"And what's so strange about that? We've had to deal with anti-Leaguism before," Superman told him.

"I know that," Lantern answered. "What's got me worried is, Wally's only had about a day's worth of contact with this guy and already they're acting all buddy-like. But if Wally slips up…"

"Nah, I don't see him doing that," Superman answered. "Wally's a whole lot more responsible than that. And if what you're saying about this cop is right, then Wally'll have to be even more careful protecting his secret identity."

"Having to be and actually being isn't the same thing," Lantern grunted.

"At least give him the benefit of the doubt here, John," Superman said gently. "And in any case, you can't fault that cop too much—even after the whole Cadmus incident, there are still some folks who fear and hate us. You know this. Flash knows it too. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that quite a few people in Central City distrust him because of who he is and what he can do."

"But would he be able to deal with it? Especially in a city that's dedicated a museum in his honor," Lantern pointed out.

"We can't protect Wally from everything, G.L.—nor should we," Superman replied.

Suddenly Lantern's comm.-link beeped, interrupting the discussion. "Yes?" he put a finger to his ear to touch the device.

"This is Dr. Light," the response came through. "Booster Gold is down here in the training room, and he's waiting for you. Just thought I'd let you know."

"All right, I'll be right down," Lantern answered. Then he turned to Superman. "Looks like it's time for me and Booster to—ahem—settle our differences."

"Okay…I'm coming to watch," Superman nodded. And with that the two men turned and headed off down the corridor.

----------

A few minutes later, down in the training room…

Booster Gold, still shirtless and minus his gauntlets, was busily jogging on the spot while taking the occasional sip from his water bottle. Off to the side, Dr. Light was back in her costume, currently fixing her headpiece into place. Skeets floated near her. "So, Dr. Light, it would seem that the brief time you have spent training Booster has yielded some results," it remarked in its electronic voice. "The success rate went up to 45 percent during the exercise. Very impressive…considering what you had to work with."

"I did not mind in the least, Skeets," Dr. Light replied good-naturedly. "Where he's from, Booster used to be a security guard, yes? That would mean he has had some basic training in unarmed combat, at least. This was simply a refresher course for him, as far as I'm concerned."

"Well, he certainly needed it," said Skeets. "His reliance on his weapons since coming here to the 21st century was approximately 81 percent, while his own memory of his basic training was only 27 percent. This was just what he needed."

"Hey, Skeets!" Booster called to his robotic companion. "What're my chances for actually beating Green Lantern now, huh? Up from your original 15 percent, I guess?"

"Calculating…" Skeets made a sort of internal whirring noise for a moment. "Factoring in all variables, Booster, your chances have indeed gone up…to 15.5 percent."

"Oh, thanks a lot!" Booster snapped, very agitated.

"Never mind, Booster," Dr. Light said warmly. "The true test will be during the actual sparring session. Then we can see whether you've retained anything of what I've shown you."

"Don't worry, Doc," Booster chuckled. "I'll definitely beat Lantern—and what I've learned from you is gonna be a real big help!"

Dr. Light frowned a little, however. "Just remember the fundamentals of what I said before, Booster," she warned him. "The brain works in coordination with the hands, feet and body. Meaning, if you lose your temper at any time, you will lose the battle as well. A level-headed warrior always achieves much more than a hot-blooded one. And Green Lantern has enough experience to be able to keep a level head despite the situation he is faced with. Remember that."

"Yeah, got it," Booster nodded, and took another swig from his water bottle.

Just then the training room doors slid open, catching their attention…and in walked Green Lantern and Superman. "Here I am, folks," Lantern announced. "So, Booster, ready to have your butt handed to you?"

"That's my line," Booster answered with an edge in his voice.

"Well, whatever. Let's just get this over with," Lantern shrugged. "Now…as agreed, we won't use any of our regular weapons for this. So…"

As they all watched, Lantern pulled off his ring, then turned and handed it to Superman. "Could you hang on to this for a couple of minutes? This shouldn't take too long."

"Just remember—go easy on the guy," Superman chuckled.

Nodding, Lantern walked onto the mat, where Booster was already waiting for him. "So, Booster…you ready for this?" he asked.

"Am I ready, he asks?" Booster scoffed and set his water bottle down to one side. "Man, I was BORN ready!"

"Well, we'll see about that," Lantern answered.

Then, as the others watched, Lantern put himself into a boxing stance, and Booster did likewise. Superman glanced at Dr. Light. "Did Booster invite you to watch all this?" he asked in a low voice.

"Actually, I decided for myself to come and see this," Dr. Light replied. "And personally, I have a pretty good feeling that Booster's performance is going to be better than expected…"

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Superman wondered.

"Let's just watch and see," and Dr. Light smiled.

Slowly, Lantern and Booster began to circle each other, watching each other carefully. "Sure you don't want to back out now, while you're still without bruises?" Lantern queried.

"Oh, I'm not so worried about myself," Booster replied. "But you better know that you're not getting out of this unmarked."

"Really, now?" Lantern raised an eyebrow. "You really sound like you mean business."

"I do." Booster's brow furrowed a little. "Now are we going to do this, or are we just going to keep talking and circling each other?"

Lantern allowed himself a small chuckle. "Actually, I'm waiting on you to make the first move."

"Well…in that case, keep waiting. I'm smarter than that." Booster's fists tightened.

"Sorry, but I've got other things to do!" Lantern suddenly launched forward with a swinging right to Booster's face—but Booster blocked that attack, countering with a swift right hook of his own. Lantern's left hand came up at that moment, however, catching Booster's fist in his palm, before he himself launched his upper body forward in a head-butt that slammed into Booster's face and caused him to stagger backwards from the impact.

Booster shook his head to clear it—and then his upper body lurched forward as Lantern's fist slammed into his midsection. Unprepared, he had no time to react as Lantern shoved him headfirst to the ground. "So, ready to call it quits now?" Lantern asked.

Wiping his mouth clean of the saliva that had inadvertently spilled, Booster shook his head. "Are you kidding? I'm just getting warmed up!"

"Well, all right, then," Lantern shrugged. "Just don't say I didn't give you a chance to save your skin."

Booster quickly picked himself back up, readying himself in a fighting stance again. "Bring it!"

Shaking his head, Lantern charged forward again, drawing his right fist back for another blow—but this time, instead of swinging that fist, he jabbed forward with his left in a very swift move. Booster took the hit to his face, and his head jerked back from the impact…but in that moment he quickly reached up with one hand, grabbing Lantern's wrist! "Huh?" Lantern's eyes widened—and then Booster sent three hard and fast blows, one after another, into the other man's face before jumping back himself.

Lantern put a hand over his nose and mouth, wincing a little at the sudden tenderness he felt there. "Ugh…all right, congrats on getting in a few lucky shots, I guess," he muttered.

"Lucky or not, they're still shots," Booster quipped.

Setting himself into another stance, Lantern narrowed his eyes as he studied Booster. Then, carefully and ever so slowly, he began to inch forward, little by little, keeping his arms up defensively. For his part, Booster stood his ground with his own arms up, watching Lantern with a good degree of suspicion. Okay…what's he going to do next?

Suddenly Lantern made a punching motion with his left fist, toward Booster's ribs. Seeing the punch coming, Booster made to block—only to see Lantern's fist stop just short of actually connecting. "What the—" but before Booster could finish the statement, he suddenly saw the whole world spin as Lantern's other fist slammed into his jaw. Not to be outdone, though, Booster spun his whole body with the momentum of the hit and brought his right arm around in a backhand punch that leaned Lantern's head to the left.

Recovering from the blow, Lantern tentatively put a hand to his mouth, noting that his lip had been split a little. "Is that all? My old landlady could hit harder than that!" he announced.

"Ha! Like you're going to get to me with something that clichéd!" Booster snorted, bouncing a little on the spot even as he remained in his fighting stance.

Lantern smirked. "And who said I was giving a cliché?" he replied.

Making a face, Booster hopped forward and thrust one foot toward Lantern's chest. Seeing the kick coming, Lantern swiftly grabbed Booster's ankle with both hands, at the same time stepping a little to one side so that Booster's heel only slightly grazed his chest. Hopping on his other foot to maintain balance, Booster attempted to launch himself upward on that foot to give a second kick to Lantern's head—but Lantern blocked that incoming kick with one hand, while still holding on to Booster's other ankle with his other hand!

"Whoa!" Booster cried out as he felt his upper body rapidly swinging upside down. In desperation, he pushed his hands toward the mat, catching himself in the nick of time. However, he was unable to prevent Lantern's sharp kick to his rear end, sending him flipping over and onto his stomach on the ground. "Okay…that sucked…"

"Give it up, man…you did pretty good, but you can't beat me," Lantern admonished him.

"Says who?" Booster demanded, pulling himself to his feet.

On the sidelines, Dr. Light turned to Superman. "So, what do you think so far?"

"I gotta admit, Booster's doing pretty great holding his own against G.L.," Superman remarked.

"Indeed," Skeets added its input. "Even so, Booster's chances of absolute victory still remain at a slim percentage. The Green Lantern has the training of his Green Lantern Corps, plus the time he spent in the Earth Marines, to draw upon for this fight. On the other hand, Booster's only real combat experience comes from his training as a security guard in 2462 and his time as a member of the Justice League here in the 21st century, not to mention the short time he spent down here practicing with Dr. Light."

"Practicing?" Superman's eyebrows rose as he looked at Dr. Light. "You never mentioned that you and he were practicing before G.L. and I came along…"

"You never asked," Dr. Light responded calmly.

Lantern glanced over at her. "I see…so that explains how he's been able to stay in this for this long. Well, sorry, Doc, but even your tutoring isn't going to make one bit of difference—he still won't be able to win."

"Let's find out, eh?" Booster challenged. "This match is still on!"

With that he dashed toward Lantern, drawing his right arm back for a punch while keeping his left arm in front of his torso as a shield. Seeing him approach in this way, Lantern braced himself, pulling his right foot back, and…

BAM!

Moments later Booster was curled up into a ball on the ground, his mouth contorted in agony, his hands and knees tightly pressed up against a sensitive spot. "Aaaagh…that was…a cheap shot!" he squeaked out in a very high-pitched voice.

"Cheap or not, it's still a shot," Lantern replied with a straight face. "And this match is done."

Dr. Light swiftly crossed over to where Booster lay curled up on the ground. "Booster, are you all right?" she asked, real concern on her face.

"Do I look all right to you?" Booster whimpered, still in the same high-pitched voice.

"Uh…maybe we should take you to see the medic," Superman suggested.

"No—that won't be necessary," Lantern cut in. "I didn't kick him that hard. He just needs a few minutes, then he'll be able to walk on his own."

"Are you sure? It doesn't seem that way from the way he's curled up like this," Dr. Light said doubtfully.

"What Green Lantern says has merit," Skeets spoke up. "Based on the speed at which he delivered his kick relative to the speed at which Booster charged into it, there should not have been enough force to debilitate Booster for more than a few minutes at best. Booster may feel pain now, but it should perhaps not last much longer now."

"You can talk…you're a robot!" Booster spat at him, his voice a little stronger now.

"Easy there, Booster," Dr. Light urged him. "Do you think you can stand now? Try."

Booster pressed a hand to the ground and attempted to raise himself—and grimaced. "Hey, don't overdo it," Superman cautioned him. "C'mon, I'll take you to see the medic…"

"No, I'll take him," Dr. Light interrupted. "Here, Booster, just lean on me."

Still wincing somewhat, Booster managed to wrap his arm around Dr. Light's neck, even as her body glowed in white light energy and she managed to pick him up. Then she floated out of the room, Skeets following close behind. Watching their exit, Superman turned to Lantern. "Did you really have to rely on that?" he asked, his voice holding a note of disapproval.

"My bad," Lantern answered, a little sheepishly. "Guess I went overboard there, huh?"

"Yeah, you did." Superman nodded gravely. "Tell the truth, John. How'd he do?"

Lantern shrugged. "He's got potential," he replied. "Just give him a couple more years of serious training, and he'll actually be able to stand on my level in hand-to-hand."

"Maybe we should ask Batman to train him," Superman suggested, now with a small smirk creeping on his mouth.

"Not likely to happen," Lantern shook his head. "Oh…my ring?"

"Right. Here." Superman handed the ring back. "So, what're you going to do, now that this has been dealt with?"

"Well…I don't know, really," Lantern admitted.

"Here's what I think," Superman suggested. "Maybe you should find Flash and talk to him again. We have to let him know that we're behind him no matter what—especially with this Speed Force thing that's come up again."

"Wasn't Dr. Fate supposed to deal with that?" Lantern wondered.

"He and I had a chat with Flash about it an hour or so ago," Superman answered. "Right after that, Fate left—said he was going to do a little research. But the important thing is that Flash should know we've got his back."

"All right," Lantern agreed. "I'll go look for him, then. I just hope he hasn't left the Watchtower already."

----------

"How do you feel, Booster?" Dr. Light asked. She was still carrying Booster in her arms and floating rapidly down the hallway.

"A little better," Booster admitted. "Maybe you could put me down now, though. It's real embarrassing to have you carry me like this—everybody's looking."

"Nonsense," Dr. Light replied. "We've only passed a dozen or so people so far."

"I should perhaps explain Booster's embarrassment," Skeets spoke up as it floated close by. "Historically and traditionally, it is expected that men should be the ones to carry women in their arms—not the other way around."

"Thank you, Skeets, but that explanation wasn't necessary," Booster growled at the robot.

"Well, you have a legitimate reason for me carrying you instead of the reverse," Dr. Light reminded him. "You are injured, and I'm taking you to the sickbay to see the medic. That takes the sting out of your being embarrassed even a little bit, no?"

"I guess…" Booster now looked more thoughtful. "Even with your coaching, I couldn't beat Green Lantern…"

"Were you really expecting instant success?" Dr. Light eyed him. "Listen, Booster. A man who has only had minimal training in a martial art cannot be logically expected to defeat a fighter who has had twice as much training. Even with what advice I have given you, you still wouldn't have been able to beat the Green Lantern as easily as that."

Booster stared sharply at her. "If you knew that all along, then why…"

"Why did I help you anyway?" Dr. Light asked. "Like I told you at the outset, I had my reasons." And here she allowed herself an enigmatic smile, even as Booster looked at her in puzzlement.

----------

Blacksmith Corporation, Central City, 8:30 p.m.

Amunet Black was now seated at an ornately-decorated table, in a dimly-lit room illuminated only by candles and a single bulb shining overhead. The candles, ten in total, were set in a candelabrum on the table. Also on the table were huge containers with various foods: one dish, bigger than the rest, had lamb chop cuts in it; there was also a bowl with Greek salad; another bowl held mashed potatoes; yet another had rice with red beans; and in the midst of these was a huge bottle of wine. Evidently, this was all meant as a banquet for many people—and yet there was only one other person at the table with Ms. Black, the mysterious man she had sent for.

"I trust the food is to your liking?" Ms. Black asked her visitor.

The mystery man was busily eating away at the huge portions of food on his plate. He paused and took a sip from his wine glass. "It's good, real good," he replied, speaking in the same deep, raspy voice from before. "You've got the best cooks out of all the folks who've ever hired me."

"Why, thank you. Eat as much as you like; there's plenty more where this came from." Ms. Black intertwined her fingers underneath her chin and smiled.

"I just wanna let you know, I'm not gonna be coming cheap for this job you want me to do," the man told her, pausing to push his fork—mixed with lamb and mashed potatoes—into his mouth.

"Of course not," Ms. Black replied. "Perform this demonstration, and I will reward you greatly for your trouble. No price is too high."

"Good." The man then smiled; he held his head up, revealing eyes black as night. "Just one other question…"

"Yes?" Ms. Black looked at him expectantly.

The man smirked. "I've been hearing a lot about the so-called protector of Central City…"

"The Flash?" Ms. Black's smile grew a little wider and her eyes narrowed. "If you can…include him…in your demonstration, I will certainly pay you extra for the trouble."

Now the man truly grinned. "Nah, never mind about the extra cost. I'll do that for free. I've been wanting to smash him for a long time, anyway."

"I see. Well, thank you for the consideration." Ms. Black nodded at her visitor. "Go ahead now, eat up; you're going to have a busy day tomorrow."

CHAPTER 12 COMPLETE! CHAPTER 13 COMING UP!