One Year Later
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis.
Chapter 14: Zoom-Zoom
The Black Flash was restrained inside the Watchtower lab as Jay Garrick explained,
"When this Flash touched me, I could see him. I could see Barry Allen. It was like he was trying to fight some sort of darkness inside him."
Mr. Terrific and Atom looked at the data. Atom, the miniaturized hero, said,
"It does appear that this Flash, whoever he might be, is tapping into the Speed Force, but I have never seen Speed Force readings like this."
The African-American scientist said,
"I thought Barry Allen died in that big battle in the first crisis. At least, that's what Crisis said."
Batman looked at the Black Flash. He definitely could tell this was not Wally, but he could not be sure if it was Barry Allen either. The Dark Knight said,
"Is there any way for us to restore him out of the Black Flash persona?"
Mr. Terrific answered,
"Well, the only way that's obvious right now is to drain speedsters of the Speed Force, but since that isn't a viable option yet, we haven't thought of a good substitute."
A scanner suddenly began emitting a signal. Blue Beetle looked at the computer,
"It says here that Black Flash has a beacon of some kind in his costume, and is transmitting a signal."
Batman ordered,
"Trace the signal now."
Meanwhile…
Hawkgirl and John Stewart were talking about Black Flash. The Thanagarian warrior shook her head,
"I was hoping it was Wally, in a way."
John nodded,
"Yeah, but it could be Barry Allen as well. When I first became a Lantern, I heard stories about Barry when he was the Flash. He cracked as many jokes as Wally did, but he definitely had a scientific mind to back it all up."
Hawkman walked by and asked,
"Shayera, are you all right? I heard what happened."
John cast a glare at the avian hero, but the red-headed heroine did not notice,
"I'm fine, Carter. Thank you for your concern."
As Hawkman continued onward, John looked at his girlfriend,
"Shayera, how could you just give in like that?"
Hawkgirl asked,
"What do you mean?"
Green Lantern shook his head,
"I mean, the guy has been trying to get you into bed with him since we first heard of him. He's obsessed."
Shayera said,
"Since when did you become so overprotective?"
John shook his head,
"Since the way that guy looks at you every time he walks by. He makes excuses just to be near you."
Shayera rolled her eyes,
"Oh, come on. You actually believe what he says about us being fated together? Come on, John. Don't tell me you're jealous."
The former soldier looked at her,
"I'm not jealous. You're just ignoring the fact he's using you."
Shayera folded her arms,
"I can take care of myself, John. What, are you going to baby-sit me everywhere I go next? I'm not pregnant again, if that's what you're wondering."
Green Lantern was about to say something when Batman called on the ear piece,
"Hawkgirl, bring a team together and meet us at the Javelin docks. We have a lead."
Hawkgirl responded,
"On my way."
She looked up at John,
"We'll settle this later. Do you want to come or not?"
John nodded,
"Yeah, sure."
A few minutes later…
With Batman piloting, John Stewart, Jay Garrick, Blue Beetle, Atom, and Tigra were flying in the Javelin. The tigress asked,
"So, where are we going, exactly?"
Flash explained,
"There was a beacon on Black Flash and the signal trace led it to a location somewhere in Keystone City."
As the Javelin landed and the passengers disembarked, a cold wind swept through the Mid-American Town. Tigra shivered,
"I have a bad feeling about this."
Batman said,
"Everyone, stay alert."
"Good advice; maybe you should follow it!"
A yellow blur came seemingly out of nowhere, leveling the Dark Knight. The others braced for a fight.
Jay snarled,
"I know that voice too. Where are you, Zoom?"
The yellow blur stopped. It is, in fact, was a man dressed much like the Flash, only instead of the traditional red with yellow lightning bolts, the colors were inverted; a yellow costume with a red lightning bolt. He said,
"It's Professor Zoom to you, Garrick! And, I'm surprised that you wouldn't remember me, a fellow scientist!"
He shook his head,
"You caught Black Flash, which is impressive, but that won't save you!"
The deranged scientist sped into them. Flash zipped in front and tried to chase him away from the team. Tigra and Blue Beetle ran to Batman and helped him up. Ted said,
"We have to continue following the signal."
Batman stood up,
"Hawkgirl, you and Lantern try and help Flash as best you can."
With that, Batman and the other heroes were on their way to find the source of the signal.
Next Chapter:
The battle continues as Professor Zoom attempts to stop the League. Stay tuned, fellow readers!