Chapter 61: It really was all our fault...

"Y'all need to understand, I am always two steps ahead... Of everything! This was never about clones, or PalmerPym Tech, or any of that other stuff," General Fury began explaining, "It's always been about, The First of Its Kind!"

"Excuse me... But what?" John interrupted to ask.

"The First of Its Kind, John… The prophesied 'Savior of Arda'."

… General Fury then began to explain the true cause for the original alien annihilation…

"You see, those nukes didn't bring about the invasion… No. It was the SSR! They had, in their possession, all three Mother Boxes… And they tried to control a power that they could never hope to understand… And they couldn't! They caused the Boxes to open the portal over Japan!

"What!?" I exclaimed, "I was never told any of this!"

"Of course not, Officer. You think anyone within the SSR was willing to publicly claim responsibility for the decimation of Arda? There were only three scientists that knew the full truth… Dr. Jones, Dr. Osterman, and Dr. Essex. All of whom were working for the SSR. Corrupting the SSR.

"How did they get all three boxes, mate?"

"Just like the 'prophecy' said they would- Time, Space, and from the heart of Arda…

A man showed up one day; right in the middle of the White House lobby. He moved like The Flash, but he said that he wasn't from this timeline, nor even this reality… This was at the tail end of the first Great War! And he was holding this strange box...

The second came not long after, on that Arda-changing day in 1920… Not only did an alien plane crash down, but with it- both an occupant, and another one of these mysterious boxes…

The third box emerged, after having been hidden, deep within the heart of Arda. A woman would appear on the beaches of Star City. She said her name was, 'Diana'. She said that she had come from an island of other warrior-women. She said that this box that she had with her, was the key to stopping the return of a long forgotten evil… one that was going to return, regardless."

"The Amazonians…" I gasped. "And- One by Time, One by Space, and one from the center of Arda… It really was all our fault…"

General Fury continued, "The Doctors eventually succeeded in 'unlocking' the Mother Boxes. If that's what you'd call it. They were able to combine the three boxes together, as one. And when the boxes were united, they shot up a tremendous, blue charge, straight up into the sky… And that's when the portal appeared."

"The man that showed up, at the White House, years ago… You've been working with Thawne, this entire time. Haven't you?" Bruce asked General Fury.

"I work with no one!" General Fury fired back, "He works for me… Well, he did…"

"What do you mean, he did?" I asked.

"He went rogue… And I've been chasing him ever since."

"What's the point of all of this?" Bruce continued to interrogate.

"The SSR is doomed to fail, Bruce. There is no stopping what is coming next… Our best bet now is to invite it… and hope that it is merciful to our devotion!"

"You've gone mad, haven't ya!?" John yelled, "Get your wires all crossed up somehow, did ya?"

"Wait a second, John," Bruce said, "I've got one more question for General Fury… Why do you need that ring so badly?"

"You see, Bruce- that alien, that arrived with a Mother Box, is like nothing else that we'd ever encountered. We still don't know what it is…

… And you also must know- Thawne and I have been, had been, trying to save Arda, for far longer than y'all realize… But all that we have learned is that this ring contains the being's only real weakness..."

"How so?" Private Stewart gathered the strength to ask.

"There was a mineral, on the plane that the alien had crashed in. It had kept the alien being docile, and weak. The mineral glowed with a bright green haze… And the last known remnants of that element are now located inside of this ring."

"Does it power the ring?" Private Stewart asked.

"No, it's just well hidden inside of the ring," General Fury returned to his gloating of authority look, but this time was different… For being an LMD, he looked legitimately, humanly, crazy.

"So cut to the chase, Fury! We ain't got all day. You're basically saying to join you, or die? Am I close?" John said. He also had that look that he's becoming known for…

With a mad grin, General Fury answered, "What do you choose?"

"I'll see you in Hell!" John proclaimed. He then jumped out of his seat, and over the table towards General Fury!

"Wrong choice!" General Fury quipped. He then used the Lantern Ring to hit John with a blast of energy! The blast sent John flying back against the wall behind him!

Everyone else then seemed to all move at the same time. Bruce jumped from his seat to take on Clint. Private Stewart moved to confront Rick. And then Phill… Phill then reached for the gun at General Fury's waste... As General Fury turned to deliver a sure fatal blow to Phill, I knew what I had to do…

BANG!

… I pulled my standard issue, and I placed a bullet directly through General Fury's eyepatch…

Before the LMD corpse could hit the ground, a burst of wind flashed through the door to the central control room, and passed around both Rick and Clint. When the LMD did finally hit the ground, the two traitors were also knocked out on the ground, and Barry was standing over General Fury's lifeless body.

"Ah, The Flash! You're a little late!" John started to chuckle, as he was slowly getting back to his feet.

"Where's J'onn?" Barry immediately asked.

"Long story, mate. So-"

I then interrupted John to ask Barry, "Did you get Bishop to the hospital?"

"Not exactly, Officer… But I found something else… Or rather, they found me."

… Just then, the lifeless corpse, of the General Fury LMD, began to power back on! And the Lantern Ring was still on its finger…

General Fury then raised his hand, and aimed the ring directly towards Barry. In a broken, robotic voice, General Fury then said, "You were… supposed... be better... he was…"

… As the ring began to swell with green energy, a fireball came flying from the hallway, and knocked Genery Fury's hand away from it's aim on Barry!...

"Flash, get everyone out of here!" a voice called from down the hallway, "We can handle this!"

Before I could blink, Barry had ushered me, Phill, Private Stewart, John, and Bruce, all out of the central control from. We were standing in the hallway facing back towards the door- where we could see General Fury still trying to get up from the ground. There were now two new people standing between General Fury, and the rest of us…

"Jim!" I exclaimed, "About time you got here!"

Jim was standing, in full flaming glory, just before the doorway. He had hit General Fury with a few more fireballs, and then he retreated back for the other person to take the lead. This person was a younger woman, with short black hair. I had never met this woman before… Ever.

This woman had gauntlets on both of her wrists. She had taken her position in the doorway, and then raised both of her hands out towards General Fury…

"Who are you?" General Fury asked this woman.

"My name is Agent Johnson… But most people call me, 'Quake'!"

As she delivered her introduction, she was somehow able to lift General Fury up into the air! She held him in place, as he struggled to break free of her hold. This, "Agent Johnson", then released one of her hands, cocking it back as if to throw something. With her other hand, she was still able to keep her hold of General Fury. Then, with her free hand, she blasted General Fury with a devastating wave of energy!... I think it was energy? When the wave hit General Fury, it shattered the LMD into hundreds of pieces!

… Like shooting a bullet through a glass cup…