Barry stared at Cold's unconscious form lying in the dirt amidst the broken ice and tree branches. Despite the fact that the man in front of him had tried to murder him, he still felt a pang of guilt over what happened to him, to lose a loved one like that.
"B-Barry?!" yelped Wally, stumbling over to Barry as he fell to his knees. Barry's breathing became shallow as he checked himself, noting all the cuts and bruises across his whole body. His shirt was torn to shreds from the molecular vibration, leaving him practically bare-chested and drenched in his own blood.
"Ugh," groaned Barry.
"Does it hurt?!" asked Wally.
Barry managed a painful chuckle, "I don't know? Does it?"
"Don't joke about this!" said Wally, who looked supremely worried, "You're really hurt."
"I know, I'm sorry." said Barry, who stumbled to his feet, leaning side to side due to lack of balance, "I-I also have to say thank you."
Wally could only stare in bewilderment, "What? Why? I put myself in danger."
"You're distraction saved my life." said Barry, "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."
Barry managed a painful smile, striking a pose while pointing at Wally with both fingers, "You'd make a great hero someday, and that's a Flash Fact!"
A sudden rush of pain hit Barry's head, causing him to lurch over and cough up some blood. Wally gasped, running over to pat Barry's back.
"Did you make that up on the spot?" said Wally.
"Yup!" coughed Barry, blood trickling down his lip.
"You can't possibly go on like this." said Wally, "You need a doctor!"
"Enhanced healing from the Speed Force will keep me on my feet." said Barry, stumbling towards a mountain path upward, "Besides, the night is far from over, and there are more Rogues to take down."
Wally's eyes widened as he began to chase after Barry, "No, no way, you can't be serious?!"
"That's what a hero is Wally," said Barry, "A person who gives their all for the good of everyone else. The Rogues want me, they'll get me alright."
"Barry." said Wally, "Please, you can't."
"I have to." said Barry, "I wouldn't be a hero otherwise."
Unbeknownst to Wally, there was another reason Barry wanted to confront the rogues. The news of Golden Glider's death had shocked Barry, though he hadn't quite felt it yet. The fact that he had even the most indirect hand in someone's death shook him to his core. He labored onward, hoping to make amends somehow, be it his own suffering or that of the Rogues. Whatever happened next, he would allow no-one to die.
"That big guy on the cliff," said Barry, "I have to help Midoriya take him out."
"He's 5 times your size!" said Wally, "And again, your skin is barely keeping you together!"
"I have to try," said Barry, "I can't let Midoriya die-"
*BOOOOOOOOOM*
A huge explosion rocks the ground as rocks and debris fall from the cliffside. Barry and Wally look up simultaneously, noting that the explosion came from their previous location with Midoriya.
"Oh no!" said Barry, scooping up Wally in his arms and racing up the mountain. Trees and rocks became blurs as he flew up the trail.
Please don't be hurt please don't be hurt please!
As the trail he followed broke into the cliffside, Barry slid to a stop. Placing Wally down, he came to a sight that was both comforting and terrifying.
Midoriya stood over the unconscious form of the muscular villain from before, who was now buried under a pile of rubble. The young hero looked busted and blue all over, now lacking a shirt and bruised in almost every patch of the skin. Kota stood to the side, watching in shock.
"Midoriya!" said Barry, racing to Midoriya, "What happened to you?!"
"I….I beat him!" said Midoriya, not taking his eyes off the villain, "Did you beat the other guy."
"Yeah," groaned Barry, "but he's the first of many."
"First of many?" said Midoriya, turning to Barry, "What are you-"
Midoriya's eyes widened when he laid his eyes on Barry's broken form.
"B-Barry!" yelped Midoriya, "You need a doctor!"
"I'll get a doctor after the night is over, when everyone is safe." said Barry, "First we need to get Wally and Kota to the lodge, they'll be safe there."
"We're right here!" said Wally.
Kota said nothing, still silent in shock.
"Then, I'm going to go looking for the Rogues." said Barry.
"W-What?!" said Midoriya, "Barry, we aren't supposed to fight these guys, We only fought as is because it was fight or die! We can't go looking for the villains to take them down!"
"You don't understand," said Barry, "They're here for me!"
"I know they're here for you!" said Midoriya, "The Weather villain said so!"
"It's not just that!" said Barry, "There used to be more of them. When I was helping put them away, one of them got hurt really bad. They never told me what happened, but she died of her injuries."
Midoriya gasped, "So they've come to blame you and want their revenge."
"Yes," said Barry, "I can't let them do this, They're going to hurt other people in order to try and find me. I can't let that happen"
"Barry," said Midoriya, "You make it sound like you were the one who killed her."
Barry looked on at Midoriya with heavy eyes, "Midoriya, I complicated things during the fight, I might as well have killed her."
Midoriya was shocked, taking a step back, "Y-You don't mean that."
"I do," said Barry, "but I can't pity myself. I have to make sure others don't pay for my actions. I'm going to stop the Rogues."
Midoriya's shallow breath slowed as he looked around, his eyes darting between Wally, Kota, and Barry, "The Rogues aren't the only danger."
"I understand that." said Barry, "If I see the other villains along the way, I'll stop them too."
"No, it's not just that." said Midoriya, "That list they were talking about, kill or capture, Kacchan is at the top."
"Bakugo?!" said Barry, "But, why would he be-"
"I don't know!" said Midoriya, "But all I know is I don't want him to fall into their hands. Once I get Kota to safety, I'm going to find him."
Barry took a second to process the words, nodding.
"I-I see." said Barry, "So while the Rogues are here just for me, the rest of the villains are working off an entirely different rule and skill set."
"Exactly, we can't get tunnel vision." said Midoriya, "So here's what I propose, We work together."
"How so?" asked Barry.
"After we get Wally and Kota to safety, we comb the forest together." said Midoriya, "We search for Bakugo, rescuing any classmates we find. If they're in the clutches of a villain or Rogue, we save them then run away."
Barry didn't know how he felt about Midoriya's proposition. While it would mean that their friends would be safe, he would rather have the Rogues taken down in order to make the whole situation less dangerous.
"I-ok." said Barry, "Your idea is safer, let's do it."
Midoriya nodded, scooping Kota onto his back as Barry walked to Wally.
"This is a terrible idea." said Wally, "You're asking for it."
"Maybe, but if I have a chance to help," said Barry, "I have to take it."
Wally clearly didn't approve, even if he did somewhat understand. With a heavy sigh, Wally let Barry scoop him up in his arms before both Midoriya and Barry raced off for the lodge.
The Standoff in the lodge continued as Trickster pressed his razor-sharp jack against Monoma's neck. Heatwave's ignited his hands, ready to wreak havoc as Aizawa and Vlad prepared themselves for combat. Aizawa gripped his scarf tightly while Vlad raised his fists.
"I'm gonna ask one more time," said Heatwave, "Where's the Flash?"
"We don't know!" said Mina, "But even if we did, we wouldn't tell you!"
"Big mistake," said Heatwave, raising his hand towards Mina, "See, if none of you talk, then Trickster opens the little bastard's throat."
"LEADER OF CLASS 1-B TO YOU FOUL VILLAIN!" shouted Monoma, only to have Trickster pull a gag out of his pocket with his free hand, stuffing it into his mouth, "Mph MPH!"
"Shut the hell up kid," said Trickster, "Your rambling is pissing me off."
Monoma struggled against Trickster as the jack pressed harder against his neck, "This is getting us nowhere, Heatwave. They don't know anything."
Heatwave grinned, "Guess that means we just cook em."
Heatwave raised his fist, flames already licking his arms as he aimed his blast at Kirishima, who toughened up in response.
"I can still make stone into Magma buddy," said Heatwave, "You're doing nothing but delaying the ine-"
Before Heatwave could finish, Vlad King dived at the villain, activating his quirk. Blood flooded from Vlad's gauntlets, flying through the air like tendrils. The tendrils quickly ensnared Heatwave's arms, completely covering his fists in a solid mound of blood. Heatwave panicked as Vlad attempts to ensnare the rest of his body, causing him to create an explosion with his fists on reaction.
*BOOM*
The explosion knocks everyone off balance, including Trickster, who's grip on Monoma loosened. Taking the opportunity, Monoma pushed Trickster's arm away from his neck, freeing himself and allowing him to scramble out of his grip.
"Goddamn rat!" yelped Trickster.
Aizawa leaped forward, tossing his scarf at Trickster and wrapping him up. Trickster smirked, sliding another jack from his sleeve and cutting himself free of the scarf.
"Ha!" said Trickster, "You thought you had me? Not in a million-"
*BONK*
A sound not dissimilar to a gong rang in everyone's ears as a familiar tin hat came spinning out of the woods, conking Trickster in the back of the head before falling towards the ground. Jay sped out of the woods, catching the hat before twirling it in his hand as he put it back on. Trickster's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell face-first onto the ground.
"Garrick!" said Vlad, "Perfect timing!"
"I try to keep up in my old age." said Jay, "But as of late it's been getting damn difficult to do so!"
"Mr. Garrick!" shouted Iida, who led Mineta, Ojiro, and Koda out of the woods, "What's going on, is everyone-"
"Safe?" said Jay, who scanned the room, "Yes, nobody was harmed, so you can rest easy chum."
"Thank you Mr. Garrick!" said Iida, "What next?!"
Aizawa approached Jay, grabbing his shoulder, "I'll get them, you stay with Vlad and fortify the lodge, make sure no villains harm them."
Jay nodded, "Make sure they get back safe."
Aizawa took off running, leaving Jay and the rest of the class behind. As he broke into the forest, he felt a strange tug on his scarf.
"Hmm?" said Aizawa, pulling the end of his scarf up. It was the Jack that Trickster used to cut himself free. Aizawa grabbed the jack and stuffed it in his pocket, "Can't let anyone step on that."
"Sensei!"
Aizawa's eyes darted to his left as Barry and Midoriya leaped out of the woods with Kota and Wally in tow. Both of the students were in poor shape, bruised and bleeding in many places.
"Aizawa!" said Barry, "We got Wally and Kota here, but there are more of our classmates out there!"
"Wait, slow down." said Aizawa.
"We need you to take Kota and Wally back to the lodge." said Midoriya, "Then we're going to get out remaining classmates back to the lodge. We also have to tell Mandalay something important."
"I said slow down." said Aizawa.
"Here," said Midoriya, placing Kota on the ground while Barry did the same, "We'll meet back up with you soon."
"BOYS!" shouted Aizawa, causing them both to become silent, "You're both hurt."
Midoriya looked down at his broken arms while Barry did his best to hide the cuts on his chest, "We had a run in with villains, it was fight or flight."
"Exactly," said Aizawa, "I'll take them both to the lodge, but you have to tell Mandalay to send the message that fighting back is ok."
Barry's eyes widened, realizing what was going on, "Y-Yes sir!"
"Good, now go!" shouted Aizawa, prompting Barry and Midoriya to nod before turning around and racing towards the clearing from before.
"Are they gonna be ok?" asked Kota as Aizawa picked him up.
"I taught them well," said Aizawa, "they can handle whatever's coming."
"Are you sure?" asked Wally.
Aizawa turned his gaze to Wally, "Positive."
"Derek, don't you dare die on me!" said Kendo.
Kendo hid behind a tree as gunfire continued to rattle off, the bullets hitting the tree and sending bits of bark everywhere. Derek laid next to her, having been dragged from his original position.
"Ugh." groaned Derek, holding his stomach, "I'm not dead am I?"
"No, thank god you aren't." said Kendo, "Are you hurt?"
Derek felt the blood dripping out of his abdomen on his fingers, but kept it hidden from Kendo, "No, I'm fine, I managed to rift the bullet out of the way." lied Derek.
"Ok, good." said Kendo, peeking her head out of cover to see if the villains were approaching.
*BANG*
Kendo ducked back into cover as a bullet hit the tree, barely missing her gas mask, "We're pinned down and they still have Tetsutetsu, I think the one producing the gas might have a side effect on his quirk that lets him know where we are in his gas?"
Derek dragged himself to a kneeling position, careful not to let Kendo see the blood that was beginning to streak down his hand, "If he can accurately find us, then sneaking up is practically impossible unless I rift."
"But what about Tetsutetsu," said Kendo, "He could die at any moment if we don't hit that Jin guy first."
Derek shifted uncomfortably, "I have an idea, but you'll have to wait till I strike first."
"What's the plan?" asked Kendo.
Derek stared at Kendo in silence, prompting her to turn around.
"Derek?" said Kendo.
"I need you to know two things." said Derek.
"O-Ok?" said Kendo.
"First, I've had a crush on you since the Sports Festival." said Derek.
"W-WHAT?" said Kendo, her eyes widening as she responded in utter shock.
"Second, I lied about the bullet and I'm actually bleeding out right now," said Derek, "But we can worry about that later."
"WHAT!" shouted Kendo, this response laced with worry.
"Strike on my signal OK BYE!" said Derek, diving out of cover while swinging his free arm and creating a rift. Derek could here Kendo's shouting as he dived into the rift.
Man, that was a dick move Derek. Dick move.
Mustard loaded another bullet into his gun, pulling back the hammer before aiming it towards Kendo's tree.
"You hit anyone yet?" asked Jin.
"I think I hit the other guy," said Mustard, "How about you actually do something."
"This metal guy is hard to handle." said Jin, "He's squirmy, it's taking all I have to hold him in the air."
Tetsutetsu struggled against Jin's magnetic powers, holding his breath the whole time.
"I don't know how he's still conscious." said Jin, "The guy won't just go down."
"Maybe it's because he's actually got grit, unlike you two dirtbags."
Derek's voice came from the gas, putting both Jin and Mustard in a state of unease.
"Wow, you use a gun?" said Derek, "I haven't seen one of those in a few millennium."
Mustard tensed nervously as Jin said, "Shoot that cocky bastard."
Mustard searched through the gas until he sensed Derek's figure. Aiming his gun, Mustard smirked under the mask, "Got you no-"
Suddenly, Mustard pulled back, aiming his gun in the opposite direction, "Wait, how did you-"
Then Mustard aimed his gun at another spot 90 degrees to his right, "What?!"
"What the hell are you doing?!" shouted Jin, "Just shoot him!"
"I can't!" said Mustard, "He's popping up in one place than another. It's like he's everywhere!"
"Not everywhere," said Derek, "Just where I need to be!"
Mustard's eyes widened, "BEHIND YOU JIN!"
Jin whirled around just in time for Derek to crack him on the jaw. He watched as Jin stumbled back a few feet, right into Tetsutetsu's path as he plummeted to the ground. Tetsutetsu landed on Jin, flattening him and shattering his gas mask. As Jin attempts to turn on his back, Tetsutetsu brings his fist down on Jin, knocking him out with a satisfying *KRAK*
"Hah!" yelled Tetsutetsu, "Who's weak now."
"NO!" shouted Mustard, aiming his gun at Tetsutetsu, "I still have the gun, I can still win!"
Derek surged forward as Mustard opened fire, watching the bullets whiz past him. A couple hit Derek's body, opening new wounds but instead of stumbling, he surges forward at an even faster rate, fueled by adrenaline.
"RAH!" shouted Derek, tackling Mustard and picking him up.
"NO, PUT ME DOWN!" shouted Mustard.
"Just cause you had the gun doesn't mean you automatically win the fight!" shouted Derek, "Cause when it comes to fighting,"
Mustard sensed another presence rapidly approaching, looking to find Kendo barreling towards them with both fists raised towards the sky, "IT'S ALL ABOUT GRIT!"
Derek threw Mustard onto the ground in front of him, watching as Kendo slammed her fists down on Mustard with a satisfying *BOOM*, cratering the villain. Kendo lifted her fists, laying her eyes on the broken body of Mustard, who laid in the crater in a splayed out manner. Kendo looked up towards Derek.
"Derek?" said Kendo.
"What?" said Derek before he felt something pouring down his stomach. Looking down at his chest, he counted three bullet holes all oozing blood.
"Oh yeah, bullet holes." said Derek before he fell backward, blacking out as Kendo screamed his name.
I considered making this chapter shorter but came up with a pretty great outline for the rest of the arc that didn't allow that. Most of this chapter was dialogue, but I had a lot of fun writing the Sideways/Mustard fight. It's not as good as Cold V Flash, but it's something. There are gonna be some more great battles coming up, plus Thawne's origin (Which will be a two-parter with both chapters planned to be fairly long). I can't wait to write the next chapter!
Also, CONGRATULATIONS MY FRIENDS WE HAVE HIT 50,000 VIEWS! A thank you to every single reader is in order! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! In addition, the next review for this chapter will be review 500! WOAH HOW COOL IS THAT!\
Again, THANK YOU ALL FOR READING MY STORY, I'M BLESSED TO KNOW SO MANY PEOPLE LIKE IT!
Reviews:
Vault Hunter: I know you haven't commented on this chapter yet, but when you get to it I have to say welcome back man! I hope your life gets a little less hectic!
Thanks for the feedback as always! :)
DCDGojira: I don't really have plans to see the invisible man, but I do plan to see Call of the Wild with my dad. The CGI turns me off a little but it's based on a classic book.
Thanks for the feedback as usual! :)
Jose Ramiro: Hearing that my writing creates visuals like a comic book feels like the highest praise anyone can give, thank you so much man.
Thanks for the feedback as always! :)
Aztec 13: I actually planned for Derek to be fine originally, but felt that it might be more dramatic if he was on the edge of death the whole time.
Thanks for the feedback as always! :)
DeadCool14: The youtube links are weird and don't work for some reason, could you tell me the video titles? While I have planned out what happens basically up to the beginning of the hero license arc, I would like to hear the quotes since you would want them in the story!
In terms of Thawne's origin, I can tell why people would hate it. The idea that someone could snap because their idol said the same encouraging words to another person and all that might seem petty and kind of stupid. I found it fine since Thawne has always been pretty crazy, but It makes sense that someone might find it a weak reason to become Thawne (BTW this is all guessing, if it's not the reason you hate that origin I'm sorry for mistaking it.) My version digs into the idea that Thawne thought Barry lied, but I wanted to add a lot more substance and weight behind that Idea (I won't say exactly as it would spoil the story, but let's just say Barry and Thawne's relationship isn't limited to those few encounters).
Anywho, sorry for the wall of words and thank you for the feedback as always! :)
K92018: I've heard some complaints about Wally and while I can't write him out since he's already here, he will be the last DC hero to be added. Wally was mostly a reader request and I'm working to make his role matter a lot to the story, but I can tell why people would be afraid the story would lose focus.
In terms of the science thing, I respectfully disagree. I feel that with 20% of the world still without powers, ambitious scientists would still be trying to make weapons of mass destruction to help even the playing field for those without powers. Just my opinion though and you aren't wrong for thinking that way.
Thanks for the feedback as always! :)
Next Chapter: Hurricane Mardon and the terrifying debut of THE REVERSE FLASH!
