A/N: Here I am, back with another chapter.
Response to reviews:
spiderman1fan: Thank you for your review. Yes, I will have other DC (and maybe Marvel) characters showing up in this story, I cannot say who at this time. As for your other question, I cannot answer that at this time either.
The1whoknox: Anytime, I had to give a compliment and big shout out to your story. Keep up the great work and please update that story soon, I'm interested in seeing what happens next. As for your critique, I kinda agree, the reason I did my darker version of Barry was because I wanted to show Barry's descent into a vigilante as I didn't have any other scenes to show that at the time.
rvala117: Glad you like it, as for the whole Batman v Superman thing, I'm planning on doing something a little different. Thanks for the compliment.
MyNameIsMerlin: Thank you, I appreciate the compliment. I will do my best on the following chapters.
Ben10rk: Thanks for the compliment. I hope this story is good introduction into the hero vs hero kind of stories for you.
December 6th, 2013
Avengers Tower
Tony was rambling and rambling about his plan to host his 'Return to New York' party. He was going on about how he wanted to bring together his friends from the business side (which he wanted Pepper to do) and how they could personally meet the Avengers.
"So I'm thinking we put display cases for our suits near the entrance for the elevator." Tony said as Pepper nodded. "Then we put Thor's hammer in the middle of the table so that people can try and lift it, you know, like Excalibur. It's like a game people will love it! I'm sure Point Break's gonna be okay with it."
"Mmm." Pepper hummed.
"Okay, what's the problem?" Tony said, sounding neither disappointed or insulted. He simply wanted to hear Pepper's true feelings on the subject.
"To be honest, Tony..." Pepper began as she reluctantly hit him with the hard truth. "This sounds more of a party for the Avengers rather than the people let alone the people of business."
Tony clapped his hands together as he looked down silently, thinking about Pepper's words. She did have a point, for Tony, the weapons, suit and armor were as common as getting up in the morning or even walking but to other people it would've been scary for them. Tony nodded his head in agreement of his girlfriend's words as he spoke, wanting more ideas.
"Right, so what do we do?" Tony asked, holding his hands together.
"Keep it simple." Pepper suggested. "Put Steve's shield on display, if he's okay with it, people will like that more. Then, make the theme more business casual, make them feel at home. Make the party about them."
Tony completely agreed with it, it was straightforward and it would pursue Tony's plan on restoring New York. Sure, Pepper was no party planner and it wasn't the best plan but it was much better than the one Tony had come up with.
"Sounds good, though I still think we should use Point Break's hammer as Excalibur." Tony said.
"If he allows it." Pepper said, sternly reminding Tony.
"If he allows it." Tony repeated.
Pepper quickly gave Tony a kiss, which was interrupted by the sound of the doors to the floor opening as Bruce Banner, the newest addition to the Stark Industries' Science and Technology Division, stepped in. The doors closed behind Banner as Tony greeted him with a somewhat warm welcome.
"Banner, just the man I want to see!" Tony exclaimed. "Listen, I have to know: does the Hulk have manners when greeting guests? Or would his 'hugs' totally crush people?"
Pepper elbowed Tony, who squealed with a fake "Ow!", in the stomach, warning him not to upset Banner. Banner, however, was completely oblivious as he hadn't heard what Tony said.
"Huh?" Banner said in confusion.
Triskelion
Phil Coulson and his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (Skye, Ward, May and FitzSimmons) walked through the halls of the Triskelion. They had just landed from their trip and they had departed The Bus. Ward and May, as always, managed to keep their cool, FitzSimmons were both fanboying and fangirling over everything inside, Skye was staring in complete awe and kept on rambling about when they would get to meet the Avengers.
"Calm down, Skye." Coulson said, growing tired of Skye's constant 'fangirling'.
"Okay, I know but when?" Skye repeated.
"If you keep asking, you won't meet them." Ward said sternly, finally getting Skye to stop talking.
The agents kept walking down the halls of the Triskelion before stopping at the door to Nick Fury's office as they saw Fury and a younger woman they was unfamiliar to the agents. Coulson, unsurprisingly, was the first to greet Fury and the new guest.
"Director Fury, good morning." Coulson said, walking over before stopping dead in his tracks as he stared at the younger woman in confusion. "Who's our guest?"
"Well, Coulson. Meet Amanda Waller, Director of A.R.G.U.S." Fury said, gesturing his hand to Waller, who was shaking hands with Coulson.
"Phil Coulson." Waller said amusingly. "Fury's told me everything about you."
"I hope not." Coulson said jokingly as he and Waller dropped hands.
"I assume you all know why you're here." Waller said, looking at Coulson's team of agents.
"We do, Director Waller." May said. "The Flash."
"We have to put a stop to what he's doing." Waller said.
"Yeah, but how do we do that?" Skye asked as everyone in the room turned their attention to her. "I mean, he's not just another vigilante, he's The Flash. Besides, didn't he humiliate you not too long ago."
"Skye." Ward said in a warning tone.
"Errr, I mean, didn't you fight him and...well..." Skye was struggling to speak as she didn't want to say the wrong thing.
"It was a rather embarrassing defeat." Waller admitted with a sigh. "But that was back then, where we didn't have the tools nor the manpower required to stop him. This time, however, we do."
"We do?" Simmons asked.
"Yes, if you'll follow me." Fury said, getting up from his seat.
Fury walked out of his office as Waller, Coulson, Skye, Simmons, Fitz, Ward and May all followed the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. through the halls of the Triskelion. They passed many guards and agents until they finally reached the main briefing room, they all saw many (at least 80) A.R.G.U.S. agents along with a few other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who also happened to be in the room. The agents were surprised to see so many field agents and officers for one man, never before had such a large unit been mobilized for one man. Sure, a man with super speed but putting speed against an army made it clear that the second option would win, right?
"All of this for one man?" Simmons asked.
"This isn't all of them." Fury said, catching the agents' undivided attention. "We'll even be working with the Central City Police Department."
"You're really asking for all of this?" Coulson asked his boss.
"The World Council is asking me for all of this." Fury corrected as everyone's eyes (except Waller's) widened with shock. "We have a stop to make: Central City."
"When are we meeting the Avengers?" Skye asked curiously.
"When I feel it is necessary to mobilize them." Fury said sternly. "I may be mobilizing all these guys and the Central City Police Force against The Flash but that doesn't mean he's an Avenger level threat...yet."
Washington D.C.
Steve Rogers entered his apartment, looking sweaty from his intense workout. Had anyone else attempted it, they would've passed out due to exhaustion and maybe even slept for an entire day but thanks to the super soldier serum in his veins, Steve was able to do the workout easily. Steve closed the door behind him as he grabbed a towel from his bathroom and wiped his face with it, wiping off the sweat that he had bathed in during his workout. Steve deeply sighed as he thought about his life, he knew that he had to really get back out in the world. He had friends within the Avengers but Tony repeatedly insisted on getting 'real friends'. Maybe he could've done that at the gala that Tony was hosting, it would be a good opportunity for the people to meet Captain America and for Steve to get used to socializing in the 21st century.
Tony had also insisted that Steve get into the dating business and try to find a girl. Steve did think of his next door neighbor, she was nice and judging by the casual conversations they had, she seemed to be a kind person. But no matter who Steve met, his heart ached and burned for Peggy. The one woman he would only love was now an elderly woman in her nineties, laying on her to-be-death-bed with dementia. Take it slow, Rogers. Steve reminded himself. Steve pulled off his shirt as he threw both it and his towel in the hamper at the corner in his bedroom.
Steve was starving as his stomach demanded some breakfast, he went over to his kitchen as he took out some eggs and bread. After about five unsuccessful attempts, Steve was finally able to properly cook some toast and omelette. He was currently eating his breakfast, listening to the news on the TV, which he had turned on. Steve didn't look at the news, he simply listened until something caught his attention.
"...but now, it is time to hear a different side of the story of The Battle. It is time for the world to see both sides of the same coin." the male reporter said as Steve turned to face the TV, his breakfast completely forgotten. "The Avengers say that they are heroes but do the people agree?"
Steve had initially been ignoring what the man was saying until now, now he was all ears. He looked at the headline which read: Interview with Helena Wheeler-Nicholson. There were two people on the screen. One was the interviewee, Helena. The other was the male reporter who continued speaking.
"If the Avengers, any of them, be it Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, any of them, were here now: what would you say?" the reporter asked.
Helena's cheeks were wet and her eyes were red and bloodshot with tears when she spoke.
"I would've told them that...that...my family was full of good people." Helena said shakily. "That they didn't deserve to die in some...some...alien invasion. They had dreams...things they wanted to do. My son...he was five...he always said that he wanted to be a doctor. He wanted...he...he wanted to help people."
Helena completely broke down as the reporter handed her a handkerchief, which Helena accepted as she wiped the tears on her face before the screen changed to some other news that Steve wasn't paying attention to, he was busy thinking about what Helena said. Steve greatly admired Helena, it took a whole lot of courage to do what she did, courage Steve had rarely, if he had ever, seen. Despite this, Steve couldn't help but feel guilty and disgruntled. He knew that there was only so much the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. could do but it still disappointed him that he couldn't save everyone. Steve and the Avengers were only six people.
They had tried and tried, they had done the best they could. Wasn't that what mattered the most? It didn't matter whether Steve knew a god or a man who could turn into an invisible monster like the Hulk. Even with all the super soldier serum running through his veins, his connections, contacts and resources, Steve was still human. For the first time, in a very long time, Steve wished he wasn't human. He wished he could've had more power, power he could've used to save everyone, even if it did seem crazy or far-fetched.
An Apartment in Manhattan
Former employee of Allen Industries' Joseph Smith sat in his wheelchair as he always did, mainly due to losing his legs in 'The Battle'. On Joseph's wall, there were multiple news reports of articles and newspapers. They had many titles: "Avengers Stop Nuclear Missile Crisis", "Heroes Save New York", "Tony Stark's Malibu Mansion Destroyed" and so on forth. There were two particular newspaper clips he was proud to hang up: "Flash Saves Citizens In New York" and "Barry Allen Funds New York", Joseph was extremely grateful. Never had he imagined that he would be saved by two men that he had praised the most unaware of the fact that in reality, they were one in the same. If Flash hadn't rescued him from the rubble, he would've died. If Barry Allen hadn't funded the reparations for the damages in New York, he would've lost his home and that was the last thing a person in a wheelchair needed.
Joseph pulled out a spray paint can from his shelf as he stored inside the duffel bag on his lap, he then pulled out a large piece of duct tape as he wrapped it around the can before storing it back inside. Joseph zipped up the duffel bag as he looked up at his board with a look of rage. He hated the pictures on the wall, that was why he put them there. As a reminder. A reminder of the six bastards that took his wife, his six-year-old daughter and his unborn son. They all took his family away. Iron Man in his glorious red and gold armor, Black Widow and Hawkeye, the assassins that were involved. That made him chuckle, assassins being called heroes, what hellhole had the world gone into. Thor, what a 'god' he was for letting his own little brother attack the earth. The monster Hulk, how in the world was a hero? It was hard to tell if he was even helping or making things worse.
Then last but definitely not least, there was Steve Rogers aka Captain America. The golden boy. The war criminal of a hero. He was a lie, a joke, who could he save? It wasn't like that the number of people he could save was good enough, he couldn't even save his own best friend from falling off a train. Who could he save in an alien invasion? Joseph then took his final item with him, it was a picture of him, his daughter (who was three at the time) and his wife (who at the time wasn't pregnant) celebrating Joseph's birthday. Joseph remembered that day, it was evening and he had just gotten home from a hectic day at the office. He was extremely tired and exhausted, forget tired, he had completely forgotten that it was his birthday.
Until he switched the lights to see his wife, Lynne, and his daughter, Julia, standing behind the dining table with a light blue, chocolate cake on it. Joseph lightly smiled as he felt a tear roll down his cheek, all the way to the end of his jaw before it dropped onto his lap. He sniffed as he wiped his eyes clean before breathing in deeply. He knew this was it, this was his chance to do something right, to make the statement that no one else would make. After a while, Joseph exited the apartment, rolling the big wheels of his wheelchair with both his hands while he balanced his black duffel bag on his laps. Joseph stopped for a moment to swing the wrap of the duffel bag on his back, that way he would no longer have to worry about dropping it.
Joseph then continued rolling his wheelchair as he looked at the Avengers' Tower, the target he had pinned. The tower itself wasn't the target, the big, concrete Avenger's-styled 'A' in front of it was. Joseph rolled his wheelchair there as he made a stop. He took out the flowers he had gotten and the picture of his family as he placed them on one of the six pillars behind the concrete 'A'. Joseph placed the flowers and the picture on the ground as he brushed the names of his baby girl and his wife. He then sat back onto his wheelchair as rolled his way in front of the large 'A', not knowing or worrying about the security guard who was a mere few feet away from him.
Outside Avenger's Tower, Head of Stark Security Harold Joseph Hogan (better known as Happy by his friends and boss) sat on the bench outside, eating his lunch. It was far too nice not to do so. In old days, Happy often got to go many places, mainly because Tony had gone there. That, however, was before Tony was Iron Man. Iron Man had changed everything, it had stopped Tony from going out as often but it also turned Happy's security job into more of a desk job. So whenever he got the chance, Happy would sneak out of Avengers Tower and briefly dine outside.
Happy's thoughts were cut off when he noticed an empty wheelchair roll past him with his corner eye vision. Happy mentally frowned, Why the hell is that wheelchair empty? Happy thought. He turned around to see where it came from, at first he assumed that someone had fallen off of the chair but what Happy saw was completely different. He saw man climbing the large, concrete pillar 'A'. Happy stood up from the bench, his lunch completely forgotten as he went over to the 'A'.
"Sir, you can't climb that." Happy said in a soft but warning tone. He stared in shock when he saw that the man didn't have legs, Happy felt sorry for him but that didn't give the man the right to climb on Stark property. "Sir, get down! Get down, now!"
The commotion gathered the attention of a few Stark Industries employees and some pedestrians who were nearby as Joseph (the man) seated himself on the bracket of the 'A'. Joseph pulled off the can of the spray paint can as he threw it on Happy. Happy didn't react so kindly as he pulled out his radio.
"This is Happy, call the police! I repeat, call the police!" Happy yelled into the radio as he stared in horror at what Joseph was doing. "Hey! Don't do it! Hey!"
It was too late as Joseph began spraying in red paint the letter's 'M' and 'U' as he continued defacing the concrete pillar.
Avengers Tower
"This is so cool!" Skye exclaimed as she, Coulson, Ward, May, Fitz and Simmons walked through the top floor of Avengers Tower with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. "I mean, isn't it cool! Or what!"
Skye had been 'fangirling' for the past two hours and it surprised everyone that she was able to keep at it for so long. Sure, she was meeting a member of the Avengers for the first time but even then it was still surprising how a person kept at for two whole hours. Steve was okay with the attention whereas Tony, like always, lived and breathed for it. Everyone had been focused on Skye's fangirling, everyone except Pepper, who was looking at the TV as she stared in shock, feeling a pit forming in her stomach.
"Tony." Pepper said, patting Tony's arm.
"Yeah, Pep?" Tony said as Pepper pointed to the TV.
Everyone stopped talking as they all paid their full, undivided attention to the TV screen.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., turn up the volume." Tony commanded as the A.I. obeyed the order before turning up the volume of the TV.
"Emergency response teams have created a temporary perimeter around the Avengers Tower." the female reporter said as in the background, the words 'Murderers' were visible on the large, concrete 'A'. "The suspect has been identified as Joseph Miller Smith."
The camera then turned to Joseph who was in the process of being put into the back of their police car. Joseph was legless but Tony greatly admired and respected the fight he put up, a part of him even cheered Joseph on but the police had little-to-no trouble putting him inside. However, Joseph had said something that made everyone, especially Tony, step back in shock.
"I work for Barry Allen! I work for Barry Allen!" Joseph yelled at the top of his lungs.
Everyone stepped back in shock, they all knew Barry Allen. Who on earth wouldn't know about a man who had more than $250 billion? Pepper and the agents all knew Barry the way a normal person would whereas Tony knew Barry in a different way. He hadn't talked to Barry in years, not since he had shot down the merger between Stark Industries and Allen Technologies. Ever since, Barry and Tony had a billionaire rivalry over who had come out on top. Barry ended up being richer whereas Tony ended up being the Iron Man. Their rivalry begun years ago and in a way, it had continued to today. The reporter on TV continued speaking, interrupting Tony's thoughts.
"Smith has been arraigned on charges of felony charge of making terrorist threats, resisting arrest and vandalism." the reporter said. "This carries very well to over forty to fifty years in prison."
"That poor man." Simmons said. "I don't believe this is the 'good look' you'd want, Mr. Stark."
Tony then turned off the TV as he turned to face Pepper.
"Have the charges dropped." Tony ordered. "I won't let an innocent man sit in prison for being angry."
"I don't think you'll want do that." Ward said, looking at his phone as he had just received a message.
"I'm not asking for permission here, Jason Bourne." Tony said, raising his voice.
"Calm down, playboy." Ward said, raising his hands in a fake 'I surrender' position. "He's already been released."
Everyone looked at Ward in shock.
"He has?" May asked.
"Yeah, he got bail. According to my sources, at the least." Ward said.
"Did Allen pay it?" Tony asked, referring to Barry.
"Nah, someone else did." Ward replied.
"Who?" Skye asked curiously.
Ward then double-checked his phone as he frowned in surprise.
"Lex Luthor." Ward answered.
Central City
Steve Rogers walked through the streets of Central City, he had been looking for the woman on TV, the interviewee he had seen on the news at morning. Her names was Helena and Steve had read up on her via some S.H.I.E.L.D. files he had access to. Helena was an older woman in her mid-forties, her only family was her brother and her father who had both died in the Afghanistan War. She had recently lost both of her children, her son and daughter, in 'The Battle'. Neither of the children made it and the Avengers nor S.H.I.E.L.D. had done anything about it. Steve had to meet Helena and give her his condolences at the least, he needed Helena and people like her to know that he and the Avengers did care. That they fought for everyone, no matter who, no matter what.
Steve was currently walking down the sidewalk besides the streets, he had worn a cap to conceal and cover his identity. Steve remembered the Central City from his time, it was wonderful. He remembered how often he and Bucky would try to sneak away to this city because of how amazing and beautiful it was. Now it was different, now it was crime-filled hellhole. It made crime-filled cities like New York, Starling or Gotham seem like safe-havens and sanctuaries. Steve made his way into the dirty rusty apartment. He stopped once he was at the floor where Helena's room supposedly was, Steve went over to the door as he knocked on it. No answer. Steve knocked again, there was still no answer. Steve then looked around as he saw a middle-aged woman doing her laundry.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Steve said as the woman looked up to see Steve holding a newspaper with a picture of Helena. "Is she home, miss?"
"What did she do, officer?" the voice of an elderly man echoed through the halls.
Steve turned his head in the direction where the voice came from as he walked over and saw a elderly black man, sitting in the corner.
"I'm not a cop, sir." Steve said.
"Then what are y-" the man's words were cut off as he looked up at Steve and stared at the soldier in shock.
"I was wondering what happened to the lady over there." Steve said, pointing his finger to the apartment door he had been knocking on.
"Oh she hasn't been back for a while." the man said, turning his head back to his scratch card as he continued scratching it. "In fact, if she's smart, she's gotten out of the city." the man then looked at Steve with a grim and serious look. "And you need to get out of here before dark unless you want to run into him."
Steve looked at the man in confusion, Who was this 'him' figure? Why would he need to leave before dark? Was this 'him' the reason?
"Oh don't listen to that nonsense." the woman behind said, her laundry forgotten as she engaged in the conversation. "The only people that need to be scared of him are people who have reason to."
"Scared of who?" Steve said, turning his head back to the old man.
"Well, there is a new kind of meaning in 'him'." the man said in a tone that caused a pit to form inside of Steve as the man quickly scratched his card with practiced ease. "He is angry and he is hunting."
The man then handed Steve the scratchcard as Steve took it before looking down at it. The entire card wasn't scratched, just a part of it which had a lightning bolt on it, a lightning bolt that was inside a circle. The man's ominousness and the woman's words caused Steve to want to do more research on this 'him' figure.
Central City Streets
December 6th, 2013
3:00 p.m.
On the streets of Central City, two cars were racing against each other. One was a Ferrari whereas the other was a 1971 Mustang Mach 1. In the mustang was Wally West, the son of the late Joe and late Francine West. Wally was currently racing the man in the Ferrari, the race was currently neck to neck. Wally then turned on the right turn and made sure to only brake for a few seconds before speeding off as fast as he could. The man in the Ferrari, however, had been braking for too long and by the time he reached the finish line (which was just outside the bar) Wally had already gotten out of the car.
Wally smiled in pride as he saw the crowds of people who were cheering him on but one person in the crowd Wally was happy to see in particular. Wally made his way through the crowds as he stopped a few feet away from the man in the business casual suit.
"How'd I do?" Wally asked.
"Amazing." Barry Allen said.
"Cool, right?" Wally asked.
"Yeah, now get the hell out of here and don't even think about coming back here." Barry said in a stern tone, the kind of tone an older brother would use when scolding a little brother.
"But I.."
"Go Wally, I'm serious."
It was obvious to Wally that Barry was simply worried about him, the people who ran these kind of things would torture him to death and dump his body in gutter, maybe even the harbor. Barry didn't want that, he already had not one but two West's death on his conscience, he wouldn't let there be a third. Wally nodded obediently as he made his way out of the crowds and into the night. Barry, on the other hand, made his way into the bar where he saw Goldface, the man who was betting on the driver Wally, who Barry was betting on, beat. Barry made his way over as sat next to Goldface, putting his phone next to the thug's. Unbeknownst to Goldface, the phone was secretly cloning everything on Goldface's phone, his files, his pictures, everything. That was why Barry had placed his phone close to Goldface's.
Both men had ordered their drinks, neither one saying anything to the other when Goldface suddenly spoke.
"If you're looking to celebrate luck, you should find another place." Goldface said hoarsely. "This house treats luck like a disease."
Barry played his billionaire playboy part when he spoke.
"I'm here to celebrate a win for me. What about you? Trying to drown your losses?" Barry said cockily.
"You best watch that tongue of yours, boy." Goldface said standing up as he looked down at the billionaire. "I'll let you off with a warning this time but if you ever screw with me again, I will make your world a living hell."
"It already is." Barry said in a dark tone, causing Goldface to shiver in fear for a reason that was unknown to him.
Goldface picked up his phone as he made his way out of the bar, opening the door and leaving. He didn't why but something about Barry scared, the look of boiling rage in the young man's eyes, the dark tone he suddenly spoke with, whatever the reason was, everything in Goldface was telling him not to threaten the man and Goldface completely believed it. Back in the bar, Barry took out his phone as he saw the words printed on it: Device Cloning Successful.
"Cisco? Harry? Do you copy?" Barry said silently.
"It's us, we're here." Harry said into a comm link that Barry was secretly wearing.
"Anything?" Barry asked.
"There's something." Cisco said. "There's a shipment of Velocity X drugs and Meta-weapons going down tonight."
"Where?" Barry asked.
"Central City Docks" Cisco said.
Central City Apartment
Steve Rogers sat in his chair as he typed on his laptop, he had rented an apartment for a few days and he was currently doing his research on The Flash vigilante. He typed the words 'The Flash' on the search bar as he clicked enter. Steve immediately saw hundreds of news reports on The Flash. He even passed an article with the title: The Flash Brand Means Torture, he clicked the link to another article, which had a title that read: The Flash Playing Judge, Jury and Punisher. Steve looked in shock as he read the subtitle of the article: Has Central City's Protector Gone Too Far? Steve read the entire article as he was immediately stunned by what he had read, The Flash was once a hero but after 'The Battle' he had gone rogue. He had used methods of violence and torture, Steve, like everyone, now knew that it was only a matter of time before The Flash went as far as killing. He had to stopped, immediately.
Steve's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of knocking on the door. He looked up from his laptop, which he had closed as he got up from his chair. Steve went for the door as he looked through the peephole with one eye to see who was there. When he looked, he didn't see anyone but he did see a sort of package on the ground. Steve opened the door as he saw the orange file on the floor, he looked down the aisle to see if anyone was there.
"Hello?" Steve called out. No answer.
He picked up the orange file from the carpet floor as he closed and locked the door behind him. Steve went over to his desk, sitting behind it as he opened the file and took out a newspaper that was inside. Steve put the newspaper on his desk as many, small pictures fell out. Steve looked at the newspaper, it was a cut-off clip of the old 'The Flash Brand Means Torture' newspaper. He put the newspaper aside as he looked down at the pictures, they were all pictures of the man in the newspaper. The man had been beaten to a pulp, his body and face were all bloodied and by the look of it, he may never be able to walk again. Three of pictures had one word on them, each picture had a different word on it. One of them said 'Judge', the other said 'Jury' and the final one, ironically, said 'Punisher'.
Steve felt sorry for the man, he may have been a criminal but he didn't deserve to be beaten and tortured. The man must've had some family, a mother, father, wife, kids, someone. Steve looked up the victim and read up on the information there was on him, apparently, the man had a wife and two-year-old son. His crimes were petty theft and robbery. Due to his injuries, the man had become quadriplegic and eventually he had committed assisted suicide, which was legal in Central City. Therefore, leaving his wife widowed and his son without a father.
"Jesus Christ." Steve sighed with shock.
Steve got up from his seat as he put on his coat and his cap, he knew what he had to do. He had to meet the wife and child and give them his condolences for their loss, then he had to get the Avengers together and stop this 'Flash' vigilante from hurting, or even killing, anyone else. He wouldn't let anyone else in Central City suffer under The Flash's reign of terror. Then, once all of that was done, Steve had to find out who sent him the newspaper and pictures and why they were doing so. Steve had checked the package but there was no return address or anything that could give the location of the person who sent it. He'd have to check with S.H.I.E.L.D. to see if any of the material was traceable or if there were any fingerprints but for now, he had another mission.
CC Jitters
An american, auburn-haired woman sat behind a desk, in a chair as she swiped her hand on the screen of her phone. She was currently reading a news report about The Flash, an article titled: The Flash Playing Judge, Jury and Punisher. The woman stared in shock as she felt a pit forming in her stomach, how could The Flash be so violent? Beating criminals to a pulp? Torturing them for even the smallest of crimes? That didn't sound like The Flash she once knew.
"My god, Barry, what have you done?" the woman whispered to herself.
"I have a latte for Caitlin Snow." another waitress at the counter said.
"That would be me." Caitlin said, getting up from her seat as she went over and took her drink. "Thank you."
A/N: I'll end that chapter right here. I'm sorry if you feel that this is going slow but since I'm following the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice storyline, I kinda have to. Bear with me, the action is coming. Well, it looks things are getting to the action. Caitlin is back, Steve is in Central City and S.H.I.E.L.D. and A.R.G.U.S. are about to team up with CCPD to take down The Flash. As I said, the action is coming. Dang, 6,120 words. New record for me.