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Chapter 18 is finally here, I've really got nothing to say about this except I hope you enjoy it. I am trying to write shorter chapter so I can update faster but my brain keeps telling me to add more and more to them until they are longer than intended and yet they still feel too short to some degree.
The Flash: Survival of the Fastest
Chapter 18: The Poison Doctor
Barry and Caitlin's Home
Caitlin and Barry sat on the couch and just absorbed what Barry just said. He was seeing things, seemingly becoming something else. Back in the day Barry might have kept this a secret from Caitlin if not everyone, thankfully he was mature enough to talk to his fiancé.
"I think we should tell the others." Caitlin said.
Barry wasn't so sure, but he knew Caitlin was right. Keeping secrets never worked out for any of them. "We should, but… I don't want to worry anyone, especially Ben. If he knew something was happening to me… I… I don't know how he'd react."
"And how will he react if you don't tell him and you have another episode?"
"You are right, as usual." Barry smiled at Caitlin before giving her a small kiss on the lips. "Come on, it's getting late. We should head off to bed."
Iron Heights Prison
Johnathan 'Jack' Potts sat in his cell quietly. Today was day ninety-three of his ten-year sentence. He and his sister had been arrested for theft and for second degree murder when he killed a guard in their botched getaway plan. They were hired to break into a high-end tech company to steal some weird device that supposedly would help their employer deal with The Flash.
John and his sister were among the best thieves in the business, not the most well-known. Experts in both infiltration, Observation and technology allowed The Potts Siblings to pull off some of the most impossible heights in the world, and yet for all their effort and accomplishments they never once got recognition. In the Larceny business, notoriety was never a good thing, it was best to remain unknown and never take credit for the things you steal, which is why they worked through contracts if someone were to go down it would be their employers and there would be nothing to link the two thieves to any stolen property.
About five years ago they worked a job with Leonard Snart to steal a valuable sapphire from the Gateway City Museum of Natural History. Snart called them the best thieves in the business while he might be the most famous.
"Potts!" A prison guard violently rapped his baton against the bars to get the thief's attention. "You got a package." As the guard slipped John a small parcel box no bigger than a one-by-two-inch container John looked over every inch of the guard. He had never seen this man before, which would lead him to believe he was a new hire, except the keycard hanging from his hip showed signs of excessive use indicating he has been a guard at Iron Heights for quite some time.
John stood up and reached out to take the package. "Haven't seen you here before, you must be new."
"Just take the damn package. Your uncle said it was special for you." The guard grumbled as he turned to leave.
John sat back on his cot and opened the package inside was a small pill filled with red liquid. His 'uncle' sent this to him? That was impossible for a few reasons chief of which was they had no uncles in close proximity.
Along with the small pill was a note with only one word on it:
EAT
John pondered for a moment and looked out of his cell and then back to the pill, he hadn't the slightest clue what it was but he took it.
The Next Day
Barry walked out of the cell completely confused.
"Anything Barry?" Joe asked
"There's nothing, in fact, evidence points to John Potts simply walking out of here."
"How could an inmate get out of an electronically locked cell, go down two flights of stairs, pass a dozen cameras and twice as many guards before walking out the front door and stealing a police cruiser?"
"It wasn't just him. His sister, Jaquelin Potts, also went missing last night."
"So, two new thieves both vanish in the same night and no one saw anything? How?"
"I'm thinking one of them might be a Meta-Human. But I have no clue what either can do." Barry replied. "If they are Meta-Humans they havn't used their powers until now. Which contradicts every other Meta-Human we've come across in the last four years."
"We have to find them Barry, we have no clue what these two are capable of, especially if they were telling the truth about their skills." Joe said.
S.T.A.R. Labs, Cortex
"What do we know about the two that escaped?" Cisco asked as he sat next to Caitlin.
"Nothing" Iris said. "I've been doing some digging ever since Dad and Barry told us they escaped and there is absolutely nothing. It's like they don't exist."
"You won't find much of anything about them anywhere." Ben spoke up. "John and his sister are two of the best thieves in the business because they have never been caught."
"Is it wrong to admire the fact they've never been caught?" Wally asked with a slight shrug.
"I think it sucks that with their talents they weren't being better people." Ben said. "I met them once back in my time, I've got to say I never witnessed their abilities if they even have them, but they went by their monikers, Sir Prize and Miss Fortune."
Cisco looked a little miffed about the nicknames. "Who the hell came up with those? I would never offer them as potential names, not even in a million years."
"No clue. I think they did." Ben shrugged.
"Who cares what they call themselves how do we find them?" Barry spoke up.
"No clue. In 2024, they'd been off the radar for years, and that is six years before I came back here." Ben said. "Look I know we should be looking for them but I honestly think we need to focus on Lightspeed and his minions."
Barry placed his hands on his hips and looked at the floor for a second before looking up to address the whole team. "There is not much we can do about The Potts siblings now, I think Ben is right. We need to focus on Lightspeed, and importantly where MH-52 is coming from. We stop the drug and we stop any new Meta-Humans from showing up and interrupting us."
"I was able to reverse engineer the liquid you brought us yesterday." Caitlin said. She flashed over to her lab and returned with the vial of crimson liquid. "I think I was able to perfectly replicate the MH-52 Formula, though I have no way of ethically testing the drug."
"Is there anything you can tell us about it?" Barry asked.
"A lot of the components are difficult enough to come by, but the key ingredient, in order to properly bond all the other elements together needs to be ionized and lucky for us that gives it a unique signature." Dr. Snow explained.
"I'll set the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite to search for that signature." Cisco immediately got to work.
"Widen the search Cisco, if we have a satellite might as well look everywhere." Ben said. "Besides once we locate the origin we can stop it easily."
"I've got a lock!"
"That was quick." Wally sounded surprised.
"The satellite is picking up the signature in Star City, I cannot get any closer than that."
"We'll look into it, nice job Cisco." Barry patted Cisco shoulder before turning to Caitlin and Ben. "Suit up."
Thunder boomed and yellow, white and blue lightning flashed as Flash, the new Godspeed and Caitlin raced off to Star City.
Star City, Dockyard
Robin and Bobby crouched in the rafters of the drydock watching the deal going down. Below them was their target Dr. Mariana Maru in the middle of selling a new drug that was creating many problems across the United States; MH-52. A drug that could be consumed in any of the three phases of matter, popping pills, shooting up a liquid or drinking it, or inhaling a gas version. No matter the form of consumption one of two outcomes was possible. One, the drug awoke any latent Meta-Human abilities in a person with a dormant gene. Two, a regular human would develop powers for a set amount of time however the drug was highly addictive and too much of MH-52 could kill a normal person.
"Can you hear them?" Robin asked Bobby.
The younger man had been listening to the whole conversation, courtesy of his super hearing. He could hear a coin flip a dozen kilometers away and tell you which side it landed on, and that was a good day. If one were to compare his hearing and voice to say kryptonians/daxamites one would find Bobby to be superior in every way. When Bobby's powers first developed, well, let's just say it was not a good combination for a baby to develop a sonic scream or acute hearing.
"Yeah… they're waiting for their buyer, the guy called Puppet Master." Bobby said. "He's bringing their payment."
Robin nodded in agreement. The two of them had been stalking this operation for a while now and they learned that Maru was the Puppet Master's chemical expert, she was the one providing her boss with the chemicals to manufacture MH-52. "Any clue what that is?"
"Probably just cash, knowing these types of people." He then put his finger to his lips to indicate for his sister to become silent. They listened to the revving of an engine as a Lamborghini pulled up. The driver got out and opened the back door.
Bobby and Robin watched as The Puppet Master stepped out of the car dressed in a slick black three piece double breasted suit. His face however was covered by a plague doctor's mask with orange lenses and a steel beak emblazoned with intricate floral patterns.
"Do you have my drug?" Puppet Master asked utilizing a voice modulator.
Maru gestured to one of her goons who walked forward and opened a steel brief case that had been handcuffed to him. Inside were two dozen vials each filled with the crimson liquid.
"This is quite the chemical I cooked up." Maru spoke with a heavy Caribbean accent. "Do you have what we asked for?"
Puppet Master waved his right hand and a stone box came out of his car and landed softly in his hand. "Here it is."
Maru took the box from Puppet Maser holding it close like it would disappear if she let it go. "You don't know how long we have been searching for this. With it our master can finally return to us."
Robin turned to Bobby looking for some indication to jump in, he nodded. The duo leaped from the rafters, ready for a fight. Robin nocked three arrows and drew back her bow while bobby removed the scarf around his mouth.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Bobby screamed loudly as he unleashed a sonic blast directly at the floor cracking the foundation and blasting Maru and the Puppet Master back.
At the same time Robin fired off her three arrows one pierced into Maru's shoulder before jetting out a metal wire that pinned her to the ground. The second arrow struck one of the henchmen in the chest killing him. Her third was split vertically in half before it could reach Puppet Master.
"We've got company." Puppet Master said unenthusiastically as Bobby and Robin landed in front of them. "Tell me, who are you two supposed to be? You couldn't possibly be the Green Arrow and his girlfriend."
"Name's Sonic Boom." Bobby said rubbing his throat a little. Using his powers excessively could strain his throat and even lead to him temporarily losing his voice, making it a little harder to use sound when you cannot speak. "Let's play."
Puppet Master flexed his right hand before waving it at Bobby, his razor-sharp wires sang as they sliced through the air.
"I suggest you put the box down." Robin said as she aimed another arrow at Maru.
The woman looked from the box to Robin and back to the box. "My Lord Savitar will save me!" She made a move to open the stone box but Robin released the arrow allowing it to pierce into the chemist's free hand. She recoiled in pain and dropped the box to the ground. Seeing her precious artifact like that made Maru scramble for it, she had to get it back.
"You do not understand the forces at work archer." Maru said as she stared down Robin. The female archer ignored her and let loose another arrow only for Maru to catch it, purple liquid oozed out of her hand and melted the arrow. "Very well, I shall show you how I received the moniker Dr. Poison."
Robin was about to put another arrow in Maru when wire wrapped around her arrow and yanked it out of her hands. In that moment Robin turned towards Puppet Master only to see Bobby wrap his powerful arms around the man's throat and throw him to the ground.
Bobby reached for Puppet Master's mast but wires wrapped around his wrist tightly and began to cut into Sonic Boom's skin drenching his right hand with blood. Bobby grabbed the wires and pulled Puppet master off the ground before slamming him into a nearby pillar making them loosen on his wrist. Bobby took a deep breath and unleashed his sonic scream primarily focused on Puppet Master who gripped his ears in pain.
More wires raced out from Puppet Master's outstretched left hand and wrapped violently around Bobby's throat. Not only were the wires asphyxiating him they also prevented him from screaming while they sliced into his neck.
Robin immediately moved to help her little brother by firing two three arrows into Puppet Master's back. Almost immediately his jacket caught fire, it was odd how he didn't seem to react to his back being burned.
"Shit!" Several of Dr. Poison's lackeys reached into their coat pockets and pulled out gas masks. "She's gonna use that!"
Ashen steam billowed off of Maru threatening to quickly fill in the whole building. In a matter of moments, the entire premises smelled of rotten eggs. Those that were unfortunate to not wear gas masks began to cough violently and collapse. Even Robin found herself at a loss for her breath.
"Hydrogen Sulfate." Maru said as she stood over Robin holding the stone box once again. "Colorless, poisonous, corrosive and flammable. At this concentration one breath is more than enough to kill a full-grown adult."
"…but not right away…" Robin smirked as she drew another arrow.
"What are you doing?" Maru questioned. Instead of nocking it Robin snapped the tip off and threw it like a dart at Maru.
Dr. Poison moved out of the way, as she did she noticed the arrowhead sparked and caught fire.
Meanwhile on the western edge of the city our three speedsters had finally arrived in the home of the Green Arrow.
"Alright Cisco we made it to Star City. Any indication where to find the drug depot?" Barry asked
There was a thunderous boom that caught the attention of the three speedsters as a column of black smoke and flames poured into the sky.
"That will have to wait." Caitlin said. "Right now, we've got people to save." In the blink of an eye the three speedsters arrived at the raging inferno. The heat was so intense Caitlin could feel her throat drying up.
"WE NEED TO CREATE A VACUUM AROUND THE FIRE! PREVENT IT FROM SPREADING ANY MORE!" Barry yelled over the raging inferno before running around the firestorm in a clockwise direction followed swiftly behind by Caitlin and Ben.
Within moments the colossal ball of fire diminished until all that was left were the burned-out ruins of the Wearhouse.
"I've got three bodies over here!" Ben shouted to Barry and Caitlin as they searched for any potential survivors. So far, they hadn't found any living bodies, only charred remains.
"This warehouse was supposed to be empty." Caitlin said.
"I contacted SCPD as well as SCFD." Barry added. They'll be on their way shortly."
"What do you think happened here?" Ben asked.
"Gas leak?" Caitlin suggested. "I can kind of smell the feint scent of rotten eggs."
"We might need Team Arrow's help on this." Ben said "Do they still act like they don't know us?"
"No clue, I've been trying to get in touch with Felicity and or Laurel but I'm sure they both blocked me." Caitlin said.
"Then I say let's round them up and head to the bunker. I'm sure Oliver won't mind.
Star City, Arrow Bunker
"Ollie…" Laurel gently whispered to her-sort-of-not-really-husband. It had been months and still Oliver refused to believe Robin and Bobby about being a vigilante known as The Green Arrow. Did she believe them when they told her she was a vigilante known as Black Canary after a stint as a villain known as Black Siren, not really, but there was no real explanation for her abilities. Robin and Bobby were her only hope for some answers.
"Don't talk to me Laurel…" Oliver rolled over on the bed so he was facing the wall. "These people are nuts."
"Then how do you explain all your scars and tattoos?"
"I got into a lot of trouble as a child."
"Involving knives arrows and guns?" It was far more rhetorical than intended. "Face it Oliver, there is too much of both our lives that just don't add up."
"I refuse to believe what they say Laurel." Oliver turned back to Laurel. "I cannot believe it. If I do, that means everything between us, everything we know and have been through is a lie." He sat up and took Laurel's hand in his own looking down at their wedding bands before looking at the suits on the manikins. "I don't want it to be a lie. What they said I've been through, my Father's suicide, my mother's murder and even… 'your death' I don't want to live through any of that again."
Laurel looked as if she were about to cry. "Ollie… the truth might hurt… but It's better than living a lie… living a lie is like living a fake life… and I don't want my life to be fake…"
"Laurel…"
"And no matter what the truth turns out to be… I will still believe in us."
Oliver was about to speak once more when the elevator door opened and out came Bobby and Robin.
"Damn, that was close." Robin sighed. "Thank god you can do what you can do."
"Well, one of had to save our skin after you ignited a room filled with flammable gas." By this point Bobby had already covered his lower mouth with his scarf. Even in private places he was rather self-conscious about his Glasgow smile, it tended to scare a lot of people, even his own parents had been put off by it.
"Hey, I was improvising, not like you could have helped."
Bobby rolled his eyes before noticing Laurel and Oliver were watching them. "They're looking at us."
"Think they notice all the ash and soot? Or the blood?"
"What's going on?" Laurel asked. "Why do you smell like smoke?"
"Funny story Laurel, see we sort of were stopping a drug exchange and then we had to deal with a burning building." Robin said. She turned to Oliver and sighed when it became apparent he wanted nothing more to do with them. However, there was something different, almost like he was saying 'I'm willing to listen now.' or 'I believe you.' While not optimal, it certainly was a start. "Listen could I get a minute alone with Oliver please?" She asked. Laurel and Bobby nodded leaving Robin to sit beside Oliver.
"Look Oliver," Robin began to say. "I want to apologize for everything my brother and I have been putting you through the last few months. But I want you to know we are not the bad guys here."
"I don't care." Oliver said. "I just want you to leave Laurel and me alone. We are happy with our lives."
Robin took a deep breath. "What about William Oliver?"
William. That name triggered something in Oliver but he did not know what or why. It sounded so familiar yet completely foreign to him at the same time. "William? Who's that?"
Robin seemed to grow sad. "Your son Oliver. The son you have forgotten."
"A son? Are you saying I have a son? That can't be true."
"It is true Oliver, and I'm sorry to say but someone stole William from us, and in order to get him back we need to to return to your old life. We need the Green Arrow."
Oliver Queen sat on the bed processing what had just been told to him. He had a son that he had forgotten. How could he forget his own child? he didn't want to believe it but something inside him, something akin to instinct kept telling him she was telling the truth. He guessed it was a parent thing, no matter what a parent would always remember their child. Flashes of a young boy appeared in his mind. He looked up at Robin barely holding back the tears in his eyes. "What do you need me to do?" He sounded desperate and not quite like the Oliver of old just yet but he was getting there.
Robin smiled and was about to speak when she was interrupted when a massive rush of wind filled the Bunker. Standing in the main station were three individuals all wearing some form of leather suits and each of them had an extra person on each arm, three women and three men.
The larger African American man immediately doubled over the nearest trash can and vomited. "Sorry Dig, I keep forgetting how much you dislike my speed."
"What… the hell… was that?" The man named Dig asked. Oliver recognized him as Thea's bodyguard.
"What the!? What just happened?" The blond woman wearing glasses questioned. "How'd we get here? Where exactly is here?"
"Ollie!?" The young woman Oliver recognized as Thea asked "What are you doing here? I thought you were sick?" She then noticed Bobby and Robin along with everyone else. "Um… who are these people? What's going on here?"
"Who are you two?" The Female speedster in blue asked as she was clearly gesturing Robin and Bobby.
"We could ask the same question." Robin said as she eyes the three speedsters her eyes fixed on the one clad in a white suit. For a moment, she saw someone else's face but quickly realized it was not the person she thought it was.
"Oliver… we need to talk…" The speedster in red said. "Something has happened to you and your team and we need your help."
Central City, Puppet Master's Base of Operations
David Caesar opened his eyes. It was a good thing he sent one of his personal, perhaps unwilling, marionettes to Star City to make the trade with Dr. Maru. If he had gone himself there wasn't a doubt in his mind he would have been killed in the explosion.
"How did it go?" Caesar looked up to see Godspeed standing in front of him with his arms folded across his chest. "Did you acquire what you needed?"
"Unfortunately, we hit a snag in the form of some interlopers." Caesar said. "The package was delivered, though I do not believe Dr. Maru escaped the explosion. "Tell me, how did you acquire such a relic?"
"It is quite simple to acquire rare and valuable items when all of time and space is at your fingertips." Godspeed looked out the window. "It was quite easy to acquire the Philosopher's Stone, all I had to do was pull it from its resting place."
"You claim to be an acolyte of this Speed God Savitar, is he as powerful as you say?"
"Perhaps at one time he was the most powerful speedster, but he was still just a man. A man who was easily imprisoned by the very thing that made him a God. He had his turn and it was squandered on a petty grudge. I used to look up to him, aspire to be him even, but he taught me there are no Gods… just men."
Caesar nodded. "On that note, our newest recruits are coming along nicely. I managed to get one of my men on the inside and he slipped MH-52 to John and Jaqueline Potts. Both were successful in their escape attempt from Iron Heights, though I assume the City is searching for them in full force."
"Good. We will need their abilities at their maximum potential in order for our plan to work."
"Everything else is ready to be executed on your command."
"It is almost time, but there is still something that must be done. Before we can bring down the Flash."
"Name it and consider it done."
Godspeed smirked beneath his mask. "I already am."
Star City
Elsewhere in Star City, Dr. Poison staggered as far from the blast site as she could. Horrific burns covered a good portion of her body. If she hadn't used her body's ability to rapidly produce chemical compounds she would have been burned alive instead of coating her entire body in a substance akin to fire suppressants.
She could not believe how insane that archer was to ignite a room filled with Hydrogen Sulfate, though on the plus side there was no way that woman and her accomplice survived the flaming crucible.
She clung the stone box tightly under her right arm, that was all that mattered. "Finally… we can bring back… our lord Savitar…" Maru's family had what most would call an obsession with the God Savitar. Her great grandmother told her he first appeared to them during World War I, saving her from the wrath of another Goddess.
Maru reached out to open the box when she heard a noise. A rumbling like distant thunder followed by the sound of roaring flames. An intense heat flared up behind her but just as instantly it was gone. The crackle of electricity and the rushing sound of air was enough to tell her it was a speedster
She whirled around and found herself face to face with a new face.
He was a tallish man and seemingly well build, though it was hard to tell underneath his clothes. He wore black cargo pants with a white union jack design running up the right leg, some sort of sneaker and a red hooded leather jacket with black accenting the underside of his arms and his sides. Wrapped around his right wrist was a long steel chain and on his right ring finger was a small silver band that gave off a faint blue-white glow. His hood was up and his face was covered by a thick black shadow, only his eyes were visible, illuminated by their glowing blue color.
"I've come for that." The man pointed at the stone box in Maru's hand. He didn't stop walking towards her. Maru held the box closer to her chest and held out her right hand threateningly.
"I don't know who you are but I will kill you." Maru said
The man shrugged. "As if you could." His voice sounded sad as he spoke almost as if he was filled with sorrow and regret in addition to his burning conviction.
Dr. Poison threw her hand towards him hurling hydrofluoric acid his way in hopes she would maim or kill him.
With speed uncommon for a normal human he avoided the acid effortlessly and readied the chain on his wrist. "I said, I've come for that!" The man threw his chain forward, as he did it was wreathed in blue lightning. The chain wrapped around The box and he effortlessly pulled it from Dr. Poison's hands.
"You have no idea about the forces to toy with!" She yelled at him. An instant later he was in front of her connecting a lightning clad fist into her jaw knocking her out cold.
"I think I do." The man proceeded to open the box and allow the illuminating light within to burst forth. "I'm one of the few people who can free him from his prison."
This is the end of the chapter
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