DC Comics Presents: Killing Roy Harper
Chapter 12: Robin and the Dark Flash
By: Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: Robin™, Dark Flash™ and all other related characters and situations found in this story are ©2002 by DC Comics Inc. and are used herein without permission for fan-related, non-profit entertainment purposes only. This original work of fiction is ©2002 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.
"I'm sure you can appreciate the severity of our dilemma," the gray-skinned angel said. The Dark Flash was still amazed by the sheer beauty of the creature. His Speed-Force enhanced vision allowed him to see even the subtlest of movements and yet this angel made none. This was a being completely at rest.
"I'm getting more confused by all of this every day," he confessed. He pulled back his cowl, revealing a face set in a grimace and a long, jagged lightning bolt shaped scar. "I'm just trying to get back home to answer for my crimes."
Zauriel nodded, understanding the heavy heart the speedster carried with him. Walter West was an alternate duplicate of Wally West, the third Flash. Walter differed in that he had once gone insane over the death of his girlfriend and had become a mass murderer. When a chance encounter with the real Wally West restored his sanity, the Dark Flash as he had been dubbed became overwrought with guilt. Since that time, as he searched the passageways of the mansion called Hypertime looking for a way back home, he had been doing his best to do good wherever he went.
He had arrived in his current situation by accident and again, Zauriel felt nothing but pity for this poor tortured soul before him. While racing between dimensions, the Dark Flash had found himself trapped by the pre-Crisis Earth-1 Brainiac 5, who was using a device to draw pure Speed Force out of speedsters to power a force-field that kept the Crisis wave back. The Crisis wave, a malevolent storm of anti-matter set loose by the Anti-Monitor, had destroyed the multiverse and caused time to realign itself. Brainiac 5 was using his mad contraption to keep back impending doom while he held the soul of Kara Zor-El, his lost love Supergirl, locked away.
The Dark Flash had defeated Brainiac 5 and set Kara's soul free, but the events had not gone unnoticed. The Time-Guardian, really the pre-Crisis Earth-2 Speedy, had devised a plan in which he would create his own perfect universe, a universe based upon his warped perceptions of love and reality. Copying Brainiac 5's design, the pre-Crisis Earth-1 Master Jailer had managed to recapture the Dark Flash and use him in a new, perfected device.
The plan would have worked had it not been for the Time Wardens, a group of heroes from worlds and realities that no longer existed, led by the Kryptonian hero Nightwing. Three members, Aquagirl, Cinnamon, and Detective Chimp, tracked down the device and through the sacrifice of the other two, Aquagirl was able to free the Dark Flash.
The theory was that once the Dark Flash was set free, the Crisis wave would continue its normal course through time and all of the changes made by the Time-Guardian would be erased. That had not happened as the Time-Trapper, a temporal villain from the future, stepped in and captured the Time-Guardian's reality, placing in a pocket universe where it could continue to exist.
By doing this, the universe not only returned to normal, but the Time-Trapper was able to temporarily block the former Speedy from accessing his powers. This would allow the Wardens the time needed to find him and end his threat once and for all. Another problem, however, arose that the group now had to face.
Knowing that only one version of Roy Harper, the other identity of Speedy, could exist in the "real world" at one time, the Wardens sent team member Batwoman to Limbo to secure the release of the true version of the hero. Once there, she was informed by the Flying Fox, a younger version of Bruce (Batman) Wayne that existed in the pre-Crisis Earth-1 universe, that the events on the Time-Guardian's world had put a hole between Limbo and the Prime Universe.
Villains, creatures and horrors beyond imagination, led by the treacherous Earth-1 version of General Zod, were working hard to get free of their permanent prison and were only being just stopped by the efforts of the Sentinels of Magic and other heroic teams. Though Batwoman was killed by an alternate version of Solomon Grundy, the Flying Fox, together with the pre-Crisis Earth-1 Jason (Robin) Todd was able to get a message to Deadman, a member of the Time Titans, about the hole.
In response, Nightwing had sent the Dark Flash, the most experienced member in dealing with dimensional barriers and traveling. "I still don't understand the purpose of Limbo. No offense meant, but I'm afraid your theological arguments are lost on me. I'm of the mind that God doesn't make mistakes so Limbo isn't needed. The Lord doesn't have spare thoughts as you put it."
Zauriel nodded, listening with compassion. Because the Spectre was busy guarding the doorway between Heaven and Limbo, the Presence had selected Zauriel, Heaven's "ambassador" to Earth to serve as liaison between all concerned parties. When the Dark Flash finished, Zauriel sighed and silently prayed for strength.
"Everything that is, that was and that will be is the work of a power higher than you and I. On many different worlds, universes and planes of existence, the amazing thing that is life grows and expands. Nothing can be destroyed, but it can be removed from our presence, from our senses, because these things are nothing compared to majesty that is life.
"When the Crisis occurred, many thought that lives ended, but they did not. Those lives were changed, those lives were placed in the places they were meant to go to. Some of those places involved the material world, some did not. It may appear to you and I that certain things happen, but it may not be so." He took another deep breath, trying his best not to preach, but to explain logically. "The Time-Guardian travels to different parts of the universe and time to gather his forces, rescuing them from what he feels is certain doom, but he isn't. They were meant to be there and for what purpose, for what ultimate plan, even I cannot fathom the answer. Limbo is the insulation between the walls of reality, a buffer zone to prevent, hopefully, one set of existence from pouring into another."
"So, there are beings placed here for a reason, but we just don't know what it is? Do you know how damn contrived that sounds? "He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're saying that even though all of those universe were destroyed in the Crisis, the people are still alive?"
"No…what I'm saying is that if you believe in a Higher Power, Walter, then you have to assume that this Power has ensured that everything has its place."
The answers were not making him feel any better and he had to admit that Nightwing's more scientific reasoning had given him that warm and fuzzy feeling. Though a devotedly religious man in his worship of Rao, the Kryptonian god, Nightwing was also a man of science and he knew that when "Rao established time and creation, He did so within rules that He established. These rules define everything from time to magic and how they may or may not work. Examples may include the fact that matter and energy may neither be created nor destroyed. From these governing principles, and others such as physics, chemistry and temporal studies we begin to see the structure of the universe. The Time-Guardian's true power is that he sees this as well and can manipulate the structure to suit his needs."
"So…does that mean Nightwing and all of them will die once this problem is corrected?" the Dark Flash asked.
"What it means, son of man," Zauriel said, putting a hand on the hero's shoulder, "is that perhaps their true place has been found."
"And there will be others?"
Zauriel shrugged. "We must be confident that our being here means we are to act and to set things right, you and I. I am to guide you, you are to act. Batwoman as well served a purpose and though her death was unfortunate, we have to assume it was necessary."
That only served to darken the Flash's mood. "So I was meant to go insane? I was meant to kill all of those innocent people so that I could end up here?"
"You are where you are supposed to be. The destination is already laid out before you, how you journey is entirely up to you."
Though not entirely convinced that going into Limbo was productive, the Dark Flash nevertheless prepared himself for the journey. Despite the problems associated with the hole between realities, it did not change the fact that the real Roy Harper had to be rescued. The Dark Flash was under instructions to succeed where Batwoman failed.
"On the other side, awaiting you, shall be the Flying Fox and Robin; they have graciously volunteered to be your guide through Limbo. The laws of the universe as you know them do not apply to Limbo or its many sub-dimensions. This is the space between the walls of reality and every now and then you may encounter a mouse." Zauriel waved a hand and a dark doorway appeared in front of them. "You will encounter many beings and creatures that could have existed, did exist or may exist some other time. Limbo is also a catchall prison used to house the most dangerous of beings when death is not a sure way of removing their threat."
The Dark Flash nodded and without another word stepped through the doorway. For the briefest of moments, he felt a pull from the Speed Force, as if it were trying to prevent his entry, but once he went through, the tugging stopped. He felt normal and different all at the same time. As a speedster, he had learned about his body down to the molecular level and now he seemed not to be able to sense things exactly. Perhaps, he mused, he was now in a different state of being, like going from a liquid to a gas? Did your matter transmute once you entered Limbo?
A young man in the familiar short-pants and yellow cape of Robin approached him and held out his hand. On Walter's world, there had not been a Jason Todd, so this Robin was someone entirely new to him. He accepted the youth's hand. "I'm Walter West, the Dark Flash."
"I thought it was just the Flash?" the boy answered with a grin. "Bet you get a bum rap like I did!"
"Let's just say that the name fits," he responded, looking around. Everything seemed to be a whirling mass of white nothingness. He expected an echo when he spoke, but it seemed as if the sound didn't feel like traveling very far away. "I take it you're my guide? Where's the other one, the Flying Rat?"
"Flying Fox!" Robin laughed. "He went to try and retrieve Batwoman's body so it could be taken back to your world…"
The speedster shook his head. "Not my world, kid; just a world. That's nice, but it doesn't help us much."
"Bruce told me where he and Batwoman got jumped and I'm pretty sure I know where they were going. There is a sub-dimension called the Phantom Zone over there; that's where General Zod hangs out and it's where he's gathering his forces. It's possible that Harper saw the movement and followed along to investigate."
"If Zod was offering a way out, he might be inclined to take it," the Dark Flash finished. He thought for a moment and went over the briefing he had received from Zauriel. The angel had mentioned that when Harper had first been put in Limbo, the Spectre had visited him, but had to leave almost immediately. The exact reason was not given but the angel had hinted that the Spectre technically was not allowed in Limbo unless on God's business. "Do you know if there is an area where everyone arrives at when they first get here, a sort of receiving station?"
Robin shook his head. "It all depends on where you are coming from and where you are going. Primes, people from the Prime Universe, come in at all kinds of points. Normally they don't stay here very long because they don't belong or someone rescues them…stuff like that. Most of us avoid the primes because you never know who is coming after them."
"So, he would be all alone?"
The Teen Wonder shrugged and adjusted his green gloves. "I'd reason that he would immediately try to find a way out; primes never fit in well here. They get too used to cable television and microwave popcorn." He thought for a moment and then snapped his fingers. "I know who we can ask!"
Robin started to run off, not bothering to tell the Dark Flash to follow. The hero was surprised by the way the younger one just headed into danger. He figured that anyone who was trained under the Batman would not be so inclined. Still, running meant getting wherever they needed to quicker and running was, after all, what he was best at.
The clouds seemed to take on a green hue as the moved along. The Dark Flash glanced back and still saw the doorway there, never leaving from his vision, which was good since he was starting to suspect he needed glasses. Old age was creeping up on him he thought and then laughed. The truth was he was no older than his prime counterpart. Walter, however, had used his powers to heal some deadly wounds almost instantly, which had caused him to age prematurely.
He was, literally, a young man in an older man's body. "Why the color change?" he asked.
Robin turned and smiled. "We get a lot of Green Lanterns here…you can't imagine how many of them end up finding their final reward is this place. Anyway, they started gathering together, hoping to form some sort of fellowship. They call themselves the Order and they basically are the police of Limbo." He pointed in front of them and the Dark Flash expected to see something but all he saw were green clouds. "You do get used to it eventually, believe me. Its like how blind people get along in the world."
The Dark Flash nodded his approval at the reasoning. "Just point the way and I'll follow."
They started to move when suddenly a glowing green form came at them from a high arc. Robin shouted a warning and the Scarlet Speedster moved seconds before the form crashed in front of them. There was a muffled explosion of green light and then it started to fade. Both heroes moved over to the form and recognized it as a pretty young woman in some type of Green Lantern uniform.
Robin took off his glove and laid two fingers on her neck. He looked to the Dark Flash and shook his head. "You can die here?"
Robin nodded and stood up to replace his glove. "You can die anywhere. This may seem like Hell, but trust me when I say we're all alive here."
A scream prevented any further comment and both heroes took off at a run. The Dark Flash picked up speed, calling the Speed Force to him. He knew by the characteristics of this place (again he thought of Nightwing's speech about rules) that whoever had let loose the cry was nearby. He started doing a perimeter search of the area, since it was impossible to judge direction and soon came upon another dead woman. This one had blue skin and violet hair. The hero noted that she seemed almost relaxed in her present state.
Robin caught up to him and looked down. He looked sad. "I've seen dead people before, but it always seems more sad when it's a pretty girl."
"Yeah," the Dark Flash said as he looked around for possible clues as to whom her assailant was. There was nothing. When he looked down again, she had disappeared. "Where did she go?"
"We fade away when we die here. I don't know exactly where we go," he said. "Batwoman wasn't from here so her body should have remained."
"Pleasant," the other hero muttered. "What the hell can pound Green Lanterns to a pulp? Has the war spread here possibly?"
"We're too far from the hole and I can't see prime heroes coming in and killing off members of the Order. This is something more internal I'd say," Robin said.
In the distance they saw another brief flash of emerald light and they moved quickly to intercept. They arrived just in time to see a large male Green Lantern fade from existence. "Definitely one of the heavy hitters has gotten loose," Robin said quietly. "It could be Zod himself. He's a pre-Crisis Kryptonian with years of military training behind him."
The Dark Flash thought about the strength that Nightwing had exhibited and understood the potential for harm. Her looked at the scrawny young boy next to him and shook his head. "You can't go."
"Bite me!" Robin said, a sour look on his face. "I hate to tell you this buddy, but you're in my territory now. I decide who stays and goes."
"I don't have time for some smart-alec little snot to try and teach me the super-hero game, okay? I'm older and bigger than you and I don't care if you were trained by the biggest, baddest, most awful Batman ever…"
A flaming Green Lantern shot between them, causing both started heroes to stumble back. The Lantern struck the ground several times, little green flames shooting off and skirting the ground as he did. Both heroes looked at each other, nodded and took off in that direction.
A gurgling sound greeted them when they passed through the mists. A Green Lantern was being choked by a skinny kid in bell-bottom pants and a white shirt with a large "M" on it. "Best put him down son!" the Dark Flash said as he came to a stop. He almost laughed at the green cape tied loosely around the boy's neck.
Robin stopped behind him and uttered a curse word. The Dark Flash turned to him and went down as something large landed on his back. Four feet clawed and scratched at his shoulders and he rolled to get away. The familiar scent of unwashed dog invaded his nostrils.
Robin found himself engaged with a woman clad in white polyester pants and a striped shirt that hugged her teenaged frame. Her dark hair was perfect, but it contrasted sharply to the wildness that permeated her eyes. "Robin! Oh, my darling! Come, make love to Wendy!"
The Teen Wonder ducked away and tried to get a batarang out with a line on it. He hoped to get around the woman before she tore him apart. He was too slow, however, and she grabbed his wrist and squeezed. There was a popping sound and Robin cried out in pain.
The dog was of a breed the Dark Flash could not place as it looked like some sort of cartoon bulldog. It also had a cape and it growled out words that were barely understandable. Most of it had to do with things that dogs normally did to chew toys and the Dark Flash had no intention of allowing that to happen to him. His shoulder's ached and he could feel the blood flowing freely down his back from the wounds the dog had inflicted upon him.
The dog made a running jump for him, but the Dark Flash was too quick. He ran as well, going by the airborne mutt and absorbing as much of his kinetic energy as he could. The dog simply dropped in midair and hit the ground hard. It yelped and the hero turned to make a second pass in which he planned to simply pick the dog up and use the momentum to toss it a couple of miles when the skinny boy attacked.
The body of the dead Green Lantern slammed hard into the Dark Flash. The breath left his lungs and his ears began to ring even as he fell forward. "Wonder Marv does it again! Hey, Wendy, look at me!" he called in a high-pitched voice.
"I always loved you Robin, but you never noticed me. I tried to be pretty for you, I tried so hard because I wanted you so bad," Wendy said to the prone form of Robin. The young man was grasping his broken wrist and trying to choke back the tears. As soon as he had seen Wonder Marv, he knew they were in trouble.
Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog were originally from an Earth that, in the pre-Crisis universe, had been the home of the Super Friends. They had been mascots of a sort, young people looking to help out the heroes of the Justice League of America. When the Crisis happened, they ended up in Limbo where they had not adjusted well. All three, normal in their own realities, became ultra-powerful in Limbo and their personalities also became skewed. Marvin wanted to be a Superman; Wonder Dog hoped to be a real attack hound; and Wendy could not deal with the knowledge that she would never get to become Mrs. Robin the Teen Wonder.
Most denizens of Limbo avoided the trio. Marvin hoped to finally have Wendy as his woman; Wendy always hoped to find a real man. They roamed all of Limbo, causing havoc and chaos wherever they went. The fact that they were now killing off members of the Order made some sense to Robin. No doubt that in order to keep the Green Lanterns out of the fight, Zod promised the three of them their freedom. "Come, we will find a secluded place and you will make me your woman," Wendy said. She reached down and grabbed the shattered wrist on Robin and pulled.
He called out again and punched her hard in the stomach. The blow came as a surprise and she let go. Her face was now a mass of rage and confusion. "What did I do wrong?" she asked.
"You're not my type," Robin said through gritted teeth. "Besides, I'm not old enough to date yet!" He shot up and spun, landing a kick to her jaw. It didn't knock her down, but there was some blood. She put her finger up to it and let it flow. She then licked her finger seductively, getting the blood all over her lips. "Do you like bad girls?" she asked in a husky voice.
Marvin reached down and grabbed the front of the Dark Flash's costume and yanked him up. "Great, I'm getting my ass handed to me by Jerk-boy the Pizza Face," the hero muttered, trying to get the world to stop spinning.
"Hey, man, that's not funny. I'm going to have to show you who's number one!" Marvin threatened right before he head-butted the Dark Flash.
The hero started to curse like a sailor. "Now I'm mad you little S.O.B.!"
Vibrating his hand, the Dark Flash took it and placed it on Marvin's knee. The youth laughed and commented that it tickled as he brought his fist back. One punch would send the Dark Flash flying into the next life.
There was a small crackling and then Marvin went down, clutching the bleeding stump that had been his leg. "Blew your knee out, huh?" the Dark Flash asked as he rubbed his forehead. The trick had been to make the molecules of Marvin's knee unstable so that they exploded.
A growl gave the Dark Flash all of the time he needed to pass his vibrating hand through the leaping Wonder Dog. The animal exploded before it hit the ground and Marvin screamed vengeance. "You killed my dog, man!"
The Dark Flash kicked him in the jaw, knocking the boy out. Pulling off Marvin's cape, he used it to tie off the wound so the boy wouldn't bleed to death. He then looked around, trying to find where his new partner had gone.
Deep scratch marks had been gouged into Robin's chest and he knew he was starting to lose a lot of blood. The idea of dying, for the first time, suddenly found its way into his head and he started to wonder if it had been worth it to help out the Dark Flash.
He then remembered how the Batman had taken him in and trained him and taught him the true meaning of courage. A part of him was resisting hitting Wendy because he believed that hitting girls was wrong and still another part of him found her attractive in a retro sort of way. He was failing and he wondered if his version of Robin was flawed from the very start.
Should Jason Todd have ever become Robin? It hadn't worked on Earth-1 and it didn't work in the Prime Universe. But, he had always wanted to be a hero. Then he looked at Wendy, who already begun to strip out of her clothes and he realized that wanting to be a hero did not make you one. He was one young man tossed into an impossible situation and the cape and mask did not make him a hero.
He understood that by helping out the Dark Flash, he was being a hero. Just like all of the others. He could not give in to his fear, he could not submit to her temptations and he could not run away. He had to fight. He had to stop her.
Hitting her wasn't doing any good. He wasn't the expert on women, but he was positive that the fighting was only making her more excited. It had to be the short pants he was wearing that turned the girls on.
"Wendy…this has to stop," he said, breathing hard. The nude girl stopped and looked at him. "You keep trying to deny who you are and what happened to you. You won't let go and look what its done to you."
"Don't you want me?" she asked, spreading her arms out wide and allowing him to see her whole body.
He averted his eyes. "It isn't that. Sure I want you; you're eighteen and I'm fourteen. What fourteen year-old boy doesn't want to sleep with an eighteen-year-old girl? But I'm not the Robin you knew. The Robin you knew isn't here. I don't know where he went, but he isn't me."
"I just wanted…"
"I know. You're whole life, your dreams and hopes, were taken away and now you're trapped in this world where nothing ever seems real and there's no way out. You're stuck with a guy and his dog that remind you every minute of every day what you lost. I never really fell in love I suppose; I don't know what it's like to lose something like that."
She started to cry and fell to her knees. Robin's heart melted and he went over to her and put his cape over her naked form. "It's okay Wendy, but you've got to stop all of this killing."
"I know," she sobbed. "I told Marvin…"
He hushed her with a hug. "I know, you told Marvin not to kill them but he was trying to impress you…"
"No," she said in a voice totally devoid of sadness. She looked up into his eyes and there seemed to be flames dancing in them. "I told him to make them scream. I told him to make them beg. I promised him a world of sexual desire beyond reasoning so long as he made them die in horrible, horrible pain!" She rammed her head into his chin and the Teen Wonder fell back.
She was on top of him in a second, pinning him with her arms and legs. She brought her face close to his. "He never had time for me, you know. Always too busy to take time out for Wendy. Batman called me a silly little girl, but that was only on the outside. Should I tell you the things he and Aquaman made me when nobody was around? What about Apache Chief? Hmmm? Black Vulcan? They all had special duties for Wendy to perform!"
She licked the side of Robin's face. "Then they replaced us, tossed us away to exchange us for Zan and Jayna, two alien teenagers with super-powers. They had no time for me and they had already talked to the rest of the super-heroes. Nobody wanted me, I was the throw-away whore for the Super Friends!"
A red blur blew by and then a thunder crack that shook Robin to his core. Wendy was gone, but he could hear her scream as she flew off. The Dark Flash stood there shaking his hand. "Damn she's one tough broad! I think I broke my hand!"
Robin rolled over. "That is one lady with issues. I thought Batman had problems…"
"You okay, kid?"
Robin nodded. "Got a broken wrist I need to set. I've never had a broken bone here so I don't know how it will heal."
"I can fix that," another voice said. A shimmering green light floated down from above and Hal Jordan himself landed. He walked over to Robin and held his power ring up over the boy. There was a brief flash of green light and then the Teen Wonder felt suddenly better.
"Aren't you dead?" the Dark Flash asked.
Hal smiled. "I'm the Hal Jordan that would have been had Coast City not occurred, or at least I believe I am." He shrugged easily. "Anyway, I'm the leader of the Order and I want to thank you for your help. Most of us have been fighting General Zod's forces, but we're losing ground. He's almost got enough villains gathered to try and push through the hole back into the Prime Universe."
"We're looking for the Prime Roy Harper," Robin said. "We came to ask the Order of they have seen him."
Hal ran a hand through his gray temples. "Yep, he was asking if we knew where his daughter was and we tried to explain that we don't keep track of people here. Because of the way Hypertime works, you never know who is going to get dropped in this place."
"Did you tell him anywhere he could go?" the Dark Flash asked.
"Considering the circumstances of his appearance here, I told him to seek out Abel at the House of Mystery. Abel is a good-natured fellow, keeps a record of some of the strangest things…like me for example." He looked the Dark Flash over. "You're not the Wally I would know are you?"
The Dark Flash shook his head. "How can you exist if you never were? God, this place is driving me up a wall!" He threw his hands in the air and the pulled back his cowl. "Alright, so where is this House of Mystery?"
"In the Occupied Zone right now. Zod's forces have taken it over and moved Abel out. They think Abel may know where all of the more powerful beings in Limbo are hiding at and they want to force the information from him."
"Can you help, Mr. Jordan?" Robin asked, hopeful.
"I've actually got two people working on it right now; if you two want to wait here, I'll let you know what I find out. Of course, if you want to help…"
The Dark Flash shook his head. "We're trying to stop the Time-Guardian, the one who caused all of this to begin with. We can't afford not to wait."
Jordan smiled and started to lift off into the air. "I'll get word back to you as soon as possible. I'm going to pick up Marvin and Wendy and put them on ice for a while. When this is over, I'll dump them in the Phantom Zone!"
"And that's where we stand now," Deadman said.
Nightwing said something in Kryptonian. "Zod!" he finally said. "That murdering scum! I should be there, we need to pull Walter out of there."
Deadman lit up a cigar, his obese form jiggling as he did so. "No can do; you're the most powerful member of the team and the leader. We need you here. Alexi Luthor will soon figure out how to give old Speedy back his powers and then all hell is going to break loose."
"Do you really think that two Green Lanterns can get past Zod's forces?" the Huntress asked as she took Nightwing's hand.
Deadman inhaled and smiled. "He ain't sending two Lanterns, baby! He's sending the two very last people in Limbo Zod would ever consider a threat."