SPEED FORCE
(JUSTICE LEAGUE, the JUSTICE LEAGUE icon and all names and characters therein are property of and owned by DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Any attempt to use any such property of these companies without their proper authorization and/or permission can and will result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.)
(I do not own JUSTICE LEAGUE, nor am I in any way affiliated with Cartoon Network or DC Comics. I'm just a diehard fan who loves the show.)
(This fanfic is rated PG. It contains mild violence.)
CHAPTER 05 TIME: 0800 hrs. PLACE: Central City Penitentiary
Grodd sat in his cell, a mechanical helmet on his head, his hands and feet in chains fastened to the walls. As he stared grimly at the floor, a light tapping on his cell door disturbed his train of thought. "Yes?" he barked gruffly.
"Hey, Grodd, you've got a visitor," said the guard, opening the door and admitting a man in a wheelchair into the room. He then locked the door and left, leaving the two alone.
Grodd immediately recognized his visitor. "I remember you...you're Hunter Zolomon, the officer whose back I broke yesterday...but should you even be out of hospital, I wonder?"
"Screw the hospital," Hunter said gruffly. "What's that thing on your head?"
"Oh, this – it's a neuro-restraint helmet...it's supposed to keep my mind powers suppressed, and so far, it works," Grodd grumbled. "But I know you didn't come here to talk about that. What do you want?"
Hunter relaxed in the chair and smiled. Then, much to Grodd's astonishment, he stood up without any discomfort at all. "But...how...?" Grodd couldn't say anything else.
"I have your machine to thank for that," Hunter explained.
"Then it works?!" Grodd said excitedly. Suddenly his excitement disappeared. "Wait a minute – it was meant to be a time machine, so if your broken back's been reversed..."
Hunter settled back into the chair. "Sorry to say, but it exploded while I was trying to use it," he said. "Faulty wiring thanks to those jerks at the police station."
"So...how has it helped you, then?" Grodd wanted to know.
"It's complicated," said Hunter. "But suffice it to say...or rather, why just tell you, when I can show you?"
Then Grodd got an even greater surprise: Hunter picked up the wheelchair, pulled it apart, and had all the pieces in piles on the floor based on size and weight.
In less than two seconds.
Grodd stared at the dismantled wheelchair parts, then at Hunter. "Super-speed?"
"Time, for me, has been sped up thanks to the accident," said Hunter. "So, basically, I'm now as fast as the Flash himself...maybe faster."
"Well," said Grodd, "that's all very interesting, Mr. Zolomon; but what does this have to do with whatever reason you have for coming here?"
"Well, Grodd," said Hunter. "I'd like to propose a partnership – at least for now. I offer you a chance at freedom...and, in return, all I want is a chance to destroy the Flash myself."
Grodd pondered this. "Tell me more."
**************************************************************************** ****************
TIME: 0830 hrs. PLACE: Central City Park
"Stupid Batman...how dare he...who does he think he is?!" Flash fumed.
He was seated on a bench in the park, almost totally oblivious to the people passing him by. "There's no way Hunter could've been able to pull off something like that...not in his condition..."
Flash stopped, a sudden revelation striking him. Unless...Hunter said he'd spoken to someone down at the police station about the machine...and the only one who could've been at the station near midnight would've been Murray, the dispatcher...maybe Hunter arranged for Murray to sneak him out of the hospital, and...
Flash stood up, determined. "Okay, time to go find out the truth from Murray," he declared. "If anything, he should at least be able to tell me what's happened to Hunter!"
Suddenly, several blocks away, a loud sonic boom could be heard, followed by the screams of civilians. "What the – what's going on now?" Flash wondered as he sped off toward the direction of the boom.
A few seconds later he arrived, just in time to see rubble from a building falling to the street. As pedestrians ran for cover, he spied a baby carriage, unmoved, about to be crushed by the rubble.
"My baby!" a woman shrieked.
Flash responded instantly, dashing up to the carriage and moving it out of harm's way a split second before the rubble landed. Coming up to the frantic mother, he took the wailing baby out of the carriage and handed it to her, amid cheers from the crowd.
"Yeah, Flash! You da man!" someone cried amid the cheering.
"What happened here?" Flash asked. "What caused that thing to collapse?"
Almost as he finished asking the question, a sudden flash of yellow zoomed right past him. A second later a massive sonic boom followed, knocking everyone down and sending debris, glass and a mailbox flying.
"What the heck?!" Flash shouted.
The yellow streak came to an abrupt stop near the end of the street. What Flash and everyone else saw stunned them so much, jaws dropped.
At the end of the street was a man wearing a costume very much like Flash's, but the costume was yellow with red lightning streaks. He wore red boots, and on his chest was a black circle with a red lightning bolt over it. As Flash looked closer, he noticed that the man's eyes were black, with red pupils.
"Who the heck are you?!" Flash demanded.
"Whoa – look at that guy," some of the civilians whispered. "It's some sort of Flash look-alike!"
"A clone, maybe?"
"Some sort of reverse-Flash or something – just look at the costume!"
The mystery mirror image laughed. "Hey...if you really want to call me something," he said, "then I suppose 'Zoom' will be fine. Hey, it actually has a nice ring to it, when you think about it – 'Flash' and 'Zoom.' Sounds kinda cool, huh?"
"What do you want?" Flash barked. "Why are you doing this?"
"I only have one purpose in life, Flash: To cause you as much trouble and agony as I possibly can!" Zoom answered. "Starting...NOW!"
Before Flash could blink, suddenly Zoom was gone in a streak of yellow, dashing right past him. Caught totally off-guard, Flash had no time to avoid the impending sonic boom as it knocked him some distance into the window of a restaurant. Getting back up, he quickly dashed off after Zoom, who by this time was several seconds ahead of him.
Racing throughout Central City, Zoom glanced back and chuckled as he watched Flash speeding to catch him. "Catch this, speedy!" he hissed as he flashed past a building in the blink of an eye. The force of the gale following him sent several terrified pedestrians sailing, screaming for help.
Coming up, Flash saw the people falling and quickly increased his speed. Jumping on the side of the building, he quickly used his velocity to bounce off, catching some of the civilians. Landing, he dashed here and there, catching the remaining ones before they could reach the ground.
Not very far away, Zoom applauded. "Bravo, Flash...you really are good at using your speed," he admitted. "But how fast can you go – if it's to save a life?"
"What?!" Flash snapped.
Zoom looked at his wrist as if looking at a watch. "If I were you, Flash, old boy," he said, "I'd be hurrying to my girlfriend's house right now in, about, the next fifteen seconds or so..."
Flash stared at him. "You're bluffing."
"Oh, am I now?" Zoom reached behind him and pulled out a detonator. "Oops – the more time you spend talking to me, the less time she's got! Which, by the way, is about ten seconds – well, see ya!" And he was gone in a streak of yellow.
Flash turned and raced off in the opposite direction, running for all he was worth. As he ran, he pulled out a cell-phone and dialed a number. Dear God, let her be all right...
After two rings, Linda answered. "Hello?"
"Linda, it's me," said Flash. "Get out of your house right now! I'll explain later!"
By this time he was fifty feet from Linda's front gate. "Wally, what's going on?" Linda asked over the phone.
Flash's hand was almost on the doorknob. "Linda – "
BOOM.
Flash had been moving so fast, that when the explosion occurred the force of it threw him back nearly sixty feet, the front door plastering him in the face. Landing hard on the pavement, the breath was knocked out of him for a moment.
Dazed, Flash pushed the door off of him. As he sat up, the realization of what had just happened hit him – the bomb had gone off, blowing Linda's house into flames. As he got up, there was only one thing he could do at that moment. His body going limp, he collapsed to his knees.
"LINDAAAAAA!!!"
(JUSTICE LEAGUE, the JUSTICE LEAGUE icon and all names and characters therein are property of and owned by DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Any attempt to use any such property of these companies without their proper authorization and/or permission can and will result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.)
(I do not own JUSTICE LEAGUE, nor am I in any way affiliated with Cartoon Network or DC Comics. I'm just a diehard fan who loves the show.)
(This fanfic is rated PG. It contains mild violence.)
CHAPTER 05 TIME: 0800 hrs. PLACE: Central City Penitentiary
Grodd sat in his cell, a mechanical helmet on his head, his hands and feet in chains fastened to the walls. As he stared grimly at the floor, a light tapping on his cell door disturbed his train of thought. "Yes?" he barked gruffly.
"Hey, Grodd, you've got a visitor," said the guard, opening the door and admitting a man in a wheelchair into the room. He then locked the door and left, leaving the two alone.
Grodd immediately recognized his visitor. "I remember you...you're Hunter Zolomon, the officer whose back I broke yesterday...but should you even be out of hospital, I wonder?"
"Screw the hospital," Hunter said gruffly. "What's that thing on your head?"
"Oh, this – it's a neuro-restraint helmet...it's supposed to keep my mind powers suppressed, and so far, it works," Grodd grumbled. "But I know you didn't come here to talk about that. What do you want?"
Hunter relaxed in the chair and smiled. Then, much to Grodd's astonishment, he stood up without any discomfort at all. "But...how...?" Grodd couldn't say anything else.
"I have your machine to thank for that," Hunter explained.
"Then it works?!" Grodd said excitedly. Suddenly his excitement disappeared. "Wait a minute – it was meant to be a time machine, so if your broken back's been reversed..."
Hunter settled back into the chair. "Sorry to say, but it exploded while I was trying to use it," he said. "Faulty wiring thanks to those jerks at the police station."
"So...how has it helped you, then?" Grodd wanted to know.
"It's complicated," said Hunter. "But suffice it to say...or rather, why just tell you, when I can show you?"
Then Grodd got an even greater surprise: Hunter picked up the wheelchair, pulled it apart, and had all the pieces in piles on the floor based on size and weight.
In less than two seconds.
Grodd stared at the dismantled wheelchair parts, then at Hunter. "Super-speed?"
"Time, for me, has been sped up thanks to the accident," said Hunter. "So, basically, I'm now as fast as the Flash himself...maybe faster."
"Well," said Grodd, "that's all very interesting, Mr. Zolomon; but what does this have to do with whatever reason you have for coming here?"
"Well, Grodd," said Hunter. "I'd like to propose a partnership – at least for now. I offer you a chance at freedom...and, in return, all I want is a chance to destroy the Flash myself."
Grodd pondered this. "Tell me more."
**************************************************************************** ****************
TIME: 0830 hrs. PLACE: Central City Park
"Stupid Batman...how dare he...who does he think he is?!" Flash fumed.
He was seated on a bench in the park, almost totally oblivious to the people passing him by. "There's no way Hunter could've been able to pull off something like that...not in his condition..."
Flash stopped, a sudden revelation striking him. Unless...Hunter said he'd spoken to someone down at the police station about the machine...and the only one who could've been at the station near midnight would've been Murray, the dispatcher...maybe Hunter arranged for Murray to sneak him out of the hospital, and...
Flash stood up, determined. "Okay, time to go find out the truth from Murray," he declared. "If anything, he should at least be able to tell me what's happened to Hunter!"
Suddenly, several blocks away, a loud sonic boom could be heard, followed by the screams of civilians. "What the – what's going on now?" Flash wondered as he sped off toward the direction of the boom.
A few seconds later he arrived, just in time to see rubble from a building falling to the street. As pedestrians ran for cover, he spied a baby carriage, unmoved, about to be crushed by the rubble.
"My baby!" a woman shrieked.
Flash responded instantly, dashing up to the carriage and moving it out of harm's way a split second before the rubble landed. Coming up to the frantic mother, he took the wailing baby out of the carriage and handed it to her, amid cheers from the crowd.
"Yeah, Flash! You da man!" someone cried amid the cheering.
"What happened here?" Flash asked. "What caused that thing to collapse?"
Almost as he finished asking the question, a sudden flash of yellow zoomed right past him. A second later a massive sonic boom followed, knocking everyone down and sending debris, glass and a mailbox flying.
"What the heck?!" Flash shouted.
The yellow streak came to an abrupt stop near the end of the street. What Flash and everyone else saw stunned them so much, jaws dropped.
At the end of the street was a man wearing a costume very much like Flash's, but the costume was yellow with red lightning streaks. He wore red boots, and on his chest was a black circle with a red lightning bolt over it. As Flash looked closer, he noticed that the man's eyes were black, with red pupils.
"Who the heck are you?!" Flash demanded.
"Whoa – look at that guy," some of the civilians whispered. "It's some sort of Flash look-alike!"
"A clone, maybe?"
"Some sort of reverse-Flash or something – just look at the costume!"
The mystery mirror image laughed. "Hey...if you really want to call me something," he said, "then I suppose 'Zoom' will be fine. Hey, it actually has a nice ring to it, when you think about it – 'Flash' and 'Zoom.' Sounds kinda cool, huh?"
"What do you want?" Flash barked. "Why are you doing this?"
"I only have one purpose in life, Flash: To cause you as much trouble and agony as I possibly can!" Zoom answered. "Starting...NOW!"
Before Flash could blink, suddenly Zoom was gone in a streak of yellow, dashing right past him. Caught totally off-guard, Flash had no time to avoid the impending sonic boom as it knocked him some distance into the window of a restaurant. Getting back up, he quickly dashed off after Zoom, who by this time was several seconds ahead of him.
Racing throughout Central City, Zoom glanced back and chuckled as he watched Flash speeding to catch him. "Catch this, speedy!" he hissed as he flashed past a building in the blink of an eye. The force of the gale following him sent several terrified pedestrians sailing, screaming for help.
Coming up, Flash saw the people falling and quickly increased his speed. Jumping on the side of the building, he quickly used his velocity to bounce off, catching some of the civilians. Landing, he dashed here and there, catching the remaining ones before they could reach the ground.
Not very far away, Zoom applauded. "Bravo, Flash...you really are good at using your speed," he admitted. "But how fast can you go – if it's to save a life?"
"What?!" Flash snapped.
Zoom looked at his wrist as if looking at a watch. "If I were you, Flash, old boy," he said, "I'd be hurrying to my girlfriend's house right now in, about, the next fifteen seconds or so..."
Flash stared at him. "You're bluffing."
"Oh, am I now?" Zoom reached behind him and pulled out a detonator. "Oops – the more time you spend talking to me, the less time she's got! Which, by the way, is about ten seconds – well, see ya!" And he was gone in a streak of yellow.
Flash turned and raced off in the opposite direction, running for all he was worth. As he ran, he pulled out a cell-phone and dialed a number. Dear God, let her be all right...
After two rings, Linda answered. "Hello?"
"Linda, it's me," said Flash. "Get out of your house right now! I'll explain later!"
By this time he was fifty feet from Linda's front gate. "Wally, what's going on?" Linda asked over the phone.
Flash's hand was almost on the doorknob. "Linda – "
BOOM.
Flash had been moving so fast, that when the explosion occurred the force of it threw him back nearly sixty feet, the front door plastering him in the face. Landing hard on the pavement, the breath was knocked out of him for a moment.
Dazed, Flash pushed the door off of him. As he sat up, the realization of what had just happened hit him – the bomb had gone off, blowing Linda's house into flames. As he got up, there was only one thing he could do at that moment. His body going limp, he collapsed to his knees.
"LINDAAAAAA!!!"