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 07 TIME: 0835 hrs. PLACE: Linda Park's House, Central City
Flash dashed into the blazing house, covering his mouth and nose with the back of one arm as he searched feverishly for Linda. "Linda! Where are you? Answer me!" he yelled.
He zipped through every room, searching frantically. Then, as he entered the kitchen, he found her, sprawled out on the floor in front of the stove, unconscious. "Oh, thank God!" he exclaimed as he scooped her up in his arms and sped out the front door. And not a moment too soon, for as he reached the front gate there came another explosion from further inside the house.
"The gas pipes," he muttered grimly. "If those go..." He didn't stop to think of any further consequences. First he had to get Linda to the hospital – fast.
**************************************************************************** ****************
A few minutes later Flash was pacing the floor of the waiting room, frustrated. "Come on, come on, come on," he whispered between clenched teeth.
Just then Batman entered the room. "I came as soon as I got your call," he said. "What's happened?"
Flash leaned half-heartedly on the wall. "There's a new problem," he said. "Some guy calling himself Zoom has arrived in Central City. He tried to kill Linda by putting a bomb in her house."
"The same woman you were going to date later, am I correct?" asked Batman.
Flash nodded. "I just brought her here, but the doctor hasn't come out yet." He sighed and turned his gaze to the floor. "Um, Bats..."
"What?"
"Well...about before...back at the Watchtower...I'm..."
Flash felt a hand on his shoulder. "I understand," Batman replied. "It's normal to stand by your friends, even if they are guilty of some wrong. I should know. Remind me to tell you the story some other time."
Flash nodded, then changed the subject. "So, your investigation...any news?" he asked.
Batman turned away. "Lantern and Diana are searching for Zolomon right now," he said. "J'onn is investigating the fire at the police station, as well."
"Hey, Bats, do me a favor, would you?" said Flash. "The records room at the police station is still intact, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Just a feeling I've got," said Flash. "Dip into Hunter's file – go as far back as you can go for information on him before he came to Central City."
"Okay. What will you do?"
"In the meantime, I'm going to go have a little chat with Murray – the dispatcher at the police station. Something tells me he may know a thing or two about what has happened."
At that moment the doctor appeared. "Flash, that woman you brought in just now..."
"How is she?" Flash asked eagerly.
"It's lucky for her you brought her in when you did," the doctor answered. "She's suffered second-degree burns, a concussion and smoke inhalation...but she'll be fine with a few days' rest."
"Can I see her?" Flash asked.
"Unfortunately, no," the doctor answered. "We're still working on her right now, and she'll need as much rest as she can get."
Flash nodded solemnly. "I understand, Doctor. Thank you."
The doctor nodded, then turned and left. Flash turned to face Batman, his face grim. "Okay, Bats. Let's go do our thing."
**************************************************************************** ****************
TIME: 0900 hrs. PLACE: Apartment 4C, Georgie's Apartments
Murray sighed as he sunk his donut into the mug of cream before him. Taking a bite out of it, he reflected on what had happened only last night – the police station blowing up with Hunter inside. "Poor guy," he moaned.
"Talking about Hunter, I presume?" a voice behind him asked.
Startled, Murray turned to come face-to-face with the Flash, leaning on the wall, arms folded. "Oh – hey, Flash! How'd you get in?" he asked.
"Your door was unlocked, you fat piece of nothing," Flash said coldly. "We need to talk."
Before Murray could say another word, Flash grabbed him by the collar and sped off toward the roof of the building. "What're you doing?" Murray asked in alarm.
"Start talking, Murray," Flash snarled. "You're the dispatcher of the Central City police – you were the only one Hunter could've talked to last night, the only one who could've been there. What happened?"
Murray panicked. "I – I can't!" he croaked. "They'll discharge me from the force if anyone ever finds out!"
Flash's look became grim. Zipping over to the edge of the roof, he held a terrified Murray suspended far above the ground. "Pretty nice view from up here, isn't it?" he asked. "Let me tell you something, Murray – right at this point, I don't give one iota whether you're a cop or not. You're worried about being discharged from the force? That ought to be the least of your problems right now, because if you don't start being honest with me, the only place you'll get discharged from is this rooftop!"
Murray took one look down to the ground and turned pale with fright. "All right! All right! I'll talk, I'll talk!" he screamed.
"Now, that's better. What happened last night?"
"Hunter, he – he called me at the station. He wanted to know if Grodd's time machine – the one we confiscated from the subway – he wanted to know if it was still in working condition. When I told him it was, he asked me to sneak him out of his room at the hospital and take him to the station."
"And?" Flash purposely loosened his grip on Murray's collar, scaring the cop even further.
"I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't change his mind!" Murray said hoarsely. "He managed to hotwire the thing – set it for ten years ago – said something about changing all the mistakes he made back then! Then I got a bad feeling something was gonna happen, so I hightailed it outta there!"
"And the explosion?"
"I don't know – I swear I don't know!" Murray babbled. "Might've been a short-circuit, though – just before I left, the lights were flickering really bad. The machine must've caused it – that's all I know!"
"So didn't you go back to look for Hunter?" Flash demanded.
"I tried, but when I saw the firefighters and everyone there, I panicked! What was I supposed to do?" Murray protested.
In disgust, Flash flung Murray to one side on the rooftop. "You're a disgrace to your uniform," he growled as he sped off.
(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 07 TIME: 0835 hrs. PLACE: Linda Park's House, Central City
Flash dashed into the blazing house, covering his mouth and nose with the back of one arm as he searched feverishly for Linda. "Linda! Where are you? Answer me!" he yelled.
He zipped through every room, searching frantically. Then, as he entered the kitchen, he found her, sprawled out on the floor in front of the stove, unconscious. "Oh, thank God!" he exclaimed as he scooped her up in his arms and sped out the front door. And not a moment too soon, for as he reached the front gate there came another explosion from further inside the house.
"The gas pipes," he muttered grimly. "If those go..." He didn't stop to think of any further consequences. First he had to get Linda to the hospital – fast.
**************************************************************************** ****************
A few minutes later Flash was pacing the floor of the waiting room, frustrated. "Come on, come on, come on," he whispered between clenched teeth.
Just then Batman entered the room. "I came as soon as I got your call," he said. "What's happened?"
Flash leaned half-heartedly on the wall. "There's a new problem," he said. "Some guy calling himself Zoom has arrived in Central City. He tried to kill Linda by putting a bomb in her house."
"The same woman you were going to date later, am I correct?" asked Batman.
Flash nodded. "I just brought her here, but the doctor hasn't come out yet." He sighed and turned his gaze to the floor. "Um, Bats..."
"What?"
"Well...about before...back at the Watchtower...I'm..."
Flash felt a hand on his shoulder. "I understand," Batman replied. "It's normal to stand by your friends, even if they are guilty of some wrong. I should know. Remind me to tell you the story some other time."
Flash nodded, then changed the subject. "So, your investigation...any news?" he asked.
Batman turned away. "Lantern and Diana are searching for Zolomon right now," he said. "J'onn is investigating the fire at the police station, as well."
"Hey, Bats, do me a favor, would you?" said Flash. "The records room at the police station is still intact, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Just a feeling I've got," said Flash. "Dip into Hunter's file – go as far back as you can go for information on him before he came to Central City."
"Okay. What will you do?"
"In the meantime, I'm going to go have a little chat with Murray – the dispatcher at the police station. Something tells me he may know a thing or two about what has happened."
At that moment the doctor appeared. "Flash, that woman you brought in just now..."
"How is she?" Flash asked eagerly.
"It's lucky for her you brought her in when you did," the doctor answered. "She's suffered second-degree burns, a concussion and smoke inhalation...but she'll be fine with a few days' rest."
"Can I see her?" Flash asked.
"Unfortunately, no," the doctor answered. "We're still working on her right now, and she'll need as much rest as she can get."
Flash nodded solemnly. "I understand, Doctor. Thank you."
The doctor nodded, then turned and left. Flash turned to face Batman, his face grim. "Okay, Bats. Let's go do our thing."
**************************************************************************** ****************
TIME: 0900 hrs. PLACE: Apartment 4C, Georgie's Apartments
Murray sighed as he sunk his donut into the mug of cream before him. Taking a bite out of it, he reflected on what had happened only last night – the police station blowing up with Hunter inside. "Poor guy," he moaned.
"Talking about Hunter, I presume?" a voice behind him asked.
Startled, Murray turned to come face-to-face with the Flash, leaning on the wall, arms folded. "Oh – hey, Flash! How'd you get in?" he asked.
"Your door was unlocked, you fat piece of nothing," Flash said coldly. "We need to talk."
Before Murray could say another word, Flash grabbed him by the collar and sped off toward the roof of the building. "What're you doing?" Murray asked in alarm.
"Start talking, Murray," Flash snarled. "You're the dispatcher of the Central City police – you were the only one Hunter could've talked to last night, the only one who could've been there. What happened?"
Murray panicked. "I – I can't!" he croaked. "They'll discharge me from the force if anyone ever finds out!"
Flash's look became grim. Zipping over to the edge of the roof, he held a terrified Murray suspended far above the ground. "Pretty nice view from up here, isn't it?" he asked. "Let me tell you something, Murray – right at this point, I don't give one iota whether you're a cop or not. You're worried about being discharged from the force? That ought to be the least of your problems right now, because if you don't start being honest with me, the only place you'll get discharged from is this rooftop!"
Murray took one look down to the ground and turned pale with fright. "All right! All right! I'll talk, I'll talk!" he screamed.
"Now, that's better. What happened last night?"
"Hunter, he – he called me at the station. He wanted to know if Grodd's time machine – the one we confiscated from the subway – he wanted to know if it was still in working condition. When I told him it was, he asked me to sneak him out of his room at the hospital and take him to the station."
"And?" Flash purposely loosened his grip on Murray's collar, scaring the cop even further.
"I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't change his mind!" Murray said hoarsely. "He managed to hotwire the thing – set it for ten years ago – said something about changing all the mistakes he made back then! Then I got a bad feeling something was gonna happen, so I hightailed it outta there!"
"And the explosion?"
"I don't know – I swear I don't know!" Murray babbled. "Might've been a short-circuit, though – just before I left, the lights were flickering really bad. The machine must've caused it – that's all I know!"
"So didn't you go back to look for Hunter?" Flash demanded.
"I tried, but when I saw the firefighters and everyone there, I panicked! What was I supposed to do?" Murray protested.
In disgust, Flash flung Murray to one side on the rooftop. "You're a disgrace to your uniform," he growled as he sped off.