Disclaimer: Don't own Flash or any DC things.

Legacies

Chapter Three: Turning Point

Hunter Zolomon sat still in his arm chair, gripping his glass of whisky just hard enough so that it wouldn't fall. He felt like he hadn't moved in an age. He hadn't even ventured outside his apartment since his argument with Wally a week ago. He hoped that if he stayed still enough, the strange voice that had been haunting every corner of his mind would become bored with him and leave him alone.

No such luck.

"Still wallowing in self pity?"

Hunter closed his eyes and grimaced. "Leave me alone."

"But if I did that, you'd be left completely alone; is that what you want? To be left to your own thoughts?"

Hunter put his hands over his ears. "Get out."

"Do you know how foolish you look? Denying the truth?"

"I said GET OUT!" Hunter screamed, throwing his glass at the wall, splattering the brown liquid in a large spray across the wall. Hunter sighed and slumped back in his chair, relieved at the silence that followed, silently hoping that the ghostly apparition had finally decided to leave him alone.

"Now what part of you thought that would actually get rid of me? The part of you that still thinks that you and Ashley can be together? Or the part of you that thinks that you and Wally West are still friends?"

"The part of me that wants you to get the hell out."

The voice laughed a low, sinister chuckle. "You have such anger in you, Zolomon. Wouldn't it be easier to just let it out? We both know you've kept it in long enough."

Hunter clenched his fists. "Just… please… get out."

There was silence, and Hunter thought for an instant that he had won, that it was actually leaving.

"All right, Zolomon. But I'll be back when the time comes. Then you'll let me help you. I can see it. You can see it. And so can Ashley and Wally. They both know that you will eventually seek retribution for what they have done to you. And that scares them; you scare them. And together we'll give them reason to be."

And with that, it was gone. Hunter sighed in relief and relaxed into his armchair, unsure of what to do next. He had to admit to himself that he was afraid; afraid that the strange entity was right, afraid that he would seek some kind of twisted vengeance on Ashley and Wally, the two people in his life he valued above all else. He considered that he should stay here, do nothing. There was no way he could hurt anyone by doing nothing. But then again, perhaps not doing something could end with Ashley and Wally being hurt. He resolved not to live in fear in his apartment, and picked up the phone. He dialled Wally's number, still in the dark about where Ashley was. He hoped that he and Ashley could still work things out; that the dark creature was wrong.

The phone rang once, and Wally picked up. "Hello?" he sounded unusually perky, and Hunter felt slightly insulted. Of course, Hunter had been ignoring him all week, and he wasn't expected to stay miserable just because his friend wasn't talking to him.

"Hi, Wally."

"Hunter? Man, am I glad to hear from you. You had me worried for a while there."

"I know, and I'm sorry about that. I just needed to work some things out."

Hunter heard a young voice talking in the background, and heard a muffled reply from Wally.

"Wally? Is that a kid's voice?"

"Yeah, and let me tell you man, it's quite a story too."

Wally proceeded to tell Hunter about Bart's arrival, Cyborg's discoveries, and about the Cosmic Treadmill, which Hunter found extremely interesting, though he wasn't sure why. When he was sure Wally had finished, he began to speak again.

"So… what exactly is a Cosmic Treadmill?"

"It's uh… I dunno. Hey Bart, what's the Cosmic Treadmill?"

Hunter waited, anxiousness seeping through him, and again, he wasn't entirely sure why. Finally Wally's response came.

"It's something to do with time travel."

"And you can use it?"

"What? No. I didn't even know what it is until Bart told me."

"But the kid said you built it."

"Yeah, but I think I'm gonna build it sometime in the future; although how, I have no idea. I mean, I'm not exactly the most technically minded guy in the world."

"Bit of an understatement, don't you think?" Hunter said, allowing himself his first smile in a while.

"Yeah," Wally said, laughing slightly.

"Wally?

"Yeah?"

"Have you spoken to Ashley at all?"

"Uh… she called me a few days ago, yeah," Wally said, some guilt creeping into his voice.

"Well? What'd she say?"

"She said… she said that you scared her the last time you had a fight."

"I… what?"

"She said you get pretty riled up. And not just usual 'Hunter Zolomon' angry, she meant 'that night in the alleyway' angry."

Hunter brought the phone away from his head slightly, staring blankly ahead. "I don't remember…"

Wally sighed. "Well, she sure as hell did," he said, though there was no malice behind the words, more of a tired sympathy.

"Do you know where she is?"

Wally was silent for a moment. "Uh… she, uh…"

"Wally…?"

"She doesn't want you to know Hunter. She still needs some time to-"

Hunter felt the familiar anger rising in him again. "But you know."

"Yes, Hunter, all right? I do. But I can't tell you. As much as I want to, I can't. I'm sorry."

Hunter almost crushed the phone in his hands, and slowly responded. "Don't be Wally. I understand where we stand now." He smashed the phone back down, hanging up on his friend. He laughed bitterly at the term.

"Friend… what kind of friend…" he mumbled to himself, pushing himself out of the chair and heading over to the TV. He turned it on and decided to watch whatever was on. It was a baseball game. Hunter never really had any interest in the game, but right now he needed something to distract him from the angry thoughts and emotions swirling about inside him.

After an hour or so of watching the ball game, Hunter's mood and disposition had not improved. He was about to turn off the TV and go for a walk (which would most likely lead to a bar) when a news bulletin appeared, interrupting a player in mid victory dance.

"We interrupt this program to bring you an urgent news bulletin. The children of the Central City orphanage have been taken hostage by a man whom the police suspect has been involved in several murders. Police speculate that the suspect could be related to the 'Klann' murders."

The TV continued to drabble on, but Hunter was already out of the door.

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The car swerved and groaned in protest as Hunter pulled off manoeuvres that weren't beneficial to his the car or to his already delicate stomach. He ignored the protests of both and continued to speed towards the orphanage. As he closed in on the location, he spotted the flashing lights of police sirens and parked his car haphazardly on the pavement. He jumped out of the car and prepared to flash his badge, when he spotted Manning in the crowd. He slowed and turned around, heading back. Manning wasn't likely to let him anywhere near Klann, and he wouldn't be able to bluff his way past the uniforms if they saw him and Manning having an argument. He was still thinking when he heard the familiar sound of a man running at incredible speeds, creating a noise not unlike a dropping bomb. He looked down the street to see a familiar figure in red and stepped into the road, waving his arms.

Wally recognised him and skidded to a halt. He considered his friend sceptically. "Hunter? What're you doing here?"

"I'm here to get Klann."

"Aren't you on vacation from this stuff?"

Hunter gritted his teeth and felt the urge to grab Wally by the collar.

"Listen, Wa… Flash, Klann is mine. I've been working on his case for the better part of a year and I am not about to let him kill some innocent kids. Now help me get in." He looked at the worried look on his friends face and took a deep breath. "Please, Wally," he added quietly. "I need to do this."

Wally considered this, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. He sighed. "Okay. But don't pull anything stupid, all right? I want every one of those kids to live through this. You get me?" He said determinedly, pointing his finger at Hunter to emphasise the point. Hunter was slightly taken aback, having never seen his friend so serious.

"All right," he said, nodding.

Wally took a deep breath. "Okay, just wrap your arms around my neck, and let's get going."

Hunter did so, and Wally sped ahead. Hunter wondered if Manning spotted him clutching to Wally's back as he sped by, and smiled at the thought of walking out of the building in about ten minutes with a beaten Klann. His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden feeling of heading upwards. He tightened his grip as he realised Wally was scaling the wall. As they reached the rooftop, Hunter let go and Wally gasped for air.

"D'you think you could've held on tighter? I don't think I can see enough spots."

Hunter smiled grimly and walked over to the door leading to the stairway. He turned back to Wally, and held his arm out. "After you."

Wally nodded and sped down the steps, trying not to go so fast as to make a noise. He slowed as he realised that the floors on the upper levels were made of wood that creaked loudly, and settled for walking. This allowed Hunter to catch up to him. Wally leaned towards him, keeping his eyes on the corridor. "Is this the right floor?" he whispered, his voice almost inaudible.

Hunter was again surprised by Wally, only now just realising how good his friend was at the superhero business. He was taking everything seriously, with no inappropriate jokes, smiles or winks to downplay how serious the situation was. Of course, Hunter hadn't seen The Flash in action in some time, and it was obvious that Wally had matured in the superhero business in that time. Hunter silently nodded an affirmative, and indicated that he was going to go to the left at the end of the corridor, and that Wally should go right. Wally nodded, and they walked to the end of the corridor, being careful to avoid the fragile looking parts of the wooden floor, for fear that they would creak and tip Klann off.

Hunter walked to his left and began to tip toe up to each room, carefully checking through keyholes before entering. He was about to try another door when he heard a quiet voice coming from further down the corridor. He turned to check that it wasn't Wally, and was not too surprised to find that he couldn't see him anymore. Hunter considered going back to get the Scarlet Speedster, but was then was hit by the same resolve to stop Klann that he used to convince Wally in the first place. He took a quiet deep breath, and headed for the source of the noise. He found the door rather quickly, and looked through the keyhole, being careful to keep his nervous breathing as silent as possible. His vision was mostly obscured, but he did manage to make out the figure of a man stood next to a window. Hunter tried to ascertain whether he was close to any of the children, but found that he couldn't see much.

He swore under his breath and stood, looking up and down the corridor for some way to get at him without Klann seeing him ahead of time. He looked to his right and saw another door. He looked through the keyhole so see an empty room. He opened the door slowly, and found a room full of various stuffed toys and play sets. If not for the clutter, the room would have been completely bare except for the window directly in front of Hunter. He opened it has quietly as he could, sliding the bottom section of the door upwards. He poked his head out of the window discreetly, looking to his left and seeing that Klann had his window open, and that there was a ledge that extended all the way around the building, conveniently placed just below the windows. Hunter lifted himself out and deftly placed his foot on the ledge, testing his weight while trying his utmost not to look down. He hoped that the police below didn't spot him and make a loud fuss, or that if they did see him, that they would recognise him and remain silent. He figured on the latter, seeing as how one of the spotlights shone on him for what seemed like an eternity before leaving him in darkness.

He edged forward, gradually getting closer and closer to the window, praying that Klann wouldn't stick his head out of the window. His prayers were not answered. Klann poked his head out of the window, looking first to his left, then to his right. As he turned his head right, Hunter decided to take the offensive and kicked Klann in the face before the surprise could even register on the murderer's face. He was quickly sent back into the room, and Hunter quickly made his way through the window, grabbing onto the upper section and swinging his legs in. He looked for Klann and found that he had wrapped one arm around a child's neck, stroking the neck with the penknife he held in his right hand. He grinned, either unaware or uncaring about the blood that was streaming from his broken nose.

Hunter took account of the situation and weighed his options as he looked around the room. There were about fifteen or so children squeezed into the room, all of them with equally terrified looks on their faces. They even seemed afraid of him. Hunter looked back at Klann, and realised with satisfaction that his back was to the door. Hunter smiled smugly, which took Klann off guard. The grin faded from his face slightly, and Hunter glanced at the door, indicating that someone was behind him, and that he was just waiting for him to make a move. Klann chanced a quick glance behind him, and that was all Hunter needed. He ran forward and brought his right fist forward to hit Klann in the face.

Klann turned back to face him and turned his head to the right so as only to take a glancing blow from Hunter. Hunter grabbed the wrist which held the knife and twisted it, hard. Klann screamed as the knife clattered to the ground and he grabbed his wrist in pain. The child that he held took advantage of the situation to run into the corner of the room, back to the safety of his fellow hostages. Klann looked up at Hunter through clenched teeth, and Hunter prepared himself, expecting him to rush him. Klann suddenly reached behind his back and pulled out another penknife with his left hand, thrusting it at Hunter's belly. Hunter darted back and found his back to the window.

Klann lifted the knife and, holding it upside down, brought it down so as to stab Hunter. They leaned back through the open window, and Hunter tried not to think about the drop below him as he held Klann's wrist, desperately trying to redirect the blade. The blade missed its intended target, but ended up sinking with a squelch into Hunter's left shoulder. Hunter screamed in pain and clenched his teeth. He placed a foot on Klann's stomach and pushed him away, causing him to stumble back. Unfortunately, Klann managed to take the knife with him, causing Hunter even more pain as a brief spurt of blood stained the floor.

Klann grinned and brought the knife to his face, licking the fresh blood from the blade as he chuckled to himself. Hunter looked at his insanity-infected face, then at the horrified looks on the children's faces; and Hunter felt rage. The same rage that he had felt all those years ago in that alleyway. He roared and charged at Klann, hoping to do to him what he had done to those two men in the alleyway that night. However, on that night, he had had the element of surprise. Klann sidestepped, and brought his knife down, piercing Hunter's lower back with a sickening crunch, and Hunter screamed, falling to the floor on his front. His nerves on fire, he didn't even feel Klann pull the knife out of his back. Hunter felt himself blacking out, but not before the door to the room sprang open, and a red blur shot through, slamming Klann into the wall.

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Hunter tried his best to ignore the beeping of the machine monitoring his vitals. He had been listening to that same beeping for almost a day. Or at least, he thought it was a day. Time stretched impossibly here. He desperately wanted to get up, to move, to walk to the window, anything to take his mind off the monotonous beeping. He felt as though he was about to scream in rage when the door to the hospital room opened and Wally West stepped through, a look of indescribable guilt and shame on his face. He hadn't been to visit in his civilian identity, and Hunter was already feeling anger at him for that alone. He made his way to the bed and sat down on the chair next to it.

"What happened to Klann?" Hunter asked, avoiding eye contact with Wally.

"In a cell as we speak. You got him, Hunter." He paused and took a deep breath. He looked out the window, then back at Hunter. "How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice respectfully hushed.

Hunter looked at his friend disdainfully. "I've just been told that I'll never walk again. How would you feel?"

Wally didn't respond, he simply looked down at the floor, his eyes closed in shame. "Hunter… I'm sorry. I should have gotten there sooner, but I didn't hear anything until you…" he trailed off, obviously not wanting to add insult to injury by saying that Hunter's scream was audible at the other end of the building. Hunter didn't want his apologies, and was about to say so when a thought occurred to him.

"It doesn't matter Wally. Because you can fix this."

Wally looked up at him. "I can?"

"Yes. Just use that Cosmic Treadmill you were talking to me about and-"

"I don't have a Cosmic Treadmill, Hunter. I wish to God I did, but I don't."

"Or maybe you just don't want to help me."

Wally's eyes widened. "What? How can you say that?" he said, his hushed tone quickly disappearing.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me. If you did have a Cosmic Treadmill, would you go back and fix it so that this never happened?"

Wally's was about to answer, then stopped himself. He looked into Hunter's eyes, and he saw the shame in them. Hunter nodded.

"That's all I needed to know."

"Hunter, you don't understand; you can't. I've been through this time travel stuff; you don't know how badly you can-"

"Just leave me alone, Wally."

"But-"

"GET OUT!"

Wally's face fell and he slowly rose. He walked to the door and turned back to Hunter before he left. "I'm sorry, Hunter." And then he was gone.

Hunter couldn't care less. He felt nothing but anger and hatred. He felt a presence seeping into the room, into his mind.

"And that's your best friend?"

"Shut up."

"I can help you. You know I can, so why are you still resisting me?"

"How can you possibly help me?"

"I can help you to walk again."

Hunter froze. "What?"

"You heard."

"How?"

"You'll see. But if you want to walk again, you'll have to give into me. You'll have to give in to your anger. Just… let it out."

Hunter's internal struggle contorted his face. "I… no. That's too steep a price."

"Is it? Who do you owe it to now to stay in control? The wife who won't speak to you? Or perhaps the best friend who won't help you?

Hunter remained silent as he realised that it was right. He owed nothing to Wally or his wife, even though he still loved her. "All right. What do I do?"

"Go to the roof."

Hunter struggled out of his bed and slinked into the wheelchair that had been provided for him. He made his way out of the room and headed for the elevator, being careful to avoid any 'helpful' hospital staff that would send him back to his room. Fortunately, the elevator was almost opposite his room. Once inside, he pushed the button for the roof, and waited impatiently. He wanted to tap his foot as he waited, which only spurred on his anger even more. The doors opened, and he pushed himself out into the downpour. He looked up to see the uncontrolled lightning dancing across the dark, cloudy sky. If not clouded by so much anger, Hunter would have thought how strange it was, considering that the sky was clear when he left his room. As it was, he found it difficult to care.

"All right, I'm here. What do I do?"

No response.

"Where are you?"

Still no response.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" he screamed to the sky, holding his arms out to welcome whatever was coming. As if in answer, a lightning bolt shot down from the sky, enveloping Hunter in pure energy. His wheelchair exploded beneath him, but he didn't fall to the ground. He simply floated, kept aloft by whatever energy had caused the lightning bolt to seek him out in the first place. He felt the voice in his head once more, except this time, he allowed it to become one with his own.

His thoughts drifted back to a conversation he had once had with Wally about his battle with Lex Luthor, about how he had created a Justice Lord Flash to fight him that had preyed on his fears and neuroses; about how it had worn a costume like his, but the colours reversed.

A Reverse Flash.

He thought about how much he hated Wally for not helping him, for being a false friend from the start. For simply being.

"He must face his ultimate opposite. A man who has lost his pride, confidence and identity to tragedy. A man who will run with him down a hellish road—and feel no guilt in bringing him there."

Hunter Zolomon was dead. Only Zoom remained.

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(A/N: Zoom well? Zoom badly? Review!)