Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League Unlimited or Teen Titans.
Connections
Chapter Eight: Coming Together
Consciousness came back to Wally slowly and drearily, his perceptions bouncing from enveloping darkness to blinding light. Gradually, he began to adapt to the dazzling light that blazed into his blue eyes, and took in his surroundings.
He was in the observatory that he and the others had visited just hours ago, though the bright lights that were so dazzling him gave it an even more haunting, eerie feeling. He looked up and saw the balcony that ran the entire circumference of the observatory, though some of it had collapsed from the battle between Robin and Professor Chang all those years ago.
Where there was once an empty space now stood a monstrous telescope, though now he was closer, Wally could see that it was some kind of weapon. He would have smiled if he didn't feel so groggy.
A Big Laser Cannon. What is it with this crazy guys and big laser cannons?
Upon looking down, he saw the crushed remains of his comm earpiece. He looked around to see the kind of restraints that he had been trapped in. Above him was a small control panel with flashing controls, strange beams of light being emitted from the bottom that had wrapped their way around Wally's arms and legs, his limbs being spread out in a star shape.
Another cursory glance to his left revealed Shayera, Nightwing and Raven similarly subdued. Their communication devices had been similarly wrecked. He saw that Shayera's mace was being kept afloat with a similar energy bond next to its owner. All of them seemed to be going through the same disorientation he was. The Fastest Man Alive surmised that it must be a side effect of the restraints, and only his enhanced metabolism allowed him to fight off the effects.
"Awake, human? It took you long enough."
The Flash looked up to see Captain Marvel looking down at him, his arms crossed and a vindictive sneer on his lips. Behind him, almost overcrowding the observatory, were a hundred or so monks in white robes, with a strange snake symbol on their chests. Wally managed a weak smile.
"I like to keep my fans waiting," he croaked, winking at the World's Mightiest Mortal.
Marvel gritted his teeth and struck Wally with the back of his hand.
"Be glad I'm not using the full strength of this vessel."
Flash frowned as his addled mind tried to process the information.
"Wait… vessel? What're you-?"
Captain Marvel smiled. "Of course; you don't know. But I most definitely want you to know who I am before you see the end of the world. You may remember a mystical stone that contained the spirit of Eclipso."
"Who?"
The Captain's eyes thinned. "Eclipso. The embodiment of the Snake Men."
Flash's frown deepened, but he nodded anyway. "Oh, Eclipso. Why didn't you just say so?"
"Don't test me, human. It doesn't matter how fast you are when you're strapped to the wall."
The trademark Flash grin crossed his face. "You'd be surprised how fast I can move when I'm strapped to something." His smile faded slightly as he was hit by a sudden bout of dizziness. Groggily, he continued. "You gonna finish your story or what?"
Grinding his jaw, Marvel seemed to think about striking him again, but then thought better of it. "I see you haven't changed since I last fought you."
"Sorry, still don't know you. I mean, the cape's familiar, but I'm blanking on the face," Wally joked, a weak grin on his face.
Marvel just seemed lightly amused by this. "My brothers and I tried to destroy the sun, to plunge you humans into eternal darkness. However, you and your comrades managed to destroy the gem that contained our spirits. Or at least, you tried to. You see, the gem contained the spirits of the last remaining snake men. When your friend here-" he said, nodding over to Shayera, "-smashed the gem, it separated the spirits into the individual pieces. And what did you do with the remaining pieces of the gem?"
"We… put it into containment on the Watchtower." Flash shook his head. "But Bats crashed the Watchtower into the Thanagarian bypass… How did-?"
"The Snake Men have many human followers, even in this distant and confusing age," Marvel said, gesturing to the hundred or so robed monks that stood around the observatory. Flash looked back at the World's Mightiest Mortal, and saw that his eyes had become snake like slits. He decided not to bother with trying to get through to the real Captain Marvel; at this point, he was more Eclipso than human.
"So these guys are like a cult or something?"
Eclipso nodded once slowly. "Exactly. They come from many walks of life. Some of them were part of the cleanup crew that helped to remove the remains of your Watchtower Fortress. Secretly, they managed to find the one last remaining piece of the gem, which is now safely kept… here." Eclipso lifted his right forearm, where there was something embedded beneath the skin. Wally grimaced in disgust.
"Dude, gross. You put it under your skin? And I thought getting a tattoo was nasty."
Either the lizard spirit hadn't heard him, or he simply decided to ignore him, Flash couldn't tell. Either way, he decided to continue on.
"Once they had recovered me, I decided that I needed a powerful body to reside in. But thanks to your new Justice League, I couldn't simply take any super powered body I wanted. I had to find one that wouldn't be missed. At least, not right away. Then I found out about Captain Marvel's resignation from the League. From there, it was simple to lay a trap and simply get him to grasp the gem."
The Fastest Man Alive was silent as his dulled brain struggled to think. "What about…" he began, looking around the observatory. He looked up to the balcony, and there, standing by herself, was Jinx, who was stood as still as a statue, staring blankly ahead.
"What about Jinx? Why… how?"
Eclipso smiled as he looked over at the pale skinned witch. "Why? Because you were the one to stop us. If not for you, we would be living in glorious darkness. So I had to find some way to lead you to me. Your brief relationship with her was not as private as you believed it to be. After studying her last known appearance in this very city, I decided that she must be alive. We Snake Men have not inconsiderable psychic abilities. It was a fairly simply matter for me to find her. But to control her, and in a manner that you could trace… that was another matter."
"So you broke into Mad Hatter's lab."
He nodded. "You're not as stupid as you act. But I had to leave something for you to find… to continue the trail. And so, I organised for the kidnapping of Bibbo Bibbowski, who I had found out had a friendship with Superman." He nodded over to the crowd, where a mind controlled Bibbo stood, although he was now dressed in the same robes as the others. Flash looked over at the possessed hero.
"And I bet you told that Eric Spiegel guy to leave his wallet in Bibbo's apartment, too."
"You are improving, Flash. And so, we left Bibbowski's blood in Tetch's lab for you to find. And, using that technology, we were able to recruit your friend Jinx…"
"So you were the one who led Raven to Fawcett… and knocked her away before she could find out who you were."
"Very good."
Wally shook his head in confusion. "But… the trail ran cold after Fawcett City."
Eclipso's face darkened. "Yes… you were supposed to find some more psychic residue there to trace to me… but due to the interference of an unanticipated third party, you did not."
Wally's eyes thinned. "Wait… youdidn't send that Slade guy? Then who did?"
Eclipso waved a dismissive hand. "It doesn't matter now. All that does matter is that you are here, and that you will see this," he said, gesturing to the telescope-turned-laser cannon. "You may have been able to stop the device from space, but you won't be able to stop it from here. Using the plans and equipment stolen from your human facilities, and with help from my human followers, I have managed to create a weapon that will fire-"
"Let me guess. A laser that will blot out the sun?"
"You can mock if it will make you feel better. It will be one of the last few good feelings you have." He turned to the operators of the huge cannon. "Begin."
"No…" Wally groaned through gritted teeth as he struggled with the energy bonds. He could hear the generator of the huge weapon building in pitch as it powered up. Lights on the side of the cannon built up as it prepared to fire. Suddenly, three throwing stars sliced into the control panel of the weapon, sending sparks everywhere and abruptly deactivating the cannon.
Flash looked around in confusion while Eclipso looked around in outrage. A voice echoed from above them, interrupting the possessed hero's angered protestations.
"I truly wish I didn't have to do this."
All heads in the observatory whipped around to see Slade stood on the balcony. He sighed.
"And while I would like nothing more than to see you all tortured until death… it seems I'll be requiring your help."
He quickly hurled himself forward, aiming to land in the middle of the crowd of monks. On his way down, he threw a small knife towards the control panel above Wally's head, causing sparks to fly and the restraints to disappear. The Scarlet Speedster began to feel the dizziness fading, and smiled when he could suddenly balance again. He saw Eclipso coming towards him with his fist and dashed to his left, leaping up and smashing the control panel that held Shayera and her mace afloat in the air.
Using the great speed that was his trademark, Wally grabbed the mace and swung it as fast and as hard as he could into Eclipso's gut. The magic powered body of Captain Marvel was sent hurtling away and through a wall by the magic negating properties of the Thanagarian's mace. He quickly ran back to Shayera and handed her the mace.
"I think this is yours."
She offered a weak smile and took the weapon, turning towards Nightwing and Raven to free them. She quickly slammed the crackling mace into the control panels sending sparks raining down on the captors as they fell to the floor.
Suddenly, Wally was knocked aside by a red clad arm, sending him hurtling across the Observatory, knocking over several monks as he went. Shayera turned in time to see Eclipso slam his fist into her chin, smashing her head into the wall behind her. She was knocked unconscious by the blow, and Eclipso smirked as he slowly made his way over to her still form. Grasping her by the hair, he pulled her up and brought back his fist.
"I never liked birds."
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Slade extended his leg as he landed, colliding with one monk's head and smashing it into the floor. Tossing himself forward in a flip, the one eyed mercenary landed in the middle of a crowd. Reaching into his belt, Slade pulled out his extendable staff, pushing the button to extend it fully.
"With the pain you are about to feel, I sincerely hope that you are truly devoted to your cause."
The monks approached with a roar. Using years of honed instinct with his superhuman strength and agility, Slade easily defended himself from the onslaught of opponents. They were obviously under trained when it came to fighting. A kick to the gut dropped a monk on his left, and a quick jab with his staff into the groin of one approaching from behind sent him groaning to the ground.
A heavy hand slammed into Slade, sending him hurtling back and into a stack of crates. The mercenary groaned and pulled himself from the crate and saw the source of the attack. The monk was so big, he would have been able to look Cinderblock straight in the eyes. His voice was a suitably low growl.
"Give up, little man."
The mercenary smiled beneath his ghoulish mask as he stood, cricking his neck. He twirled his staff and adopted a fighting stance, extending his hand beckoning his opponent forth.
"I wouldn't want to deprive myself of the amusement."
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The possessed Captain Marvel brought his fist down with all the speed he could muster, only for a black barrier to block the blow. He looked over in anger at Raven, but decided to continue to bludgeon his way through the black energy field, which had encompassed the unconscious Shayera completely. Before he could land another blow, a small bird shaped projectile was thrown between him and the energy field, exploding as soon as it reached him. He was tossed like a feather in the wind across the Observatory, crashing close to where he had earlier flung the Flash.
He pushed himself to his feet and prepared himself to charge forward. A red blur interrupted his path, grabbing on to his cape and swinging him by the piece of white material, going faster and faster until Eclipso could feel the oxygen being sucked from the lungs of Captain Marvel's body.
Flash let go of Eclipso, tossing him with all the strength and speed he could muster through the wall of the Observatory and into the forest behind it. Through the hole he had created, he could see trees being knocked aside as the Captain's body was sent hurtling through the woods.
Nightwing and Raven joined him. The Fastest Man Alive nodded towards the hole he had created.
"You take care of that cannon thing. I've got him."
Nightwing ducked a blow from a monk and threw him over his shoulder. "No. We've got him."
Flash shook his head. "I need you to look after Shayera. I can handle him by myself." He winked at the two Titans. "Trust me."
He shot off through the hole in the wall, leaving his two friends stood in the gust of wind he had created from his speedy exit. Dick looked over at Raven.
"Guess that's going to be me looking after Shayera, huh?"
Raven allowed a small smile before floating out through the makeshift hole in the wall. Sighing as he slammed an elbow into the nose of another monk, he looked over to see how Shayera was doing. His eyes widened beneath his thin sliver of a mask as he saw several robed Snake Men followers stalking towards her unconscious form. Using an approaching monk as a spring board, he propelled himself forward, and, with grace only years of training could produce, flipped through the air and landed between Shayera and the approaching monks.
With a flick of his wrists, two metal batons slid from his shadowy sleeves.
"You get one warning. Back off."
Somehow, Dick didn't think they would follow his advice.
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A frustrated growl was the only noise that Eclipso could manage. Captain Marvel was one of the most powerful beings on the planet. How could he be losing to such a rag tag group? It was ludicrous.
The thought was shaken from his mind as he saw the Flash fast approaching him, a trail of dust pursuing him as he approached. Eclipso prepared himself. He would end it here.
Wally took a deep breath and extended his arm outwards in a clothesline move, vibrating his arm as he went. Eclipso swung his fist forward as Wally arrived, and the Scarlet Speedster ducked beneath the blow and dragged his vibrating fist through Eclipso's chest. The possessed hero cried out in pain as Flash's molecules collided with his own at super sonic speeds.
The Fastest Man Alive skidded to a halt on the other side of Eclipso, surprised at how much pain that move had caused. The Snake Man was on one knee, clutching his chest in pain. Flash mentally shrugged.
Well, if it worked once…
Wally shot forward again, extending his arm in the same manner and preparing to do the same move again. However, Eclipso seemed to have learnt from his past mistake, and swung his arm around again, this time imitating Flash's clothesline move and nailing him in the chest.
There was a deafening crack and a sickening crunch as Wally's ribs snapped under the strain. Landing on his back, the Scarlet Speedster coughed violently. He wiped a hand on his chin, revealing blood.
"Oh, great…" he sputtered, "I just fixed those ribs…"
Eclipso brought his fist back to finish the job.
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Dick Grayson had been trained well by Batman, as well as the various martial arts masters he had trained with before he became Nightwing. He had learnt to engage fifteen men effectively; twenty at a stretch. But he drew a line at about thirty. So facing one hundred rabid followers of ancient Snake Men was proving most difficult for the ex-Boy Wonder.
He swung his right baton to his left, nailing a monk in the stomach. Using the left baton he struck the back of his calf, making him lose balance. Finishing the move, Nightwing brought his right baton up again and caught the monk on the chin, dropping him to the floor instantly.
He spotted movement to his right. He leant back to avoid a punch to face, crossing his batons to catch the arm of the monk between them. He kicked out as hard as he could, sending the monk flying back into his brethren.
One managed to hit him from behind, sending his right baton flying. Another slammed into him from the left, toppling him over. He managed to send a few others into unconsciousness, but no matter how badly trained they were, their sheer numbers gave them the edge. Dick leapt over to Shayera and picked up her body, using his grappling hook to get up to the upper balcony. As he landed and deposited the red haired Thanagarian gently on the ground, he saw Jinx stood on the far side of the balcony.
She was still stood perfectly still, as though she were a statue. After one last glance at the pink haired woman, he dove down into the crowd of robed followers.
As he landed, a dark figure collided with him, the both of them hurtling backwards and skidding across the floor. After getting to his feet, Nightwing came to face to face with Slade.
"Apologies, Robin. I'll try not to collide with you in the future."
Dick's eyes thinned as he fought off another barrage of monks. "Who are you?"
"I would have though you'd know that by now, Robin." He brought his palm up and slammed one opponent's jaw upwards, shattering his teeth, and sending blood spurting from his mouth.
"You're not Slade. I saw him die." Dick delivered a kick to another's head.
"Do you really think I couldn't survive that? Or find some way of faking my death? Time has made you sloppy."
Nightwing delivered an elbow to the gut, then brought his fist up to finish the job. "Why are you doing this?"
Slade let out a grunt of amusement. "You should know by now, Robin; I have no vested interest in the end of the world."
Dick clenched his teeth and broke one monk's nose. "My name isn't Robin." He turned towards his old foe, hatred burning in his eyes. "I'm Nightwing."
A sudden noise grabbed both of their attention; the cannon was starting up again. Slade let out a brief noise of surprise.
"It seems I didn't do as much damage as I thought."
On the upper balcony, Shayera stirred. She looked up and saw Jinx, frozen in place. Shayera began the long crawl over to her.
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Raven moved as fast as she could above the trees, struggling to see where Wally had gone. He had created such a cloud of dust upon his speedy exit, it was making it difficult for her to see the red headed speedster. She heard a yell coming from the distance, and followed it to its source.
She arrived in time to see Eclipso knelt on one knee and Wally headed towards him, his hand vibrating at incredible speeds as she had seen him do so many times before as Kid Flash. As Flash reached his opponent, however, Eclipso suddenly turned and slammed his arm into Wally's chest, sending him violently onto the ground. Eclipso brought back his fist, and Raven shot downwards, extending her black magic towards the body of Captain Marvel.
Wrapping her black energy around his waist, she pulled as hard as she could, yanking him off his feet and into the air before he could even move his mighty fist towards Flash. He snarled in anger at her, attempting to escape from the black energy wrapped around him. Using as much strength as she could muster, Raven slammed her hands downwards, sending Eclipso hurtling towards the ground. As he slammed into the ground, a crater grew around him, sending dust billowing and chunks of wood and dirt hurtling outwards.
Wally rolled away as fast as he could to avoid being caught in the crater.
Through the clouds of grey mist, Raven could make out Eclipso getting to his feet. Gathering every last ounce of strength she had, she slammed a wall of black energy onto the body of Captain Marvel, forcing him back into the ground. Followed by another. And then another. She allowed her usually controlled emotions to escape through her magic, allowing her anger to power the energy.
Eventually, Raven's barrage ended. She gasped desperately for breath, unable to see anything through the cloud of dust she had created. Looking for Wally, she never saw the red blur bursting out of the ground, nor the body of Captain Marvel floating behind her. Then only thing she saw was a blur of red, followed by pain.
Flash struggled to his feet, clutching at his now healed ribs. Unfortunately, they had healed wrong. He heard a noise from above him, and looked up to see Raven hurtling away over the trees.
"Raven!"
He ran as fast as he could through the thick maze of trees and bushes, constantly glancing upwards to keep track of the dark empath. Eventually, he saw that she was descending through the thickly bunched branches of the trees. He turned sharply and ran up one of the trees, bouncing from branch to branch until he caught Raven in his arms. Landing on a precariously wiggling branch, he smiled in relief that she was still breathing. Her eyes opened slowly, becoming relieved at the sight of him.
"Do me a favour; next time you want to go gliding? Don't," he said, grinning.
"I'll keep that in mind," she groaned.
"Uh… would you mind…?" Flash nodded downwards at the thin branch upon which they were stood.
Raven nodded and floated them down to ground level. Wally smiled as they both landed, though his face quickly changed when he saw something approaching through the trees.
Eclipso was on his way.
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Through the carnage, Slade managed to hazard a glance over at his former apprentice. A jab of the elbow here, an expertly timed judo throw there… he had improved his form considerably since Slade had last fought him. The mercenary wondered who would emerge the victor if the two fought now.
He pushed it aside as the noise from the cannon increased in pitch, and the lights on the side of cannon rose one notch. He caught the fist of a monk with his own, crushing it with his enhanced strength.
Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, the large monk rammed into him shoulder first, sending Slade through several other followers. He looked up from his sprawled position and saw the giant of a man making his way towards him threateningly.
Nightwing leapt onto the man's back, and, slapped his hands on both sides of his head with all of his strength. The giant roared in pain and grasped desperately around his back to reach his assailant. Nightwing attempted flip away, but no amount of training could enable him to avoid the random thrashing of the giant's arms.
Shayera inched her way towards Jinx.
He grabbed onto Nightwing's leg as he jumped, tossing him around as though he were a doll. The ex-Boy Wonder collided painfully with Slade, sending them both into the wall behind them. They looked up to see the giant man charging towards them. He grabbed both of their heads in his massive hands, mashing them into the walls. Slade was thankful that the walls in this observatory were thin.
The cannon's pitch increased.
As they struggled in the grip of the monstrous man before them, they looked over at each other. They couldn't reach the cannon in time to stop it going off. They both knew it, and yet they kept on fighting. Slade smiled beneath his mask; even after all this time, they were still the same.
Shayera collapsed at Jinx's feet. Using every last ounce of strength she had left, she pulled herself up on the railings of the balcony. The blow to the head from Eclipso had affected her balance and vision; everything was blurred and distorted. She felt constantly nauseous. And yet she continued on. As she reached forward, she wasn't even sure she was reaching for the right Jinx; she could see about five of them.
She touched the pink haired witch's head and felt for anything that would cause the metallic gleam she had seen earlier that night. Her fingers felt something metal wrapped around her head like a headband. Reaching inside her for all the strength she could muster, she ripped off the headband and collapsed to the floor.
Jinx's previously glazed eyes came back into focus. She put a hand to her head, looking around the observatory with complete and utter confusion painted on her face.
"Where…?"
Looking down, she saw the half conscious form of Shayera laid before her. The Thanagarian heroine pointed to the cannon.
"…stop…"
Shayera Hol collapsed to the floor, the last of her energy expended.
Jinx looked down at the scene unfolding before her. The tip of the laser cannon crackled with energy, as though about to be fired. Below her, she saw Nightwing and Slade struggling to reach the cannon, though failing miserably.
She made her decision.
Her eyes glowing a bright pink, she extended her hands and emitted the most powerful hex she could manage, sending out wave after wave of pink energy towards the humming cannon.
At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then sparks flew from the control panel of the machine, followed by an explosion that sent a large group of the monks sprawling. Explosions littered the cannon, travelling up and down the weapon until it began to collapse under its own weight.
The monks, though dedicated to their cause, were not going to stay around for the end result. They quickly began to excavate the Observatory, not caring for the fates of Nightwing and Slade.
The two enemies stood opposite each other as the monks ran around them, tripping over each other as they scrabbled for the exit.
"You may call yourself Nightwing. But you're still the boy that became my apprentice. We're still the same."
And that was it. One moment Slade was there, the next he wasn't; a monk ran in front of Dick's vision and blocked his view of the mercenary. That was all he needed to make his escape. A small part of his mind considered trying to pursue his old adversary.
A very small part.
He pulled the grappling hook from his belt and made his way to the balcony, where he found the unconscious Shayera and a far more lucid Jinx waiting for him.
"Can we please leave now?"
The ex-Boy Wonder grabbed them both and swung out of the building before it exploded.
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The two heroes remained still behind the trees they were using as cover. Though how long this cover would last, Wally didn't know. They had been playing a cat and mouse game with Eclipso for quite some time now, until they reached the very edge of the forest, the bottom of a cliff face on their right, blocking their path. Raven leaned over as she spoke.
"So what do you know about Captain Marvel?"
He shrugged. "Not much. I know that he's powered by magic. As long as we don't say 'Shazam' we should be fine."
She cocked a purple eyebrow. "'Shazam'?"
Wally nodded. "Right. Don't say it."
"Why?"
"It'll make him even stronger."
Before Raven could ask any more questions, the trees above them were ripped away by the body of the World's Mightiest Mortal, who looked down at them sneeringly.
Moving quickly, Wally jumped to his left, landing on his side. Whirling his arms in front of him, he soon created two sets of cyclones that sent Eclipso back through the trees and into cliff face behind him. Slamming into the rock face full force, Marvel's body created an indentation in the wall. Raven's eyes glowed as she began her chant.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"
Enveloping a tree in black energy, she hurled it at the World's Mightiest Mortal, who promptly ducked out of the way and charged towards them. Grabbing Wally before he could move, he whirled him around and into Raven, tossing them like toys into the cliff face. They looked up to see Eclipso with a superior smirk.
"You fools. Did you really think I wouldn't hear your conversation?" His smirk widened. "I know all about the secret of this vessel now, thanks to your human stupidity." He tilted his head up to the heavens.
"SHAZAM!"
The lightning bolt struck with a deafening crash, blinding Wally and Raven with the intensity of its light. As the light faded, the two could make out the unconscious figure of Billy Batson. Flash grinned as he saw the glinting of the sliver of gem that Eclipso had put under Marvel's skin.
Raven encompassed the gem in black energy, and Wally put his hands on his hips, looking directly at the small piece of gem.
"And you called us stupid?"
Raven couldn't help but smile.
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Normally, he would find flashing lights annoying. But right now, they were the most soothing and relaxing things he'd ever seen. Wally slowly made his way over to Jinx, who was stood looking out over the city. Well, it appeared that she was looking at the city, but Wally knew what building in particular she was looking at.
"Looks kind of different from the outside, doesn't it?"
She only turned her head for a moment to see who was talking. Though she didn't really need to see him to know. She would know his voice anywhere.
"It looks so simple from the outside. But once you get in there, it's anything but."
Flash allowed himself a small chuckle at that. "Yeah…" His expression slowly changed from one of relief to one of concern. "So… what's the last thing you remember?"
She closed her eyes and put a hand over her eyelids. "I was home. Then I felt something in my mind, and then… I was here. I remember seeing brief flashes of other things, like you, Raven, the Boy Wonder over there…" she paused. "And the Hawk woman. That's how I knew what to do when I was brought out of it. I recognised her."
"Are you okay?"
She sighed and gave him a small smile. "I'm fine. I just want to get home."
He tilted his head forward slightly. "And? Where's home?"
She turned her head towards him, a sardonic smile on her lips. "I don't think I should tell you that."
Although she couldn't see them, she knew his blue eyes were ready to bring on the 'hurt puppy' look. The one that would always get her when she was hanging out with Kid Flash all those years ago. The eyes that got her to leave her life of crime. And the eyes that made it so hard for her to leave…
"Why did you fake your own death?"
Jinx turned away from him, her head dropping down. "The HIVE doesn't leave you alone, Wally. They don't exactly take betrayal well. I thought I was safe when it was just the HIVE Five to worry about, but then when Brother Blood escaped from prison… I had to find a way to get them off my trail. So, I got together the right witnesses and… faked it."
Flash's jaw dropped slightly. "You broke into that warehouse… you knew the Titans would come running…"
She nodded slowly. "The HIVE had followed me to the warehouse, so I knew that in all the fighting between them and Titans, I'd be able to do it and no one would question it. But the Boy Blunder over there-" she said, nodding over to where Nightwing was stood with Raven. "-he wouldn't let it go. He came close to finding me. Real close. He just didn't stop. But I knew that if you heard it from him, you'd believe that I was gone."
He nodded dumbly. "I do… I mean… I did." He paused for a moment. "Why didn't you come to me for help? I would've-"
"Because you would have been the same old Kid Flash! Trying to convert me to becoming a hero, a Titan! That's-" she took a breath. "…That's not what I am. And I never could be." She turned back to look over the bay towards the Tower. "Besides," she muttered, "you seemed to be getting pretty cosy with Raven after I left."
"Jinx, that's… that's not…"
She turned towards him to face him fully and he lost the words somewhere in his throat. He sighed, struggling to keep his emotions in check.
"Will I see you again?"
She was silent for longest of moments.
"Probably not."
She turned and walked away, and Flash turned to look out over the city, unsure what to feel or do. He felt a delicate hand on his shoulder. Turning, he felt something warm pressed against his lips. He closed his eyes as Jinx embraced him. He pulled her to him, as though it would somehow stop her from leaving his life.
She slowly pulled away from him, looking him in the eyes.
"Thank you, Wally West," she said quietly. She backed away from him at first, then turned to disappear into the crowd of Jump City police officers, the flashing lights obscuring Wally's view of her.
He took a desperate step forward, then whirled on his heel to look out over the city, grabbing at his head in exasperation. He allowed himself to roughly sink down to the floor, despondently staring out over the city. He didn't know how long he was sat on the ground before his friends joined him. He gathered it was a long time, considering that the flashing sirens of the police cars were gone.
Raven sat on his left, and Nightwing next to her, while Shayera sat on his right.
"So? How'd it go?"
Wally sighed. "All things considered… it could have been worse."
"Are you okay?"
The Scarlet Speedster burst out laughing, causing Shayera to recoil slightly in surprise. "No," he said, still laughing. "But I will be," he finished, a slightly content smile on his face. Shayera returned the smile, putting an arm around her friend and squeezing his shoulder reassuringly.
"Thanks, Shayera."
She shrugged. "Can you honestly say you wouldn't do the same for me?"
He didn't respond; he didn't need to. They already knew the answer. He smiled at her and slowly turned to face Dick and Raven.
"What about that Slade guy?" He looked over at Dick. "I, uh… if it was him, that is."
A small smirk spread across Nightwing's face. "It was him. But he got away."
"And you're okay with that? Who are you? Where's Dick Grayson?"
Ignoring the joke, Dick just shrugged. "It just… wasn't important. He's a ghost; I'm going to leave him dead."
Raven cocked an eyebrow and looked over at Flash. "Wally… how did you know that the 'Shazam' thing would work? What if the gem hadn't been removed from his body?"
"Uh… I didn't."
"You didn't?"
He shrugged desperately. "Well… I figured if Snake Man was still in control we could just stop him from saying 'Shazam' again, and you'd be able to… take it out."
Raven opened her mouth.
Raven closed her mouth.
"Oh."
She returned her gaze to look out at the city.
Flash looked out over to Titans Tower, then over to the three people sat around him. The three people who had helped for no other reason than because he was their friend.
The Fastest Man Alive leapt to his feet, stretching. He looked down at Shayera. "Hey, how'd you like to sleep in Titans Tower overnight? I can show you Mega Monkeys Five…" he said in an enticing tone of voice.
Raven cocked an eyebrow. "And that's supposed to make her want to come?"
Shayera shrugged. "I like Mega Monkeys Five."
Dick lowered his mask as though they were sunglasses. "You li-" he stopped himself and put his hands up in surrender. "Right. Never mind." He hopped to his feet and joined his red headed friend as he walked down the hill, quickly followed by Shayera and Raven.
"Why? What's wrong with Mega Monkeys Five?"
"Besides the fact that it's the same game as Mega Monkeys One to Four?"
"Hey, dude – it's a formula that works. Don't mock it."
The Flash wasn't good with the little things in life. But he had what mattered.
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(A/N: Whew. That was a big one.
Now, just to be clear, Eclipso was possessing Captain Marvel, so if that wasn't clear, I apologise.
I'm hoping I covered all the clues that were laid out all over the place, and yes, it is a bit of stretch to believe that Eclipso would know that Flash would be able to follow them all, but hey, this is fiction, so… Nyah.
This is also the first time I've done chapter with so many fights going on at the same time, so be merciful if the pacing was a bit off. I've got to say, I was inspired by the insane fight that was the Teen Titans versus The Brotherhood of Evil in 'Titans Together'.
And there's an Epilogue to come, folks, so don't lose interest just yet.
Anyway, reviews are good.)