"We've gotten intel from one of our sources that Brainiac-" Batman was interrupted when the doors to the conference room were roughly shoved open with enough power to send it crashing into the wall.
Startled, the League stared in shock and disbelief at who had rudely interrupted an important Justice League meeting.
Amanda Waller, sterned faced, was standing at the now opened door looking at the occupations with determination.
"Amanda. We are in the middle of an important meeting." Batman crossed his arms, unimpressed.
Looking at him, She raised an equally unimpressed eyebrow. "And I'm a Black woman on an important mission of my own. Now," She turned from the Bat to address who she had come for. "Flash. I need you to deal with a situation."
Startled at being singled out, Flash blinked. "What situation?"
Amanda didn't skip a beat. "Two of the members of my 'injustice league' have managed to get out of my control."
"Wait, they got away from you, Alive?" Green Arrow was gaping in disbelief.
Ignoring him, she continued, "Captain Cold and Killer Frost have managed to get away, since they have mainly been seen in Central, I'm telling you, Flash, to capture them for me."
"Why do I have to catch them, again."
"Because you won't like the methods that I'd use to capture them. And I do have an actual job that I have to do as a high ranking official. I don't have time to chase those who escape my custody."
"And that's my job now?"
"Yes. As of now, Barry. That's exactly what you are going to do."
Eyes widening underneath his cowl, Barry's jaw dropped. "How-how-d-do-kn-"
Amanda smiled, teeth glistening like that of a shark that's found it's new prey. "There's a lot of things that I know. Not just about you, Mister Allen." she turned to the other shocked heroes, "But the rest of you as well."
She turned back to Flash. "I'd suggest that if you'd like to keep your secret identity a 'secret' you'll capture these two for me."
"So, you're basically going to blackmail me?" Flash was still reeling,
She raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, "What's it going to be, Allen. Are you in or are you out of the race?"
…
Flash knew that it wouldn't take him long to find where Cold was. All he had to do was run around the city until he saw him. Considering the freezing weather Central had been having as of late, it would be a bit of a challenge.
But he did end up finding him. Captain Cold, blue parka and all, was in the midst of a bank heist.
Flash stopped a little ways away from Cold, arms crossed, with his trademark snarky smile. "Back at it again aren't we, Cold?"
Cold, looked up from where he was looking at his watch, a smirk on his face. "Right on time, Flash. That's new. I'd usually have at least a few more seconds."
Flash felt the warmth that he'd built up with his run slowly fading. The chilly weather slowly made him sluggish. But Cold didn't need to know that.
Not losing his laid black posture or his smile, Flash shrugged. "You know. I wouldn't mind knowing how you managed to get away from Amanda Waller of all people."
The smile and the light atmosphere died instantly. Cold's body language stiffened. " I don't think there really is a method to it. Frost and I just got a lucky moment that the others didn't see nor take."
"Well, you know she's come to the Justice League so that we can bring you two back to her."
Cold let out an uncharacteristic snarl. "And since when did the Justice League become the lap dog of Amanda Waller! I thought you had some semblance of humanity, Scarlet. Guess I was wrong."
Without a moment's notice, Cold let out a blast from his cold gun, aiming right for Flash's chest. Unable to gain his composure from the cold, the villain's aim hit its target.
Letting out a grunt of surprise, Flash slid back from the force of the blow. Cold menacingly took a step forward, readying another blast, but was suddenly grabbed from behind and held in the air.
Getting a good look at his attacker, Cold groaned. "Well, shit. I didn't know you'd brought your flashlight friend."
Green Lantern stood beside Flash, using his ring to keep the villain occupied so he could check on his friend.
"Flash. Are you okay?"
He was shivering violently, "y-y-Yeah. J-J-just g-got t-to vibrate m-my m-molecules. T-t-To b-build u-up some h-heat."
Nodding, stood in front of his downed friend. "Well, Flash, once you're back on your feet, head off to find Killer Frost. I've got this one."
After a few more seconds, Flash was gaining back his lost energy. Quickly standing up, Flash took off to search for Frost.
Finding Frost was a more daunting challenge. He didn't know much about her so he didn't have anywhere in particular to look for her. Giving up on finding her in the city, he started to head for Keystone, maybe he could ask Jay for help.
A sudden wave of frost [pun intended. Fight me. Jk :) ] covered the bridge that parted the twin cities from one another.
Unable to stop, Flash's momentum caused him to fly over the edge of the bridge. In a panic, Flash scrambled to grab the side of the bridge to stop himself from falling over the edge. Finally he found some leverage.
"Come on, Barry. Pull yourself up. You've got a wife and nephew to go home to tonight. You can't lose now." Flash tried with all of the strength he had left to pull himself up but only managed in loosening his grip on the railing.
"No!" Crying out in terror, Flash wrapped his arms around the rail to keep himself steady. Sighing in relief, Flash heard his stomach growl. He groaned, "Oh come on. Not now!"
"Well, Well. What do we have here." A grungy, emotionless voice drifted over the roaring winds.
Flash looked up at the figure walking toward him. It was Killer Frost in all of her glory, arms crossed, blue lips curled up in a cruel smirk. "Feeling a little cold, Flash?"
Flash blew out a frustrated breath, completely done with this whole situation. "Fuck you!"
Killer Frost's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Huh. I guess even heroes react badly when they're in life or death situations."
Flash's face screwed up in pain as the rail scraped against his stomach. "Yeah, well. I've had a bad day."
She smiled, "Well, then. Allow me to make it even worse!" And with that she waved a hand and the rail became encased in a thicker layer of frost, making it difficult for anyone to grab onto.
With a gasp of alarm, Flash fell into the water without any time to gasp for air.
…..
His eyes burn, his body aches from the freezing cold water. His lungs give a strong protest against the water that continues to flood them.
Flash panics, thrashing to find the surface. But he doesn't seem to be making any progress.
His energy quickly drains, a combination of the freezing cold water and the lack of oxygen to his brain.
Hal, take care of Wally. Iris, know that I love you with my entire being. I'm sorry that I didn't come running home to you.
Those were the last words that ran through Flash's mind before he lost consciousness.
…
Firestorm landed on the other side of the bridge, where Killer Frost was lazily leaning over the railing, seeming to be looking at something.
"Hey, Frost. Are you ready to warm up?"
She smirked, her blue lips emphasizing her sharp, white teeth. "I'm not the one that needs to warm up, but Flash might." She pointed down in the direction where she was looking before.
Firestorm felt his blood freeze in his veins. Flash-Barry-was floating in the water below, blue and unmoving.
Thinking fast, Firestorm touched his com. "I need whoever's close to my location to head over. We've got a member down."
It didn't take long for him to get a response. "This is Superman. Who's down?"
"It's Flash. Killer Frost has managed to push him into the water it looks like. Not sure what the damage is, currently."
"Alright. Heading in your direction, now."
One situation handled, Firestorm turned back toward his other problem. "Alright, Killer Frost. Let's Dance!"
…
Superman landed near the bridge, using his x-ray vision to see where his friend was. Quickly finding him, He drove into the freezing water. Coming back up with his friend in his arms.
His suit had turned into a darker crimson. The exposed skin was a light blue color.
Laying him down, he focused so he could hear his heart. Not hearing one, Superman leaped into action. Quickly counting out 30 compressions before giving 2 breaths.
"Come on, Barry!" He whispered, hoping and praying he wasn't going to have to bury a friend today.
Finally, just when Superman was losing hope, Barry's body gave a violent jerk and he coughed up the water that was blocking his airways.
Sighing in relief, Superman looked down at his friend with a smile. "Glad to see your still with us, Buddy."
Barry gave a weak-almost unnoticeable smile in return.
End of Chapter.
