"Run this by me one last time. You allowed more than half my drug supply to be burned to the ground in less than a day!" Sean snarled, livid.
Yesterday was possibly the worst day he has ever had in his entire life when the particle accelerator was about to go online he found out he had some rats in his organization. One moment he was about to kill Tina's love interest right in front of her the next he somehow ended up on the street completely barred naked of any clothes.
Whoever is responsible for this will pay for the humiliation as soon as he deals with the person that burned all his drugs in one night.
The thug gulped it was never good when Sean is angry it usually means someone is going to get shot. "That's not all Boss."
"Tell me what could possibly be worse." Sean growled, fingers tightening on his desk.
"All of our dealers." He said in an almost whisper like tone just loud enough for Sean to hear him. "Have been arrested."
"Was it Tina and that boyfriend of her's?" Sean demanded, knuckles turning white with barely contained rage.
When he gets his hands on them he is going to kill them painfully and slowly.
The thug cleared his throat trying his best not to stutter. "N-no sir one of our boys inside the hospital right now claimed to have seen the man responsible for this left behind a note for you quoting and I quote "I do not like drug dealers this is a warning to all criminals that crime does not pay." He told his boss reading the note in his hand.
Sean would have snorted at the ridiculous notion if the situation wasn't so serious. "Is it the same guy who burned my shipment?"
The thug shrugged. "We're not sure yet boss but we're pretty sure there's a connection."
Sean sighed, his knuckles relaxed slightly no longer white but still having a tight lock on the desk. "If there's anything I've learned in this life it's that there is no such thing as a coincidence."
"There's more boss. "P.S. Would like to meet the man who beat up your second-rate goons." The thug read.
Sean raised an eyebrow. "It actually says that of course I want to meet him."
"Well, you wanted me here I am." A demonic voice spoke out suddenly appearing out of nowhere sending chills down everyone's.
Sean was on him in a moment acting purely on instinct, turning around to throw a punch at whatever or whoever was behind him before the creature grabbed his fist mid punch and uppercutted him in the jaw sending him flying over his desk.
Sean groaned in pain on the floor pushing himself back as everyone drew their weapons on the beast aiming at it.
Now that Sean was back up on his feet he expected this to be Batman he's the only one capable of causing so much damage to his operations in one night. He was everyone's worst nightmare in the criminal underworld, a name that is meant to be feared.
Sean didn't expect to meet this so-called Red Demon. He coined a bit on the nose considering what he was looking at was wearing red and had red glowing eyes but he found it to be very fitting. He couldn't see much of its face; all of it was just a blur of sorts. The red suit it was wearing had a white emblem with a bolt of yellow lightning on top of it.
Right now Sean isn't sure who he'd rather be dealing with the Batman or this Red demon standing before him.
"Who are you?" Sean demanded.
"Me? I'm the guy who put you several of your men in jail and the rest in prison." The demon said in amusement.
"That's not what I meant!" Sean snapped. "Who do you think you are coming in here threatening me?"
"Oh I'm just the guy who stripped you naked out on the street and burned all of your drugs." It casually states with a shrug.
Sean's eyes lit up in realization then his expression turned into one of enraged. "Gun this freak down."
There was no gun fired off forcing Sean to repeat himself. "I said-"
The creature raises its hand. "I'm sorry but who are you talking to?"
"My men of course-." Sean turned to see no one was behind him.
The creature chuckled sitting in his seat putting his legs on top of my desk crossing one leg with the other. "Please Sean sit, we have much to discuss."
Sean would have prefered to stand but common sense told him it wasn't a request. He was in no position to make demands he was no longer at the top of the food chain anymore.
This Red Death is the one who's got the power now.
"What do you want?" Sean questioned now seated.
"I was expecting more questions like: Who am I? What are you? Why are doing this? How did you find me? Not what do I want?" The Red Demon quibbed.
"Those are some of the questions I have." Sean slowly mumbled.
The creature stood up from his chair and began to pace around the desk. "To answer your questions: I go by many names: the Red Death, the Red Blur, or just the Blur. As to what I am to put it simply I'm a speeder, someone who is capable of moving faster than the speed of light. Why I am doing this is simple to keep people safe. How I found you was easy. All I had to do was follow your henchman who was delivering the message."
Everything made sense except the part about him moving faster than light. Sean will admit he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed but one did not make this far in his line of work by being stupid. He knew for a fact that moving faster than light is scientifically impossible and yet he could find no logical argument. It was the only thing that made sense. How he took out all his dealers and burned his shipments of drugs in a single night.
Sean desperately wishes it was the Batman he was dealing with not this Red Death after all at least the bat was human.
"What do you want from me?" Sean swallowed a lump that was about to form in his throat.
"Back to your first question, well it's quite simple I want you to stop endangering innocent people." The Red Death informed him.
Sean blinked. "That's it?"
"That's it." it confirmed.
The deal wasn't entirely unreasonable most of the time people look the other way when threatened or bribed to keep their mouths shut and there were some loopholes he can exploit in the arrangement.
"What happens if someone talks?" Sean asked. There is always the off chance he might run into one of the few people that can't be threatened or bought off.
"That's not really my problem is it? You're just going to have to find a solution that doesn't result to murder." The creature bluntly answered.
Sean frowned at this. Murder was like a rite of passage to getting inside an organization such as his.
"Do I have a choice?" He indignantly asked.
The Red Death tapped his chin as if considering his answer. "No, not really."
"And what happens if I refuse?" Sean boldly challenged sitting up.
"I'll beat the world record on how fast to take down a criminal organization." The Red Death responded, Sean's eyes widened. "Ah I see the gears turning inside your head. I'm pretty sure you're smart enough to know I am perfectly capable of doing it. So do we have a deal?" It held out his hand to shake.
Sean gnashed teeth in frustration. There were thousands of things he wanted to do to the Red Death right now. He wanted to shoot him, throat punch him, strangle him to death with his bare hands but acting with such irrationality will only incite the Red Death wraith. Something he would avoid.
He weighed the pros and cons of this agreement. If he agreed he would never have to worry about this Red Death ever again but he had to make sure no innocent people were hurt or killed which would complicate things if one of them couldn't be bribed or intimidated his entire operations would fall apart if they talked. If he refused his entire organization could be destroyed in less than a week and the worst part is he would be powerless to stop this Red Death.
That wasn't prideful, it was absurdly foolish. No patience is the key here he needs to bide his time he isn't going to forget what this Red Death did to him and one day he will have his revenge.
Sean huffed before sucking in a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself so he doesn't say something stupid. "Fine deal." He begrudgingly agreed, shaking its hand applying pressure to get a reaction out of him.
Sean scowled he couldn't see its expression but he was pretty sure it was grinning.
"Oh in case you decide to go back on our deal and I'll know if you did. I will shatter your spine, tearing off both your arms and legs, and shatter all your teeth ensuring your nothing more than dead weight for whoever wants to take care of you for the rest of your continued life." It calmly threatened him.
The message was clear he was not someone to be crossed.
XXX
That was fun. I can't believe how easy it was to find him. After I came back home I made sure Joe and Iris were both sound asleep so I could find Sean. I needed a solid alibi to throw off people's suspicions to keep my identity a secret. Some might say it's a bit too early to worry about such a thing since you're only just starting out but I rather be safe than sorry.
Oh I had no intention of keeping my word with Sean I'm pretty sure he isn't either I just need him off Dinah and Vince's backs. All I need is more time to collect enough evidence to convict him, Dinah and Vince's testimonies wouldn't hold up in court. I had few ideas but it's not going to be easy. Sean has money, influence, and resources. He's not really much of a threat to me but to Central City and the people who live in it. Very.
Now that OH MY GOSH it's 7:00 already. I had been looking for him for about 7 hours. I'm not too worried. I've got time before work starts. No what worries me is that I didn't get any sleep for the entire night probably because I drank at least seven cafenchios while following the messenger to the base or maybe it's because of my powers I don't know for sure I have read some of the comics and have seen the TV show but I don't remember anything about the Flash not needing any sleep.
I moved at Super Speed taking a quick shower, brushing my teeth, and then put on my work clothes walking down stairs.
Joe was at the stove cooking Breakfast while Iris was sitting at the table reading something on her laptop.
I walked up from behind Iris. "What are you reading?"
Iris jumped startled and turned her head, a hand on her chest. "Barry don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry." I sheepishly apologized, raising my hands in surrender.
Iris took a deep breath calming down."No It's okay." She reassures me.
"So what are you reading?" I asked genuinely curious.
"Umm just some rumor that someone put a blog titled Red Death: Man or Myth." Iris answered me.
"Well that's just great Star City has the Arrow, Gotham City has the Batman, and now Central City gets the Red Death." Joe sarcastically grumbled from the kitchen.
I raised an eyebrow. I never expected for rumors to spread about me so quickly let alone someone write a blog about me. I guess the old saying is true news travels fast.
"Yeah." Iris reluctantly agreed. "Four people have claimed that they got their asses kicked by a man in a red suit."
"And they named him the Red Death?" I remarked acting to be interested.
"No, one of them claimed to say that's what he called himself." Iris told me.
"Anyone who calls himself the Red Death has gotta be bad news." Joe walked over to the table giving me and Iris both a plate with some bacon and eggs on them.
I didn't blame Joe for thinking him to be evil. The Red Death is a supervillain's name to be fair. I chose Red Death mostly to drive Eobard crazy. He was a genius if there was one thing geniuses didn't like. It was not knowing something. The name is meant to inspire fear if Batman was right one thing it's that criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot.
Was I focusing a bit too much on Eobard? Perhaps. Was I overestimating Eobard's threat level? Maybe but I'd rather overestimate him than underestimate him.
"Don't think I've forgotten about the check up you need to take at STAR labs." Joe reminded me.
Oh yeah right I almost forgot I get to meet Killer Frost and Vibe. Sweet.
XXX
I was solely disappointed I don't know why but I expected STAR labs to look much cooler in real life sadly it wasn't meant to be. It was just the same as it was in the show.
"And last but not least we have our medical ward where we are keeping Wally." Dr. Wells showed us where Barry- or well me woke up in season one except it was Wally who was comostosed in that bed not me.
He had recommended giving us a tour of the facility before checking to see if I had super speed. It was true I eluded to the fact that people might develop superpowers which isn't hard to believe considering Black Lightning existed on this Earth in 2009 before upping and vanishing without a trace. Eobard couldn't raise suspicion to himself without having vital proof I had super speed so it will take more than a few simple tests to prove it.
"How's Wally doing?" Joe asked Cisco and Caitlin who were looking him over.
Cisco turned and clapped his hands together with a smile on his face. "Well we've got both good news and bad news. I'm sorry but who is your friend here?" He then noticed me and asked, pointing a finger at me.
"Oh, I'm Barry Allen." I introduced myself shaking his hand.
"Cisco Roman." He firmly shook my hand with a friendly smile. "Your the guy who came up with the theory that people would develop from the dark matter wave released by the particle accelerator."
"Which is absolutely preposterous." Caitlin scoffed.
"And you are?" I asked.
"Dr. Caitlin Snow." She introduced herself. Huh? She still has her cold demeanor knowing Ronnie is alive but to be fair he is in a coma so the chances of him waking up are slim so it's understandable. Or maybe she is just showing some professionalism?
"Yeah Barry's theory was preposterous until now." Cisco chided shooting Caitlin, a look of disapproval taking a pad that showed Wally's vitals.
"Okay so what you're saying Wally's vitals are stabilizing." Joe guessed, staring at the pad Cisco showed him.
"Yes but not only that his burns have healed." Cisco informed him.
"How is that possible?" Joe asked, looking both stunned and relieved.
"It's not." Dr. Wells told him. Finally talking for the first time since we entered the room. "It's possible our friend Wally might have developed the ability to heal from any wound like Mr. Allen here theorized."
Joe walked over to Wally's bedside removing the bandage covering his face. He touched his son's smooth skinned face to make sure it wasn't an illusion of some kind. "Is he going to wake up?"
"Yes but we're not sure when he could wake in a few weeks, months, maybe even years." Dr. Wells admitted.
"Hey Joe, you gonna be okay?" I asked in concern, putting a hand on the man's shoulder.
"I'll be fine at least I have hope that Wally is going to wake up." Joe assured me with a broken smile.
"Mr. Allen." Dr. Wells called to my attention. "Why don't we leave Detective West alone with his son while we perform some tests?"
"Sure and please call me Barry." I requested.
"Very well." He allows, leading me to learn whether or not I've got superspeed.
XXX
"Have you begun to experience anything unnatural?" Dr. Wells asked, looking me directly in the eye as if daring me to lie.
"No." I flatly answered with a deadpan expression Dr. Wells has asked the same question for like the 7th time in a row.
"Dr. Wells if Barry was experiencing any extraordinary abilities we would know." Caitlin interjected looking almost annoyed as I am with the questioning.
"Yes I suppose we would." He conceded not taking his eyes off of me.
"So have men in hazmat suits come in and storm this place yet." I inquired trying to make conversation.
Dr. Wells shook his head with an amused smile. "No nothing like that has happened yet thankfully."
"Speaking from experience?" I asked.
Cisco snorted. "Experience is putting it mildly."
"What do you mean?" I asked, turning to Cisco who didn't answer looking unable to decide whether answering the question was a good idea or not.
"STAR labs had a contract with the military." Dr. Wells explained.
I raised an eyebrow. "Had?"
"Long story short, Mr. General Wade wanted to turn a gorilla into a Jedi. We shut the project down after the inhumane experiments done to Grodd." Cisco explained.
"Grodd?" I questioned.
"It's the name we decided to give him." Caitlin answered.
"Is he still here?" I asked.
Wells looked at Caitlin for an answer before turning to Cisco.
Cisco snapped his fingers. "I knew I was forgetting something."
XXX
We found Grodd's cage or what's left of it.
"Is anyone else getting Planet of the Apes vibe here or is it just me?" Cisco asked, breaking the tension in the room.
"No you're not the only one." I said in agreement since I knew down the lane exactly what he was going to become and I dreaded the encounter with Grodd.
That makes me wonder, do I have immunity to telepathy in the comics? If not I need to work on a way to keep people from entering my mind. There are a number of people who have telepathy in this world. The only ones I'm worried about are Martian manhunter and Gorilla Grodd. They are some of the most powerful telepaths.
I'm not worried about the Martian manhunter. I doubt he would invade in some else's personal privacy depending on which version I'm dealing with.
The Telepath that worries me are ones like Grodd. I have no idea what he might do with that information.
Worst case scenario he might try to blackmail me which won't work even if Grodd does tell them he'll look like a total loon or perceived as an attempt at manipulation.
Best case scenario his entire reality will be shattered when he learns he is just a character invented by pop culture.
I was at loss because I truly have no idea how Grodd would react. There was always something about that made him seem unpredictable.
"Well it appears the Particle accelerator gave our friend Grodd here some supernatural abilities." Dr. Wells remarked.
"My money's on super strength how else he could have broken out of this cage." Cisco reasoned.
"No it wasn't super strength." I argued.
Cisco looked at me. "How else do you explain the shattered cage?"
"For one if it was super strength Grodd would have pried the bars open this looks like a bomb went off in here." I retorted.
"Wait, so your saying Grodd gained the ability to create explosions out of thin air. Awesome." Cisco excitedly said with a smile his smile faltered when he was getting the deadpan stares from Caitlin and Dr. Wells. "Umm not awesome that sounds very dangerous."
I fought the urge to facepalm. "No Cisco Grodd doesn't have the ability to make bombs even if he did, there's no explosive residue here. Grodd was subjected to experiments to give soldiers telekinetic abilities correct?"
"Yes." Dr. Wells confirmed. "Grodd must have used his new powers to break himself out."
"But even if he did that would require a lot of brain power unless…." Caitlin trailed off.
"Unless the explosion amplified his intelligence." Cisco finished in realization. "Great this definitely planet of the apes happening right here."
That was not a comforting thought having a gorilla on the loose with the power of telepathy.
"Well this certainly has been educational for all of us." Dr. Wells dryly said.
My phone rang in my pocket. Captain Singh was calling me.
"Yes sir." I answered.
"Barry we need you down-uptown immediately." Singh urgently said over the phone.
Uptown? That's the first most of the time it is usually downtown.
"What's the emergency? Sir." I inquired.
"I'm not sure yet but it looks to be arson." Singh answered.
I swallowed. "Is it a warehouse?"
"Yeah hold on how do you know that?" Singh asked, confused in his tone.
I mentally slapped myself for the slip up.
"Lucky guess." I hung up not giving him a chance to ask any further questions.
I looked at the still pre-team Flash. "Sorry I've got to go there's a problem at work."
Dr. Wells smiled. It was most likely intended to be friendly and warming but it just seemed plain creepy to me. "Of course you're more than welcome to visit your step brother Wally any time here at STAR labs and should you display any unusual abilities let us know immediately so we can help each other gain a better understanding of them."
"Of course." Not
XXX
'Isn't this just lovely returning to the scene of the crime like some common criminal.' I thought bitterly
The warehouse had no structural damage on the outside and most of the interior is undamaged.
The boxes I sprayed in gasoline a majority of them were charred black and few hadn't been touched by the fire.
I'm not worried my goal was to get Sean's attention onto the Red Death and burning his drugs seemed like the best way to get him severely pissed off.
Ralph was currently interviewing one of the workers of this place
"What happened here?" I inquired, getting his attention.
"What do you think? A fire happened." The worker plainly responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
I rolled my eyes. "I know a fire happened. I want to know what caused a fire."
"We found traces of gasoline." Ralph informed. "So we know this was intentional. I was about to ask what was inside the boxes."
"Nothing in those crates, just some new dolls were shipping." The worker said a bit too quickly.
I raised an unimpressed eyebrow. I didn't even need super hearing to know that was a lie.
"Really so you won't mind if I…." I began digging my hands through one of the burnt boxes
"Hey wait you can't just-"
"Actually he can." Ralph intercepted, stopping him in place. "This place is a crime scene and whatever is in those boxes."
I finally managed to feel something other than styrofoam and pull it out revealing a green liquid vial. Oddly enough I expected cocaine or crack not whatever this is.
"Interesting." I mused twisting the green liquid vial in front of me. "Mind telling me what this is."
"I-Its p-perfume." He stuttered. "Perfume and dolls that's it."
Ralph and me gave him a tired stare that said 'I've had enough of your bullshit.'
"Okay then you won't mind if I take whiff." I proceeded to open the vial
"Don't open that!" A familiar voice shouted causing me and Ralph to turn.
"Dinah Drake?" I stated in surprise I didn't think she'd be back on her feet so quickly.
"Yeah you're lucky I was here otherwise you would be in the morgue." She bluntly replied.
"Why?" I questioned, curious. "Is it some type of poison?"
"Worse." Dinah hissed. "It's called viper, just one sniff of that stuff and you would be dead within 12 hours."
Viper? How on earth did Sean get his hands on the substance?
Ralph began to glare at the worker. "I think you better start explaining things. Now."
"I…."
"I'd suggest you start talking or unless you rather be arrested on the charge of being in possession of illegal drugs." Dinah coldly threatened.
"I had no idea there were drugs in there!" He defended.
"If that's true then better start talking." I responded.
"Alright, alright." The worker relented. "Some guy came to me about a few weeks ago talking about how I would be interested in making a quick buck."
"You've been taking bribes!" Ralph accused.
The worker raised his hands in a pacifying manner. "I did no such thing. I turned down his offer but somehow he must have got to somebody else. I had no idea, I swear!"
"Then why the lies?" I interrogated.
"Well it's complicated…." He trailed off.
"Answer the question." Dinah snapped.
"When one of my co-workers attempted to report someone tried to bribe us he mysteriously disappeared a few days later." He answered
"Who's your boss?" I inquired.
"Simon Stagg." He informed me.
Dinah crossed her arms. "Do you think Stagg is aware the crates contain viper?"
He shrugged. "I don't know."
Dinah gestured for me and Ralph to follow her to talk someplace more quiet.
"So what do you think?" Dinah asked us.
"I think this might be bigger than just Sean." I decided to go with my honest opinion.
"Yeah I think so too." Dinah agreed.
"Still though, any idea why he would deal with a piece of scum like Sean?" Ralph questioned
I frowned. That was a very good question I couldn't fathom any reason why Stagg would consider working with somebody like Sean. What does Stagg gain out of this?
"Dinah!" Captain Singh shouted, moving over to us. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you were supposed to be at home resting."
Dinah scowled. "I'm fine. The doctors already looked me over and I'm expected to make a full recovery
"Jesus Dinah you just got out of the hospital you shouldn't even be on your feet." Singh scolded.
"Barry just got out of the hospital and he seems to be doing just fine." Ralph unhelpfully added.
Singh glared at him. "Not helping Ralph."
"Exactly if Barry's good enough to work then there should be no reason why I can't." Dinah argued.
"Dinah." Singh tried to reason. "I'm sorry but the case involving Sean is over."
Dinah gaped at him. "You can't actually be serious. Vince and I spent three months undercover."
"I know." Sean sympathized with an understanding look. "I know how long the two of you had spent trying to nail him but I'm sorry unless you have physical evidence against Sean. I can't in good conscience allow you back on this case."
"Sir wait minute." I stepped in. "If we want to have any chance of catching Sean we need Detective Drake's help."
"Her testimony is-"
"I'm not talking about her testimony." I intercepted. "The information she learned about Sean and his operations could prove inconsequential. We might not be able to arrest him yet but we can make his life a nightmare."
"Yeah." Singh turned to see Dinah had her arms crossed with a smirk. "And the only way I'm giving the information is if you let me back on the case."
Singh turned to Dinah. "If this was anyone else I would have you take in a leave of absence." He sighed. "Do what you need to do."
"Thank you." Dinah replied, turning to me. "You didn't have to do that but it was really brave of you standing up to captain Singh like that."
"You were right Sean can't be allowed to get away with this." I honestly said.
"You're damn right he can't." Dinah agreed. "Especially what he was planning to do."
"I didn't think Sean was the type of person who had any plans." I snarked.
Dinah snorted. "Neither did I but apparently this is bigger than a simple drug smuggling operation."
Ralph whistled. "No kidding. Any clue where he might be holding more of this viper"
"There were." Dinah informed. "Several other warehouses were hit like this one. I guess Sean didn't want to leave anything to chance. It is odd that he hasn't…."
"What's odd?" Ralph asked.
"Sean isn't the type to leave loose ends. I'm just surprised he hasn't sent anyone to take care of me and Vince." She said take care of so casually as if she wasn't talking about someone planning to kill her.
"Is Sean going to be alright?" I asked, concerned.
Dinah stiffened. "I don't know."
She was hiding her emotions well but I could see Dinah was heartbroken to what happened to Sean. I only hoped she was doing this out of justice for her duty as a cop not out of revenge for what happened to Vince.
"Ralph, why don't you keep an eye on Vince?" I suggested.
Ralph groaned. "Why do I have to be the babysitter?"
"Because a man's life is in danger. You're not just gonna leave him and throw him to the wolves. Are you?" I questioned.
I felt bad about guilt tripping Ralph but someone needed to keep an eye in case anyone tried to kill him in his sleep or worse he decides to go on a massive killing spree as the Vigilante
Honestly I never really understood his motivations for deciding to become a criminal. I can only guess his reasoning. I think he believed Dinah was dead like she believed he was dead and became so frustrated with the system he decided he had enough of criminals getting off easy and decided to take the law into his own hands.
I could understand his reasoning if it was true but his methods resulted in innocent people just as it did criminals.
Oliver killed his share of criminals, but he would never kill an innocent man or at least never on purpose. I could hardly fault him for his ruthlessness in the criminal underworld Oliver was trying to break out of his kill or be killed world mentality after surviving for 5 years with people trying to kill him left and right.
That was the distinct difference between Oliver and Vince.
Vince would ruthlessly kill any criminal out there no matter what crimes they commited or how high the cost is.
Oliver is far from perfect but he always tried his best to strive to be a better person.
"Of course not." Ralph sounded highly offended. "I would never abandon one of my fellow officers."
"That protecting Vince from potential harm shouldn't be a problem." I retorted.
Ralph slumped his shoulders in resignation. "Alright fine."
I felt more at ease now I know Vince would be in safe hands.
XXX
Three words I hate paperwork.
You may be wondering don't you have super speed can't you just rush through it all in seconds.
Yes It might be done in seconds to an outside view but to my new precipitation of time it takes hours to get done.
"Red tape and bureaucracy will always be an officer's greatest weakness." I grumbled under my breath.
We get more of the stuff than even Gotham City thanks to our esteemed leader Mayor Bellows.
He claims the extra paperwork is to ensure protocol and procedure are followed to the letter but I know better than that. He intentionally uses the red tape to his advantage to cover up his dirty little dealings and to make police work slower.
It made me wonder why I didn't already get Bellows removed from office then again I have been focusing a bit too much on the major villains down the line. It has distracted me from more of the current problems plaguing Central City.
Although comparing Bellows with the rest of them he's just an annoying parasite fighting for scraps.
'It's your lucky Mayor Bellows. It looks like you get to remain in office just a little while longer.' I thought.
As much as I would like to deal with Bellows right now I still have the matter of Sean to worry about.
I can't allow him to get viper out on the streets or else it'll be absolute chaos.
The good news is I've done him a lot of major damage and cost him money.
The bad news is I have no idea if there is anymore of it. If there is he's most likely keeping it under tight lock and key especially after dealing with the Red Death.
That means he won't be distributing it anytime soon or he'll just find another way to do it.
Sean isn't stupid he'll most likely edge on the side of caution but then again people can surprise you. He might decide to forego all common sense just to get his revenge.
Secretly I was leaning towards the latter for him to do something stupid it seemed a bit unlikely but hey one can hope.
"So much to get done and not enough time." I said out loud, tapping my finger on the front desk.
The irony of that statement has never been truer. I am literally living on borrowed time. I've got six years until the crisis event happens 11 depending on whether or not I can stop Thawne from screwing with the timeline like he always does.
I paused. I've been making changes to the timeline. No this is not me admitting to be a hypocrite just like Thawne. Technically I haven't time traveled and I have no intention of doing so any time soon. I have no idea of what the changes I have made will affect the timeline.
It's too bad I don't have anything that can let me see a glimpse into the future oh wait I have something exactly like that.
"Gideon." I spoke to my earpiece. "Could you hack into Thawne's secret room?"
"I already have." A newspaper showcasing the Flash Vanishes During Crisis 2024, April 17th I couldn't see Gideon's expression right but I'm pretty sure it had a smug smirk.
"He didn't detect you?" I asked, wanting to be sure.
Gideon did an unseen eye roll. "Give me some credit Barry. Thawne for someone claiming to be so smart can be rather lazy in his security."
Or it could simply be a trick elaborated by Thawne to lure me into a false sense of security. I shook my head.
A little paranoia every now and then never hurts anybody but too much of it can be unhealthy.
The last thing I want is to end up as the Flash version of the Batman just you know without all of his homicidal murdering tendencies.
I'm simply trying to be my own hero in this universe. I don't want to be the exact same replica of the Flash.
I heard footsteps coming. I reacted quickly, turning off my computer no need for anyone to see a virtual newspaper predicting one possible future.
"Barry Captain Singh wants to speak with you down in his office." An officer came in to inform me. "He says it is of utmost importance."
I sighed and stood up from my seat. "Did he say what it was about?"
The cop just shrugged. "Don't know."
I wondered briefly if I might be in trouble for getting Dinah involved with the case.
Nah Singh is plenty of things but petty isn't one of them.
XXX
"You said you needed to talk with me Sir?" I respectfully inquire taking a seat.
Singh had his hands on his hip and shoulders were tense. "Yes we need to talk about Dinah and her being on this case."
I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not in trouble am I?"
Singh chuckled his shoulders relaxing slightly. "No under normal circumstances I would allow Dinah on this case but…."
"But?" I asked.
"But I'm concerned Dinah might be letting her personal feelings get in the way."
"You're worried she might go looking for revenge because of what happened to her partner." I concluded.
Singh nodded, looking grim. "Yes his injuries were far more severe than Dinah's. He received the worst punishment out of the two of them."
I forced down an uncomfortable lump forming in my throat. "Will he live?"
Singh sighed. "I don't know doctors say he's been in and out of consciousness."
Maybe I should have allowed Sean to get shot at least his power would have ensured he'd be alive. No if I did that he would have become the vigilante in STAR City as the old saying goes it is better to die a hero than live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
Vince might make it or he might not only time will tell.
"Which is why I need you to keep an eye on her." Singh continued.
"You're asking me to spy on her." I stated in surprise.
Singh stiffened. "Spy isn't the word I would use but yes."
I felt conflicted on what Singh is asking me to do.
On one hand I understood Singh's reasoning; he did this out of concern for Dinah and wanted me to prevent her from doing something she would regret.
On the other hand I greatly disagreed with the idea of spying on a friend even if it is for the right reasons.
Singh must have noticed my discomfort. "Look Allen, you don't have to tell me anything, just be there for Dinah in case she does anything reckless."
"Alright sir I will do it." I reluctantly accepted.
"Good." He nodded. "Dinah get in here!"
I didn't even notice Dinah was nearby until she came inside Captain Singh's office.
I guess that's why Singh allowed her to go undercover. She's very good at hiding in plain sight.
"Do we have a lead against Sean?" Dinah impatiently asked.
"Yes." Singh affirmed. "That's why I'm assigning you with CSI Barry Allen."
"Umm no offense sir I won't question Barry skills as a Forensic scientist but when it comes to out on the field he's not exactly…." Dinah trailed off looking for a way to gently put it.
"Street cop material." I offered.
"Yeah that's exactly what I meant."
Singh leaned forward on his desk. "I understand how you might feel Barry is a liability but everyone else is far too busy dealing with the fall out of the particle accelerator explosion."
Singh wasn't even lying about it when I came here; the CCPD was almost non-existent among police officers inside the station.
Dinah sighed. "Fine but if he gets into trouble that's on him not on me."
"Relax Detective Drake criminals are usually the ones who need protection from me." I boasted.
Dinah rolled her eyes. She probably thought my words were fodder nothing more. I'll admit it might seem a bit arrogant of me but I'm probably one of the most dangerous beings on the planet (Except Eobard, Ultraman, Wonder Woman, and possibly Brainiac.) But I think It's a little justified since I travel faster than light.
XXX
The car stopped. A car I am literally the fastest man alive and I am being forced to ride in a car to keep my identity a secret.
"What's so special about Central City's docks?" Dinah inquired exiting the car door. Thankfully we had finally arrived. "As far as I know he never hid any of his drugs here."
I proceeded to do the same. "Well Sean can't run an empire on just drugs he must use other ways to get money."
"Or there is another option we haven't tried yet." Dinah suggested.
"Like what?" Curious to see where she is going with this.
"I know a few of Sean's places we can hit who knows maybe catch him red handed." She informed me.
"Not a bad idea but first let-"
"Get down!" Dinah hissed, moving us behind some crates.
I looked at her in confusion. "What is it?"
"It's Sean." Dinah said with a barely contained growl. "He's here and meeting with some guy."
"Some guy?" I looked up from the crates to see who Dinah is staring at.
"Simon Stagg." I stated in shock. Out of all the people I expected to see tonight he wasn't one of them.
Dinah looked at me in confusion. "Who?"
"Simon Stagg the pharmaceutical magnet." I informed her. "He's made several advances in the genetic fields."
Dinah raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he that the worker's boss?"
"Yeah." I affirmed. The two men were talking but I couldn't make out what they were saying.
I spoke in the quietest hush voice I could muster. "Gideon is there a phone you can hack to listen in on their conversation."
"Of course Barry." I heard static coming in then I started to hear two voices.
"I paid you good money to get viper out on the streets."
"Oh apologies you're majesty but we ran into a little trouble."
"I couldn't care less about whatever feuds you have between your rivals."
"It's not a feud we ran into someone who calls themself the Red Death."
"The Red Death?"
Dinah began to reach for her gun but I stopped her. "Don't." Finger to my lips.
"I'm not gonna let this go." Dinah spat. "I have the chance to catch Sean now."
"On what charges?" I retorted. "As far as we know this is just a conversation between two people."
Dinah scowled but took her hand off the sidearm.
"He's the one who destroyed all the viper you gave us."
"All of it? I find that hard to believe."
"It's true! He could move super fast one moment he was over there the next he was somewhere else."
Laughter was heard in the earpiece. "That's harillous. You should really consider doing stand up."
"I'm serious! How else could he destroy the viper so quickly."
"Alright I'll humor you Sean hypothetically speaking if this Red Death could move at super speed. How is that my problem?"
"What?!"
"I'm gonna send you a new shipment of drugs. I expect you to get this out on the streets by tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?!" Sean exclaimed so loudly I could hear it from here. "Even if all my dealers weren't inside jail it would take me at least a few weeks."
"Then dump it into the water supplies if you have to." He casually shrugged. "I don't want excuses. I want results."
I froze. Just the scent of viper could kill a person in 12 hours. I don't want to imagine the death tolls if that stuff gets into Central City's water supply.
Sean surprisingly mirrored a similar expression. He may be a criminal but he at least had standards. "Are you insane?! That would kill thousands of people."
"A few thousands of people dying is negligible." He waved it off. "Should the experiment we are attempting prove fruitful it would save millions of lives."
So this Simon Stagg is more of an amoral scientist than a corrupt businessman, interesting. I silently mused.
All of the variations I have seen of Simon the most familiar one is that he's a corrupt businessman who steals other people's work out of greed to profit from more money. This one appears to be more of a scientist that has no regard for human life seeing them as nothing more than test subjects for experiments.
"Science experiment?! Is that how you see people? As nothing more than a statistic!" Sean screamed.
If Dinah could hear them talking she might actually agree with Sean.
"Yes." Simon admitted, unblinkingly. "That is what the unexceptional and unimportant individuals are supposed to be, statistics used for the few exceptional individuals in society. You Sean I'm afraid in the grand scheme of things are not one of those few exceptional people."
Okay definitely the Green Goblin's twisted sense of morality.
"You son of a-
Simon wagged his finger in a condescending fashion. "I would advise against doing anything stupid. Remember I'm the one who is paying you."
Sean gnashed his teeth together. "Oh don't worry I remember."
"Good." Simon smugly smirked. Satisfied he won. "Now about your bogeyman I have just the man who can take care of him." He handed him something. I'm not sure what. I couldn't see it from this distance.
Sean gaped. "Do you have any clue how expensive it is to hire someone like him? He takes assination not guard duty."
"You forget this is an assination." Simon reminded him. "And you don't need to worry about expenses. I'll take care of them if this so called Red Death turns out to be real."
"He's real." Sean stubbornly said.
"Whatever." He uncaringly replied. "Just make sure you get the job done."
"Now's our chance." Dinah declared, pulling her sidearm from her hip.
Great, now I was in a dilemma. I wanted to follow Stagg. I know he is the one responsible for all of this but I promised Captain Singh to keep an eye to make sure she doesn't do anything too drastic. Sean as it is now is simply a middle man.
I really hate these types of situations.
"Wait Dinah." I grabbed her arm, getting an impatience and annoyed look. "Maybe we should split up, one of us follows Simon and the other Sean."
"Stagg isn't the one were supposed to arrest." She whispered.
"I know but there might be more going on here than we know. Stagg could know something." I argued.
Dinah sighed. "Fine but I'm going after Sean and you can follow Stagg."
"Alright then just…." I trailed off.
"Just what?!" She snapped.
"Bring him in by the book."
Dinah looked stunned before her expression turned furious. "Barry I am pissed what happened to Vince but I swore an oath to uphold the law and I will uphold that oath."
I winced. "Sorry Dinah I didn't-"
"I know you didn't mean it like that." She cut off and calmed down. "Barry I know Singh had you come with me to keep me in check." She chuckled at my surprised expression. "I'm a detective for a reason."
"He's just worried about you and so am I." I reasoned.
She sighed. "Look I get it but right now we have a job to do."
Mr. Stagg was climbing into an expensive black sports car and driving away. I expected a limozne but then that would look too conspicuous and out of place.
Stagg is a bit full of himself but he's no idiot.
I ran off following the vehicle down the street using whatever debre or structures that were near to keep out of his line of sight.
I resist the temptation to groan in annoyance whenever he stops at a red light. I've always been very impatient but now with super speed that impatience is times 10.
"Gideon is there anything on Stagg's phone you can find?" I whispered.
"Simon possesses a number of apps such as instagram, facebook account, and surprisingly Candy Crush." Gideon snarked.
I facepalmed. "I meant any useful information."
"I am sorry Barry but any attempts to hack into his more private servers would result in a security alert." Gideon informed me.
"Why not?" I asked in confusion. "I programmed to hack faster than even Felicity Smoak. You should be able to cut through whatever firewalls like butter."
"It is true firewalls to me are nothing more than a small obstacle in my path." Gideon said with a hint of smug superiority. "But they've installed a digital backdoor to track anyone attempting to hack security."
"So I have to hack into it manually." I concluded.
That meant getting onto Stagg's computer inside the Stagg tower in his office.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, Barry." Gideon apologized.
"It's okay." I assured her. "This means I won't have to follow him. You did good."
I had two ways I could approach this. I could interrogate Simon right here and now Batman style as the Red Death.
Option B I break into Stagg's office and access his computer
Nah why even bother with decisions after all I'm fast enough to do both of them. I'll just access his computer and then interrogate Stagg for information.
I took a left turn rocketing towards the Stagg tower. I arrived at the towering structure. The sudden halt caused me to trip and almost fall before I regained my balance.
Smoking came from shoes on fire forcing me to stomp them out. I made a mental note to create a pair of shoes to withstand me moving at high velocity speeds.
I need to be careful there are a lot of people inside the building and I haven't completely mastered control of my speed.
Which is why I'm gonna phase my way to the top.
I don't remember if the Flash ever could phase and run at the same time but now might be a good time as any to test my limits.
I moved up the stairs vibrating through people in my paths until I finally reached the top floor to Stagg's office.
"You've got to be kidding me." I scowled in frustration.
Stagg's computer required voice identification, Retina eye scan, and a DNA thumbprint looks like I was right about the part Stagg having additional security
"Simon Stagg." I said in a perfect imitation of his voice.
"Voice calibration confirmed." The computer recognized.
I smirked. You might be wondering how did you pull off that magic trick. It's simple really, my vocal cords are able to vibrate at different frequencies so I figured that would give me the ability to copy people's voices. It wasn't hard to do. You just needed to practice speaking who's voice you wanted to speak and then bam you sound like the person you are imitating.
The Fingerprint was easy. The keyboard is littered with them.
All I need is a retina scan. The only problem is that how am I going to get myself an eye scan.
"Barry Mr. Stagg has just entered the building. He is already inside the elevator as we speak." Gideon warned me.
I smirked. Maybe instead I should let the Retina scan come to me.
XXX
Stagg let out a long exasperated sigh as he finally entered his office and carelessly threw his briefcase on the desk.
He took a swing of his favorite scotch, the warm liquid calming his nerves of a long stressful day and slumping in his seat oh how he hated when things didn't go according to plan.
When he hired Sean he gave him one simple task to sell his experimental new steroid drug to the criminal underworld.
It was a win-win type of deal in his opinion he gets to test his drug and Sean profits from it.
Money makes the world go round. That phrase only holds truth to it because the world is full of short sighted buffoons.
Criminals like Sean are one of these short sighted buffoons. Stagg thought with mild distaste.
The only thing he cares about is money and how much he can make out of it.
Stagg wasn't like everyone else he was no short sighted buffoon anyone with half a brain that power runs the world not money.
It is true money grants one influence and power but wealth is meaningless if you do not have the power to use it.
That is why he is using Sean to test his high fatality rate and more unstable performance enhancers normal advances in human testing would take far too long and don't even get him started on the FDA drug administration.
It would take him years to accelerate the project he is working on but by the time it was successful it would be too late however, with Sean's help he would be cutting the project into months in what would take in years.
Stagg drummed his fingers against the desk and began to notice something odd. "That's odd I was certain-"
Stagg didn't get a chance to finish as he was hit on the back of the head.
XXX
That was close. I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep up the invisible phasing trick. Yeah I really need to work on my endurance. I may be fast but I lack the experience Eobard has from years of honing his abilities and skills.
I opened Stagg's left eye towards the Retina scan and a blue light flashed over it.
"Welcome Mr. Stagg." The computer greeted me.
The screen showed password required
I removed Stagg from his chair and sat down in it.
"Now if I was an Humanitarian Billionaire what would I choose as my password." I mused.
I supertyped some of the more obvious ones: Genetics, Humanitarian, Biochemistry, date of birth and even his own name.
I finally got it right on the 2777th try when the computer finally said password accepted.
I clicked on the document that was titled Research Projects.
Other than some work on new experimental drugs used to treat cancer I found nothing incriminating.
I finally hit the button when I found a document called Project Viper.
There you are.
I clicked on the document revealing recordings and research notes.
I picked recordings revealing over a dozen audio recordings perhaps near a hundred.
What have you been doing Mr. Stagg.
I pressed the play button on the first audio record.
"Experiment one, featuring Dr. Simon Stagg. Nine subjects, all of them failures. Their bodies were either too weak to handle the formula or the mental instability caused by viper forced them to be euthanized. Subject 10 shows much more promising results than all the others I will explain in more detail in my next report."
Why are you doing this Simon? What could possibly be so important that you would risk dealing with criminals?
I listened to the next audio recording.
"Experiment two, featuring Dr. Simon Stagg. Remarkable simply remarkable subject 10 shows an almost 500% increase in strength unfortunately subject 10 did not last long." A disappointed sigh was heard. "It appears while the growth hormone eliminated any fat inside the body and made the subject in peak physical perfection I forgot to take into account the unforeseen genetic abnormalities in changing the body's biochemistry on a cellular level."
Is Stagg trying to create this universe's own supersoldier serum?
I would have to look at this all later. I've been gone long enough and Dinah is expecting me back by now.
I inserted a USB drive downloading the files.
I turned to Stagg's unconscious form, eyes glowing with red electricity. It's gonna take a while to download all the files in the meantime Central City's Red Death will be having a nice chit chat with everyone's favorite humanitarian.
XXX
Stagg groaned, reaching to rub his eyelids. "What happened….?"
"Wake up." A deep voice commanded.
Stagg panicked when he realized he was hanging upside down from the top of a build.
He looked up and saw a man in a Red suit, his eyes glowing red cracking with electricity like the pits of hell. The most distinguishing feature about him was white lightning bolt emblem on his chest.
"What d-do you w-want?" Stagg stammered, terrified of this man.
"Answers." The red eyed man growled. "And every time I think you're lying you get a jolt of electricity, each one more powerful than the last. Understand?"
Simon seethed with rage. "Do you have any idea who you'-"
"Wrong answer."
Electricity sparked from the Red suited man spreading to Simon. He suttered as he felt red electricity shock him it was more of a (No pun intended) shock than it was painful to him.
"Now you are going to start by telling me everything about project viper."
"How do you know about that?!" Stagg demanded. The project is top secret only people who are really high up and himself can know about it.
"I'm the one asking the questions. Now talk."
"Forget it." Simon sneered. "I would-"
Stagg screamed the electricity this time was more intense than the last one causing him actually pain than a little jolt.
"Again you keep refusing to answer my questions." The red-eyed man said in disappointment. "Perhaps you need a little bit more incentive. Oh I know how about we test the limits how much electricity your body can handle before your heart begins to flatline."
Simon's eyes widened in horror, he quickly shook his head. "No wait you don't have to do that!"
The Hell Spawn seemed to be considering it. "I don't know you were pretty against answering my questions a few seconds ago."
"Project Viper its a-an attempt at creating a super soldier." Stagg confessed.
That got the man's interest at least for the moment. "Go on."
"They wanted to destroy the original viper serum. Can you believe it?! Destroy!" Stagg ranted on like a mad scientist. "The serum has the potential to be so much more."
"Is that why you ordered Sean to poison the city as your own twisted science experiment?" He demanded.
Stagg didn't even look surprised at me mentioning his accomplice. "I required more research data; it would take too long through ethical human testing."
"So you decided to use other means through illegal human testing without anyone's consent." He concluded with barely contained rage. "Why is it so important to accelerate project viper so quickly?"
Stagg shook his head. "No, we're done that's all you're getting from me."
The Red Death lifted him up so they were face to face. "Tell me why or else the next electric shock will make a lightning bolt feel like a pin prick."
"Hurt me as much as you want but I ain't talking." Stagg defied.
I looked directly in his eyes. "I believe you."
The last thing Simon saw was the Red Death headbutting him as darkness consumed him.
XXX
Things were escalating far too quickly.
When I started this I expected to be dealing with a drug lord plain and simple.
Not a mad scientist like Simon Stagg poisoning the city as a way to advance research in creating a super soldier serum. There were many things I would call him but I never thought crazy would be one of them.
Was this a result to one of my many changes to the timeline? Did it cause a ripple effect? Or was this bound to happen no matter what?
Either way the Red Death might have to make his public debut a lot sooner than intended.
Author Notes: Hello everyone I've finally got another of Flash SI: Changing Fate. This chapter I was unsure how I wanted to move the story forward. There were just so many directions I wanted to take until I finally decided which one I wanted to go. Now we are really beginning to diverge from the original tv series into our own universe.
I hope I did a good job with Dinah Drake's characterization. She is one of my favorite characters in the Arrow tv series. I want you to remember this is pre-black canary Dinah Drake hasn't gone on a path of revenge since Vince is still alive. I'm having trouble deciding whether or not she would still kill Sean like in the tv show. Why don't some of you guys share your thoughts?
Marvelfanenthusiastic: I'll probably do a rewrite on some of my older chapters but thanks constructive criticism is always appreciated.
Guest: Yeah I don't why I keep forgetting to use you I think it's probably because my brain is not wired to fix those mistakes.
Slifer238: I might decide to do a black canary pairing with my SI Barry. I don't think it's ever been done before.
Guest: I wanted my SI character to start out as lawful good but eventually he will slowly evolve into Chaotic good doing what he believes to be morally right as a hero.
Zandetsu: Thanks I'm glad you like my more realistic SI although I kind of understand why most Self Insert stories don't bother with concepts like realism in a world with superpowers in it.