Chapter II: A Speedster's Reckoning Part 2

Chicago, IL.

Patriot revelled in the screams of his hostages as he slaughtered the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Their weapons did nothing to slow down the invulnerable supervillain. After using their vehicles to barricade the doors, Patriot turned towards his hostages with a gleam in his eyes. One protester in particular - a blonde, bookish girl with glasses - threw her sign at his face in a vain attempt to keep him away. "You dumb bitch." He chuckled. "I just shrugged off bullets. What the hell was that supposed to do?"

"Whenever there is oppression, there will always be resistance." Felicity replied, firmly.

"Heh, that sounds real inspiring." Patriot snorted, cracking his knuckles. "Hard to believe one of you liberal snowflakes said something like that."

"And people like you will always underestimate us." She snapped. "You may think you're stronger, but the harder to push, the more we'll be willing to push back."

"Shut up, or I'll kill you, slowly." He threatened.

"Go ahead. Show everyone here how easily we can scare people like you with words." Felicity stood her ground. "If you're this afraid of words, just imagine how scared you'll be when we really come after you."

"That's it!" Patriot charged at the blonde protester with his arms stretched out to strangle her. But in the blink of an eye, she and the other hostages had disappeared.

Speedster-Man had whisked everyone away to the rear exit of the building, where it was still under construction. "Get everyone out of here." He told Felicity. "Help is on the way."

"What about you?"

"I'm gonna slow him down." He promised before speeding off to face his enemy once again, grabbing a few items from one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircrafts.

"What're you doing back here?" Patriot chuckled, crossing his arms. "Come back for another ass-kicking?"

"You're out of control." Speedster-Man declared, confidently. "You're no patriot, you're just a hazard to anyone who has a different opinion than you. And I will not rest until I take you down."

"Ha!" Patriot laughed, obnoxiously, flexing his muscles to show off his purple veins. "You barely made it out alive when we last fought! You can't even hurt me!"

"What do you say we stress test that theory, David Duke?" Speedster-Man smirked beneath his mask as he held up both hands, revealing grenade pins around each finger. His enemy looked down in horror at the belt of grenades wrapped around his waist.

"You piece of shi-!" The explosion compromised the floor beneath Patriot's feet, and the supremacist fell into the basement. Bart slid the shield off of his back and onto his arm just before his enemy returned. Patriot angrily threw whatever he could grab at his opponent, but each slab of concrete he threw crumbled to dust upon impact with the shield.

Back at Purple Labs, Tim and Karen were watching the fight via Richards' satellite feed. Karen was in full uniform, ready to fly off and assist her friend at the drop of a hat, but Bart had insisted that she wait unless he asked for her. "Alright, thank you, sir." Zebediah nodded as he hung up the phone. "That was the governor of Illinois. Patriot has officially been declared an enemy of the state and is to be locked up, immediately. So all Bartholomew has to do is get him into the special cell Dr. Richards has constructed."

"This is insane!" She exclaimed. "Bart's gonna get himself killed!"

"Well, he is moving a lot faster than he usually does." Tim pointed out. "Even if he doesn't do the super-speed punch, he might just be able to tire him out long enough for us to lock him up."

"As a scientist, I usually don't like to use the word 'impossible.'" Arani sighed as she watched the video feed alongside them. "But it might apply here."

"Do you not have faith in your friend?" A familiar Braalite asked, having just arrived.

"It's not that, Jihnorama." Karen explained. "We're just worried about him."

"You shouldn't be." Jihnorama declared. "I can sense a renewed sense of confidence within him. He will prevail."

Back at the mall, Speedster-Man had ensnared his opponent in a thick layer of light webbing before tying Patriot's wrists together and jumping on top of his shoulders. "Hey, Patriot!" Bart used his web line to forcefully smack Eugene in the face with his own fists. "Why're you hitting yourself?! Why're you hitting yourself?! Why're you hitting yourself?!"

With a scream of fury, Patriot broke free from his restraints and threw his attacker to the ground. Speedster-Man rapidly kicked his legs into the ground, sending chunks of concrete at Patriot's face like a machine gun. Unfortunately, Patriot powered through his barrage and started pushing down on Speedster-Man's shield. "What the hell is this?" He snarled, trying to crush Speedster-Man beneath the shield. "You think you're the Flag, or something?! That traitor doesn't know what he's done to this country! Letting in those filthy foreigners and coddling those liberal idiots! He should've just stayed dead if he was just gonna corrupt our nation!"

"You call yourself a patriot, but you're the one who doesn't get it." Bart grit his teeth as he pushed up on the shield. "A true patriot doesn't just fight for his own nation, but for the safety and security of all nations! And another thing; nobody calls my grandpa a traitor…" In one fluid motion, Bart swept his legs under Eugene's and threw him into the air with a strong push with his shield. "AND CONTINUES TO STAND!"

Patriot was thrown through a plate glass window, landing right in front of the protesters. Speedster-Man quickly met him outside and proceeded to run circles around him, trying to build up enough speed. At last, he charged at his enemy and struck him with his grandfather's shield right in the face. But Patriot hadn't even flinched, and managed to grab the speedster's wrist. He lifted Speedster-Man over his head and slammed him onto the ground.

"Why don't you give up?" He spat.

"Why don't you?" Speedster-Man replied, forcing himself back onto his feet.

Annoyed by the hero's spirit, Patriot kicked him over towards the protesters. "After I kill you, I'm gonna take that shield and shove it down the Flag's throat!" As Bart lay helpless on the ground, his eyes locked onto Felicity and the others. He couldn't let Patriot hurt them, but he had no idea of what to do. Suddenly, a faint memory flashed through his mind.

Queens, NY. Four Years Ago…

"Looks like you were born to take a beating!" Eugene laughed as he and his crew ran off, leaving Bart battered and bruised on the sidewalk.

Not long after that, Jay Parker came home from work. The construction worker pulled into the driveway just after Bart picked himself off the ground and headed into the house. Jay met Bart in the kitchen and immediately noticed the dark bruise under the boy's left eye. "You okay, Bart?" He asked, softly.

"Huh?" Bart looked up from his homework to see his uncle using a finger to circle around his own eye. "Oh, that. Yeah, I, uh, ran into a door. I wasn't paying attention, y'know?"

"Mhm." Jay crossed his arms as he leaned against the countertop. "And how does the 'door' look?"

"What?"

"Come on, I know a right hook when I see one. Now, let me see your hand." Jay snapped his fingers, ordering his nephew to come closer. Bart hissed through his teeth as Jay rubbed a thumb over his knuckles; they were still sore from throwing his own punches. "I thought we agreed you were gonna try to ignore the guys who do this to you?"

"I got tired of running." Bart whispered, ashamed.

Jay sighed and went to the freezer for an ice pack and wrapped it in a tablecloth. "I know it's hard to swallow your pride, Bart." He said, gingerly dabbing the ice pack over the boy's tender flesh. "But life isn't always about winning fights. You gotta be smart about it. If you know that you can't beat someone, there's no shame in running in the opposite direction. Don't be afraid to run away."

Present Day.

"Run away…" Bart whispered to himself as an idea popped into his head. Ignoring the pain, he got back on his feet and ran away from Patriot and out of the city.

The sadistic supremacist laughed. "Yeah, run away, you fucking coward!"

Felicity couldn't believe her eyes; to think that Bart would just abandon the protesters in their time of need. As Patriot turned back to approach them, Felicity bravely picked up a piece of steel pipe and wielded it like a weapon. The sinister Patriot licked his lips as he reached out towards her.

Meanwhile, back at Purple Labs, the scientists and superheroes were equally shocked by Bart's sudden change in tactics. "Did he just run away?!" Ralph spluttered.

"That's it, I'm going down there!" Karen decided, getting up from her seat.

"Wait, look at this…" Arani pointed to the screen; the satellites were still tracking the speedster's movements. "He's not slowing down. He's speeding up."

"Dios mio…" Tim smirked. "He's gonna do it… he's gonna do it!"

Bart's speed continued to increase as he approached the shoreline. Halfway over the Atlantic, his lungs felt as if they were on fire just as he broke the sound barrier, but still, he pressed on. Red, white, and blue bolts of lightning surged from his body. At last, he circled around, back towards Chicago, reaching for the shield strapped to his back.

Just before Patriot could lay a finger on the girl, he felt the ground shaking beneath his feet. The supervillain turned around just in time to see the triangular shield headed straight for him. Whether it was his accelerated vision or his anxiety, Bart's entire world slowed down to a crawl as he jumped off the ground towards his enemy. His shield dented upon impact, but the velocity behind it was just enough to knock Patriot unconscious before he flew through the air and into the stone wall.

"YES!" Tim cheered, hysterically. "SUPER-SPEED PUNCH!"

Bart hissed through his teeth as he massaged the throbbing knuckles beneath his grandfather's shield. Standing up, he noticed the sizable dent the impact had left in the shield. But as he looked upon all the people he had just saved from his enemy, he knew he had done the right thing.

Purple Labs. Two Hours Later.

Patriot woke up with a splitting headache. Once his vision cleared, he became alarmingly aware of the prison cell he now rested in. "Hey!" He shouted, jumping to his feet. He began punching at the transparent walls that encased him, to no avail. "What is this place?!"

"Somewhere you'll never hurt anyone again, Eugene." A figure replied from the shadows. "This cell was designed by the best minds in America to keep you from breaking out."

"You can't do this to me! I got rights!"

"Terrorists don't have rights." The figure replied. "And that's exactly what Illinois' governor labeled you when he gave Purple Labs permission to study and eventually negate your powers."

Patriot punched at the transparent wall once more. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

At last, the star-spangled speedster stepped out from the shadows, revealing his face. "I'm the guy that brought you to justice."

Patriot blinked in shock. "Parker?"

"Whoever gave you that serum copied it from the one that gave the original Flag his powers." Bart went on. "My grandfather's powers. When that spider bit me at Griffcorp, it unlocked my powers. And that power changed both of us. You got stronger. I got faster. But the serum doesn't just give you powers, it gives you a choice of what to do with them. I use my power to help people, but you? You just used yours to keep hurting people. But not anymore."

Patriot growled in anger as his veins shone purple. "Parker, you let me out of here!" He shouted, desperately trying to break down the door. But Bart just silently walked away, ignoring the enraged screams of his childhood tormentor. "Parker! Don't you walk away from me! Parker! Let me out! You can't just leave me here! PARKER!"

At last, the titanium-reinforced cell door closed, silencing the villain. In a moment of self-indulgence, Bart allowed himself to give a proud fist-pump for his personal victory. His friends gathered around to congratulate him.

"That must've felt good." Tim declared.

"Oh, you have no idea." Bart laughed as his friend gave him a proud high-five. But the young speedster groaned in pain; his hurt arm was still healing. "But I have to admit, Dr. Storm, you were right about the punch. I shouldn't have-"

"You did the right thing, Bartholomew." Arani smiled, warmly. "Even if there is no logical way that could have worked."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, it hurt like hell." Bart chuckled, taking the shield off of his back. "And my grandfather's shield is-"

"The shield can be fixed." Wally replied, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder. "We can take it to Wakanda and give it a vibranium coating. It won't nearly be as strong as mine, but nobody will be putting anymore dents in it any time soon."

Bart smiled. "Thanks, Wally."

"No problem. You earned it after giving our line of work such a good name today."

"Speaking of names, I'm not calling myself 'Kid-Flag.'" Bart deadpanned.

"'Course not." Wally smiled, giving his friend a pat on the back. "You're the Flag."

Bart blinked. "But… but you're the Flag."

"There are two Thunder Women. There are two Emerald Men, technically. There can be two Flags, kid." Wally chuckled. "Hell, you were the one who wanted to live in the only world in the multiverse with two Flags."

"Yeah… I guess I did, didn't I?" Bart chuckled as he checked his watch. "But for now, Bart Parker is needed back at the mall for the protest."

"Go ahead. I'll take care of the shield." Wally insisted. "And put some ice on that arm."

The younger of the two speedsters smiled as he made his way out of the building. His name was Bart Parker, but he also went by the Flag. At the end of the day, there were only four things people needed to know about him: he runs fast, he crawls walls, he carries a shield, and he helps people.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Black Arrow once again found herself spying on the card-shuffling crime lord. The leather-clad archer took out her laptop, slipped on her headphones, and connected to the bugs she had carefully hidden within the warehouse. Like clockwork, Black Jack received a call from his latest client.

"Hello, sir." He sighed, tiredly. "Look, I'm sorry that Driscoll got himself caught, and your experiment failed, or whatever, but the Big Man doesn't do refunds."

["On the contrary, Black Jack, I consider this a resounding success."] The client remarked. ["Patriot was merely a pawn. A tool meant to demonstrate just how powerful this new Flag is. Now, I know that he is not to be underestimated."]

"Hold on, you're saying that you just blew a third of a billion dollars just to see if that new Flag guy was a pushover?" Black Jack couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow. "What exactly is your long term plan, here?"

["There is a new generation of super-powered beings running amuck in our world, Mr. Harrow."] The voice explained. ["And what makes them more dangerous than any of the so-called 'super-villains' they face, is that they foolishly believe their actions make the world better. Which is why I propose that we continue to work together. I will provide you and your employer with all the money you need, if you will continue to provide more experiments for me. So, what do you say?"]

Black Jack smirked. "I'd say the Big Man and I will stay in touch, my good sir.

Across the street, Black Arrow's eyes widened in shock. When she first started spying on Black Jack, all she wanted was to collect enough information on his boss to put him away for good. But this new mystery client was proposing something far worse than organized crime. She needed to uncover Black Jack's employer and their client before any more of these supervillains could be created. She decided that she would continue to investigate, and if push came to shove, she would seek out the assistance from the new Flag and his allies.

To Be Continued!

Next: Thunder Woman!