Chapter 128: Purity

A few hours later, Eddie exited the Cary Bates Center for Mental Health in a relatively good mood. After filling out some minor paperwork, he had been matched to his counselor: a kind, fair-haired man named Aryton Shelby. Shelby had listened to his plights readily and without judgement, and had already began talking to him through his initial issues, such as his breakup with Iris and his difficulty acclimating to the new changes the world had gone through. It had been effective, and already Eddie could feel his head was in a better place than it had been before.

Ring! Ring!

The detective frowned as he took out his phone. His eyebrows hitched high when he saw the Caller ID: Joe. He quickly accepted the call, placing the phone next to his ear. "Hey, Joe. What's going on?"

"Eddie, we need you back at the Precinct right now," his former partner told him seriously.

Eddie blinked. "Sure, but why?"

He could hear Joe hesitating over the line. "It's better if you learn in person," the man finally said. "But it's definitely going to affect you when you come back to work. Better you find out now than later."

"Okay. See you?"

"See you."

The call ended. Eddie stared at his phone. What was that about?

Eddie's confusion was furthered when he arrived to the main lobby of the CCPD's First Precinct to find the entire place in chaos, with what looked to be state police hanging around the place. Everyone was running around, carrying papers or files or something, too busy to give him so much as a greeting. He looked around, trying to find someone that didn't look too busy to give him a sit rep, and quickly found an equally perplexed Barry standing around in one of the corners, the customary Big Belly Burger bag clutched in his hand. Eddie saddled up to him, catching his attention.

"Any idea what's going on?" the detective asked.

Barry shook his head. "Not a clue. Came here to deliver lunch like usual and found the place like this. I tried to find Iris and Joe, but they won't let me through into the bullpen right now, and when I tried to ask someone else about the situation, they brushed me off."

Eddie winced. "Must be something big then." The cops that worked here were some of the nicest in the city, after all.

As their minutes quickly approached an hour with no end of the chaos in sight, Barry gave in and decided to have lunch, offering Eddie Iris' portion of the food while he took Joe's. He had quickly decided he would just treat them to dinner later as an apology. Eddie doubted he would need to give one — considering whatever was going on was pretty serious, the Wests would likely understand. They left the main lobby for one of the unused break rooms, eating and having a pleasant conversation about what Barry and the others were working on at S.T.A.R. Labs right now.

Even after they finished lunch, the precinct was still in chaos, so they retreated back into the break room, but not before signaling to Patty (who had noticed their arrival) to come for them when Iris, Joe and her were done with whatever was going on. Eventually, several hours after their initial arrival, she came for them, with a solemn Joe and an angry and tearful Iris in tow. Both Barry and Eddie, alarmed, moved to comfort her. Barry immediately sat Iris and himself down in two chairs and laced their hands together, while Eddie placed a hand on her shoulder.

Iris buried her face into Barry's shoulder, but didn't say anything. Barry moved his other hand to rub at her back, while both men glanced at Joe and Patty for answers. Joe sighed.

"The Gimlin case," he said as his way of explanation.

"The Gimlin case?" Barry blinked, asking in confusion.

Eddie frowned. "It's a case that Ralph worked on a couple of years ago. A woman named Judy Gimlin was stabbed to death by her husband, Reagan," he explained to Barry, who was nodding along. "Reagan recently applied for parole, so the case was up for review. Ralph was pretty angry about it; Iris and I saw him stomping out of the forensic lab last week shouting about it."

"Well," Joe cut in, now looking a touch angry himself, "it turns out there was a reason for that. Reagan didn't kill Judy — the knife was planted by Dibny."

His surrogate son and his former partner both stared at him in horror. "He falsified evidence for a case?" Eddie gasped out.

Joe nodded. "There were discrepancies in the case files, and it turns out the knife hadn't been formally processed as evidence. Since it was the old forensic scientist who did it, the judge had Julian run it through instead, and, well…"

"It turns out Reagan's prints were planted on the knife," Patty finished. "And since Ralph was the one who found it, he was questioned, and eventually he confessed."

"Oh my God," Barry said in disbelief, turning to his sobbing best friend in realization. "Then what happens now?"

"Well, Dibny has been fired and every case he's ever worked on is currently being reopened and reviewed. He's been escorted out by state police, and depending on what the brass decide, could be charged."

"Including the Amunet Black case?" Eddie prompted. "Because she's definitely guilty."

"Yeah," Joe confirmed. "But considering the overwhelming amount of evidence and testimony, she's probably going to stay behind bars. It's the minor criminals we're watching out for."

"And Iris?"

"No punishment," Patty reassured them. "The case happened before she even joined the precinct as a uni, let alone became Ralph's partner. She's simply been requested to report any irregularities she saw during their partnership."

Iris lifted her head at that, while her tears had mostly subsided, there were still tracks on her face. "My career's been stalled though. At least until they can find me a new partner."

Eddie blinked. "But the only free detective right now is me, at least when I'm reinstated." Went unsaid was the conflict of interest, due to being Iris's ex-boyfriend.

Joe and Patty exchanged a look. "Singh is thinking of reshuffling the four of us and re-partnering you and me, Eddie," the older man explained. "Patty will most likely end up being Iris' new partner. So she's going to be working with the two of us on our cases with the Anti-Metahuman Criminal Task Force."

The (currently inactive) detective thought it over. "Makes sense," Eddie admitted.

For several minutes, the room remained quiet as everyone ruminated over the recent revelations made today. Finally, Iris pulled away from Barry, giving him a grateful pat on the knee, before giving everyone a firm, determined look. "I'm heading to the gym to blow off steam. Anyone want to come with?"

Patty shrugged. "I'm up for it."

"Same," Eddie agreed.

"Sorry, baby girl, but I can't," Joe apologized, "I've got some leftover paperwork I need to finish."

That left Barry, who rubbed the back of his head. At everyone's imploring look, he sighed and nodded.

"Mr. Queen, Miss Lance," the personal driver Oliver had hired for their brief stay at Hub City greeted them. Oliver and Laurel both returned the greeting before handing over the small amount of luggage they had brought with them on the trip. The driver dutifully packed the luggage into the trunk of the car before opening the doors for them, allowing them to step in.

Both let out groans of relief as the door shut close, giving them some privacy and allowing them to finally relax. "Thanks for doing this, J'onn," Oliver told his friend gratefully.

J'onn J'onzz, who was posing as the driver of the vehicle, tipped his hat towards the couple. "If it gives an easy reason for the three of us to get together with no suspicion, then it's my genuine pleasure. What's the agenda?"

"Drive us to the hotel first, J'onn," Laurel told him, laying her head against the back of her seat. "Let us check in first, get our stuff settled there. Then we can 'go out on the town' at which point you can drive us to somewhere remote and we can head over to your base and start on the case."

"Sounds like a plan," J'onn agreed, nodding.

"Are there any new developments in the case?" Oliver asked curiously.

J'onn perked up, which both vigilantes noticed in the front mirror. "Actually, yes. DNA evidence. We've got a suspect: a woman named Julia Freeman. The police are already prepared to go in, they're just waiting on us due to the presumed danger associated with the suspect."

"That's good to hear. Means this shouldn't take too long," Oliver mused. "Maybe we'll be able to survey the city for that new QC building after all."

A couple of hours later, the three were fully suited up and meeting with police just outside Julia Freeman's current home to bring her in. J'onn introduced them to the detective of the case, Victor "Vic" Sage, who greeted them politely and then went into some tangent about aglets. The couple exchanged a look with J'onn, who gestured to them just to ignore it, and then they zeroed in on the house.

"She rents this place with her best friend and roommate Vanita Ripson," Sage explained to them as the men got into position. "Ripson has a job at a local roller rink and this is when she's usually working her shift. We have confirmation she's there, so we should be able to bring in Freeman safely without any innocents getting into the way."

"That's assuming she's guilty," Oliver noted, voice modulated like always.

Vic shrugged. "Agreed. If she's not guilty then we're just being cautious. If she is, however…"

"Right," Laurel nodded. "If she's the culprit, my scream should be able to counteract hers, but depending on how powerful hers is, your men might get caught in the crossfire. If she starts using it, get out of the way immediately."

"Understood, ma'am," Sage said, before directing his attention to the leader of the S.W.A.T. team accompanying them and issuing the corresponding order.

The next several minutes were spent with the police officers and the S.W.A.T. team assuming positions around the house. Once that was done, the three heroes followed Vic to the door, and watched as he rung the door bell. After a minute or so of shuffling heard inside, the door opened to reveal a young African-American woman who blinked, before her jaw dropped at the sight of three members of the Justice League and an unknown man at her doorstep. "Um…"

"Detective Victor Sage of the HCPD," Vic introduced himself, flashing his badge to her. "You are Julia Freeman, correct?"

"Yes, sir," the woman answered, still a bit in shock. "Can I help you?"

"Can the four of us speak inside?" the detective asked. "There's something we need to discuss."

Julia numbly let them inside, closing the door behind them after all four were in. She directed them to her living room, wringing her hands nervously. "Can you get anything? Something to drink?"

"No," Sage told her, glancing around at the living room, all the pictures and knick-knacks dotted around. The JL members did the same, taking the tableau in. It certainly didn't seem like the home of a remorseless metahuman spree killer. "This will be a short visit, hopefully."

"Right. So, um… why are you all here?"

All four glanced at her. Vic turned his body completely to face her, and straightened himself up. "I'm going to be blunt, Miss Freeman — we're here to bring you in."

Julia gaped. "Why?"

"You've heard about the recent spree killer here in Hub City?" Vic asked her. When she nodded, he continued. "Your DNA was found at the three most recent murders. While it could be a coincidence, it's nonetheless enough to bring you in for questioning as a possible suspect."

"And what about them?" She asked, gesturing to the three superheroes. "Why are they here?"

"What hasn't been released to the public yet is the manner of the murders," Vic told her. "All the victims had their ears blown out, as if they were hit by a sonic weapon or a sonic cry. Obviously, the murderer isn't Black Canary, who was sighted in Star City several times during most of the victims' ETDs, and we've confirmed that Black Siren, the only other known metahuman with a sonic cry, is still imprisoned on Earth-2. From that we've concluded that the murderer either has access to extremely advanced and likely experimental technology, or has the same metahuman power as Canary and Siren do and has been laying low until now. This is just a precaution, as the police are not equipped to deal with that kind of criminal just yet."

Julia stared at him for a moment before letting out a bubbling laugh. It had no mirth to it. "Then that's great! You don't need to arrest me, because I'm not a metahuman. I've got no powers. And as for a weapon — search my house, my things, everything that I have. You're not going to find anything."

"Even so, we still need to bring you in and at least have you tested for the gene, just to make sure," Vic insisted.

But the woman shook her head. "No, no! I'm telling you, you've got the wrong person, it ain't me!" She insisted back.

"Miss Freeman—" Now it was Black Canary speaking, a sympathetic tone to her voice.

"NO!" Julia shouted, and it was a bit louder than usual, with more force, but she didn't seem to notice even if everyone else did. "You can't do this. I'm not guilty! I can't get arrested like this, Mom and Dad will force me to come back home and I'll have to leave Vanita behind and—" Suddenly, she stilled, her face freezing, her eyes widening.

Now everyone was sensing something was wrong. Vic's hand fell to his gun holster while Laurel reached for her tonfas and Oliver started reaching for his bow. J'onn stepped forward. "Miss Freeman? Julia? Is something wrong?"

Julia didn't say anything.

And then the vertigo started.

And the world began to shake.

Everyone stumbled and fell as soundwaves began to echo throughout the room. The various knick knacks and photos began to tremble, dropping to the ground. Lamps, chairs… nothing could stay still, could stay upright. All the people present grabbed their ears, trying to block out the sound. Only Black Canary wasn't completely paralyzed by what was happening; her ear drums had also been enhanced by the Dark Matter Explosion to handle large sounds as a required secondary power to her Canary Cry.

At the center of it all was Julia Freeman, clutching her ears and body as power, power she had never felt before, emanated from her. Her mind faded as a new one overwrote it, the scelera of her eyes whitening, shrinking, revealing a single prick of black in each. It was a haunting transformation, one that no one present would ever forget for the rest of their lives.

And then it stopped.

The relief was wonderful, but short. Julia rose slowly, but purposefully, strongly. A deep contrast to her previous nervousness, the insistence of her innocence. She zeroed in on them, and smirked.

"The three will walk across the land and the blood of the weak will water the new world," she said in an unfamiliar language.

Unfamiliar to all but Green Arrow, who froze and stared at her in complete horror. Before anyone could say anything else, Julia screamed, and there it was, there was the cry. Their suspicions were true.

But they were prepared. While Julia's powers were more versatile, being able to induce soundwaves from her hands and all parts of her body, but Black Canary's Canary Cry was far stronger in power. She screamed back, their cries clashing together, a struggle beginning. After what seemed like forever, Canary's Cry won out, overpowering Julia's, and the other woman was sent flying back, crashing into the wall.

The sounds ceased. Martian Manhunter didn't hesitate — he flew directly towards Julia, cuffs in hand and restrained her, holding her so she couldn't escape. It was a lot harder than he thought it would be, she was a lot stronger than should be.

"Good job," Vic told him, with unsteady legs. "Now, we need to take her down to the station—"

"We can't, Detective Sage," Green Arrow interrupted. "She's not just some random spree killer."

Vic glanced at him. "I think we all know she's a metahuman—"

"No," Arrow shook his head. "Not just that."

"Arrow?" Canary probed her partner questioningly.

Instead of answering out loud, Green Arrow simply walked up to the restrained Julia, and drew out a single arrow. It was no different from his regular arrows, except for the arrowhead of a strange green mineral. And yet, when he brought it near the woman's face, she flinched, trying to pull back as far away from the arrow as green veins began to appear on her skin.

Both Martian Manhunter and Black Canary gasped.

"Canary, contact A.R.G.U.S. now. Inform the Director of the situation, tell her we need either a full convoy brought over here or one of Vibe's breaches in order to transfer Miss Freeman to the nearest base."

"Understood, Green Arrow," Laurel nodded at her boyfriend, and began to step away, adjusting her comm towards a specific frequency.

"Okay, okay, stop!" Vic tried to intervene, "What the hell is going on? You can't just take my case like this—"

"She's the same species as Supergirl and Archangel, Detective Sage."

The world stopped. Vic's jaw dropped. "…what?"

Before he could say any more, he was interrupted by cold laughter from Julia. "I am so much more than those insignificant fools," she spoke with surety, severity.

Now all three heroes were staring at her. "What do you mean by that?" J'onn asked cautiously.

Julia smirked. "I am the scalding light," she proclaimed, "I am the flood that sweeps away sins. I am the word and cry of justice."

"I am Purity," she finished, leaning forward towards Green Arrow, her smirk growing into a malevolent grin, "I am the beginning of the end."

Well isn't that ominous? I know the show did the Worldkillers differently, especially in regards to the affect Kryptonite had on them, but I'm doing my own version. You'll see eventually what they're really like, and it's going to be a lot of fun, naturally.

We're going to follow up more on Purity in the next chapter before moving on to other things. Things are beginning to ramp up, people!

If you're wondering why Laurel's scream was more powerful, it's because all her sonic energy is centered on the scream. So while Purity is more versatile with her power to manipulate and produce sonic waves from other parts of her body, her scream is overall weaker than Laurel's.

For the time being though, please leave a comment or review. Flames will be ignored. And don't forget to update the TV Tropes page!