Disclaimer: I don't own Batman Beyond, the Flash, or any of the D.C. universe.
Resurrecting the Red
Chapter 9: Vanishing Point
"Grodd? Are you sure that's who you saw?"
"Yes Mom," Rex answered impatiently. Shayera crossed her arms as she and the others listened to his story. Clark had called an informal meeting the next day in Metropolis after hearing Rex's report. Now he, the Stewarts, and Virgil were gathered around a large round table in the boardroom.
"It couldn't be Grodd," Clark said quietly. "I killed him, remember? It was about seventeen, eighteen years ago. Red Tornado was with me, he remembers it too."
"A clone maybe?" John suggested. "Or maybe it was a relative."
"I don't know," Rex admitted. "All I know is that he looked like Grodd."
"Whatever the truth is, I don't like it," Shayera said.
Clark rested his chin in his hands as he reluctantly thought back to eighteen years ago. He had killed Grodd, he knew he did. He'd done it after….after Grodd had murdered the West family. It wasn't a very pleasant memory. He was glad that Wally hadn't lived to see it.
"It could even have been a hologram," Virgil pointed out. "Richie could make one with his eyes closed."
"I agree with Shayera. Whatever it is," Clark said. "I don't like it. If Luthor's gotten a hold of old CADMUS files like Bruce says, then there's no telling what you saw."
"Who's on monitoring duty now?" Virgil asked suddenly.
"Zaranna, why?" the Kryptonian asked. Zaranna was Zatanna's daughter. The beautiful, blue eyed brunette was very intelligent…and more than a little quick tempered.
"Luthor's been after Cadmus information, hasn't she?"
"Yes, but Waller's got the rest of it under lock and key," Clark answered.
"Exactly," Virgil said quietly. There was a long pause.
"Oh Lord," Clark muttered. He rubbed his eyebrows, suddenly feeling very tired. Dammit, if only J'onn was still here. That was wishful thinking of course. He and Kara disappeared around the same time that Wally had died, although their bodies had never been found.
"Do you think she's brazen enough to go after Waller?" John asked.
"She's a Luthor John," Shayera reminded him. "She's already tried to kill Bruce and Terry."
"And since she's already tried that once, there's a good chance she'll try it again," Rex pointed out. The others looked at each other gravely before John reached for his cell phone. Of course, knowing Bruce, he had already figured this all out.
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Terry opened the door to the bat cave and stopped when he heard Bruce's voice. After a moment, he realized that the old man was talking to someone on the phone.
"I know that," he heard Bruce say. "And I'm sure that Waller does too." There was another pause as the old man listened to the phone.
"Somehow I doubt that Waller will go for that John," Bruce said. Terry walked silently down the steps, so as not to disturb his mentor. Ace looked up at him and wagged his tail briefly before looking back at his master.
Bruce looked over at him before pacing again in front of the glass case of costumes. He paused in front of the Nightwing costume as he listened to John Stewart. His eyes narrowed suddenly and his left hand tightened briefly on his case.
"Are you sure that's who Rex saw?" Bruce listened for a moment. "I agree with Clark, there's no way that it was him. It was most likely a clone or an illusion…or even a shapeshifter." Another long pause.
"Lex was involved with the Injustice League John. Knowing Luthor, his daughter has access to his old connections. J'onn was hardly the only shapeshifter that existed. However, I'm more inclined to believe that it was a clone or an illusion."
Terry listened curiously as he bent down to scratch Ace's ears. A strange box caught his eye over by the display case and he walked over to investigate. He felt a flash of excitement as he saw the old scarlet costume lying inside of it.
Bruce watched him out of the corner of his eye as the teenager carefully pulled Wally's old costume out of the box. Terry held it in front of him and stared in somber fascination at the worn and slightly frayed suit. The left sleeve and sections of the torso had been torn at one time, but had since been sewn carefully up. Bruce must have fixed it.
"Fine," he said curtly. "Just make sure that none of you do anything stupid," he warned John. Then he pressed a button and ended the conversation. Bruce stared in distaste at the phone before walking over to join Terry.
"I haven't looked at that for a long time," Bruce admitted. Terry glanced at him before laying the suit back down in the box. He then picked up the mask and held it up to the light.
"How come it's not with the other costumes?" he asked. A stony expression from Bruce was all the answer he needed. It was probably hurts too much, he realized.
Terry had become very good at reading Bruce's thoughts.
"Who was that?" Terry asked instead.
"John Stewart."
Bruce went on to explain the contents of their conversation. Terry listened quietly, with a serious expression on his face. The old man marveled briefly at how much, in many instances, that the teenager resembled him.
"So what are they going to do?" Terry questioned.
"Clark seems to think that Waller needs a bodyguard." Terry looked over at him and caught the expression on his face.
"You don't seem to have a high opinion on that," Terry observed dryly. The old man's lips gave an amused twitch as he answered.
"Waller won't go for it. She'll most likely tell Kent to go to hell."
"Do you think she's really in danger?" Terry asked. Bruce walked over to his chair and sat down. Ace obediently followed him and sat down by the chair. The old man automatically reached down to pet him as he answered.
"Yes," Bruce finally answered. "But Luthor's not going to want her dead. She wants the information that she has on Cadmus." The old man looked up from the dog to give the teenager an impassive look.
"Did you read the files that I gave you?" he asked.
"Yeah," Terry answered. Bruce had given him old files on Cadmsu to read. The old man nodded before turning to his computer.
"I have an appointment to go to in an hour. Meanwhile, I have a simulation that I want you to run." Sometimes Bruce would create simulations out of his old cases for Terry to work on. Having good fighting skills was important, but having a sharp mind was even more crucial if the boy was going to be Batman.
Bruce opened up one of his programs before standing up. Terry sank into the chair and began to read the case files.
"Lex Luthor, huh?" he asked.
"It gets more interesting," Bruce said. The old man had purposely chosen an old case involving Luthor. He turned and was on his way up the stairs when Terry suddenly called out to him.
"Hey…Bruce?"
Bruce paused and looked down at the teenager. Terry paused before looking over at the open box on the table.
"Can I show that to David? I mean, it…" Bruce nodded at him and the boy grinned. The old man eyed the box before starting back up the stairs. He had an important appointment to keep.
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Amanda Waller glared at the computer screen in front of her. Damn that witch…
It was severely irritating her that Luthor had managed to get her hands on so much of her old program. What was even more infuriating was the fact that old members of Cadmus must have leaked much of the information to Alexandra.
No doubt they had received a substantial financial reward for it.
The old woman bypassed a security program as she hacked into LexCorps's computer database. Damn that whelp, she'd show Luthor who she was messing with.
You didn't bait a Cobra and expect it not to strike.
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"How do you like your coffee Mr. Wayne?" Evan Kae asked. The forty-seven year old architect held up a pot of coffee. His brown eyes studied Bruce carefully.
"I like it plain, thank you. You may call me Bruce by the way."
Evan nodded and sat down next to the old man. David flitted back and forth restlessly between the living room and the kitchen. Bruce hid a rare smile; Wally had done the same thing when he was nervous.
"David, pick a spot and sit down!" Evan finally yelled. "You're giving me a headache!" The teenager reluctantly zipped into the living room and perched himself on one of the armchairs. A distant look crossed Bruce's eyes as a forgotten memory returned to him.
"Wally!" John yelled furiously. "I can't take it anymore! Sit down!" Wally zipped over to the board table and sat down.
"I swear," the Green Lantern muttered. "You enjoy giving me a headache." Wally only grinned at him in reply.
"It must have been interesting to raise him," Bruce observed. A wry look crossed the other man's face as eyed his nephew.
"You have no idea," Evan said.
"Hey!" David yelled.
Bruce smirked to himself. The indignant young man sounded no different than a young Wally. Evan chuckled lightly as he turned to the old man at his side.
"I need to finish dinner," he said. "But if you don't mind, I'm sure that David would like to hear more about his family. I'm afraid I don't have the answers he needs." The two men exchanged looks and Bruce nodded. He could tell from Evan's face that he wanted to speak privately with Bruce later.
Evan left and Bruce looked over at David. He could only imagine the hundreds of questions that must be rolling around in that young mind. The teenager fidgeted for a few moments, another trait that he shared with Wally, before he finally posed his first question.
"How did Grandpa die?" he asked. Bruce studied him for a long moment before setting down his cup. He'd had an idea that this might be one of his first questions.
"Wally died about seven years before you were born. At that time, the League was fighting someone known as the Key."
"The Key?"
"Yes, in fact, the League had battled him many times before. But this time, he had been in league with someone who called himself Solus." Bruce laced his fingers together as he looked at the young man. He could see the unspoken question on his face.
"Solus means 'alone' in Latin. He was once a Linear Man." Bruce knew that he would have to explain this one, even Terry didn't know about the Linear Men yet.
"There is a place called the Vanishing Point. It is a place that lies outside of time, yet, it is also a place where all time exists at once." Bruce could see the confusion on the young man's face and he continued. "I suppose you could say that the Linear Men are both historians…and guardians. They are able to access any point in the time stream that they wish. They use this ability to learn, and protect, time as we know it."
There was a long pause as David slowly digested this information. It was very confusing.
"So, this Solus guy was an ex-Linear Man?" he asked.
"Yes," Bruce answered. "He betrayed his fellow Linear Men and began to follow his own agenda. He used his ability to access time to supply advanced weaponry to people of his choosing."
"Like the Key."
"Yes."
Bruce found himself a little impressed at the young man's mind. He was grasping at this a little more easily than he had thought he would.
"Your grandfather defeated the Key in the end, but at a price. He went too fast and disappeared into the speed force." There was a long pause at that.
"I've heard about the speed force," David said quietly. "It's how someone like me can go so fast, right?"
"Yes, you subconsciously access the speed force. But if you go too fast…then this reality can no longer hold you. We were able to pull Wally back the first time he fell into it, but the second time…"
David stared down at his feet. His grandfather had been a hero, as had his mother. He wondered if he'd ever be able to measure up to them. He gave a start as Bruce suddenly jabbed his cane at his chest.
"Wha…" he started.
"That is why you need to be careful," Bruce warned. His blue eyes pierced into the teenager's gray eyes. "If you go too fast, then you'll end up like Wally. If that happens, none of us may be able to help you. Understand?" Bruce leaned intently towards the boy and watched him nod slowly.
"Yes Sir," he said.
"Good," Bruce said. He took his cane away from the boy's chest. He looked towards the kitchen and could see that Evan had been watching the whole time. Evan Kae gave him a nod of approval before motioning them towards the kitchen table.
"I believe that dinner is ready," Bruce said. He walked into the kitchen, followed a moment later by a silent David.
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Impossible. They were still alive?
Amanda Waller's heart skipped a beat as she stared at the computer screen. It had taken her a lot of work, but she had finally gotten into a heavily coded file. She felt a rush of anger as she glared hard at the computer. That…that damnable wretched witch…
The old woman reached for her cell phone. She needed to tell Bruce about this one.
Amanda was pressing the speed dial when a hand suddenly enclosed over it and wrenched it from her grip. She gasped as a blonde haired, green skinned man suddenly materialized in front of her. What the…
Realization hit her. This stranger had the ability to become invisible.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" she demanded. She was quite proud of her security system. It still should have detected him, even if he could become invisible. The strange man grinned at her.
"My my, so this is the naughty lady who has been in Alex's files. She's been wanting to talk to you." His green eyes glared menacingly at her.
He gripped her hand tightly, causing her to grimace. Amanda reached underneath her chair for the weapon that she had hidden there.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Chameleon stated. "The consequences could be severe."
Dammit.
"The League will notice if I'm gone," she declared boldly. Especially since the Boyscout thinks I need a babysitter, she thought. Which right about now, she admitted very reluctantly, probably wouldn't have been a bad idea.
Chameleon smiled at that. He lifted her out of the chair and forced her onto her feet. Then he shapeshifted into an exact image of her.
"Oh, I don't think so," he smirked. "At least not for a while. I think you'll find that I'm quite the actor."
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Author's Note: I don't believe that the Vanishing Point or the Linear Men have appeared in the cartoon, but I'm not totally sure. I read about them in an old issue of Superman. Solus is my own creation, but I took the idea of the V Point and the L Men directly out of The Legacy of Superman, issue #1.
Direct quote: "Vanishing Point. A place beyond our reach where time both begins…and ends. It is a place that exists outside of time…and a place where all time exists at once."
In the issue, the Linear Men are reviewing the death of Superman.
Oh and I totally ripped the name Zaranna off of GI Joe. Come on, Zatara, Zatanna…Zaranna, Zandar, and Zartan…it's all relative.