The Bolt Episode 5 Savior

My name is Sean White. After waking up with no memory of who I was, I discovered I could do impossible things. Inspired by the heroes around me, I decided to put my powers to use and protect the people of Alter City, and find the missing pieces of my past. I am, The Bolt!

Charley stirred awake, groaning from the pain he felt coming from his arm. Everything was blurry to look at, but he could see enough to pin point where he was. His hideout. How had he gotten there? Did Olive bring him? He tried to stand but found he did not have the energy, so he laid back and just drifted in and out of consciousness. He played the events of the night in his head over and over. He could remember going after the bombers, The Bolt showing up. There was a fight with that mutant and-

He suddenly heard voices in the other room. One had to be Olive, and the other sounded like Bolt. From the tone of their voices, Charley had deduced that they were arguing. He could only guess what about. If Olive had been working with The Bolt all this time, it isn't likely that she had informed him on their previous partnership.

"Sean, it's not that difficult to understand."
Sean paced back and forth as Olive continued to explain herself, "I didn't exactly have some obligation to tell you. I am allowed to have my secrets."
"That's not what I mean," He said, "I want to know where it all went wrong. Why did Charley start to kill?"
Olive stayed silent, sitting down in a chair, "It's hard to explain."
"I have time," He said, sitting down across from her, "Start from the beginning."
She sighed, "Ok, If I'm going to start anywhere, I can start when I found out he was Assassin."

ANTERIOR CITY: 7 MONTHS AGO

She kicked her feet against the pavement as she walked down her driveway. The day was sunny, and it made her smile to see Charley sitting at her doorstep, like he did every day, "Charley," Olive said, walking up to him as he stood, "Don't you know how creepy it looks for you to just be standing at my door every day?"
He tilted his head to the side, "Isn't that why your neighbor called the police once?"
"Pretty much," She laughed, giving him a quick kiss, "Let me put my stuff inside and we can head out."
"Sure thing," He said, letting her pass into her house.

The streets of Anterior City Square were busy like always. However today it was busier than ever because of the festival going on. Olive cheered as she sat on Charley's shoulders to get a better view over the crowd of people. She would end up kicking her in the face a few times but he didn't mind. He was just happy to be making time to spend with her. He had been busy as of late and had been neglecting her too much. This was what he called his 'day off'. He let her pick todays destination, and she wanted to go to the festival. They weren't even sure what the festival was for, but they didn't care. There were games, food, and entertainment to keep them busy for hours. "Charley?" Olive called over the crowd, "Thanks for taking me to this."
"No problem," He said, "Anything for you, remember?"
She smiled and gave him a kiss on the forehead, then returning to her cheering. The acrobats had just come out and started their flips and tricks.
"Thank you all for coming!" A man with a microphone said. At the sound of his voice, everyone turned their attention toward him, as he stood on top of a stage, "Thanks to your wonderful donations, we have been successful in raising over 1 million dollars for the local medical hospital!" The crowd started to cheer. Charley just felt relieved he finally knew what this whole thing was about.
Something caught sight in the corner of his eye. He tried to drown out the sounds around him as he focused on a figure slowly moving toward the front of the crowd. He wanted to follow them, but realized he couldn't with Olive still sitting on his shoulders. "Olive?" He asked, "You think you could get down now?"
"Why?" She asked, "What's wrong?"

The sound of gunfire caused Olive to nearly fall to the ground, if Charley hadn't caught her in his arms. The crowd went ballistic and ran in all directions. The man on stage fell to his face, blood dripping from his back. The microphone dropped off the stage and the backlash sounded through the speakers. Charley eyed the man holding the gun. He had a hood, and a mirror face mask. He stared at Charley for a solid few moments. Though he couldn't see the man's eyes, he knew that he was staring directly into Charley's soul, as if he was judging him.
"Charley?" olive asked, panicking, "We need to go!" She began dragging him away from the scene, but Charley never took his eyes off of the man.

PRESENT DAY

"What happened after that?" Sean asked.
"After that," Olive started, "The man who attacked the festival took a hostage. Charley escorted me home then left. I didn't know it at the time, but he had gone after that man."
"So what about the part where you found out?"
"I'm getting to that, dummy." She scolded.

7 MONTHS AGO

"After he just took off like that and left me at my house, I didn't buy into it. This wasn't the first time that he just took off. So this time, I decided to follow him, and see where he would go."

He paced quickly through the streets. Several fire trucks passed by him. As one was close to the sidewalk, Charley jumped and grabbed the side of the truck, letting it carry him along. Ever since the festival it was like the town was losing its mind. He tightened his backpack strap and jumped to the ground as they came upon a burning building. Charley rushed to the alleyway and quickly changed into his suit. Slipping his gear across his waist, he jumped to the fire escape and climbed as fast as he could. "Hang on!" He yelled into the window as he climbed in.
Olive parked her bike by a fire hydrant and watched the burning building as smoke escaped from the windows. She looked all around for Charley, as she knew he came this way. She just wasn't sure as to why. "Charley?!" She yelled, but no one In the crowd responded to the name, "Charley!" She called again. The building let out an explosion of fire, making the crowd gasp.
Assassin dodged the falling debris as he held a child in his arms, "Hang on real tight ok?" He said, handing the baby to another adult, "Take him down the fire escape! Now!"
The man nodded and held the child close, running for the fire escape. The debris spread and fell around Assassin, as he covered his face from the sparks. A fireman ran into the room, yelling at Assassin, "Did you find anyone else?!" He yelled.
"I think that was the last one!" He yelled back, "The fire escape is the only exit, sir! Go!"
Assassin lead the fireman along to the fire escape. In seeing a blaze of fire build up behind them, he pushed the man out as debris covered the exit. Assassin landed on his back, bracing his shoulders from the impact. He gasped for air; the impact knocking the wind out of him. In a burning building, all he could do was gasp for smoke. He kept his blurring eyes on the nearest window. Bringing himself to his knees, he threw himself against the window, breaking through as the glass shattered. Gravity took hold and he flew toward the ground.
Everyone was too busy staring and filming the fire with their phones to hear the thud coming from the alleyway. Everyone except for Olive, who turned her head quickly at the sound of it. She pushed passed the crowd and jogged into the alleyway, where she saw Assassin limping away from the scene, covered in ash. As he turned a corner, she hid behind a trashcan and watched him.
Assassin leaned against the wall as he took off his mask, dropping it against his waist.
In seeing his face, Olives expression dropped, and she slowly came out of her hiding place.

" … Charley?"

Charley turned his heads quickly and froze in seeing his friend, "… Hi, Olive," he said.

PRESENT DAY

"…After that, he explained everything to me," She said.
Sean tapped his foot quickly against the ground, crossing his arms with a sigh, "And just like that, he looped you into his world?" he asked.
Olive bit her lip and crossed her legs, "You wanna know the crazy part?" she asked rhetorically, "In the beginning, before the killing … It was good. It was really good. I felt like I could make a difference," She twiddled her thumbs, "Helping people, saving lives. I was happy."
"So where did it all go wrong?"

As she attempted to give him an answer, a sudden beeping was heard coming from the other room. It was loud, and kept a continuous motion. "What is that?" Sean asked.
"The alert," Olive said, as the two of them ran into the other room, "Charley, what's wrong?"
Charley sat at the computer, viewing the footage on the small screen. There was a massive fire at a largely populated building. Screams were heard from the footage, all yelling for help.
"The bombers we took out were part of a group," Charley said, "And that same group just bombed a highly populated building."
"I gotta get over there," Sean said.
Charley stood up, "I'm coming along too."
Olive pushed on his shoulders forcing him to sit back down, "The hell you are! Your arm is still injured. You aren't going anywhere. Sean will handle this," She said, then turned to Sean, "Just be quick."
Sean nodded, and sped off.

"Move it! Move it!"
Several more bombs go off, sending cars flying into the air and crashing through windows. Civilians jumped and ran out of the way of crashing debris, screaming in horror as the fire of the building spread. At the center of it all, a group of men stood, admiring their work as people fled around them. "Good work boys," The man in front spoke indirectly to his crew, "We've got a few more stops tonight, then we'll have filled our quota. Best part?" he threw his hands into the air, "No Assassin to come and stop us!"
Bolt skid to a stop in front of them, holding his side as it had not fully healed from the fight with the Meta-Mutant earlier in the night, "I'm no Assassin," he said, "But I can fill the boots."
"The hell?" The man said, "Who are you supposed to be?!"
"Hey boss," A man behind him said, "I know who that is. He's that orange blur from Alter City. That's The Bolt!"
"I like you!" Bolt yelled out, "Finally some actually respect and acknowledgement! Unfortunately, that won't stop me from taking you all in. You're hurting a lot of people."
"We're getting a message across," The lead man said, "By morning, the whole city will fear us."
"That's it?" Bolt said, "That's all you want? Fear?"
"Fear," The man said, "And revolution."
The sound of a bullet caught Bolt's attention as time for him slowed down. He looked behind him and saw the bullet coming at him. Moving as quickly as he can, he turned his hips as to avoid the bullet, and watched as real time took hold once more, and the bullet flew right past him.
A fist landed right on his face, knocking him down, "Agh!" he exclaimed, looking up at the figure with a gun.
The figure had on a black jacket with a hood, and a mirror mask covering his face. He was decked out in pistols and gadgets, all of which glowed a neon light. " … Mirror mask …" Bolt said.
"Mirror mask?" The figure said, " …Actually, I like that. Mirror Mask. I'm surprised I didn't think of that sooner," he took a step forward, leaning down and looking into Bolt's eye pieces, "I know your new so I'll give you the run down. Anterior City is going to belong to me, kid. Simple as that. Assassin didn't stop me, and neither will you. Am I making myself clear or is that mask of yours cutting off your ability to hear?"
Bolt zoomed a few yards away from Mirror Mask, standing tall, "You won't be getting anything, especially not the city!" He said, "Even if Assassin isn't here, I still am. So don't start thinking that you can do whatever you want!"
Mirror Mask laughed, "I bet you wouldn't talk so tough if you didn't have those powers to back you up. Here's the deal though," He lazily pointed his gun at the burning building, "There are still people inside."
Bolt whipped his head toward the building, his eyes widened under the mask.
"My friends and I are leaving," Mirror Mask continued, "You could chase us, and let those people burn, or you can let us go, and save them. Really it's a question of morals. It just depends on where yours lay, friend."
Bolt looked back to him in anger, "You won't get away with this."
"Do I even need to respond to that basic hero quote?" He asked rhetorically.
Without wasting anymore time, Bolt sped into the burning building, and started zipping people in and out.
"Boys!" Mask said, "Time to get moving."

By the time Bolt had stopped and dropped off the last person, the group was gone, "Great. Now I have him to deal with."

UNDERGROUND BASE

"Mirror Mask?" Charley asked, leaning back in his chair, "Since when does he go by Mirror Mask?"
Sean paced around Charley's lair, keeping his arms crossed, "Since tonight. Charley, who is this guy? I know you've fought him before, Olive told me."
Charley looked to Olive for conformation, she nodded, "Yeah," Charley said, "But I haven't seen head or tail of him for months. Not until tonight."
"What do you know about him?"
"Not much," Charley said, "He and his group are pretty much terrorists, and they're good. Very good. The police haven't been able to track them down. Even I haven't been able to completely keep up."
"Uh huh," Sean said, "And how many of their guys have you put in the ground?"
"Sean-" Olive started, but Sean interrupted.
"Well I'm not just going to ignore it!" He yelled, "Where did all the killing even start?!"
"Funny enough," Charley sighed, "It started with him. With Mirror Mask."

6 MONTHS AGO

The roaring of the motorcycles engine zoomed passed the crowd at blinding speed. Assassin kept his eye glued to the truck barreling through the streets. In the shotgun seat a man with a gunshot bullets in random directions. The man in the driver's seat wore a mirror mask, and kept his hands firmly on the wheel, "I told you to shake him!" Mirror said.
"I'm trying! It's like he's bullet proof!" The man next to him said.
"Assassin is no Meta-Human," Mirror reminded him, "He bleeds just like the rest of us. Now shoot him down!"
Assassin pulled up next to the driver's window, knocking on the door, "Excuse me!" He yelled, "You are going over the speed limit! I am going to have to pull you over, and give you a serious talking to!"
Mirror rolled down the window and attempted to punch Assassin off his motorcycle, who pulled away slightly to the left, "Oh that's it! You are so grounded!" Assassin joked. The sound of a truck horn caught his attention, as a pair of headlights came straight for him, "Crap," He said, leaping off his motorcycle, and watching as it crashed into the truck. With only a second to think, Assassin pulled out his grapple and shot it at Mirror's truck, latching onto it and dragging him through the air. His weight pulled him to the ground and he slid across the road as the truck pulled him. "Ow! O1! This is nothing like water skiing!" he yelled. Pressing the blue button on his grapple, the thread began to retract slowly into the device, pulling him closer to the truck.
"Boss!" One man yelled.
"I know," Mirror said, quickly turning the wheel. The truck made a sharp turn to the left, flinging Assassin into the air as he held onto the grapple for dear life. He swung his legs to carry his momentum forward, and he was thrown onto the front windshield, "Hi!" He said, punching a hole in the glass, and knocking out the man in the passenger seat. He punched another hole in the glass and grabbed Mirror Mask, and yanked him through the windshield, jumping off the truck before it crashed into a building wall.
Assassin threw Mirror onto the roof, and waited as he stood up to face him, "Your guys have been giving me a lot of trouble."
Mirror laughed, "I could say the same about you kid. Do your parents know that you're out here?"
"Nah," Assassin said, "You aren't going to get away with this you know. All this you're doing, blowing up buildings, vandalizing public property?"
Mirror Mask sighed, "Oh the complications behind that reasoning," He starts pacing around the roof, "You see, we believe that methods used by politicians and …official people, are all pointless when it comes to changing this world. We're trying to free the world from its own pathetic ego, and bring upon it's revolution."
"Your delusional," Assassin said, "And I'm taking you in."
"No you won't, you'll have to kill me if you want to stop me."
"And why would I do that?" he asked.
Mirror walked over to the edge of the building, and faced Assassin. "Really it's a question of morals. It just depends on where yours lay, friend," he smiled, "Not every criminal can be saved. Everyone calls you Assassin. Maybe it's time to live up to the name."
"I don't understand."
Mirror scoffed, "Of course you don't. You are a child. Let me push you in the right direction." He pulled out a folder and dropped it on the ground, just before he leaped off the building. Assassin ran for the edge to catch him, but found he was gone, without a trace.
" ….push in the right direction?" He wondered, as he picked up the folder.

PRESENT DAY

"What was in the folder?" Sean asked.
"A file," Charley said, "On Robert Baker. Mayor- Former Mayor- of Anterior City.
"Why former?" Sean asked.
Before Charley could answer, the alert started ringing again, "Our guys are back," He said, typing on the computer, "They're at the Anterior City museum. There's hundreds of people there."
"I'll stop them," Sean then zoomed off, leaving a gust of wind behind.

"Charley," Olive said, attempting to avoid an awkward silence, "After this, I want you to apologize to him."
"For what-?"
"For going too far!" She yelled, "You were going to kill him! And for what?! Convenience?!"
"He was in my way!" Charley yelled.
"What about me?!" She yelled back, "If I was in your way, would you kill me?!"
Silence grew between them. Olive had begun to cry now, and Charley could only stare silently at her as she continued to scold him, with emotions she had kept dormant for these passing months, "I joined your cause in the hope that I would be able to help people. To SAVE lives. Then all of a sudden you turn around and begin to kill, rather than save. You stopped catching purse snatchers, and started killing your enemies. It changed you. Your heart filled with malice! And I couldn't stand to be near you in the fear that it would do the same to me! So tell me, and be honest. If I got in your way, despite everything, would you kill me?"
Charley stood there in idiotic silence, watching as she attempted to calm her anger with deep breaths. "Olive …" he said, "I'm sorry."
"That doesn't answer my question," She said, "Would you kill me?"
"No," he said, "You're my friend, I'd never kill you."
"And that's why I'm so scared of you," she said, "If I wasn't your friend, if you didn't know me, you'd kill me without a second thought." With that, she turned around and walked away, leaving the lonely assassin alone to his thoughts of dread and guilt.

ANTERIOR CITY MUSEUM

Bolt zoomed in just in time to grab a civilian, and pull them out of the way of falling debris. He was late. The bombers had already set off a few explosions. "Go! Run!" he yelled, guiding people to the exit. He took a 360 spin around to observe the area. The building was highly unstable, and coming down fast.
"You don't know when to quit, do you?" A voice said. Bolt looked behind him to find Mirror Mask standing there. He clenched his fists.
"Neither do you, apparently," Bolt said.
Mirror laughed, "This is true. So let me guess, your tracking us down for Assassin, aren't you? Trying to help out while he heals up?"
How did he know he was working with Assassin? They hadn't even talked enough for him to deduced that.
"So what if I am?" Bolt asked.
"Enemy of my enemy, I guess. Such a shame he thinks us enemies, after everything we had been through."
"What does that mean?" Bolt asked.
Mirror pulled out a gun, firing off several rounds. Bolt twisted his hips to the left and avoided the incoming bullets. Twisting them back, he charged at Mirror and pinned him to a pillar, "Tell me what you mean!"
"Assassin used to work for us!" he yelled, "Back then, I just knew him as Charley Andrews. One of my finest men."
Bolt, in shock, let Mirror go, and stepped back several paces, "What?"
"Plot twist, am I right?" He said.
In his anger, Bolt slammed his fist into the right side of Mirrors face, and sent him to the ground.

Bolt watched as the police slammed the car door on Mirror Mask, and drove him away with the sirens going. He sat down and watched the flames come from the museum as fire fighters tried to put it out. When he got back, Charley had a lot of explaining to do.

"Why didn't you say anything?"
Olive was enraged, and Charley could not even look her in the eyes. This was a fact not even she knew before. She was the one person that Charley trusted with his secret while she still lived in the city. But this fact was unknown to her. The very idea that he had hid this from her of all people filled her with disappointment, fueled by hatred, "All this time, all the time that we worked together and you never mentioned that you used to work for Anterior City's own personal terrorist group?!" She yelled, "And why would you of all people work for them?! Why on earth would you want to hurt people?! Did that Mirror Mask guy make you?! Because that doesn't seem likely!"
"If you stopped yelling for five seconds I could tell you!" He yelled.
"Oh really?!" She retorted, "Because you never told me before!"
"Alright!" Sean yelled, setting silence between the trio, "Let's all calm down before one of you damages a vocal cord. Charley, the truth. Why did you work for them?"
Charley looked between the two of them. He tried thinking of ways to get around this. He even prayed that the alarm would go off so they could avoid the conversation all together. But he knew that he couldn't. Not this time. He took a deep breath, and spoke, "Mirror Mask is just another lacky. I worked for them because of who's in charge."
"And who's in charge?" Sean asked.
"The man in charge," Charley started, "Is named Robert Andrews."
"What?" Olive said, "Your saying-"
"The man who runs the terrorist group," He said, "… Is my father."

ANTERIOR CITY PIER

The cars headlights shut off as to not attract attention. Pulling into the warehouse, the doors shut behind the vehicle. The men stepped out, guns at their hips, ready for anything. "I hope you don't plan to let me down again." The man said, approaching the figure in the mirror mask.
"Course not," Mirror said, "I've just been running into some problems, Mr. Andrews."
Robert clenched his fist, "My son?" He asked.
"No," Mirror answered, "But I think it's one of his companions. Speedster, dressed in orange. Calls himself The Bolt."
Robert smirks, "So he's siding with Meta-Humans now. Fascinating. I'm almost proud. He's using people with abilities to do his dirty work," He put a hand on Mirrors shoulder, "Listen to me carefully. If we want my son out of the way, we bargain."
"With what?" He asked.

MEANWHILE

"Tell me where this all started, Charley."
Charley sighed and looked between his two companions, neither held a face that made him comfortable with the current situation, "A few years back, my dad told me about his commitment to this group of his. He said that he wanted me to be part of it all. He's my dad, so I didn't exactly question it too much, until the killing had started. He made me kill someone in cold blood, and I had begun to see what kind of person that he was. So I called the police. But he got away."
"Where did he go?" Olive asked.
"I don't know," Charley answered, "But time went by, and I wanted to make up for his mistake. I didn't want to be like him. So I gathered up the gear he left behind after he took off, and put on a mask."
"That's when you became Assassin," Sean said, "An origin story if I've ever heard one."
"Did you ever see him again?" Olive asked.
Charley didn't answer straight away, instead his fists clenched as he shook in anger, "Once, and not on good terms. Mirror Mask, when he gave me that file on Robert Baker, did for a reason."
-

6 MONTHS AGO

Assassin opened the window carefully, and stepped through with his right foot first. He made it a priority not to make any noise, utilizing his skills in stealth. He practiced this with his father when he made him commit B&E. It became a second nature. He could find entry points, weak spots and other factors in the process of it all. The source of the skill itself he wasn't too fond of. But he was happy it was something he could use for the greater good. He carefully moved around the office, observing his surroundings. He kept his hand across his waist, readying to pull out his gun or knife if the situation called for it.
He looked to the corner of the room and saw a woman with a bag over her head, tied to a chair, "Ma'am," he said, "It's ok, I'm here to help."
As the lights turned on, he pulled out his gun and pointed it toward its source.
"Hey there kiddo," Robert said, his hand on the light switch.
Assassin kept his gun pointed, but his eyes still widened under the mask. He couldn't believe it. It was him; it was his father. Why was he here. Why did he call Assassin 'kiddo'? Did he know who he was under the mask? He had to of. All of a sudden it made sense. This was all a trap. There was no Robert Baker here, just Robert Andrews. The similarity in the names should have been the first thing to tip him off that something was wrong. It was all a setup to get Assassin to come here, to see his father. "Who are you?" He asked, attempting to play dumb, in case his theory was wrong.
"Cut the act, Charley, I've known for months," Robert said, beginning to pace around the room, "I have to say, I'm actually somewhat proud. You're taking the city into your own hands, using everything I taught you."
Charley clenched the gun's handle, his trigger finger itching, "What do you want?"
"To talk, son. Just to talk," Robert said, "I've been gone for some time, it's true. But I have kept tabs on you and your mother. Mostly you. I haven't forgotten about your potential, and you show it every time you put on the mask. The skill you've acquired is incredible to say the least. Why I think you could probably go toe to toe with Green Arrow himself am I right?"
Assassin said nothing. He only contemplated shooting him now or letting him talk more. He was right here, just asking for it. He could kill him now and be done with it. He's killed before.
But never when wearing the mask.
"You have ten seconds to leave before I pull the trigger!" He yelled.
Robert laughed, "See that's what I like about you. You have spark. All you need is wood."
"Ten, nine, eight, hurry up!" He yelled.
"Son," Robert started, "I love you, don't ever forget that."
In what seemed like an instinct of reaction, Charley pulled the trigger.
The bullet flew straight through the hologram, making it fuzz for a moment before fixing itself.
"Ooo, tough break."
"A hologram," Charley said.
"I wonder though," Robert said, "How will you clean up the mess?"

Assassin didn't understand what he meant, until the hologram vanished, revealing blood on the wall. He looked down and saw the woman with the bag over her head, shot dead.
" …No," Assassin said, "No, no, no," he moved tpward the woman, and leaned slowly toward her, "I am so sorry," he said, removing the bag from her head as to close her eyes, in case they may still be opened.
The moment the bag left her head, he stumbled back in horror, "No! N! NO!" He rushed back to her side, looking over her as tears came through his mask, "No! I- I'm so sorry!" He rested his head on her shoulder, "Mom!"

PRESENT DAY

As charley finished his story, he wiped the tears from his face. Sean and Olive couldn't bring themselves to continue scolding him after all of that, "You?" Olive said, "When your mom died …it was you?"
"I- I didn't know she was behind him …" He said, "After everything he had done, he pushed me over to the edge of insanity." He looked to Sean, "If you really did do your research, you'd know that everyone I killed, everyone I hunted after that day, were a part of my dad's gang. Some temporary members, some elites but I didn't care. They all had death sentences on their heads anyway."
Even Olive at this point was surprised. All the killing finally made sense to her. All this time he used the malice in his head for revenge. As for Sean, he simply sighed and paced around the room. It's not that bhe didn't understand his reasoning to killing, it's that he could never imagine being in that situation himself. Then again, he didn't have anyone he cared about that deeply to lose.
Then he remembered he did.
"I'm sorry," Charley said. Olive put a hand on Charley's shoulder
"It's ok," She said, "But from now on, we have to stop the killing. The three of us can take your dad's gang down together without any lives lost. Ok?" She said.
When he listened to her speak, he heard something he hadn't heard in a long time; Compassion.
"So hang on," Sean interrupted, "If your dad knows who you are, does she know where this place is too?"
"I don't think so, but I'm not too sure," Charley answered, "But we need to stop him before his men strike again. I know where one of their bases is. Maybe we can get info out of some of his guys. My arms all better so I'm going with you this time."

Sean sighed, "Ok, suit up."

SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY

Bolt skid to a stop, setting Assassin down in front of the door to the building, "Is this the place."
"Y-yes," Assassin said, attempting no to puke from the sudden cease of motion. Bolt chuckled as he opened the door, "Right this way," he said through his laughter.
The two vigilantes walked through the dark hallway, looking about in every room they came across, "There's nothing here," Bolt said, "Are you sure that they're here?"
"They should be," Assassin said, "They have no reason to have left. I didn't attack this place yet."
"Yet?" Bolt asked.
Assassin shrugged, "It was on my to-do list." He sighed, shining his flashlight further down the hallway.
The silence between them grew. Since Assassin was so used to the sound of bullets flying passed his ears, he hated silence. It was never anything good. It usually meant there was either nothing to find, or it was just a trap waiting to be sprung. Surprisingly, he hoped for the latter. So in an attempt to break the silence, he tried to start a conversation with his new 'friend', "So, Sean, I have to ask," he started, "What drives you to put on the mask?"
Bolt looked to him, quite unsure of how he was supposed to answer. Truth be told, he didn't have a solid reason. He only ever did what his gut told him to do. Every action he's taken was to figure out who he is, where he came from and several other questions he still had yet to answer. He still wasn't even sure where his suit came from, and who made it. He didn't know what connection he had with the Meta-Mutant, or why it knew his name. "I don't know," he answered, "It's the only thing that's felt right since I woke up."
"Since you 'woke up'? What does that mean?"
Bolt sighed, "I woke up in Alter City with no memory. No name. Eventually I took the name Sean White. Discovered my powers soon after and got my suit. After that I just …felt the need to use them for something good. I read about all those other heroes who help people. Flash, Green Arrow and so on. It' just feels like what's right."
"What 'feels right'," Assassin repeated, "Good for you. At least your reason is honorable. Me? I'm out for revenge."
"Not at first right?" Bolt said, "In the beginning you wanted to make up for your dad's mistakes. You wanted to be a better person. And you can still be that person."
Assassin smiled under the mask, "I appreciate it. But we'll see."

MEANWHILE

Olive twirled her hair around her finger as she sat in thought. She didn't realize how personal Charley's urge to kill was. Though it still didn't excuse his actions, she felt bad that she had pushed him away. If she had known what he had gone through, she never would have left. She would have stayed and tried to help him the best that she could. But if she had stayed, she never would have met Sean. And Sean relies on her. What would have happened if Sean was all by himself when he put on the mask?
Her thoughts derailed when there was a sudden banging on the door. Not the kind that someone would use to ask for entry, but the kind where they force their way in. The door was pushed open and several men came in holding guns. They grabbed her by the arms and dragged her across the floor, "Hey! Let me go!" She said, kicking and screaming as they shut the door behind them.

LATER

Charley and Sean entered the room, seeing the door slammed open, and the chair Olive sat in knocked over, "Signs of a struggle," Charley said, "They took Olive."
"I guess your dad DOES know where this place is," Sean said, "Any idea where they took her?"
"When I figure it out, I'll let you know," he said.
Sean clenched his fist, "We don't have time! We have to find her now! They could be holding her anywhere. I'm going to search the city," HE started to walk off when Charley grabbed his arm, "No need," He said, pointing to the screen. A video with a title 'city camera 46' showed armed men, with Olive at their side, "We know that you can see us!" Mirror Mask yelled, "Come get us if you want your friend back."
"Could be a trap," Charley said.
"Who cares?" Sean said.
"Exactly," Charley replied, "I have a plan. But you need to trust me, ok?" he held out his hand, but Sean swatted it away, "Why should I trust a murderer.
Charley lowered his eyebrows, "I already told you why I- "
"I don't care," Sean interrupted, "I'm sorry about what happened, I really am. But you should have opened up to Olive instead of holding all of that anger and regret inside. That is what turned you into an assassin, not your mother's death. So If we are doing this; working together; we need to be clear about this. Olive doesn't need an assassin; she needs a savior. Got it?"
Charley stared for a moment, thinking about what he was saying. Eventually he gave up, and sighed, "So what's the plan?"

IN THE CITY

The street was empty of everything except the group of masked men. Several vans blocked entry on the roads. Olive was on her knees, handcuffed behind her back. She had several bruises from attempting to fight back during her capture. All she could do now is sit and wait. She hated it. She hated feeling so useless. She had become a burden to the people she cared about. With only hours until sunrise, she worried she wouldn't see her mom again.
In a flash, Bolt had sped into the street with Assassin, stopping with a skid. Assassin took a moment to get his balance back before he took a step forward, "I'm here," He said, "Let her go."
Mirror Mask nodded to his men, and they un-cuffed her. In a split second Bolt had sped over, grabbed Olive and sped them both back behind Assassin. "You ok?" Bolt asked, receiving a small nod from her.

Assassin took another step forward, keeping a hand on his holstered gun, "I know your back there, Robert.
As if on cue, Robert walked in front of the armed men, a smile on his faced, "I've actually missed hearing your voice."
"You won't miss a thing when I put a bullet through you," Assassin said, clenching his fist.
"Well that's not very nice. I didn't raise you that way," Robert grinned.
"That's exactly how you raised me" Assassin yelled, "You put me in your stupid gang and ruined my life! I turned you in because it was the right thing to do! But you …. you couldn't help yourself. You wanted to get back at me, even if that meant destroying the one thing in your life you still loved!"
"You mean your mother?" He said, "To start off, your statement is inaccurate. I still care about you."
"But not her?" He questioned, "You used her to turn me into a killer!"
"You becoming a killer was an individual decision decided by you!" Robert yelled, "Every decision you made after that was of your own doing!"
"Don't make yourself sound like a saint!" Assassin said, "Everything I've done was to stop you! You are a monster and your followers are no different. You wanted me here. Here I am. Now let's just end it!"
This time Robert had nothing to say. He knew he had implanted a bloodlust within his son, but he hadn't realized how deep it went. There was no love yet. Only malice. He truly was an assassin.
And that made him smile.
"Ok then. Hand to hand, winner kills the loser. Deal?" He said.
Assassin wasted no time dropping his backpack and the rest of his weapons on the ground, "Deal."
"Sean," Olive said quietly, "You have to stop him. He's going to kill him."
"No, he's not," bolt said, speeding off.
Assassin charged at Robert, leaping over him with a spin-flip, and landed behind him, throwing a kick to his back that sent him forward. "I've had time to train," Assassin said.
Robert turned around and landed a punch straight across his son's face, "That so?"
Robert walked toward Assassin as he regained his balance, "Then why waste any time? Just kill me."
He couldn't tell, but Charley had smiled under the mask, "You must be deaf if you didn't hear the lightning."
"Lightning?"
Robert turned around in hearing the groaning pain of his men. Each of them were on the ground, beaten, with Bolt standing at the center of it, "Oh hi," Bolt said, "I think these are yours."
"See," Assassin said, gaining back Roberts attention, "Ask me to describe myself in one word, it's 'don't take orders well'," He punched Robert, sending him back, "Forget one on one. This id about ending things."
"Then just do it," Robert said.
Assassin kicked Robert to the ground, and grabbed his knife from his backpack, placing it against Roberts throat.
"Charley-!" Olive started, but Bolt put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's ok," he said.
"Well?" Robert said, "Do it, Assassin!"
But he was frozen. He didn't move, he simply kept the blade on Roberts neck. This hadn't happened before. He hasn't hesitated in so long. Was it what Sean said? Or Olive? Perhaps he had finally come to grips with what they were saying. Or perhaps, in finally having what he has so long desired; to kill his father; perhaps it's not quite what he wanted. Seeing him there, helpless, it was pathetic.
Assassin pulled Robert close, "I am not an assassin, not anymore," With that he dropped him, and kicked him unconscious.
"Olive walked over to Assassin and hugged him tight, "I'm glad you're ok," she said.
"Thanks," He said, "Now let's get these men to the police station."
"Guys!" Bolt yelled, "One's missing."
As the sires drew closer, the three young heroes made their escape, leaving behind the lonely mirror mask that had sat quietly on the ground.

A FEW HOURS LATER

Olive had put the last bag in the car trunk with a yawn. The whole ordeal had been tiring for them, and their mothers will never even know what they did. She looked back to Charley who stood on the sidewalk with a smile. She walked over and gave him one last hug, "I'll miss you," she said, letting him go, "You promise to stop killing, right?"
"Promise," Charley said, "I also promise to be a better person in general. You just promise me that Sean will protect you. Ok?"
"I do," She said, locking her fingers together, " …I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I should have seen what the pain was doing to you, and helped you, I-" Charley put a hand on her shoulder.
"Olive," He said, "You've already helped me."
Olive smiled, kissing him on the cheek, before getting into the car.
"Hey Sean," Charley said, stopping him before he opened the car door. He wasn't sure what words to say, so he simply held his hand out, which Sean politely shook, "Good luck with the hero life," Charley said, "It isn't easy."
"I know," Sean said.
"Oh! One more thing," Charley said, pulling Sean closer as to get his attention, "I looked into Light-Speed labs after you told me you 'work' there," he slipped a folded piece of paper into Sean's coat pocket, "Sean, don't trust them," With that, he walked off, leaving Sean startled and confused.

For the entire ride home, Olive had slept gently against Sean's shoulder, holding his hand with a smile on her face. She was happy.
Sean himself, with curiosity, opened the envelope quietly, to find a flash drive inside.

THE BOLT

Sean closed the door to his bedroom and put the laptop on his desk, "Ok, Charley. What did you find," he said, turning on the computer, and plugged in the flash drive, showing a file labeled "LSSO". He clicked onto the folder and found dozens of files, all of which were locked, except for one. He clicked on the file, and a video popped up showing a man in a Light-Speed labs coat, "Hello. My name is Randolph Warren. I'm a scientist at Light-Speed laboratories. I am undergoing an investigation for one of our recent projects, the "Meta" project, as our CEO calls it. I don't know what's going on, but he has made us do shady things to get progress. This is all I can say for now. When I find out more, I'll document it, and keep the files under lock and key. I don't know what's going on here, but I intend to find out."
The video stopped there. Sean attempted to click on another file but it came up with a message saying "LOCKED BY RANDOLPH WARREN".
"Where on earth did Charley find this?" Sean asked himself, "… and what is Peter hiding?"

Written by Timelord2024

I do not own The DC universe. This includes the CW Television shows, ARROW, THE FLASH, LEGENDS OF TOMMOROW, and SUPERGIRL.

All Original characters are owned by Timelord 2024

THE BOLT created by Timelord 2024