Alright, people! Here we go. The final chapter of the Gorilla City arc! I'm sure many of you have been waiting for the events of this chapter.
This chapter will be longer, but I will end the Gorilla City arc in this chapter. This is my longest chapter yet.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 37- Defenders
"So, Joe drew a picture of whoever this is using Grodd's memories. So, this has to be part of Grodd's plan," Barry says as he gestures to the digital image on the screen in front of them of the drawing Joe made.
"So, we just gotta try and search for who this is," Cisco finishes.
Clint steps closer, looking carefully at the image. He studies it for a moment, then turns to Cisco and says, "Cisco, run the image against the DOD database."
"Why?" Cisco asks.
"Whatever he's wearing is pretty formal. Add to that, look at his hair. It's standard military cut. Add that together, you get somebody with the DOD," Clint says.
Cisco grins broadly. "Man, good thing you came to our Earth. You're just helping out left and right," he says cheerfully, and he gets to work on searching the Department of Defense database for the man in the picture.
Just a minute later, Cisco cries out, "Yahtzee!"
"You found him?" Barry asks.
"Yep. Found him," Cisco says, and the photo of a man who looks exactly like the picture comes up on the display screen.
Bucky walks towards the screen. "The DOD has him listed as Air Force General Matthew McNally," he says. He then examines the information line below his name, and his face grows worried. "And, of course, he's a general in charge of nuclear missiles."
"S***," Clint says as he walks over to read the information himself. After a moment, Clint says, "McNally has the highest clearance when it comes to nukes. He can order a launch and have the missile in the air within 10 minutes. We need to find him."
"And we need to make sure we're monitoring nukes. We can't allow a missile to launch without us knowing," Bucky adds.
"On it," Cisco says as he starts typing, "I'm gonna hack into the DOD network and start monitoring the communications surrounding the nuclear arsenal. Once I'm finished, an alarm will sound if there's a nuke authorized to fire."
"Thank, Cisco," Barry says.
For a few minutes, they're all standing around in the cortex, waiting for Cisco to finish. Finally, he says, "Alright. We're on, and I've got it set up. Any nuke that's authorized to fire, an alarm will sound."
Only moments later, an alarm starts blaring. HR points upward with one of his drumsticks and says, "Is that it? That-that's an alarm."
"Yeah, it's that alarm, HR," Harry says in irritation as he moves to a computer.
A few seconds later, the display screen changes as Harry says, "Short range ballistic missile authorized to fire from Fort Reynolds."
"How much time do we have?" Joe asks.
"Minutes," Cisco respond tersely.
"Grodd, what have you done?" Caitlin says under her breath.
"We're not gonna be able to stop it from here. Military weapons are still old-fashioned in some ways for just this reason. And we don't have Tony to fly this one away. You're gonna have to deactivate the missile directly," Clint says, directing the last sentence at Barry.
"Okay. I'm going after it," Barry says, then immediately turns to Jesse and Wally. "I need you guys to stay here. If I can't stop the missile, I need you two to get everyone you can to safety," Barry says before speeding off, activating the suit as he goes.
He quickly arrives at Fort Reynolds. Sure enough, he finds General McNally lying unconscious on the ground, and the missile launcher spinning into position.
"Alright, I'm with the missile," Barry says.
Clint gets on the comms. "Alright, Barry. To access the keypad, you're gonna have to remove the panel at the base of the missile vehicle. These missile is equipped with a built in five digit kill code. We don't know the kill code, so you're gonna have to try every combination. You won't set off the nuke by doing that," he says, drawing from his experience with nukes while in SHIELD.
Barry moves to the launcher and uncovers the keypad. He's about to start pressing when he thinks of something. Standing at the ready, he says, "Jocasta, i need you to try and find me the kill code for the missile."
"On it," comes Jocasta's reply. For a few agonizing seconds, she's quiet. Then, she says, "I have analyzed the fingerprints on the keypad. The kill code is 45127."
Barry grins as he presses in the code. And sure enough, the launcher powers down. He starts laughing and says, "Thanks, Jocasta."
"You did it, Barry!" Cisco says over comms.
"Yeah," Barry says.
Even as they're celebrating, on the other side of the city, Grodd has realized what has just happened.
The Flash stopped the weapon. But he can't stop us all. Attack! Grodd says loudly to his army, and together they begin charging right for Central City.
(Some time later, STAR Labs cortex)
Barry stands behind Cisco and Iris as they work with the computers, trying to find Grodd's army.
"Found them," Cisco says suddenly, "They're right outside the city."
"Heading for State and Oakhill fast," Caitlin says.
"Which leads right into downtown," Iris finishes.
"Alright, so what do we do?" Jesse asks.
"Barry, I know we're speedsters and everything, but we are way outnumbered here," Wally says.
"Yeah, how are the three of us gonna take on all those gorillas?" Jesse asks.
"You mean the five of us," somebody says from behind them. Everyone turns to the entrance to the cortex, and sees Clint and Bucky, fully suited up and ready to go.
Barry grins as he looks at his teammmates. "Just like old times?" he says. Clint and Bucky both grin.
"You mean the six of us," another voice calls out. Everyone turns their heads to see Laurel has stood up from where she was sulking.
Joe looks at her fiercely. "What did you say?" he demands.
Laurel looks right at Barry. "Look. I understand you don't trust me. But those gorillas are attacking, and I'm in their path too. I do not want those things to kill me. Plus, I want to give you a chance to trust me. I want to help," she says with determination.
Barry looks at Laurel. Then, he slowly nods. "Alright. You can help us. But I'm gonna be watching you. If you screw with us, you're going to Iron Heights," he says.
Laurel grins. Iris, Joe, Wally, and Jesse all look at Barry in alarm, but he holds up his hand and says, "Not now, guys. If you want to discuss this, we'll discuss it later."
Clint speaks up and asks, "What about Caitlin and Cisco?"
"I have a job for Cisco. He needs to go get us some more help. As for Caitlin..." Barry says, trailing off as he looks at Caitlin.
"No, I can't. I can't risk it, Barry," Caitlin says, a little nervous.
"Caitlin, why can't you help us?" Clint asks.
"I just can't, Clint. You're not changing my mind. You'll have to do this without me," Caitlin says. Clint looks at Caitlin with concern, but doesn't say anything more.
"Okay. I think we need a name for our little group," Barry says. He pauses for a moment before saying, "How about...the Defenders?"
"The Defenders?" Cisco asks, a little skepticism in his voice.
"Why not? It's simple. And that's what we're doing. Defending Central City," Barry says.
Cisco just looks at him for a few more moments, then says, "Alright.
Barry grins, then looks around at everybody. "Alright. Defenders, let's go," harry says. He quickly whispers into Cisco's ear what he needs him to do, then heads over to Laurel.
As Barry leads Laurel out of the cortex to remove her collar and get her in uniform, Cisco approaches Clint and says, "Hey, Clint. I know you don't have a mask. So, I made you this." He then opens a box he's holding, revealing a full-head mask, with two points rising above the eyes, and dark purple H in between them.
Clint looks at it for a minute, then grins as he says, "Thanks, Cisco."
(State and Oakhill, short time later)
The six Defenders all stand at intersection, waiting for Grodd's army to come. Barry, Wally, and Jesse are all in their suits. Clint is dressed in his uniform, with the mask that Cisco gave him. Bucky is dressed in his full Winter Soldier uniform, along with his face mask and goggles, and armed with tranquilizer guns. And Laurel, dressed in her Black Siren outfit, with a simple black mask
"Any ideas on how we're gonna stop a few hundred gorillas?" Wally asks.
"Go for the legs?" Barry responds.
"I could probably take down this whole army if you'd like me go full throttle," Laurel says.
"I know. That's the problem. We don't want them to hate us anymore than they do. Just go as low power as you can," Barry says. Laurel rolls her eyes.
Barry looks ahead as the sound of marching footsteps hits him. And up ahead, he can see Grodd's army, marching down the street towards them.
Jesse and Wally crouch into a starting position, then take off. Simultaneously, Clint, Bucky, and Laurel start running at the gorillas as fast as they can.
Barry watches as Grodd himself comes charging right at him. Clint, Bucky, and Laurel dodge around him, but he's focused on Barry. They continue running forward until they're within range. Clint starts shooting arrows, while Bucky starts firing his tranquilizer guns. And Laurel begins to unleash her scream, keeping it as soft as possible, so as not to hurt the gorillas too much.
Meanwhile, Barry stares down Grodd as the gorilla charges right at him. His eyes spark, and he runs right for Grodd. But, in a move reminiscent of Solovar's first move during their fight, Grodd deflects Barry right off his shield, and he flies into a taxi.
Back in the cortex, HR says, "Well, that was not the start we're looking for." Everyone looks at him sarcastically.
"How much longer do they have to hold?" Laura asks nervously as she keeps her eyes locked in the image of Clint in the traffic cam footage.
"Hopefully, not much longer," Caitlin says.
Back at the intersection, things are starting to go downhill. In a matter of seconds, two gorillas manage to land blows on both Wally and Jesse, knocking them flying. One gorilla charges at Bucky, shield raised to block his shots, and slams his shield into Bucky, knocking him back into a cab. Another gorilla tries the same thing on Clint. Clint dodges out of the way, but the gorilla swings the staff of his spear around and knocks Clint flying back into a mailbox.
Laurel, seeing a gorilla bearing down on Bucky, jumps in front of him and unleashes her scream. The force of the scream knocks the gorilla flying back, but another gorilla grabs hod of a car and shoves it towards her. The trunk of the car manages to catch her and knocks her flying as well.
The five Defenders struggle back to their feet, shocked that they're hardly doing anything to stop them. At the same time, Barry is trying to get back to his feet, with Grodd glaring down at him.
Your city will fall, Flash. There's only one way to end this. You kill me. But you won't do that. All you care about is mercy, Grodd says tauntingly.
"Yeah, you're right. Except I'm not the only one who wants to stop you," Barry says.
Grodd growls. Then, a breach opens up a little ways down the street, drawing his and everyone's attention. A few seconds after it opens, Cisco and Gypsy both come through, staring at Grodd defiantly. Then, Solovar, armed and dressed for battle, leaps out of the breach, which closes behind him, and he roars angrily.
Solovar! Grodd says. All the gorillas stop what they're doing and just stare at their former leader not sure what to do.
Solovar lifts his shield and spear and shouts, I challenge you, Grodd!
And you will fall again! Grodd says angrily before roaring and charging Solovar.
Solovar roars in response and runs to meet Grodd. The two clash in the middle of the street, slamming their shields against each other. Solovar kicks Grodd to the ground and jumps on top of him, slamming his spear into the ground beside him. He then grabs Grodd and throws him through the air. Grodd hits an office building, but starts climbing up it.
Solovar roars angrily, grabbing his spear and leaping after Grodd to give chase. He catches up to Grodd on the top of the building and knocks him down with a blow from his shield. He then starts slamming his fist and shield into Grodd repeatedly.
Grodd kicks Solovar off of him, then tries to counterattack. But Solovar is ready for him. They exchange several blows before Solovar again kicks him, making Grodd stumble back. He then takes a swipe with his shield, knocking Grodd off the roof.
Down on the street, the Defenders, and Cisco and Gypsy, watch as Grodd falls from the roof of the building, and lands hard on his stomach. A roar draws their attention back to the top of the building, and they watch as Solovar jumps down and lands beside Grodd. Grodd tries to get back up, but Solovar hits him and knocks him onto his back.
Victorious, Solovar climbs over Grodd and beats his chest several times before roaring. The gorilla army all descend to one knee, acknowledging Solovar's return as their leader.
Solovar turns back to Grodd, then grabs Grodd's fallen spear and says, Goodbye, Grodd. And he raises the spear to kill Grodd.
"Stop!" Barry shouts, drawing Solovar's attention, who lowers the spear.
"Death isn't the way," Barry says calmly.
He betrayed me! Solovar protests.
"I know, so leave him here. Where he's from. We won't let him go back to Gorilla City ever again," Barry says.
Solovar growls, looking back at Grodd, torn between the two decisions.
Barry looks intently at Solovar before saying, "Just spare his life like I spared yours."
Solovar looks back at Barry for a few moments, then nods, understanding passing between the human and the gorilla.
Solovar then points to his army and says, Send us home. All of us.
(Some time later, the cortex)
"Do you know how long it's gonna take to put a hundred gorillas through a breach. We're gonna be here all night," HR says.
HR is suddenly cut off as the team speeds back back into the room. "All the gorillas are back on Earth-2," Barry says.
"And Grodd?" Caitlin asks.
"I called Lyla. He's with ARGUS," Barry says.
"ARGUS?" Clint asks.
"Basically this Earth's version of SHIELD. The director is the one I called about getting you and your family, and Bucky, places to stay," Barry says. Clint nods in understanding.
"Good thing they got him. I don't know about you all, but I don't ever need to see a super smart telepathic gorilla again," Joe says.
"Not that Grodd didn't have some justification for mistrusting humans," Barry says.
Clint nods. "Back my Earth, right before Barry got there, we were fighting a sentient AI called Ultron who wanted to kill us and then wipe out humanity. Our leader said a similar thing. Before the battle, he said that it wasn't just about beating Ultron. It was about whether or not he was right. As bad as our enemies are, they sometimes see the flaws and wrongs in us that we don't see in ourselves," he says.
Caitlin nods slightly. "He may have seen our flaws, but Grodd took the wrong path. Whatever good used to be in Grodd is gone. As far as I'm concerned, they can throw him in the same cage as King Shark," she says.
"Hmm. I'd pay money to see that fight," Cisco says.
"Same," Laurel says with a smirk, having forgotten King Shark was still on this Earth, her mind already imagining such a fight.
"Who's King Shark?" Clint asks Barry in a whisper.
"A giant half-man, half-shark who's about the size of Grodd," Barry says. Clint looks at him in surprise.
"Well, if the city isn't in danger anymore, I'm gonna head back to Earth-19," Gypsy says.
"Oh really. You did all this for the city? Because I'm pretty sure there's a different reason you chose to help us," Cisco says a little sarcastically.
"That's right. I was the only one who knew where Solovar was," Gypsy responds.
"Oh, right. How could I forget?" Cisco says sarcastically.
Gypsy raises her eyebrows. Cisco smirks and says, "Don't front. You're into me."
Gypsy smiles nervously and looks down for a moment, then looks back at Cisco and says, "Look, Cisco, i mean...Even if I was..." She the suddenly grabs him and kisses him.
"Ohh!" Wally says softly as he and Jesse cover their mouths in surprise, and everyone else, even Laurel, starts smiling at the sight.
Gypsy pulls back, smiles at Cisco, then whispers, "You couldn't handle me." She then plants two more brief kisses on his lips before letting him go. She smiles at him as she walks out and says, "Bye, guys."
Caitlin waves to her, and Cisco says, "I'm gonna marry that woman. Yeah."
Suddenly, Gypsy pokes her head back into the cortex. "Barry, can I talk to you real quick?"
Barry looks around at everyone else, shrugs, and says, "Okay." he follows Gypsy out of the cortex.
"What is it, Gypsy?" he asks.
Gypsy looks at him, her smile gone and her face now totally serious. "Cisco told me you got sent to an Earth called Earth-99. Is that right?" she asks.
"Yeah," Barry says carefully, not sure what her worry is.
Gypsy looks at him intently. "I've had to go to that Earth before. And I've heard stories from my dad about that Earth. It's known for being different. There are many powers in that universe. And not all of them benevolent. I knew how to get from my Earth to Earth-99 without attracting suspicion. You didn't. You need to be careful about threats from that world finding yours," Gypsy says before she turns walks away. Barry just stares after her.
Iris and Joe come out of the cortex a moment later. Iris looks in the direction Gypsy walked and asks, "What was that about?"
"Gypsy...has apparently been to Earth-99 before, and was just telling me a few things she felt I needed to know," Barry says. Iris and Joe know there's more to it than that, but decide not to push him about.
"Well, good job, Bar. I got a date with Cecile, so I'll see you later," Joe says before walking off.
Iris smiles. "I got to go get this story in. But, you want to go out after?" she says with a smile.
Barry sighs. He knows he has no more excuse. So, he says, "Iris. There's something we need to talk about. Meet me at the apartment once you're done at work. we can talk then."
Iris looks at Barry, concerned. Finally, she says, "Okay. I'll see you later." She then turns and walks away.
Barry stares after her. A moment later, Laurel comes walking out of the cortex. She looks at him and asks, "Your girlfriend or something? Some drama going on there?"
"Oh, you have no idea," Barry says under his breath.
"Try me," Laurel says with a smirk.
Barry looks at Laurel, then figures it won't hurt before he says, "I got sent to another Earth. To me, I was there for over a year. But to everyone here, I was only gone for a month. While I was on that other Earth, I met a woman I truly fell in love with, and I married her."
Laurel looks at him in surprise. "Man. That's drama if I've ever seen it," she says.
"Yeah. And I haven' told her yet. I've been too distracted by Grodd. But, I'm gonna tell her tonight. I'm just not sure how," Barry says.
"Tell her as it is. No sense in trying to lie," Laurel says simply. Barry looks at her, then nods.
After a moment, he says, "You've earned my trust, Laurel. I'm not gonna send you to Iron Heights. You're free to try and start a new life. But, if you do something bad again, I will take you down."
Laurel nods in understanding, then smirks again. "Now, you promised me you'd get me as much Big Belly Burger as I wanted for the next week. And I'm starving," she says.
Barry laughs. "Alright. Be right back," and he runs off to go get the burger.
(The cortex, some time later)
Caitlin sits at the computers in the cortex, checking up on a few things. Suddenly, she hears footsteps behind her, and turns to see Clint walking in.
He sits down next to her. He looks at her and says, "Laura told me about her conversation with you about Killer Frost. I'm guessing your fear of her is what made you so resistant to help us."
Caitlin looks at him, then sighs. "Yes. My doppelganger on Earth-2 was Killer Frost, and she was really evil. I've been so scared of becoming her."
Clint nods, then says, "On my Earth, one of our teammates was Dr. Bruce Banner. He was exposed to gamma radiation that gave him the ability to turn into a monster known as the Hulk. The Hulk is at least as big as Grodd, and he's strong enough to probably lift an entire building, and he's pretty much invincible. But, the Hulk is unleashed by rage or stress, and for the longest time, whenever Bruce turned into the Hulk, he would attack anyone and anything in his path."
Caitlin looks at him in surprise. "Wow. I'd almost prefer my powers to the Hulk."
"But, Bruce eventually learned how to control it. He learned how to keep the Hulk under control, and to be a valuable member of the team. One who would even take orders from our leader, Captain America," Clint says.
Caitlin looks intrigued. "How did he do that?" she asks.
"He accepted it. He accepted the Hulk as a part of him, and he learned how to control his anger so that he could unleash the Hulk when he wanted, and keep the Hulk under control," Clint says. He then looks intently at Caitlin and says, "I think you can learn to do the same thing. And I'm gonna train you."
Caitlin looks at Clint in surprise. "What?" she exclaims.
Clint grins. "I'm gonna train you to control Killer Frost," he says confidently.
(Barry and Iris' apartment, later that night)
Iris walks into the apartment. Secretly, she's hoping that Barry fixed up some dinner, as she's feeling very hungry after the whole thing with Grodd. She's also a bit curious, since she found Cisco sitting in the STAR Labs van in front of the building. He must told her to go up and ignore him.
As she walks into the living room, she stops short. Because Barry is sitting on the back of the couch, with a few boxes next to him.
Iris looks at Barry, not sure what to say. Finally, she just says, "Babe, what's going on?"
Barry looks at Iris in silence for a moment. Then, he gets off the couch and steps toward her.
"Iris, I have been trying to find out a time to talk to you about this. But with the situation with Grodd, I just wasn't able to find a good time until now. But, I can't keep the truth from you any longer," Barry says.
"What do you mean?" Iris asks.
"When I got sent to Earth-99, there was difference in time caused. So, by the time you all found me, even though it had only been two weeks for you, it had been over a year for me," Barry begins.
Iris looks stunned. "A year? How is that possible?" she asks.
"I'm still trying to figure it out. But, when I got there, I nearly gave up my life to try and save the Earth from Ultron, and to save another speedster. Because of that, I developed a close connection with the Avengers, and I felt connected to Earth-99. Even still, I wanted to come home. I tried, but I couldn't. So I built a life for me there," Barry says.
Iris just stares at him, not sure where he's going with this. He looks at her, quiet for a moment, then says, "After a month or so, I had to give up hope of every returning home. And I forced myself to move on. Over time, I started to build an especially strong friendship with the sister of the speedster I saved. Her name is Wanda. Since I saved her brother, that developed a special bond between us. And over time..."
Now, Iris starts to realize where he's going with this, and fear starts to take her. "No. No, Barry, please don't," she whispers.
"I'm sorry, Iris. But, during the conflict with Savitar, I realized I had grown to care for Wanda, and she confessed she loved me. So, we decided to give it a shot, and so we started dating," Barry says.
Iris just stares at him in horror at what she's hearing. Finally, she manages to say, "You cheated on me?"
Barry looks at Iris in shock and exasperation. "No, Iris. I felt sure I would never come home. I had to accept that our relationship was over for me. And I began to realize that the love I had for Wanda was true love, more than I ever felt for you, Iris. She became my new girlfriend."
Iris just stares at him, stunned, feeling horrified that this is happening. Finally, she says, "No, Barry. You told me that my voice would always bring you home. When you were in the Speed Force, you came back to me. You've told me so many times you love me!"
"And now I realize that wasn't the love I thought it was. It was more of an infatuation, not love. And like I said, I thought I'd never see you again. I had to move on," Barry says.
Iris stares at him for a moment before bursting out, "But Barry, you can't just leave me like this. And your 'girlfriend' is on another Earth. You're back here now. Just let her go, and let's try and work things out."
Barry narrows his eyes. "Excuse me?" he asks.
"You said you let me go because you were on a different world. Just do the same for this girl and come back to me," Iris says.
"Iris! I'm not gonna be a guy who just throws away girlfriends whenever I want. It took me forever to give up hope of returning to you. Also, I have a way back to Earth-99. Plus, I can't just dump Wanda. She's not my girlfriend. She's my wife!" Barry says.
Barry has never seen Iris look more stunned than she does in that moment. Finally, she splutters, "Your what?"
Barry sighs, then says, "My wife, Iris."
She stares at him in silence before saying, "You're joking. This can't be true."
Barry rolls his eyes a bit, surprised she's so in denial. Knowing there's no other way to convince her, he removes the glove he's wearing and holds out his hand, so iris can clearly see the gold wedding bang on his ring finger.
She stares at it in shock, not sure what to say. Barry takes her silence as a chance to explain. "I truly grew to love her, Iris. And after we were thrown in the Raft, and Jay and Cisco got me out, I started to realize just how much I love her, and I knew we had to get hr and my other teammates out. Not only that, but some conversations I'd had with Laura and Clint during my stay with them made me see the truth. I sent Jay to get my mother's engagement ring, and I proposed to Wanda. We were married about a week ago. Three days after I proposed."
Iris stares at him, her face filled with betrayal. Finally, she manages to get out, "I was supposed to be the one you gave that ring to."
Barry stares at her, unable to believe he just heard her say that. "I was supposed to give it to whoever I wanted to marry. And that woman is Wanda."
"How could you do this?!" Iris cries.
"I had to move on, Iris. I realized Wanda was the one I truly loved. She is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. And now, she's my wife. And as soon as I can, I am going to go back to her," Barry says.
Iris just stares at him. Barry picks up those last few boxes and says, "I'm moving out, Iris. I can't live here anymore. I'm sorry about all this. But we're done, Iris." And with that, Barry runs out of the apartment, taking the last few boxes down to the van, where the rest of his things already are.
In the apartment, Iris just sits there, stunned into silence by everything that has just happened. Finally, her knees buckle, and she falls to the ground, sobbing, feeling just broken at losing her boyfriend. And anger at this Wanda for stealing him.
Aaaannndddd, I'll end there.
I hope this was a satisfying end to the Gorilla City arc. I hope you liked my Defenders. I thought it would be a nice twist, especially with Laurel being a part of it. The Defenders may be showing up again in the sequel. And, yes, Laurel is going to be released. She and Bucky will be pursuing a separate path. I will eventually do a spin off story surrounding them. All of you, please let me know if you'd like to see it before Infinity War or after Avengers 4.
This marks the end of the main portion of the story. There will be two more chapters winding things down, then the epilogue, which will set up the sequel. I am not gonna spoil anything about the epilogue or the sequel it sets up. But I think you'll like it.
For those wondering, Iris will continue to be actively antagonistic towards this new development for the next two chapters. She will settle down by the epilogue, but obviously it's gonna take her a long time to get over this.
I will get the next two chapters up in a day or so. Until then, review and stay tuned.