Barry woke up with a start, breathing heavily, his entire body covered with sweat and trembling. Caitlin shifted beside him in his bed, which they had begun sharing recently, and draped a sleepy arm over his chest. Her presence always calmed him down. Thankfully, Barry had his own place since Caitlin couldn't really bring him back to her place with Bobby still there.
He gently pushed himself away, pulling up into a sitting position so he could bury his face in his hands. Caitlin had told him the phantom pain would be a symptom after his terrifying encounter with Zoom, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.
"B'rry?" Caitlin mumbled, blinking her eyes against her tiredness. He had been having nightmares for the past week and a half, but this was the first time she had woken up. "What's going on? Are you alright?"
He gave her a tired, but hopefully reassuring smile, gently laying back down beside her. "I'm fine, Caitlin, go back to bed," he whispered softly.
She said stubbornly, waking up a bit more. "No, you're not fine, you've been waking up from these... whatever they are for way longer than you'll care to admit." Okay. So apparently this wasn't the first time she had woken up. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"
"Because there's nothing you can do," Barry whispered. "You're already helping without even realizing it."
He slipped out of bed and pulled on jeans and a shirt. She watched him in the darkness. "Where are you going?"
"I just need to go for a run," Barry told her, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "I'll be back in a flash."
She was asleep almost immediately after she groaned at his terrible joke.
He took off down the road, glancing down occasionally to ensure his clothes were not on fire. He had been running a lot recently, attempting to increase his speed. For now, there was someone in the city faster than him, stronger than him, better than him, and he needed to defeat them.
Stopping Zoom was his only hope for getting rid of everything haunting him. It was the only way. He ran until dawn. Then he zipped back to Joe's house, exhausted but wired, and ate 10 of Caitlin's calorie bars until he stopped swaying.
Caitlin walked out of his room, yawning and pushing back her messy hair. He smiled when he saw her. "Since when do you get up this early?"
"Since you started coming home at dawn." She countered, leaning against the table and pecking his lips. "It's cold in bed after you leave."
He chuckled, nothing but a low rumble, deep in his chest. "I'm not that hot."
"I beg to differ," Caitlin smirked teasingly, reaching past him for the cereal. "Let me have breakfast, then we can head to STAR labs, okay? Unless you want to get some most sleep." She searched his face. "You look exhausted."
"No," Barry shook his head, for some reason completely against the idea of getting back into bed. "No, let's go to the Labs. Maybe we can do some more training today."
Later that day, Gwen was sitting in Jitters, waiting for her friends to arrive, and was getting a little worried when she saw nobody coming. She entertained the idea she was being stood up but figured that they were held up or still asleep due to the mission that she seemed to have missed out on. MJ said she had some things to think about and wasn't going to show, so there was at least that. In reality, she was still questioning the crystal she was given and she was wondering whether or not she should use it.
"Hey, Gwen," Harry Osborn said as he appeared to be the only one who had arrived. "So, are we the only ones here?"
"It seems like that," Gwen shrugged. "What have you been up to?"
"Well, Crystal dropped off some interesting technology I've been playing around with," Harry said. "What have you been up to?"
"Well, my uncle is working on DNA transference, seeing if he can actually merge the genetic makeup of two beings," Gwen says to him.
Harry recalled that idea and thought of something. "You know... I think that my dad was working on something similar. It's what he used to make the Goblin Formula."
"Oh, god, don't let my uncle hear that," Gwen said in a tone of terror. "The idea of another goblin out there..."
"Yeah, what would be next? Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, Goblin Prince, Demigoblin? Red Goblin?" Harry started listing these names off the top of his head with a laugh.
Gwen chuckled and couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, those are terrible," she said.
"Hey, so was Green Goblin," Harry laughed in reply.
In STAR Labs, Wells and Caitlin put Barry on the treadmill. He had a feeling it had something to do with Caitlin's worry that he was going to pass out from fatigue and that she didn't want him to get blown to smithereens by one of Cisco's drones because of it. It was also the best way to gauge how fast he was going.
"You're doing great, Barry." Caitlin called out supportively, turning back to her monitor as Wells leaned against the wall beside her. "He just hit 1375."
Wells frowned. "What's the fastest Barry's run?"
"A little over Mach-2 when he ran back in time," Caitlin told him, unable to keep the pride out of her voice.
Wells's frown made her realize how slow 1375 was compared to Mach-2, which was around 1,552 miles per hour. "That's not good." Wells sighed. He leaned into the com. "That's good, Barry!"
The treadmill slowed to a stop at the same time Barry did, and Wells let out another sigh. "I was never very good at those."
Caitlin couldn't disagree, so she just kept quiet. Barry walked into the Cortex, panting. "I'm not getting fast, am I?"
"Well..." Caitlin started.
"No," Wells said, bluntly. "You're not."
"Alright." Barry nodded, once, firmly. "Let's fix this, right? I mean, I can't beat Zoom at this speed. It felt like I was standing still next to him."
"That's because you practically were," Wells told him, again, very bluntly. "Zoom is at least 3, 4 times as faster as you at this point."
Barry's shoulder slumped. It was time for Caitlin to... intervene. "How could he be so much faster than Barry is?"
"Physiology." Wells shrugged. "Form. Strength. Could be a number of things." Everything that came out of Wells's mouth today was sending Barry further and further into the dumps of no return.
"Attitude." Wells kept going. "Diet."
"Okay, okay, alright." Barry cut him off. Enough was enough. "There's gotta be something we can do about it. So let's just.. figure it out. Fast. Ok?" He reached down to check his phone as it buzzed. "I gotta go, I'm meeting Joe for lunch. See you later."
Caitlin sighed, watching his retreating form. "So, how are we supposed to help Barry?" She asked, not liking the feeling of being clueless. "I'm out of ideas, and we've tried everything that you suggested."
"No," Wells murmured. "Not everything."
While they were working out on that, Cisco was out on a date with Kendra, but let's just say it didn't really work out in his favor. Barry got an emergency alert where he found this guy trying to kill Cisco and Kendra with knives of all things before escaping. And Cisco revealed Barry's identity by accident. Peter and Bobby finally arrived for this emergency due to all of it.
"I can't believe you're the Flash," Kendra said in awe, looking eagerly around STAR Labs. She turned to Cisco. "And that you work with him! And that Spider-Man is his brother."
"Yeah, well," Peter laughed nervously. "Let's keep that stuff on down low."
"This is the knife that was used to cut the men at the docks," Barry said distractedly, referencing another CCPD case as he investigated the knife he had taken from their new malefactor. "It's a perfect match."
"So it's the same guy," Joe confirmed.
"Definitely," Barry said. "But these blades- they're old. Centuries old."
"You have any idea why this guy would be after you?" Bobby asked Kendra, leaning on a desk.
"No," Kendra murmured. "I've never seen him before in my life."
"Well, he was certainly acting like he knew you," Cisco noted. "Kept calling her 'Priestess Chay-Ara'."
"That's Coptic," Wells said, crossing her arms.
"You mean Egyptian?" Caitlin asked, tilting her head to the side.
"That's right," Wells confirmed
"Well, I grew up in Wisconsin." Kendra shrugged. "And I've never even left the States, so..."
Barry spoke up again, looking gravely at Kendra. "This guy. He's clearly very dangerous, so I need to at least let us try to protect you."
Joe offered, "I can add more details."
Cisco cut that idea down. "You did see this guy, Joe. No offense, but I don't think a cop is going to be able to protect her. And I think he would chisel our ice friend here."
Bobby groaned and winced when he heard that from Cisco, knowing that Kendra now knew his identity. "Thanks, Cisco," he said sarcastically.
Cisco then realized what he had done and winced. "Sorry," he said apologetically.
"No, but we do have a few friends who could lend a hand." Barry reminded him. "We're going to need to leave Central City."
"And go where?" Kendra asked, a bit cautiously.
"Star City," Barry explains.
It didn't take long for the group to begin to get the idea of splitting off and getting to the city. Peter however dragged Bobby away before he started to even start packing up.
"Listen, man," Peter says, "would you mind staying back here? Someone needs to stay behind to protect the city while we're gone."
Bobby felt a little upset that he was going to miss out on the action with this strange man, but at the same time, he didn't want to become an ice sculpture for this guy's collection. "Fair enough," Bobby said. "Someone has to pick up your slack."
Pete rolled his eyes and patted his friend's shoulder as he passed by, saying, "Good luck."
In Star City, Team Arrow was in the middle of fighting Damian Darhk. That team consisted of Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen, John Diggle, and Oliver's protege Artemis. Oliver was getting attacked by Damien Darhk just when Barry sped in and managed to save them all.
Barry stopped and dropped the three of them near where Peter was waiting, his arms crossed and leaning against a shipping container.
"It's the Flash. And Spider-Man," Artemis said in surprise as she saw the two heroes. "Do we know them?" She asked the two adults who shook their heads no. "Okay. She then looked at the two heroes and whispered, "I didn't know we knew you guys."
Artemis is a half-Caucasian and half-Vietnamese, teenage girl of average height. She has olive-toned skin with long, thick blonde hair and dark gray eyes. Artemis is slender in stature, yet has an athletic build. At the age of fifteen, Artemis had hair down to her waist, which she often kept tied back in a ponytail, both in uniform and civilian garb.
Artemis's uniform was a midriff-baring costume that highlighted her build. It was colored in various shades of green and consisted of a mask extending from the hairline to the cheekbones, a sleeveless top with a stylized arrow tip on the front, fingerless gloves, pants with black knee pads, and black combat boots. She had a black utility belt and pouch strapped on her left leg that is likely filled with assorted tools.
Oliver guessed, "Thank you. But I don't think you two just swung by to protect us."
"No, not to protect you, but someone we know does need protection," Barry tells him as they fill them in on the way to their base.
Upon reaching Team Arrow's newest headquarters, they were all amazed at how much larger of an area they now had access to. When they stepped off the elevator together, Barry was immediately tackled by Felicity.
"Barry!" She cried, grabbing him in a hug. She pulled back after only a second and hit him, hard, on the chest. "Why didn't you tell me Zoom broke your back?" Then she hugged him again. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay."
Barry shot an amused, albeit slightly alarmed, glance at Oliver. "So this is what it's like dating her."
"More bruises from her than Deathstroke," Oliver joked.
Barry grinned. "I guess I'm luckier to have Caitlin than I thought."
"Wow," Kendra breathed. "STAR Labs is impressive, but this is..."
"This," Cisco exclaimed suddenly, "is completely wrong!"
Felicity blinked in surprise and offense. "What?"
Csico clapped his hand over his heart. "I'm mourning the death of engineering. Copper wiring won't be able to handle the processing speed from the Palmer Satellite. Your system will overload."
Felicity stuttered for a second. "Yeah, but- that hasn't happened. I mean, it hasn't happened since last week- I mean it didn't... it happened yesterday."
Cisco shook his head, obviously disappointed in Team Arrow's life choices. Kendra intervened before he could say something too offensive. "Hi," she introduced, reaching for Felicity's hand.
"I'm Felicity," the tech-savvy woman introduced herself.
Kendra Saunders said, "I'm Kendra Saunders. I'm Cisco's..." She trailed off, and she and the new couple exchanged a fast, silent conversation.
"She's my uh... new.. beautiful friend. Who kisses me." Cisco wasn't helping his case. "Occasionally."
Peter buried her face in his hand shoulder, attempting to cover up his sort of laugh and not quite managing. "That was sad."
Oliver mumbled, "That's nice."
"Right, um," Artemis jumped in, saving the day. "I'm Artemis. These are John Diggle and Oliver."
Kendra looked a little bit giddy as she said, "Oliver Queen."
Oliver smiled at him and shook his hand, saying "Hello." Kendra just kept shaking her head in amazement as she looked around.
"Wow," Kendra said, looking at Cisco. "First I meet the Flash, Spider-Man, Iceman, and...now the Green Arrow. Do you have any other surprises for me?"
Cisco laughed nervously. "Please, no more surprises."
Once again, a queen saved what would have been an awkward moment. This time, however, it was Oliver. He turned to Kendra. "Barry said that you need our help," he explained. "Someone very dangerous is after you."
"Yes," she agreed, "and I don't know why."
Artemis asked, "What does this guy even look like?"
Barry glanced up. "Uh, hold on." He walked over to a drawing pad that was lying on a table and quickly flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. In seconds, he had drawn the face of a man, with a scowl and a beard. "Okay," he said as he held it up to the group. "This is him."
"Yeah, see, that's something I would never have thought of," Diggle sighed, leaning against the wall. Barry laughed.
Felicity grabbed the drawing from him. "Huh, he's kinda rocking that Dracula-hot look. Let's see if facial recognition can find a match." She climbed up the stairs, a few members of the combined team trailing after her.
Peter asks Barry, "When did you learn how to draw?"
Barry just shrugged and replied, "Since now.'"
Felicity worked her magic for a few seconds on her computer, using Barry's drawing to scan her databases. Her computer beeped and up popped a photo of a man that looked exactly like the one in Barry's drawing.
"That's him," Kendra whispered.
"Yeah, strange. This picture is from 1975," Felicity told them, tilting her head to the side and smiling.
Barry realized, frowning, "That would make him about 80 years old right now."
Peter quipped, "He aged well; think it's his skin cream?"
"If it is, I'll rob Oliver to get it," Artemis joked.
"Ha. I like you," Peter commented as he bumped her shoulder. "How did you get mixed up in this?"
"My parents were assassins. My mother wasn't a very involved parent and allowed my father to train us to follow in their footsteps. Let's just say that they weren't parents of the year." Artemis gave him the abridged version of her backstory.
"Okay, back to business," Oliver said seriously. "What else can you tell us?"
Kendra shook her head, thinking. "He said we've known each other for ages, but... I've never met him before."
Oliver persisted, obviously not taking Kendra's answer as a final one. "There must be some kind of a connection," he insisted.
"Not one I can think of. I just moved to Central City 6 months ago."
Oliver narrowed his eyes and asked, "Why did you move there?"
"I- I just felt drawn to the city, I guess." Kendra shrugged.
"Kendra, there is a reason this guy is after you. Think." Oliver pressed, taking a step closer to her.
Cisco, having enough, spoke up. "Look man... we just came out here to hide out for a bit, until we figure things out, so you can just... take it down a notch."
"You came here because you need our help, and this is what my help looks like," Oliver said.
Barry and Pete exchanged glances, both of them wondering where this sudden anger came from and the scarlet speedster finally spoke up. "Oliver, I just saved you guys from whatever the heck flock of seagulls was going to do- the least you can do-"
"Barry, none of us have superpowers," Oliver yelled, suddenly and loudly. "You brought Kendra into our world without knowing who she is, or what this guy who's after her is looking for. You made all of us unsafe. So maybe you ask the questions."
"Whoa whoa whoa," Felicity said, laying a hand on Oliver's tense arm. Her presence, as always, was a soothing element for him. "We're all friends here, right? Why don't we go back to our place and have some drinks and we can... talk."
"That's fine," Barry replied nonchalantly.
Artemis joked, "I could drink."
"Not you two," Oliver stated as he walked past.
"Aw." Artemis was a little upset.
They all went back to Oliver and Felicity's apartment to get drinks. Felicity pulled out a couple of bottles, and Oliver got the glasses and a few age-appropriate drinks for the younger two. It was inspiring how well they moved around each other, seamlessly, like a well-oiled machine. Barry and Peter listened to Artemis and Cisco's conversation about her name.
"I'm not changing my name." Artemis protested his idea while she took a drink of her soda. "I like Artemis."
Cisco asked regally. "Are you familiar with my body of work? If you are then I'm sure you know that I can come up with something so much better than your literal name."
Artemis leaned back, smirking. "Why don't you... get a haircut, and then maybe we can talk about it?"
"I think you're just upset because my conditioner game is on point." Cisco reached to tug on some of his locks of hair.
Oliver leaned down and pressed a kiss to Felicity's temple, before walking over to pour the drinks. Barry leaned over to Felicity. "The CEO of Palmer Technologies?"
"Yep." Felicity nodded.
"Living with Oliver Queen," Barry said, shaking his head and obviously very happy for her. "It's insane how much life can change in six months, huh?"
"Which you would know better than anyone." Felicity reminded him. "Considering that there is another Flash and another Dr. Wells from another... Earth? And a sorcerer Spider-Man, with a thousand other Spider-People out there. One looking like your brother's ex."
"Uh-huh," Barry muttered. "Yeah, no, it's been trippy lately."
Felicity narrowed her eyes, considering. "I wonder what Oliver's doppelganger would look like." They both looked over her shoulder, watching him fiddle with the alcohol. "Bald. Potbellied."
"Uh-huh."
"Agreeable." Felicity grinned, twisting back to her friend as he laughed. "And you and Caitlin are... together?"
"Yeah," Barry confirmed. "Yes, we are most definitely together. She's back in Central City with Bobby."
"Good." Felicity seemed pleased. "You deserve someone amazing." The oven dinged and Felicity gasped. "My pigs in a blanket!" She scampered off toward her kitchen, slipping past Oliver, who was on his own way over to Barry.
"Hey, Ollie, look," Barry murmured. "Look, I'm sorry I laid all of this on you. That wasn't fair."
Oliver let out a sigh. "That's okay." He said, unusually forgiving. "I'm sorry if earlier I was a little.."
"Snippy?" Barry teased playfully.
Oliver took it in stride. "I have been called worse." He nodded. "You know, I'm glad you're here- I'm glad you reached out. It shows real maturity. I know that because I've never been that mature." Barry laughed outright at that, and Oliver patted his shoulder. "I'm always here for you."
"Thank you," Barry said, nodding as he motioned with his head towards the couches. "I have to say, this isn't the same Arrow team I'm used to. Or the same Oliver Queen. You seem really...different."
"Happy?" Now it was Oliver's turn to finish a sentence. He did so quietly, his eyes wandering over to the love of his life. "I am happy. I finally have everything that I ever wanted. Being with Felicity... has given me a real sense of peace. Something that I haven't had in a long time."
Barry squinted at him for a moment, and then another teasing smile flitted across his face. "Did you tell me that guys like us 'don't get the girl'?"
Grinning, Oliver nodded. "Yes. I was wrong." He walked off, then turned again. "Not like you listened to me, anyway."
Oliver walked in front of the couches, and Artemis and Cisco's banter fell silent. "I would like to propose a toast." He said, holding up his glass. "I wish it wasn't just the dark times bringing us together."
Before he could say another word, a streak of lighting zipped across the room, and Barry popped into view, now holding Oliver's glass. giggled. "But it is friends like you that make dark times worth having." Barry finished dramatically.
Cisco laughed, and Oliver rolled his eyes. "What a guy, steals my drink; steals my words- as I was saying." He took back his glass. "It's good to see everyone. Cheers."
They clinked glasses and took a sip of their wine. They lounged around the living room, nursing their glasses and talking about their latest meta/magic problems, until Kendra looked to the window and gasped.
"Look!" She cried, and everyone turned in time to see the same man who had attacked Cisco and Kendra before smashing through the window.
He landed on his feet, not even minding the glass shards scattered around the floor, and locked eyes with Kendra. "I will always find you, Chay-Ara."
In a Flash, Barry had brought Oliver his bow. He notched an arrow almost faster. "Don't move."
"Then how will I kill you all?" There was a tense pause where nobody breathed. Then he yanked his hands through his jacket, pulling out 4 glinting blades.
"Dude, overcompensating for something." Peter mocked him.
Oliver reacted almost as fast, aiming and shooting an arrow as Barry sped into motion. He grabbed the first knife, then the second and third, knocking them to the ground. Luckily due to Peters's enhanced senses and speed, he actually managed to catch the blade before it could touch him.
He gasped in pain a second later, yet another knife, thrown later, embedded in his shoulder. fell to her knees beside him, but he gave her a push, urging her to get to safety.
Their mysterious murderer grabbed Oliver's next two arrows out of the air, spinning them in his fingertips. Felicity grabbed everyone and ushered them behind, staring in horror at her boyfriend and the man's fight.
The man was getting the upper hand, and sent Oliver sprawling on the floor to lie, groaning, beside Barry. The speedster stumbled to his feet, just in time to catch a new knife aimed at his chest.
"Yeah, I can do that, too." He murmured.
Oliver was back on his feet, shooting more arrows. The malefactor deflected them with what looked like an iron fan... though that seemed a little weird. Peter tried to fight back by constantly shooting with the web shooters he has underneath his shirt. He kept shooting webs but in every direction that he shot, the man seemed to be able to shield himself with his weird fan thing.
Artemis leaped over the couch, aiming her own arrows, and began shooting. Soon, the strange man was overpowered, and, ignoring Oliver's cry to stop, Artemis sent one more arrow, which ended up sending him tumbling over the banister and to the hard pavement far below.
"What did you do?" Oliver gasped, staring in horror at his protege.
"I ended it," Artemis growled, face a mask of rage.
The others slowly got to their feet, and Oliver glared at Barry. "This is why we ask questions!" He yelled, striding angrily over to the banister.
Barry, never one to be left behind, flashed close behind him. Peter joined them as he peered over the side.
"Wait... where did he go?" Peter was now getting lost.
There was no one there.
They decided to return to the base as the team fell into trying to figure out who their new foe was. Cisco finally came clean about his powers to Kendra, admitting that she had been the one in his "Bird Vibe".
"In my vibe... you were a bird. With wings." He said gravely.
"Oh, I did not see that one coming!" Felicity groaned.
"Okay, we have officially set foot in crazy town," Kendra stated, taking a few steps back. "I...I need some air."
Kendra weirded out beyond belief, escaped to outside the Arrow Cave, with Cisco tagging along close behind. The rest of the team looked at each other in a muted shock. This was insane... Cisco later comes back to tell them that Kendra was kidnapped by some freak with wings. Barry, Peter, and Oliver go out to find her in any way they can by using their own ways of moving through the city.
Felicity finds where they both are and Peter was the closest one as he spots them and comes swinging in and kicks the man off the building. Then he webbed the wings to keep him from escaping and he smashed into the street, Peter skidding to a stop in the process.
The man got back up and grunted while Peter was shocked as he watched the man rip free of his restraints. "Don't ever do that again!"
"Then don't take my stuff." Peter jokes. "You took that girl like you're...Birdman...oh. Sorry, so go and poop on a statue or steal a hotdog from the beach."
Then the Birdman spun his mace in his hands and got ready to go at him. "Trust me, kid. You don't want to start a fight."
"Buddy...as far as I'm concerned, you're a wannabe Vulture," Peter stated as he squatted and got ready for a fight. "and I got backup arriving. Do you?"
"I don't need backup to squash a bug," Birdman promises.
That was when Barry sped in and rammed into him, sending the Birdman flying down the street. "He's an arachnid."
"It took you long enough," Peter comments.
Then they noticed the guy was starting to take to the skies, Oliver began to try and shoot him as he approached on his motorcycle. But that was short-lived when their Birdman flew in and threw his mace to send Oliver skidding.
"Alright, any of us got any ideas?" Peter asks them.
"Webbing?" Barry wanted to know their advantages.
"No, he's stronger than I am," Peter said apologetically. "I have absolutely no idea how."
"We need to expose his wings," Oliver said as he shot a few arrows to get his attention.
Getting the idea, Barry started to make a wind tunnel to stop him from flying away. Peter then took the chance to then web his arms, constantly adding layer after layer to stop him from escaping. Then at the last second, he took two strands of webbing and attached them to his feet. Spinning around and using all of his might, he yanked Hawkman and slammed him into the ground, and fractured that helmet of his. Lucky for Birdman, he managed to land near his mace and quickly grabbed it.
Barry was getting ready to run at him again, Peter was ready to get back at him, and Oliver drawing some arrows when someone interrupted them. "Hey!"
A flying projectile came in and hit all four of them before they could even figure out what it was. Then they watched as the projectile returned where it came from and who they saw carrying the projectile was shocking. Standing there, glimmering in the moonlight, was none other than the legend himself. Captain Steve Rogers. His shield was the projectile that had just returned to him after knocking the four of them on their backs to stop the fight.
Steve exclaimed, "That's enough!" to the four of them.
Peter couldn't help but gasp in amazement and was left speechless. "Dude... is that really who I think it is?"
Barry was just as shocked when he saw who it was. "It is."
Oliver groaned as he held the area where the shield hit him and was shocked as well. "Captain America?"
But their Birdman decided to call him by a different name. "Steve?"
"He's not the only one." A familiar voice to the group called.
Her voice caused them to look and notice Wonder Woman and Red Tornado coming flying down from the sky. Wolverine arrived on his motorcycle and Captain America jumped from the small building he was perched on. The three of them were left speechless again while Birdman got up and was left in awe.
"Diana! Red! Logan!" Birdman said happily as he walked over, limping from the fight he had just been in.
Red Tornado approached him with his hand stretched out. "It's good to see you again, old friend," he said.
"Glad to see you're still up and running, Tinman," he said as he shook hands.
Logan then came up and shook his hand and smiled. "Hey, birdbrain."
He then chuckled. "It seems as though some things have not changed."
He and Diana embraced as she expressed her happiness at having her friend back. "I've missed you, Hawkman," she said.
Hawkman patted her on the back. "You too," he said. Then he looked at his old friend, Steve Rogers. He walked toward him and smiled. "Thought you were dead."
Steve chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "I've been asleep for a long time," he said.
The two WW2 Veterans shooked hands and hugged. "I'm happy to see all of you, but what are you doing here?"
Diana explains, "We learned that Savage is back. We were on our way to Central City when he and you all moved here."
Steve explains to him, "And we figured with him out in the open, the two of you couldn't be too far behind."
Before the two of them could continue, Peter walked in and waved around. "Hi, excuse me. Um... Diana, good to see you again."
Diana smiled warmly.
"Hello, T-800," Peter said as he waved at the robot.
Red Tornado was just confused, even though it was hard to tell with that emotionless face. "I'm not exactly what you would call...a Terminator."
Peter said, "I got it," and looked at the animal-man. "Hello, Mr. Wolverine, sir."
Logan only growled, seemingly unimpressed by the hero's words.
Peter then saluted Steve. "Captain. Big fan." He then gestured to himself. "I'm Spider-Man." And now he finally lost his mind. "Can someone please explain to us what the heck is going on here?"
Hawkman only got annoyed and turned to face him. "This is none of your concern, young one."
Diana placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's okay," she said reassuringly. "I know them. We can trust them, and they can help us."
Red Tornado then walked over and seemed worried about their location. "Perhaps it would be better if we had this conversation on the Helicarrier," he suggested.
Peter, Barry, and Oliver all looked at one another, each of them trying to understand what he had said. "The... what?"
The Watcher eyed the skies as soon the heroes were inside of the JSA's invisible jet, making their way towards the flying carrier within the clouds. When they landed and leads the heroes, Kendra, and Hawkman to their new headquarters, he was amazed. Sadly, Artemis, Cisco, and Felicity were stuck staying behind with Oliver not wanting his base or his alleys to be discovered.
"Wow," Hawkman said, unable to find the words. "This is...a step up from our underground bunker."
"And cleaner, too," Logan agreed with a laugh.
Meanwhile, Peter and Barry were practically tearing the place apart to try and study the entire base. Peter was able to get into one of their computers with the information on the carrier. They had their masks off since it seemed everyone on the carrier knew who they were and were even assigned to protect their identities from being leaked.
"How on earth can something with such incredible power remain standing?" Barry wonders aloud in amazement.
"Hey, we're not the scientists behind this thing. We're just the guests," Steve said with a chuckle.
"So, you're saying you know the guy who attacked Kendra?" Oliver asked.
"Let's just say we have a...history with the man." Logan stayed as he sat down and popped a beer.
Steve explains to them all, "His name is Vandal Savage."
Barry wonders, "Who is he?"
"Some say he was the most trusted adviser to Genghis Khan," a new voice said, causing them to flinch and turn to see the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, himself. "Others say he guided Julius Caesar through the Gallic Wars," he continued as he walked over and gestured to the JSA. "But they would tell you...that he led Johann Schmidt to the most powerful artifact known to man."
"You guys fought this guy before?" Peter asks as he was looking tough a mega-microscope. Which evidentially made his face look a hundred times bigger. "When?"
"Back during World War II," Steve explains with a sigh.
Red Tornado explains to them, "We thought he died when we blew up the base of the Masters of Evil."
Diana sighed as she looked at Kendra and Carter (Hawkman). "Just after we lost you two."
"Wait...what? Are you saying I'm some sort of immortal?" Kendra asked, becoming more confused by the second.
"No, Savage is immortal." Carter tried to explain to her. "We reincarnate. You are Priestess Chay-Ara. I'm Prince Khufu."
"That's what Savage called her," Barry said.
"Okay, but why kidnap her?" Peter asked as he pushed the microscope away.
"We're lovers. Soulmates." Carter explains to the boy. "We've been partners for 4,000 years. We're drawn to each other in each life, and after we die, we reincarnate to find each other again and again and again. And now that we have, we have to stay safe."
"And you kidnapped her because...?" Peter was still waiting on that information.
"You people were not going to be good enough to protect her," Carter stated.
"And why does Savage want you dead?" Barry asks,
"In every lifetime, he hunts us down and kills us." Carter sighed. "He's currently done it 206 times., and I really don't want to make it 207."
Oliver asks, "Why does he keep coming after you?"
"His life force is tethered to ours," Carter explains. "Every time he kills us, he becomes more powerful. You do the math."
"So, wait, you've died 206 times to the same man, and you still think you don't want help? Uh, no offense, but I think it's time that you got some help," Peter says with a laugh.
"We did, and we still died," Carter stated, gesturing to the JSA. "And there were more of us."
"To be fair, there was also more with him last we met," Logan added, recalling the Masters of Evil.
"So, all we need to do is find Savage and get rid of him." Barry shrugged.
"Well, if that's what you're planning, you should know something," Fury added, letting everyone recall he was still in the room. "Savage was spotted leaving Starling City. I have a feeling after his run-in with all of you and your friends, he's going to realize he needs something more powerful to defeat you."
"Any idea what that could be?" Peter wonders.
Diana looked over to Red and they seemed to have a mental conversation of both. "The Staff of Horus."
"The what?" Kendra asks.
"It's a relic from our past," Carter recalled. "An ancient and powerful weapon. It's also what he used to kill us during World War II."
"And it was hard enough to pry it from his hands the first time," Logan snarled, extending his claws.
"Has anyone kept their eye on it since the war?" Steve asked as he looked at his friends.
"If I recall correctly, it was donated to a museum or something," Diana said, apologizing for not remembering where exactly. "Red?"
Red Tornado said, "I might be able to locate it. Give me a few minutes." He then began scanning the internet with his skills.
"And if we're going to do this, we could use all the help we can," Carter said as he looked over to Kendra. "You need to merge."
Carter brought the group outside and they were now hanging on the edge of the Helicarrier. When looking down, they see the gigantic drop from where they were to the ground. Peter wasn't with the group however as he was wandering the halls, getting a look at the amazing construction that went into building the ship.
But then he stopped when he looked up and noticed there was something on the wall. It was a similar logo to that on his watch. Moving his glove up, he looked at his mother's old watch and then looked upward at the logo. He flipped the watch over and was starting to wonder what his mother's connection to this place was.
Someone asks, "Who are you?"
Peter flinched as he spun around and saw a woman standing behind him. She had long blonde flowing hair and wore a sleeveless jumpsuit top with a red section resembling Wonder Woman's costume but with a black section covering her chest. She wore matching black undersleeves with fingerless gloves with a white star on the back of her hand. Her red pants were now extended above her knees, with golden kneepads. In addition to her lasso, she now wore a golden belt.
"Uh...who are you?" Peter asks her.
"I'm Wonder Girl," she said, introducing herself. "And you?"
"Oh, uh...Spider-Man." Peter explains, and even gestures to the spider emblem. "I'm here trying to figure some things out."
Barry then came speeding down and found him. "Hey, making some new friends?"
"I have a thing with running into blondes in super suits, don't I?" Peter joked. "Nice meeting you, Wonder Girl." Wonder Girl nodded and walked away, leaving the brothers. "So, what's up?"
"We found the Staff. Kendra is going to hang back, they said they can help her after we take care of Savage." Barry explains.
An agent was watching from the labs as she sighed when she saw Peter and Barry. Mary Parker was within the Carrier under disguise with only a handful of people knowing she was back.
Hope Van Dyne asks Mary, "Why don't you tell him?"
Mary wished she could do just that. Run to her son whom she raised for years and embrace him. "No." But she knew it would do nobody any good. "He's got his own life to worry about."
Washington, DC
Steve walked up to the Smithsonian alongside the others who were also making their way towards it. Once they noticed that the doors had been broken in, they knew they must be in the right place. When they all looked around, a small wing was revealed where they saw there was a wing dedicated to Captain America.
"A symbol to the nation. A hero to the world."
Diana muttered, "He's got to be here somewhere" as they walked through the halls.
Steve didn't respond; this would be the second time he had been there, the first time being at the opening.
"The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery, and sacrifice."
"Split up," Oliver said as the group then did exactly that.
Peter was making his way through the wing when he found an area explaining how Steve went from a scrawny kid to an American symbol. "Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world's first and only super soldier."
Peter scoffed when he heard that. "Little did they know."
Steve was walking through the place when he came across a small memorial for the JSA, as well as his old motorcycle. He smiled when he saw the old girl and even caressed the handles a bit. He remembered the battles that they have gone through together, and couldn't believe she survived just like he did.
"The JSA: their mission was taking down the Masters of Evil. The rogue science division." Steve couldn't believe that even the members of the Masters of Evil had their own separate wings. "Red Skull. Vandal Savage. Heinrich Zemo. The Shade. Dr. Shiro Ito, also known as the Dragon King.. Arnim Zola. Solomon Grundy. Brainwave. Dr. Poison. And Sabertooth. All bred and created with one purpose, to destroy the world."
Diana approached him from behind and smiled. "It feels like all of that happened in another lifetime."
Steve nodded as he recalled the short time it had been for him. "For me, it hasn't been as long; it feels like only yesterday," he said.
"It practically was," Diana jokes.
Then they kept going until Steve noticed all of the weapons that belonged to the Masters of Evil. "Zemo's mask," he said.
"Red Skull's uniform." Diana gestured to the uniform that belonged to Red Skull. "Everything we found, brought here, and collected."
"And the Staff of Horus?" Steve asks.
Diana looked down at the objects and noticed the empty slot. "Oh no," she said.
"We're too late," Steve worriedly stated.
Savage then exited the shadows and revealed himself. "You're about 70 years too late, Captain."
Steve spun around and raised his shield, Diana doing the same and raising her sword in the process. "Savage," he said.
"Oh, it's been too long, Diana," Savage says to the princess. "The last time we met face-to-face, you left me to die in a mountain that you blew up."
"And yet that still wasn't enough to kill you," Diana said sorrowfully. "I'm not going to let you get away this time."
"This is where it ends for you, Savage," Steve agreed.
"You two should know by now, Chay-Ara's fate is to die, as is yours now," Savage stated.
Then he began spinning the staff before aiming it at them. When he fires a blast out of the staff, Steve didn't even have time to react by raising his shield. But there was luckily someone coming in to save him. Peter came leaping and tackled the hero last second, but the beam managed to piece his hip. Peter let out a cry of pain as he fell to the ground, and Steve then began to shield the two of them as Savage kept shooting.
Barry then sped into the room as he saved Steve and Peter whilst Diana went to try and use her lasso to rip the staff from his hands. Savage was able to use the energy from the staff to stop her and sent Diana flying. Oliver then was the next to show up as he used his arrows and shot Savage, trying to take him down.
Peter was laid up against one of the displays, the one for Steve's old shield, and it seems the attack hadn't even dawned on him. "I...I've been hit." He looked down and held his hip to see the blood. "I've been hit."
"Take it easy, kid." Steve said as he looked over his wound. "It was a clean break, you should be fine. But would be better if we could close this wound up."
Peter grunted and winced as he tried to reach his web shooter. Steve wasn't sure what he was doing when Peter crushed one of his containers. He was surprised when he saw the explosion of webbing that caused the wound to close off. It wasn't perfect, but it would be able to work for now.
Barry sped over to them and saw his brother was hurt. "Peter? Are you okay?"
Peter winced as the webbing put pressure on his wound. "I'll be fine," he said.
Hawkman was the next to show up as he then came in and used his battleaxe to try and attack Savage. But Savage spins and shoots him down before he even had a chance. Then everyone ducked for cover when Savage charged up another powerful blast from his staff, sending fragments flying everywhere.
"Does anyone have any ideas?" Oliver asks the group.
"No," Steve admitted as he looked up, narrowly avoiding being hit. "But we've still got one ace we haven't used yet."
"What ace?" Barry asks.
"I used to enjoy slow deaths, but now...I just want to get it over with." Savage stated, getting sick of these heroes.
Then out of nowhere, a giant gust of wind came flying and caused everyone to grab onto something. Then Red Tornado came flying through and caused Savage to drop his Staff. He then flew in and managed to land between the man and the staff. Savage was shocked when he saw the android who was back and in working order.
"No! We destroyed you!" Savage cried out angrily.
"You created me," Red Tornado confirmed as he picked up the staff. "And you tried to kill me. That was your mistake. You didn't finish the job."
Then using the Staff, he spins it around and followed with him impaling him with the staff. Savage let out a scream as the energy built up within him and followed him turning into dust before their eyes. They all looked up and were shocked by what they saw and knew that there was still a chance that he could come back, even though he was currently a pile of ash.
Red Tornado stated, "I always complete the mission," as he snapped the staff in half for good measure.
Steve, Diana, Red Tornado, Kendra, and Carter were all now dropping off the heroes back in Central City with Oliver back in Starling City. Peter also healed up from his injury from that mystical staff faster than everyone knew was possible. They also said they knew someone who could look after the Staff just in case Savage did ever return.
"So, now that Savage is dead, does this mean you guys are now Immortal?" Peter wonders.
"I'm not entirely sure," Carter admitted. "This is a first for us."
"And Fury wants you guys to come back with us," Steve admitted. "To help Kendra remember everything."
"If that's what she wishes," Diana added.
Kendra seemed conflicted. "Well, I guess it should be explored. I need to see if I can remember any of these things."
"And uh...Steve, sorry about what I did back there," Peter seemed to apologize for the tackle. "I kinda just got you guys cornered."
Steve could only chuckle as he looked to Diana, who only shrugged and Peter was genuine about it. "Are you kidding?" He asks the boy. "You took a bullet for me without even hesitating. I can tell that when you grow up, you're going to be the best of all of us."
Peter stood stunned after hearing those words, frozen in place in the middle of the road. Barry chuckled as he poked his brother's shoulder, trying to elicit some movement from him. However, all Peter did was remain motionless in shock.
"Wow, I think you killed him," Barry comments. "I've never seen him so still in my life."
Steve chuckled as he and the rest of the JSA begin to make their way back on their jet and took off. Barry took Peter and sped him off to their homes and they had to take in everything that occurred. Cisco had to take a moment to wait for Barry to make a turnaround for him, but it was all worth it.
"It all worked out in the end." The Watcher narrated with a smile. "Kendra was back with the people who knew to help her, Savage was gone, and everything seemed to work out okay in the end."
Izabela Vidovic as Cassandra Sandsmark/ Wonder Girl
Halston Sage as Artemis Crock
