18

Ralph Dibny, I Think


Brady stuck his head out the door to the apartment, looked both ways, then stepped outside fully. He looked over his shoulder as Connor strode out after him. "Nobody's here," he remarked. He shifted his backpack up his shoulder. "I seriously doubt Oliver is going to be staling you on your way to school."

"He's the Green Arrow, he can do anything he wants," Connor reminded him dryly. He ran a hand over his face, yawning quietly, making Bray watch him closely. "He's probably got cameras all around this city and his own."

"That's…" Brady trailed off, pulling the door shut behind him. "Not quite untrue…" he trailed off, calling bye back to his mother before closing the door all the way. "Okay, I don't think he'd have them in the apartment, though. Privacy laws and all that, mom went over it with me when she was studying to join the CCPD. She says if someone's filming and they don't have your permission…something about being a two-party state. I don't know."

"You mean like those guys that were watching us on the way to school that day?"

"Thanks…I almost forgot about that." The two went to the elevator of the apartment complex and rode down to the lobby, where they waved to eth receptionist, and started their trek to school. "And about that creepy doctor's office that I haven't been back to since."

Connor huffed a breath through his nose. "I'm sure Oliver could handle that too," he said sarcastically. "Has some sort of cameras all around that place. You know, unless your mom scares him off against for me."

"She can be pretty scary sometimes."

"But to scare my dad?"

"At least you're calling him your dad now," Brady pointed out. Connor shrugged and yawned again. Brady watched his best friend closely, noticing that the dark bags under his eyes that seemed to get darker and heavier as the days passed. "That's a good sign, right?"

"I guess." Brady frowned, twisting his mouth to the side. Connor lifted his gaze toward the sky, taking a moment to bite his tongue before saying, "Not everyone's relationship is like yours, okay? You and Barry can work through things because Barry actually wants to work through things, Oliver doesn't care about anyone but himself. If he did, he would've cared at least helped me and my…" he blinked hard. "Would've helped me and my mom when I was growing up."

Brady snorted. "Like Ryder did any of that. I didn't know who he was until a few years ago. You didn't know Oliver was your dad, either."

"He's got Felicity and Diggle to help him out, a full team of people, I'm sure he had an idea of finding out who I am if he wanted." Connor shook his head. "Not that it matters now, I don't even know if I want him around? He's lied so much, he's…he's not a good man."

"Because he killed some people? You know my mom did the same thing, they're both doing what they think is right to be heroes."

"Whatever. I don't want to talk about it anymore." Connor folded his arms tightly over his chest, looked at his watch. "We still have time before school starts. Did you still want to stop by…"

"Yeah, it's just this way." Brady took a right turn instead of a left at the intersection that led them in the direction of school and walked in the opposite direction. "Think Leah will be mad that we went without her?"

"I don't know." Connor shrugged again. This time seeming even more annoyed than he had moments before. "She's been really moody lately. I don't get it."

"She's probably just mad that she's been benched like the rest of us," Brady reasoned. He still couldn't quite get over the outrage he felt over it. Of knowing that every time something happened in Central City, he wasn't going to get much experience in helping. All that training wasted, he supposed.

The six months that Barry had been gone was good for him in the sense of the training he received. He was able to phase people and things with ease, could turn invisible at the drop of a hat if needed, and he made good use of it when wanting to play some pranks or having some fun. And he was in good control of the shadow balls and form so energy he could make, often using them in pairing with all the gadgets that Cisco had made him. Sure, there was the one incident where he seriously strained the muscles in his back from the repeated throwing of his frisbee/shield, but that wasn't anything to worry too much about.

His mother had immediately gone and healed it for him, and he was careful in his throwing technique to not do it again. But he had the skill and the no how that no one would see. And he was sure people would realize there was a lack of Shadowhunter out in the field, especially if there were going to be more sightings of the Samuroids. And…there was that video clip of him beating Barry in the face with his war hammer when he was going out of control that was making the rounds of the internet.

Brady grinned to himself as he went along. Tried to wipe it off his face, knowing Barry wouldn't find it to be as funny as he did. And, well, while he finally got that apology from the speedster he was waiting for, it wasn't like things were going to completely go back to normal so soon. But that didn't mean he couldn't help when he could, they were dispatched more and more as the days went on.

And now…

"You're not being completely benched," Connor reminded him. He pulled out his phone and started to swipe through different screens so quickly Brady couldn't keep up. "Your mom said so herself, you're going to alter your training, maybe more target practice. If something big comes up, you'll be back out there. And, besides, it's probably not a good idea for you to be going after these Samuroids anyway."

"Why?"

"They're four bars." Connor turned his phone around to show him the level of measurements they had for all for the people and enemies they'd come across. "Maybe even a five bar considering the sort of armor they're made of."

"So?"

"You're a three bar, dude." Connor reached out and placed his hand on Brady's shoulder, squeezing it. "And, I don't know about you, but life would be really boring without you around." He smiled. "I wouldn't have anyone else to annoy."

"Ha ha."

Brady pushed Connor's hand off his shoulder and waved them into a nearby apartment building. One of the ones that seemed inconspicuous, a bit rundown, which would make those looking for their first place wary of putting down a deposit, but newer enough for those that had been in the rental game to know it was a place that would have a better cost of living. And, the most important part, no one would look for them there.

Perfect.

Brady grasped Connor's shoulder phased them up through the floor. No worries of any cameras or people around to see him exhibiting his powers. They slid up through the floor of an apartment, crying out in surprise when a sword nearly sliced into the tips of their noses. Connor leapt behind Brady, grabbing his shoulders tightly, making the two vibrate as he shook in fear.

Black Blade, on the other hand, calmly brought the sword back down to his side. "Haven't people ever warned you about going into other people's homes without knocking?"

"Sorry." Brady bowed once, forcing Connor to bow as well. "I don't expect everyone to have swords lying around."

"Katanas," Black Blade corrected him. He walked to a holder on the wall and set it down, carefully placing it with his fingertips. "They're not just swords. They're ancient pieces of art."

Brady shrugged. "However you slice it, it's a sword."

Black Blade smiled. "What brought you over here today?" He gestured for them to sit in any of the low sitting futons and cushions that lined the living room. "Shouldn't you be in school? You academics are important." He then picked up a tea kettle that sat on the edge of the table and offered it to the boys.

"We came to see how you were doing." Brady waved Connor off once more and stepped toward Black Blade, lifting his hand to turn down the cup of tea that'd been offered to him. "We have some time before school and I don't think being a little late would be too bad."

"For your track record?" Connor snorted. "Maybe not." He then looked at Black Blade. "That guy, Abra Kadabara—"

"—Abra Kadabra?" Black Blade repeated.

"That's what Cisco named him," Connor explained. "Do you know him? Did he come from your Earth?" Brady waited with bated breath at the response. "It seemed that he really wanted to get you out of the way."

Black Blade lowered his cup of tea, his upper lip curling into a small smile. "I'd figured, by now, that you all would've been used to having people come out of the woodwork to attack you for no reason." Black Blade thought for a moment. "He said he wanted to waste some time while waiting for the Flash. But it seemed pretty symbolic to me."

"Why?' Brady frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The samurai vs. the ninja?" Black Blade replied. "Though I would never consider myself to be of the latter category. But whomever sent out the Samuroid to go after the Flash…if it was a set up…then they've got an idea of the kind of people you've surrounded yourselves with."

Brady chewed his lower lip. He looked to Connor, who looked back at him. "Then they've been watching us," he realized. "Just like Barry said."

"Maybe they know we're here, too," Connor agreed. He took in a deep breath, running his hands through his hair. His gaze shifted for a moment and he looked to Black Blade. Paused. "Do you know anything about the sort of metal that the Samuroid was made out of?"

Black Blade shook his head, his blue eyes flashing in light irritation. Nothing that he would've otherwise outwardly shown. He was much too careful to let any of his emotions show in regards of those he kept around him. In case of an enemy that was coming too close for comfort. But Brady had seen a strange sense of satisfaction in Black Blade's eyes just before their fight started, the same sort of satisfaction he saw in Abra Kadabra's when he said those things about his future.

But he trusted Black Blade more than a man who seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere to wreak havoc. For his own personal gain.

"All Ii know is that it was stronger than any of the metals I've ever come up against before," Black Blade agreed. "Even from my own Earth. Whatever this is…it's something that's just started here. I haven't found a counterpart anywhere in Earth-2. Then again, I never had the opportunity to get a sample of the metals. Not even through any shavings that may have been left on my katanas." He paused. "Almost as if…" his voice trailed off.

"Almost as if it were planned?" Brady asked. He nodded when Black Blade's eyes shifted toward him. "That's what we were thinking too." He looked at his watch. "We should get to school. I can be late, but not that late. Thanks Black Blade." He waved.

Black Blade smiled, leading the to the door. "I told you, you can call me Ryuto."


Barry stepped out of the way before he could get slammed into by a very angry looking woman as she stalked away from Ralph Dibny's office door. He flattened himself against the wall and exchanged a low with Joe, uttering a low, "Uh," as she went.

Joe looked back at him in amusement. "This is definitely his place."

"Things never change, huh?' Barry replied, watching as the woman violently pulled at the door at the end of the hallway that led to the staircase. After a few seconds, she realized she needed to pull and equally violently—with a push of her foot—knocked the door open, where it swung shut with a loud wham. "I'd hate to see what he did to piss her off.

"I don't know, maybe you should be asking what pissed these guys off."

At Joe's tone, he turned to see her pointing to the window that led to Dibny's office. Where the words Ralph Dibny Private Investigator had been scratched out to read Ralph Dibny Private Dick. Barry rolled his eyes, pushed himself off the wall, and motioned for Joe to open the door. "Knowing Ralph, it could be his very existence."

"Geez, Bare, I can't wait to see what happens when you actually dislike someone." Joe knocked on the door to the office before pushing it open. Ralph looked up from the mirror he held in his left hand, massaging his cheek with his right.

Barry took the chance, walking in behind Joe, to look around Ralph's office. His upper lip curled in disgust, seeing the stacks of to go boxes and take out bags stacked among the disarray of his cases and IOUs. At least we know we're in the right place, Barry thought, closing the door behind them. He hated how he still knew Ralph well enough to know his presence through a few simple odds and ends.

And hated even more that, if their suspicions were correct, Ralph was one of the few leads they had to figure out who wanted to take him down and who orchestrated him coming out of the Speed Force in the first place.

"Ralph," Joe greeted him.

"Joe West," Ralph responded with a warm smile. Or what was close to one, Barry noted. He couldn't remember the last tie that he'd seen Ralph Dibny, at least not within the last five years, and could only imagine that the memories they'd share weren't too happy. At least, not when Joe wasn't the one who had effectively 'destroyed his life'. He'd only been standing by the sidelines when Ralph was asked to leave the police force. Something that Barry knew Ralph was thinking about when their eyes met. When Ralph, finally, got a good look at Barry, slowly standing as he slid his hands into the pockets of his lacks. "Barry Allen. Been a long time, Rookie."

Barry felt himself grit his teeth. He hated himself for reacting that way, knowing how long it'd been and how quickly he responded to the taunting name. He had a few choice words to say to Ralph, but kept it with a simple "Well, I'm not a rookie anymore, Dibny." Barry glanced at the box of doughnuts on Ralph's desk, remembering the pile of boxes and bags that lined the floor behind him. "You look healthy." He couldn't keep the sound of sarcasm from seeping into his tone. Bitter sarcasm.

But Ralph took it in stride, reaching out to lovingly run his hands around the belly that strained beneath his button down blouse that, upon further inspection, Barry saw was dotted with tiny bits of frosting and sprinkles. "Yeah, I got the spare tire out the trunk," Dibny said. "I suppose it happens." He made a show of looking Barry up and down, the side of his mouth turning up. "It may even happen to you, too, Slim Jim."

The corner of Barry's mouth turned up in a snarl.

"So what brings you to Casa de Dibny?" He dropped back into his seat, stretching out his legs to rest on the desk, crossing his legs at the ankle. "Not that I ever expected to see you, but you know what they saw about time passing by. It heals all wounds." Then his face screwed up and he reached down to scratch at his ankle, pushing a crew sock aside to reveal a red, wet, welt. "Except for this rash, I keep putting ointment on it but nothing seems to work."

Joe stepped forward, shooting Barry a warning look when Barry opened his mouth to make a biting remark. Instead, Joe motioned toward him and asked, "Were you on the 405 Bus a few week ago around noon?"

'That's very specific." Ralph continued to scratch at his ankle, then put his hand up to his mouth, cleaning out the skin that gathered beneath his nails. "Who wants to know? Why? Did someone say something?" He eyed Barry and Joe suspiciously, still gnawing at his finger nail.

Barry pressed his lips together, working to calm himself down before he could let his frustration show. Savitar's presence must've been working on him a lot more than he originally thought. "We found your IOU along the deceased bus driver's personal affects. And, what a coincidence when we found you were somehow linked to him when we were looking at another case."

"Deceased?" Ralph's eyes lit up and he dropped his hands form his mouth. He grinned, pointing a finger gun toward Barry and Joe. "'Hey! That's one less "U" I owe." Then his eyes narrowed, shifting back and forth over his former co-workers. "Another case, you say? What it to you? What do you need me for?"

"It's as simple question," Barry said, unable to hold his exasperation much longer. "Why don't you just answer it?"

Ralph looked hard at him. "You walk into my office after five years, like nothing has happened and you're asking me for a favor?" He twisted his nose back and forth. "I smell a mystery."

"It's not a favor, its information."

"And how much is this information worth?"

"Unbelievable," Barry murmured under his breath, turning away from Ralph. He let out a huff, bringing up his hands to rest on his forehead. He worked hard to keep his frustration toward Ralph at bay. It surged through his chest, swelling even more as the seconds passed. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the tiny mirror Ralph kept hanging by the front door. Lightning flashed through his eyes.

"Are you shaking us down?" Joe asked, disbelief written all in his voice.

"I know something you don't," Ralph pointed out. "And you need to know it badly, otherwise you'd never swallow your pride and face me." His voice then turned dark, low, menacing. "After what you did."

At that, Barry whipped around. "After what I did?" He demanded, voice practically echoing through the office with his shout. "After what I did? I hadn't done anything that others wouldn't have done to you. You—"

Joe held out his arm, stopping Barry in his tracks. "Ralph, the people on that bus were exposed to a dangerous substance. And we're trying to figure out everyone who was on that bus so we can warn them and get them the help they need."

"Dangerous?" Ralph repeated. The façade slowly broke and he stared at Joe and Barry in trepidation. "…Dangerous like what? Like Ebola?"

"Were you on the bus?" Barry snapped.

"No!" Ralph snapped back.

"Okay, that's all we needed. Let's go." Barry didn't need to be in Ralph's presence for another minute, not when he was going to continue to be as obnoxious as he was before. He stalked out of the office, clenching his hands into fists, lightning crackling at his fingertips.

Joe slowly closed the door behind them, shaking his head. "That guy hasn't changed a bit," he murmured.

'You really expect him to?" Barry demanded. "Guys like that don't change. They only care about themselves and how they're going to step on other people to get to the top. We already knew that, what made you think that he would've changed."

"It's been five years, Bare?"

"So?"

"So, in those same five years, I've seen you change, too."

"What?" Barry whirled around to face Joe, face screwing up. "What od you mean? I haven't changed." Joe lifted an eyebrow and nodded toward the lightning that continued to crackle around Barry's hands. Barry noticed and stuff his hands into the pockets of his jeans, willing the crackling to stop. "Okay, but that's different. I just got new superpowers. I haven't changed as a person, I haven't needed to. I'm not a dirty cop."

"Maybe not but…" Joe hesitated. "I've only ever seen you get that mad a few times before. And that was with the Reverse-Flash and Zoom." He let the words sink in as Barry stared back at him. "And considering Dibny doesn't have any powers…I'd hate to see what would happen if the two of you actually got to talking to each other."

Barry opened his mouth to protest—the Reverse-Flash and Zoom were different, they'd murdered his parents—but he cut himself off when his and Joe's phones both started to go off.

An alert from STAR Labs was something they couldn't ignore.


Alarms blared over STAR Labs, taking their attention within seconds. Cisco pulled off his Vibe glasses and raced around the side of the computer panel. He gaped at the screen in front of him, fingers racing along the keyboard that sat in front of him, working to change the image in front of him. Hoping against hope that it wasn't true.

"Sally's in a decaying orbit," Cisco said, bringing his hands up to rub his hair back from his face. He looked to his friends, his team, and gently shook his head. "If we don't do something soon, then…well…this is the first time that I've worried about anything actually happening to us."

"What does that mean?" Brady asked, eyebrows coming together. He brought out his hands when all eyes turned to him. "I get it, we're going to be flattened into a pancake, I just mean what does DeVoe have anything to do with this?"

"He had this as a fool proof plan," Cisco explained quickly. "If something ever happened, that he wouldn't be able to come back from, he put the failsafe into Sally. It's going to fall and the impact of something that heavy and that fast…"

"Pancakes," Leah agreed.

Cisco laughed under his breath. Cadence made a humming sound and pressed her lips together. She watched the screen, taking in the projected path of the orbit. Reaching up, she ran her hands through her hair before cracking her knuckles. "How much time do we have?"

"Three minutes if we're lucky," Cisco predicted.

"Okay!" Ralph lifted a hand in the air. He motioned toward the Medical Bay. "We've got a baby being born in the middle of the worst disaster the city has seen. The Thinker has, pretty much, taken over my mind and as far as we know, may still be up there. All of that I can deal with. But how are we going to stop something that could send us back into the Stone Age?"

"Together," Cadence replied. "The only way we can do this is together." She Iris, you get the word out to evacuate downtown." Iris nodded and quickly whipped out her phone to do as she was told. "Ralph, Cisco, you, Brady, and Leah clear the impact zone." She then looked to her husband. "We have to destroy the satellite."

With that, Team Flash spread out to do as they were told. Downtown Central City was in disarray as chunks of burning metal rained from the sky. Citizens screamed as they ran to get out of the way of the falling debris. They ducked behind cars, crashed into each other, and flung each other out the way as they tried to get to safety.

A young couple cowering in the back of a taxi screamed in terror as the debris fell around them. The driver high-tailed it out the front seat, abandoning the couple as he did so. A piece of debris, the size of a large boulder, fell toward the taxi. At the last second, Barry raced into the car, grabbed the couple, and ran them out of the taxi and into safety.

Cisco opened a breach into the middle of the fray. He paused for a moment, assessing the carnage, then thrust out his fist. A breach opened in front of a young mother and her daughter, keeping a large chunk of satellite from hitting them as it fell into the breach. He punched just behind him where another beach opened and the satellite grounded itself into the ground.

Ralph ran up behind a group of three men that watched a chunk of debris fell their way. Frozen in fear. "Come on man, move," Ralph murmured. He shook his head, seeing they weren't about to move, then threw out his arm. His arm stretched into the shape of a lasso around the men, grouped them together, and yanked the three back out of the way.

Brady and Leah stood back to back as they took on the smaller chunks of debris, using their shadow and light powers to slice through the pieces of metal that then crashed to the ground around them. Cadence teleported in front of two screaming kids, wrapped her arms around them, then teleported away. She teleported back and flung out her arms, bracing herself against the ground. She reached up toward the falling piece of satellite, caught it against her chest, and threw it aside. She winced as the metal scraped against the ground, creating a loud screeching sound.

Barry skidded to a stop behind her, looking at the largest piece of satellite that fell towards them. The largest part that arched toward them, growing in size the closer it came to the city. A piece of satellite that was simply too big for any of them to catch or breach away. They were going to have to do something different. Maybe the only thing that could be done.

Taking in a deep breath, Barry looked toward Cadence and nodded once. Cadence nodded back and the two moved at the same time. Barry shifted his feet and ran as far away as he could while Cadence took off into the air, fire jet propulsing from her feet, fire covering her body as she arched through the sky.

He ran up the side of a building, arched around, and ran back in the direction Cadence had just been. Ran, ran, ran, until a sonic boom burst behind him, spurring him even further. Above him, he could see Cadence streak through the sky, and raced up to the building just as she caught it. He stretched out a hand and punched the side of the satellite at the same time that Cadence stopped pushing it and sent a large blast of fire toward it.

The satellite imploded in pieces, the force of the blow knocking Barry and Cadence away from it with so much speed that the friction-proof material in thier suits cound't hold up. Flames erupted around their bodies as they fell.

Cadence screamed as she was driven into the ground by the force of the blow, her scream abruptly ending when a piece of metal landed atop of her with a sickening thud. Barry arched through the air and crashed into windows of an office building. The glass he broke through ripped through his suit, slicing his arms and legs as he tumbled feet over head, coming to a stop in the middle of an empty office, unable to move as his blood puddled around him.

The satellite crashed into the streets of Central City, the resulting shockwave flattening everything in seconds.

"End transmission." DeVoe's lips twitched into a small smile as Marlize turned toward him, shaking her head. "I don't understand why you enjoy continuously watching this, but I have to admit that it does make things more interesting," She remarked. "Knowing there's nothing they can do to stop us…well, don't you think you'd want to speed things up a little bit."

"In concern of The Flash, you know how I hate puns," DeVoe said with a light shake of the head. "Even if they do tend to be clever. But there's more than the Enlightenment that we have to worry about," he said. "There are many ways that they could act erratically, which would make their ending different."

"But not too different" Marlize agreed. She walked to her husband's side, looping her arm through his. She leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. "You've already got it all planned out. No matter what they try to do, your ideas are going to be felt worldwide. You're going to change the world, Clifford. Just as you've always wanted."

"What more is there to life when you've achieved everything you've always wanted?" DeVoe asked. He waved his hand, brushing aside the projection in front of them. With a shaky hand, he pressed a button on the side of his levitating chair and waited for it to depower itself, slowly lowering to the floor.

When it was settled, Marlize walked over an ordinary looking wheelchair that she helped him settle into. Then, within seconds, they left their pocket dimension and returned to their house, where she walked them into the kitchen, situating him at the table. "You've always wanted to educate, and there's always something for someone to learn."

"Yes, but what if it's the things we don't want them to learn?" DeVoe questioned. He watched Marlize closely. "The Firestarter has already started to question her powers, just as we thought she would. Sooner than we expected, the arrival of Mr. Allen from the Speed Force had changed things a little bit more than we thought. I never anticipated Savitar to continue to plague the speedster let alone reveal the Forces Sage, Still, Strength, and Forever Force."

"And what about the Fire Fall?" Marlize asked, starting up their dinner. "What if Ms. Nash figures out her connection with it before we can prepare?"

"Oh, my dear, we're all adequately prepared. I've foreseen everything that could happen and have come up with a counter measure. Everything has been set to fall in a certain pattern, all leading up to the Enlightenment." DeVoe picked up the chopsticks that had been set aside his plate and spun it in his fingers. "But that doesn't mean that we can't have fun until then if they decide to stray away from the path a little bit. It makes things more interesting." His eyebrows twitched upwards as he smiled. "Don't you think?"


A/N: And now the introduction of Ralph! Now that he's arrived, a lot more things are coming up, as well as lot of new twists and turns that I hope you guys are all excited for! Especially with the way he's going to impact everyone's story moving forward. I didn't particularly like how they did things on the show, so of course, I'll be putting my own spin on things.

And, the rest of the Crisis event starts again on Tuesday! I'm so ready for it and already have my idea of what I'm going to do when that part of the story comes around! If you follow me on tumblr (purple-and-red-ribbons) then you'll have an idea of what I'm doing. If you don't, then feel free to check it out there!

Cheers,

-Riles

Review Replies

Ethan: Oh yeah, that 'keep your friends close' thing certainly holds true for Cade, especially with the Assassination Bureau. There's more to come with Amunet, save for her crashing Cade's bachelorette party once we get from Cade's past aren't quite done yet.

yummers: Glad you enjoyed that part! I hope you enjoy this as well!