Chapter 72: Redux
Onboard the freighter, the crew did their best to maintain course in response to the storm, but it was proving extremely difficult. Suddenly, the freighter slammed against some rocks, cracking open the hull and causing some crew to fall overboard. Before they hit the water, Superman flew in and grabbed two of them, with Flash swooping in to catch the third one just in time. They brought them back onto the deck, much to the captain's delight.
"Superman! Flash! Thank God!"
"Is that everyone?" Superman asked.
"Yes, but the hull is split! We can't contain the oil!"
"I can seal the hull," Superman replied. "Flash, think you can siphon the oil back onto the ship?"
For a moment, Flash hesitated, shaking his head a bit before growing serious.
"Just get the crew to get some barrels ready."
The two heroes set off to do their respective jobs. Superman flew under the water and pushed the ship away from the rocks. From there he moved toward the crack, pushing two ends together to close the hole before using his heat vision to seal it up. Flash meanwhile ran across the water, circling the oil spill at high speed. The centrifugal force caused the oil to rise out of the water, allowing Flash to bring it into the barrels placed on the deck. Once the oil was secure, Flash came to a stop on the deck as Superman landed next to him, the two getting cheers from the crew.
Just then, the storm seemed to dissipate, and the skies were crystal clear again. Superman looked up in confusion, unsure of what just happened. As he did that, Flash took a moment to look over the railing and into the reflection in the water. He took several breaths, taking in everything that had happened to him up to this point. Superman took note of this and flew down next to him.
"Hey, are you alright? You don't look good."
"Just… have a lot to take in," Flash replied.
…
Later, Superman and Flash were on the ship's bridge, establishing video communication with both Kari and the STAR Labs team regarding the situation. Flash almost did a double take when he saw Kari but managed to keep his composure as she began to speak.
"We managed to get an ID on the guy. One of yours, Flash."
The image of Mardon appeared on the screen, the same image as before.
"That's just a small taste of what I can do," he promised. "So unless a billion dollars is paid into the offshore account number I'm sending, the forecast is gonna be decidedly gloomy."
"Mardon…" Flash let out.
"I've read about him," Superman recalled. "He was some super-powered bank robber, right?"
"Yeah, him and his brother. They were bank robbers that got superpowers in the same particle accelerator explosion I got my speed. Except Mardon's never been this powerful before."
"That's for sure," Kari commented. "To be able to control the weather to that extent? Especially remotely? Guy has to be some kind of-"
"Weather Wizard," Flash cut off, perfectly in sync with Cisco.
"Seriously you two?" Kari groaned. "Have you two been planning that one?"
"I have," Cisco replied, sounding concerned as he glanced at Flash. "But I never told Flash about it. How did you know?"
"Uh, it… seemed like the kind of thing you'd come up with."
"Well…" Superman spoke up. "Now that we've established the nickname, how do we stop him?"
"A tornado won't be enough this time," Flash muttered, his voice laced with worry.
"Might have a way to help with that," Cisco chimed in. "After you took down Mardons one and two last time, I've been digging into how his powers work. The way Mardon's able to control the weather is by-"
"-tapping into the atmosphere's natural electrical circuit," Flash finished, much to Cisco's surprise. "Guessing he found a way to expand his range."
"... yeah, I guess so," Cisco replied curiously.
"Well, if he's managed to find a way to tap into unbound atmospheric electrons," Kari added. "There might be a way we can track it."
"You think?" Superman questioned.
"I'm guessing that while his electron manipulation is usually confined to a general area, whatever he's done could cause a trail of slightly altered electrons that head off at whatever spot Mardon would want to hit."
"Think you can do that?"
"I'll need a hand from the STAR Labs crew."
"My people will be out there as soon as we can," Dr. Wells replied. "We'll meet you at the Metropolis STAR Labs."
"I'll be there as fast as J'onn can fly me."
"Speaking of J'onn, keep him close," Flash quickly piped up. "Whatever's going on is… is big and… I think you would benefit from some extra protection."
"You're probably right," Kari agreed. "I should probably see if I can get some help from the CCPD. Is Detective West available?"
"Yeah," Flash nodded, albeit hesitantly. "He's dealt with Mardon before. He knows how he operates. Just… keep an eye on him too. Please?"
"Of course," Kari replied.
"Mr. Allen," Dr. Wells chimed in. "I'm speaking to you on a private comm. Can we speak alone for a moment?"
"Uh… sure."
Flash sped off to another part of the ship, hoping to get some privacy so he and Wells could talk.
"You ruptured the time continuum didn't you?" Wells asked bluntly.
"How did you-"
"The way you knew what everyone was going to say. Temporal reversion. How long?"
"Uh… less than a day."
"Good. it means there's not much that could've changed. How did this happen?"
"I… I don't know. One minute, I was running faster than I ever had in my life. There was this tidal wave and-"
"Stop. don't. I don't want to know anything about what you experience. Here's what you're going to do. Everything you did before, you're going to do again. Every word you uttered, every action you took."
"What?! But Dr. Wells-"
"Time is a fragile thing. One small change could have catastrophic effects. So no matter what, you cannot change the timeline. Is that understood?"
"... yes."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Flash looked up to see Superman standing in the doorway.
"Everything alright?"
"Yeah… fine," Flash reassured.
"Good. Cause we need to get going.
Superman then turned to leave, Flash following but a growing uncertainty filled his chest. Suddenly, he knew what he had to do.
"Supes!" he called out before he took off.
"Barry, what are you doing?"
"What is it, Flash?" Superman asked.
"... have a hunch. Can you… look at the armbands? Like… look look."
"Barry, don-" Wells tried to protest before Flash hung up on him.
"Uh… sure. Why?"
"Well, considering how close we were to the ship when it was hit… didn't think it was a coincidence."
Superman knew what Flash was onto and used his x-ray and telescopic vision to get a closer look at one of the armbands. Almost immediately, he caught sight of something inside.
"You're right," Superman confirmed. "There's definitely something in here besides the tracker."
"And who would have the most to gain from messing with a charity race you're participating in? And who would have the resources to help Mardon?"
"Luthor."
"That's… what I was thinking. Knowing him, he could have Maron unleash natural disasters anywhere he wanted… including Metropolis."
Superman pondered for a moment. "If he were to do that, he'd want to be somewhere close by where he could watch it unfold. Also where he'd be safe from the fallout."
"I, uh… spent some time running around the city before the race. I saw an oil rig a few miles off the coast. Think that might-"
"Just be the place," Superman confirmed. "Let's go!"
Flash smirked as he and Superman went off, hoping to stop this threat before the worst came to pass.
…
Back at the rig, Luthor was looking at the screen, miffed that the heroes had caught onto his plans sooner than he had anticipated.
"This… is a complication."
"So they're onto us?" Mardon realized.
"Not to worry," Lex reassured. "We're just going to accelerate our plans. Rest assured, you will have your revenge."
"Good."
…
Meanwhile, at STAR Labs the group was preparing to head out when Caitllin went over to Cisco.
"Hey, Cisco," She spoke. "Did Barry seem… off to you?"
"How do you figure?"
"When he learned about Mardon he seemed… off."
Cisco paused for a moment. "Gotta admit, he did seem a bit spaced. Like with the Weather Wizard thing. And his insistence on J'onn going with Kari… what do you think it is?"
"I don't know…but then I went over the data from the race. Right before the boat rescue, Barry had a… a surge…
"Surge? What kind of surge?"
"It was like a flux in his energy levels. It was only for a moment, but everything before and after was coming back normal."
That made Cisco narrow his eyes. "Let me see that data."
She passed him the tablet for him to look over. Cisco flipped through the data as his eyes narrowed.
"That… is a massive spike. Almost twice his current power level."
Caitlin was surprised. "What do you think caused it?"
"No clue… but I think we should stick close to Barry till we figure it out."
Caitlin nodded, both of them unaware that Dr. Wells was listening in from the hallway. He visibly grimaced, then made his way to the hidden room. Once sure he was alone, he opened the door and wheeled inside, standing up and going to his computer.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Wells," Gideon greeted.
"That remains to be seen, Gideon," Wells replied. "Show me the future."
Upon request, a holographic image of a newspaper appeared. The same newspaper that Wells had been staring at every time he came into the room.
"The Flash's future remains unchanged."
"For now." Though Wells was still skeptical, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. "Monitor the timeline. Alert me of any changes immediately."
"Of course, Doctor."
…
Sometime later, Superman and Flash made their way back to Metropolis, heading straight toward the oil rig. Flash ran up the side of the rig and made it to the main platform as Superman landed. Not even bothering to use his X-ray vision, Superman walked up to the door and punched it down, seeing Mardon waiting for him.
"Superman," Mardon greeted. "And Flash. Gotta admit, didn't expect you so soon."
"Sorry to disappoint," Flash spoke. "But there's been a change in the forecast."
Flash darted forward, prompting Weather Wizard to summon a small cyclone that shot Flash upward. He then fired a bolt of lightning that knocked him into the side of the wall. Superman took his turn, flying forward as Mardon sent out a bolt of lightning. Superman easily dodged the lightning before grabbing Mardon and throwing the wand away.
"Looks like clear skies," Superman noted. "Now, where's Luthor?"
"Right here."
Just as Superman was about to turn, a beam of green energy hit him in the chest, knocking him back. As he collided with a wall, he looked up, seeing Lex decked out in a green and purple battle suit with a glowing pentagon symbol on the chest.
"And I'm going to enjoy every minute of this," Lex mused, walking over to him.
Flash picked himself up, seeing Superman on the ground as Lex was about to blast again. Thinking fast, he sped over and grabbed Superman right before the blast could hit him. The two quickly hid behind a console, gaining their bearings after the attack.
"Well, this complicates things," Flash muttered.
"I'm open to suggestions," Superman mused.
"You can tank anything Mardon throws at you, and Kryptonite doesn't affect me like it does you."
"You wanna switch sparring partners?" Superman pieced together, prompting Flash to nod. "Sounds good. We'll need to get them one-on-one though. Can't risk one aiding the other."
"Leave that to me," Flash reassured.
He then ran back out into the room, running around Lex at high speed. The increased speed started lifting him into the air. He rose quicker and quicker until he was blasted through the roof, hitting the ground hard as Flash ran up to greet him.
"How about a warm-up before going toe to toe with Supes?" Flash mused as Lex got to his feet.
"I suppose an appetizer before the main course wouldn't spoil my appetite," Lex noted before firing at him.
Flash easily dodged the blast before rushing toward Lex. Lex formed a force field that Flash bounced off of, causing him to skid across the ground as a result.
"You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?" Lex remarked.
"Eh, kinda," Flash replied before running back into the fight.
…
Back down below, Superman flew back out to confront Mardon. Weather Wizard formed several massive balls of hail and chucked them at Superman, one after the other. Superman easily flew around them, using his heat vision to blast at a couple of them before impact. Mardon then summoned sleet-filled winds at Superman, pushing back on him and making it difficult for him to fly forward, or even see.
"Having trouble, Superman?" Mardon mused. "Let me give you a jolt."
He then summoned a bolt of lightning through the wind, nailing him in the chest and causing him to cry out in pain before dropping to the ground.
…
At the Metropolis STAR Labs, Flash's crew had just arrived as Kari wheeled up with a DEO agent accompanying her.
"What did I miss?" she asked as the agent set her up at the console.
"Flash and Superman seem to have found Mardon," Cisco relayed.
"That fast? I know it's Flash, but still."
"Yeah, it's surprising for all of us."
Kari's eyes narrowed, a nagging feeling. "Like he knew maybe?"
"Maybe," Cisco replied, slowly meeting Kari's eye. "What are you-?"
Before the conversation could continue, an alarm started blasting in the lab.
"What in the world?" Joe let out.
"Proximity alarms," Kari realized. "Someone's infiltrated the facility."
Just then, there was an explosion on the far side of the wall, knocking them back. Through the dust, several figures came pouring in, all of them armed. Seeing this, Joe and Eddie instantly drew their weapons and aimed them at the armed men.
"Freeze!" Joe ordered.
The goons responded by opening fire on them, causing the two detectives to move for cover. Kari, who was coughing to clear dust from her lungs, drew her own firearm to shoot back. She managed to nail one of the men in the shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground. One of the other men turned toward her and fired. However, before the bullet could reach her, the DEO agent who had been with her moved like his body was made of water, catching the bullet as his chocolate skin turned a familiar Martian green.
"Ask yourself," the agent asked, transforming before their eyes. He stood in between the gunmen and his companions, eyes blazing with fury as he dropped the bullet from his fist. "Is fighting against me what you truly desire?"
In less than a minute, all of the gunmen dropped their guns and threw their hands up. J'onn's eyes flashed and all of them collapsed, unconscious. Once that was over, he turned to Kari with concern on his face.
"Are you hurt?"
Kari shook her head. "No, thanks to you. If you hadn't been here, who knows what-..." she paused, realization dawning. "Could have… happened…"
…
Back at the fight, Superman began to pick himself up just as Mardon unleashed another lightning bolt, knocking him back. Mardon did this again and again, a sadistic smile gracing his face every time.
"Should've headed the storm warning, Superman," Mardon remarked.
Finally, Superman brought up a hand, the bolt hitting it but he was able to block it this time. He then looked at the wand in his hand, using his heat vision to heat its metal. Feeling the heat rising in the wand, Mardon yelped before dropping it. Superman then dashed forward, grabbing it and landing behind him.
"I don't need that wand!" Mardon declared, turning to face him. "My powers are all mine!"
"Maybe," Superman replied, snapping the wand. "Why don't you try it?"
Mardon flung out his hands, but nothing happened. He looked down in surprise, before realizing a power-dampening collar was around his neck. Before he could pry it off, Superman flew over and bent a pipe around his arms, restraining him.
"Like I said," Superman spoke as he smiled. "Clear skies."
…
Up top, Flash and Luthor continued to duke it out, with Flash keeping ahead of the blasts Luthor was dealing out.
"Gotta get past that forcefield somehow," Flash noted.
Flash then came to a stop on the far side of the roof, staring down Lex.
"That the best you got?" Flash remarked. "I haven't even broken a sweat."
Lex just scowled in response.
"Come on," Flash boasted. "You went to all the trouble of building that suit, right? Let's see what it can do."
"... if you insist."
Luthor then jetted forward, prepared to take down the Flash. Flash kept still, waiting for his moment to strike. As Lex prepared to strike, Flash managed to dodge the attack, zipping behind Lex, and striking him on the back, doing serious damage to the armored plating. Lex fell to the ground as the suit began to spark, he tried firing again but Flash easily dodged it. It was at that moment Superman flew up, using his heat vision to blast at the gauntlet disabling it. Lex's hand recoiled in pain as a result, prompting him to try and fire the other hand. Flash, having grabbed a wrench from elsewhere on the platform, stabbed it into the second gauntlet, disabling it as he stood alongside Superman.
"It seems the odds have shifted," Lex noted. "But, I don't play the odds."
He pulled out a detonator, pressing the button and causing several explosions along the rig. Lex took off, leaving the two to try and escape. Superman grabbed Mardon as the two made their way off of the rig as it went up in a massive fireball.
"He got away…" Superman let out, clearly frustrated.
"Maybe, but we got Mardon." Flash couldn't keep the relief out of his voice. "And more importantly, everyone's alive."
"Yeah… this time," Superman remarked before flying off.
Flash did a double take, surprised by what he just said.
…
Lex eventually made it to a safe house in the city, landing sloppily as he started removing his damaged suit. As he did so, Mercy entered the room.
"The strike unit failed," Mercy lamented. "Everyone was taken. The Martian was waiting for them."
"They were too well prepared," Lex noted. "There's no way they should've been able to undermine us this quickly."
"Think someone on our side squealed?"
"I'm not sure…" Lex admitted. "Tell our man on the inside to keep an ear out for everything going on there. If the League has an ace in the hole, I want to know about it, and plug it."
"Sure thing," Mercy replied before pausing. "So… you think he knows you went after the Flash again?"
"Oh, I'm counting on it."
"Antagonizing this guy is dangerous. You know what he can do to you."
"If he wanted to kill me, he would have by now. No… he needs both me and the Flash alive. I want to know who this 'Reverse Flash' is… and what he wants."
…
Back in the city, Superman and Flash brought Mardon to the authorities, who placed him in the back of a police car.
"This isn't going to hold me!" Mardon promised. "I'm gonna get out of here, and I'm gonna destroy your entire city!"
As he spoke, the van sealed up, allowing the police to drive him off, leaving Flash and Superman to speak amongst themselves.
"So…" Flash spoke up, trying to figure out how to approach the subject. "How did you-"
"Super hearing," Superman answered. "And I saw that you were acting off since the boat rescue."
Flash let out a sigh. "Dr. Wells said I should've let the day play out as it did before. For the sake of the timeline."
"But I'm guessing that came with some caveats," Superman recognized.
"Oh yeah. Kari was shot, Mardon unleashed a tsunami against the city… it was horrible."
"Then…" Superman replied. "I'd say you made the right call. We save lives. It's what we do."
Flash smiled in response.
"Still, I don't know about making this a habit," Superman cautioned.
"I don't even know how it happened the first time," Flash admitted. "I was just focusing on protecting everyone and… keeping Iris safe… then the next thing I knew… I was back again."
"I see… maybe we should speak with Dr. Miller about this. She was the one working on your time travel ability, right?"
"Yeah, might be a good idea." He chuckled a bit. "Shame about the race though…"
"Maybe next year."
Maybe… or maybe a quick one on the way to the lab?"
Superman smirked, as both of them got into running positions.
"Ready?" Flash asked.
"Set," Superman replied.
"... go!" they both let out, speeding off at top speed.
…
Billy Batson kicked a can down the street, bummed out.
"I can't believe the race got canceled…" he muttered. "Well, guess I better find somewhere to crash."
He made his way toward the subway, rifling in his pockets for his pass when he noticed something going on in a nearby alley. A boy, around his age with crutches on his arms, was being shoved around by a pair of older boys in gang attire.
"Hey, come on, guys," the kid let out. "It was an accident. Besides, you hit me."
"You dented my car, pal," one of the older boys told him. "You know how much that's gonna cost to buff out?"
"Red means stop. How did you get your license if you don't know that?"
"What'd you say, you little cripple?!"
The other boy punched him in the stomach, causing him to keel over as Billy watched on. Having seen enough, he went forward.
"Hey!" he called out, getting their attention. "Must feel good about yourselves. Picking on a kid who can't even walk," he turned to the kid. "Uh, no offense."
"Nah…" the kid wheezed. "You're good."
"So what you gonna do about it, kid?" one of the punks remarked, walking over to him.
Billy stood his ground as the punk approached him. He tried to throw a punch, but the punk caught it, smacking him across the face and knocking him to the ground. Both punks laughed at his misfortune as Billy slowly lifted his head. Then, before the punk could react, Billy got in a nasty kick to the punk's groin.
"That," he declared before quickly running for it.
The two punks became enraged by this, quickly taking off and leaving the crippled kid behind. Billy ran as fast as he could, hoping to put some distance between him and the two punks. As he approached the street, a fast-moving gust of wind blew past, causing him to back up and spot a nearby subway entrance. He bolted down it, sliding under the turnstile before throwing himself onto the first subway he saw. The doors closed behind him as he landed inside, working to catch his breath.
Unbeknownst to him, the destination on the subway's LED screen changed to strange, ancient characters as it made its way down the tunnel…
