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dementedspeedster · 2 months

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Alright here's my thoughts on a way Thad could have essentially a 'redemption arc' Post-FMA and post death. (Actually in retrospect Post-Rogues Revenge to be specific. I just lump that with FMA. Though I don't accept what happened with Josh Mardon).

This post started as a response/add-on to @radioactive-earthshine's post here, so a bit of its phrasing is in conversation with that post. Though i have done some editing since my first draft of this post.

Please excuse my rambling as I love thinking of Thad from a perspective of post-FMA and post-death and having come back to life for a second chance.

***

Notes:

General Note (before or after you read this post): I guess my big caveat with this idea is that at least some people have to be willing to give Thad a BIG chance and let him try to prove himself in order for it to really work. People gotta be cool with

*1 - Why post Thad's death? - I see Thad's death as a catalyst for him to change or be open to some change because death is such a huge consequence of his actions, but also because 1. Since he's a speedster he's not dead in the traditional way thanks to the Speed Force essentially housing speedsters. And 2. It also gives hm time away from other people and the influence of the Thawnes in order for him to think. He can look at his life and reexamine his own thoughts, feelings, decisions, and essentially his entire life and for once reflect on his own without having to confront someone else, prove himself, or defend his choices in that moment. He can just reflect. Though that won't fix everything. Instead, it is an impetus for Thad to change. (Also just from a comic/visual medium perspective I think it would be cool to delve more into the speedsters who are 'stuck' in the Speed Force. But that's a conversation for another day.)

***

By looking at Thad’s actions post Mercury Falling as being due solely to him and his feelings and desires such as a sense of bitterness, a desire to prove himself, and as a way validate his own existence such as through killing Bart, I can see Thad (preferably post his death)*1 realizing that his previous actions were never going to lead to his own validation. Thad killing Bart while it might have felt good in the moment, ultimately meant nothing and was a bittersweet endeavor because after that moment he loses all purpose and drive with his victory over Bart. He realizes that he was just falling to his own bitterness and the teachings of violence and hatred from the only life he knew.

With the realization that his past actions weren't right, that they didn't truly bring him happiness or validation, he can progress from where he was before. He would no longer be reliant on his hatred toward Bart to propel his life, but instead he would live for himself and live his own life for the first time. He would be free.

Now, just this concept where Thad no longer shackled to his hatred toward Bart in itself could lead to so many different scenarios and paths for Thad as he builds a life for himself (and I could go into that), but specifically in relation to a 'redemption arc' it would lead more specifically toward the tribulations that come with self-discovery and building a life for himself now that he is alive again. Now, I say this specifically with a social perspective in mind with regard to this bit. Because Thad post death would be trying to build a life for himself while people/heroes/most of the Flash Family consider him a villain and still hold his past actions, like killing Bart, against him. It's gonna be hard for him to go through this 'redemption arc' and there are gonna be consequences for Thad's past through how people treat him, but despite that he's still going to try. It's a scenario of self-betterment, but also I think unconsciously he's also trying to make up for what he's done by being a better person than he was.

Setting-wise this arc would be set in the Twin Cities are. Either Keystone City or Central City, so he can't help, but run into members of the Flash Family. But these potential/chance meetings with other Flash Members allows him to make connections; good, bad, and just neutral depending on who it is in the Flash Family he meets and if they're familiar with him.

***

Regarding the topic of redemption when applied to Thad/how he would personally handle the process of redemption/changing:

I think redemption for Thad would be half him fighting his own 'inertia,' his resistance to change. Part of Thad would still be so ingrained in the idea that he is "bad," a villain, and a Thawne (even though he's abandoned the family in every way except name) because that is what he has known for so long and because that is what people are telling him definitively when they see that he's alive again. Thad believes these sorts of things about himself and is also unwilling to let go of his past because it is all he has ever know, so he is fighting the fact that he actually is changing as a person. And this would be further reflected in his actions. He would be consciously putting distance between himself and the Flash family, he would be punishing himself for his previous actions, and SAYING that he has not changed despite how actions would show that he has. Thad's stubborn, but I also think that he would be scared of change as well, and at this part of his life would very much be his own namesake, Inertia.

***

Briefly regarding what his actions would look like at this time as he finds himself and his own life:

I say in this scenario he would overall straddle a sort of anti-hero line though his actions skew toward more heroic, though not to the same degree as heroes. It's not out of a desire to do right for others, but it would be selective in a way and drawing from what he cares about. Like, sure, if he's in the area he will save someone who is in danger, but more specifically I think he would be real conscious of how younger metas are treated, so no one ends up being used like he was in his youth, that they can have a childhood he didn't have, so he would speak up in those kinds of scenarios. Regarding labels: Thad still would probably still stubbornly label himself a villain because of his unwillingness to consciously/overtly change himself as I previously mentioned, but also because of the perspective directed toward him by heroes. Though people can call him whatever they like, but he's still going to do what he think is best.

***

Forgiveness

I agree that forgiveness would be very difficult, but I also think that it would be possible for him to interact with the Flash Family albeit selectively. I think that people like Max and Barry would be the most willing to give Thad a chance and willing to understand that he was used, manipulated, and essentially a child soldier, but also willing to give him a chance and see that he is not the same person he was before if they ran into him again.

Max and Barry are my top contenders for giving Thad a chance because respectively Max understands Thad to a degree. He's experienced who he was a child and the thought he gave to being a hero and potential he had. I don't think he would try to force Thad to become a hero again, but would meet him with some understanding though it might need to be earned somewhat after knowing about Bart's death. I think Max would have to see a bit of a change in Thad for him to fully try to connect with Thad again. It would take a bit of work.

As for Barry, I think he would in general be more open to giving Thad a chance simply if Thad expressed it. I think, in part, it is due to how disconnect Barry sort is from a lot of major events that have happened to his family and in particular Bart. He would be taking Thad more at a face value because he doesn't know Thad or his past. He probably wouldn't know how Thad kidnapped Iris in his youth, and he might not know that Thad is the one who killed Bart (that would probably depend on what he's been informed of by the rest of the family).

Overall, this scenario regardless of who would be willing to give Thad a chance would mostly cause some discord internally for the Flash Family, as they all would have different perspectives of Thad, but also probably regarding perspectives of 'redemption,' whether people can change, and specifically whether Thad can change or if he even deserves a chance.

Ultimately, though what this all would culminate to is either Thad very very VERY slowly becoming sort of a part of the Flash-family or sorta absorbed within the Flash-family circle in the sense that some of the members are willing to give him a chance. (I think there's a touch of hilarity and awkwardness just at the thought of someone like Barry inviting Thad to a holiday dinner. I also think it's also a good way exploring family and the complexities of family and family dynamics when you add someone like Thad to the mix. Kinda like a relative you're not fond of or the black sheep of the family who has history. There's just so many themes that open up when you add Thad to the mix.) It's very much a black sheep scenario. Or that his 'redemption' allows for him to slowly make up for his past. People can feel however they want to feel toward him, they can distrust him still or think it's an act, but the fact he's make strides for himself and as a person slowly becomes undeniable in this scenario as time goes on.

I also think both "outcomes" would allow him to have future appearances and interact with members of the Flash Family as he goes through the process of trying to prove himself/make up for his past.

And that is basically how I would write Thad in a 'redemption' arc. It's not a traditional redemption, but instead it's more focused upon consequences, actively working toward being a better person that you were before, and focused more upon the development than the outcome.

If you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll try my best to answer.

#Inertia #thaddeus thawne #Thad Meta #Thad Thawne #Important #I need to find my other Thad meta posts and see if I've touched on this before.#But that's sorta the concept of this blog but also not exactly.#Thad finding freedom and living his own life/having freedom to make any decision he wants is one of the MAJOR themes of this rp blog.#also me while writing this: I love when society's perceptions of a character influence them.#\o/ i made it make more sense/less ramble-y. thank you subsection headers for existing.#radioactive-earthshine #long post #I am a bit shakey when it comes to Barry but I'm mostly basing this on how he treated Thad in Williamson's run that one time.#I also know I have like a different take on Thad's motivations. I do put more responsibility upon him post Mercury Falling.#whoof this was long idk if I forgot anything but -shrug-

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celestialsqyd · 27 days

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Hii just found your blog and wanted to drop by to tell you that you have all my love and support, I also wanted to ask about your OCs 💜

Anyway, have a good day !! 💜😙

omg hiiii!

okay so, i was gonna pop off about one of them specifically, but that deserves its own post, so instead im just gonna list my ocs and a BRIEF description.

in order of creation (to the best of my memory):

Dad - Arcane Trickster Half Elf, runs with a guild of thieves disguising themselves as a Carnival. currently is dead, due to a... falling out. will be/has been revived, but came back wrong. remembers almost nothing of his previous life as a rogue, believes himself to be a wizard. fell back in to scamming people, though its unclear if he realizes it or not as he sells fake magic items that have just been minor illusioned and prestidigitized to appear to function as described. goes by Dangerous Dan in his reanimated state.

Randall Smith - Warlock, Human, his patron deity is his future self that has been through many iterations, believes himself to be the One True God. based on Randall Smith from the flash game Second Wind. manipulates time space to make himself seem invulnerable.

Murphy McSwillian - retired Pirate, Merfolk, Murphy is an old sailor man who claims to have sailed every sea in every plane. These days he runs a tavern, and mostly spends his time being a grumpy old man. He despises magic in the same way old people despise technology, he doesnt understand it, and all these kids keep running around casting minor spells in the tavern and causing havoc. Much to Murphy's irritation, his tavern seems to have quite a bit more magical tomfoolery tied into it than he couldve imagined.

Toive - Divination Wizard, Rune Knight Fighter, Moonfolk. Toive and her sister Ilona are the last two moonfolk of their tribe, which was wiped out when a group of humans tricked Ilona into leading them to their home at the peak of the mountain. Toive doesnt know what Ilona did, and believes herself to be the only Moonfolk left. She lives on her own in a cave on the mountainside, near a tribe of giants. She learned to fight by watching giant children learn and would sometimes spar with them. Toive smiths all her own weapons and armor, and has given up on the divinatory arts, as they did not help her people avoid death. Reunited with her sister after many years ina tearful reunion, Toive has vowed to never let Ilona out of her sight again, and also will ALWAYS check for a dead body. They are not dead until you see the body. She hates humans with a burning rage and will fight to kill at the slightest provocation.

Tim Togo - Halfling Speedster, Tim is very punctual and cannot stand tardiness. He moves so fast while filing paperwork and doing his other civic duties that it appears as if he isnt moving at all as he sits at his desk writing notes. Before he retired from adventuring, Tim was an outcast noble. As a young boy he encountered a mighty dragon, which bestowed upon him and Abberant Dragonmark, which came to be seen as an ill omen by the rest of his family, which was known for its deep rooted magical abilities, none of which seemed present in Tim. but the magic was there, it just manifested bound to his muscles, resulting in his extraordinary speed.

Brugmansia Honey Lotus - Plant Harpy, class unknown, Brugmansia (her "friends" call her Honey) is the Lady of the Fen, counterpart to the Witch of the Bog, two great beings who keep balance of the ebb and flow of the tides of life. Honey appears very kind and sweet, almost angelic, with a long flowing dress like the Brugmansia (Angels Trumpet) plant, and seemingly feathered wings made of Honey Lotus branches, covered in sharp thorns hidden by golden feathery leaves. She, like the Fen, takes the nutrients from the soil and waterways around her, using those nutrients to bloom beautifully. However, she seeks more nutrients than are available, so she lures people into the Fen to steal their life force, while intoxicating them with a powerful slumbering poison. She is always at odds with the Witch of the Bog, whos job it is to break down what is living into its individual nutrients, to feed back into the soil and streams.

and... i think thats all of them, for now. there are a few more, much less fleshed out, like Sunny, Firbolg Ranger, and 8-Ball Jim of Dubious Divinations, but.. there you have it! thats the Pantheon! thank you for reaching out and i hope this wasnt too overwhelming!

i would be more than happy to answer any follow up questions on specific characters, either in an ask or in a dm. i plan on making individual posts for all of my characters at some point soon. thank you for your interest!

#my ocs #dnd #dungeons and dragons

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sedge-yells-at-comics · 3 years

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Reprinted below, in case the link implodes.

Flash #27 Reveals Why Reverse Flash Is a Truly Unique Villain

The finale of "Running Scared" provides a gut-wrenching Rebirth update to one of DC's most complicated villains: Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash.

By Meg Downey Published Jul 27, 2017

If you’re a fan of the Flash, you’re probably pretty familiar with the concept of the Reverse Flash, a man named Eobard Thawne who, like Barry, has super speed and wears a flashy costume. Of course, the “Reverse” might sound like he’s the literal opposite of the Flash -- maybe someone who slows things down instead of speeding himself up? Or maybe someone who runs backwards?

There are a lot of obvious and incorrect guesses pretty readily available for casual or newer fans to throw darts at. The reality of the Reverse Flash is, however, pretty complicated. Mostly because his “reverse” status is actually ideological at its core. Flash media, be it print, animated or live action, has traditionally made this apparent by painting Eobard as someone who is essentially pure evil -- a sort of manic, time traveling serial killer who is motivated solely by his endless need to destroy Barry Allen from the ground up.

At that point, the problem then becomes finding a way to make Thawne’s homicidal drive, well… unique in the scope of the DC Universe, a place that just so happens to be populated by enough over-the-top villains to populate a decent sized Midwestern town. Why is Reverse Flash someone that’s specific to The Flash? What differentiates him from any of DC’s other iconic arch rivals, like Lex Luthor or The Joker?

Well, The Flash #27 has the answer, and it's probably not the one you expected.

Running Scared

The rebirth of the “classic” Eobard Thawne (as opposed to his New 52 revamp) began in the Flash/Batman crossover mini-event “The Button” back in April, a four-part storyline which connected the original Thawne to the events of last year’s DC Universe: Rebirth one-shot.

Since, then, Thawne’s taken up residence as a perpetual thorn in Barry’s side in the hero's own ongoing series, stepping directly into the spotlight for the three-part “Running Scared” arc which served to highlight Thawne’s Rebirth status quo. For the most part, it’s a story that fans will be pretty familiar with, borrowing heavily from elements of stories like The Flash: Rebirth and Flashpoint. Thawne’s from the future, he time traveled to kill Barry’s parents, he’s connected to a negative form of the Speed-Force, and so on -- But that’s where things start to get their Rebirth-specific legs.

It’s not that creators Josh Williamson, Howard Porter and Paul Pelletier are trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel with “Running Scared” -- just unlock a different side of it by shining a light on one of the most unique aspect of Eobard and Barry’s relationship.

Reverse Flash doesn’t hate Flash the way Lex Luthor hates Superman, or Bane hates Batman. It’s actually (appropriately) quite the opposite. It’s the reverse. Eobard Thawne loves Barry Allen, obsessively and vengefully, which is where his endless, destructive need to ruin Barry’s life comes into play.

“Running Scared” highlights the fact that a young Eobard grew up alone (though Williamson was quick to confirm that that particular story element came out of an earlier Geoff Johns Flash issue) with only his idealized and imaginary version of Barry -- a character from his history books -- to keep him company. Barry was, for all intents and purposes, Thawne’s only friend, confidant, and emotional anchor, despite the fact that the two of them wouldn’t actually meet for years and years.

It was plenty of time for a very troubled and very lonely Thawne to fall in love with a version of The Scarlet Speedster that existed only in his imagination...and, well, it’s pretty obvious how that particular emotional endeavor actually went down. Actually meeting Barry and subsequently being forced to deal with the fact that he was just a guy and not the cartoon character Thawne had built in his head for years, proved to be too hard a stress test for Thawne’s fragile psyche.

Fatal Attraction

Meeting and being disappointed by a personal hero is a rough experience for just about anyone, but rather than allowing himself to move on -- or even allowing himself to simply decide to hate Barry instead, Thawne’s obsession only doubled down.

As issue #27 hurtles to its conclusion, Thawne’s real motivations become abundantly apparent. As Barry, infected with Thawne’s own inverted Negative Speed Force thrashes Thawne within an inch of his life, he presses him with a question - Why, if Thawne has always been so inspired by him, has he gone out of his way to ruin Barry’s life at every turn? Why has he done all of these terrible things, from killing Barry’s parents to beating Wally within an inch of his life, to kidnapping he and Iris and hauling them to the future?

Thawne’s answer is as unexpected as it is heartrendingly honest: because these horrible things are the only way Thawne understands how to make Barry spend time with him.

It’s that simple.

Thawne’s love for, and obsession with Barry Allen has permeated his life so deeply and completely that he is even willing to count his time spent being pummeled half to death by Flash as a win. He’s completely unable or unwilling to differentiate between Barry’s affection and Barry’s hatred, and he’s ready to do whatever it might take to put himself at the center of either emotion in Barry’s mind.

“A few years ago, it would have really hurt my feelings to hear you say that,” Thawne taunts after Barry threatens him, “but now to think that I caused you that anger? That I could get under your skin like this? It warms my heart.”

It’s deeply troubling, of course, and horrifyingly uncomfortable to get a look into the head of a villain who is, essentially, the personification of a fan gone terribly, terribly awry -- a theme that only gets more difficult to swallow when you begin to think about the increasingly complicated relationship between fans and their idols in actual, genuine, non-super heroic world around us.

This subtle reworking of the Reverse Flash has made him one of comic’s most poignant ruminations of the idea of toxicity in fan communities, idolization of strangers, and self destructive obsession, and it did so in a way that boldly allowed Thawne to win at the end of the day.

The issue closes, and the arc completes, with Barry exactly in the position Thawne wanted him in: completely alone, just like Thawne was as he built Barry into a hero of mythological perfection in his head. Now, where Barry will end up, and whether he’ll be forgiven by Iris, Wally and the roster of people he’s been manipulating as he leads his vigilante double life, is still largely a mystery.

It’s clear that Thawne didn’t expect, or even really want, Barry to come running into his arms to start their life together the second he succeeded in isolating him -- he makes that abundantly clear as he warns that he’ll just return again and again and again, de-powered, killed or otherwise hindered. Iris may have added an exclamation point to the end of the story arc by “vaporizing” Thawne with a Black Hole gun, but it hardly matters.

Reverse Flash will be back, somehow, at some point, and it’s doubtful that his love and obsession for Barry will have wavered in the slightest. We know now that’s just now how his mind is capable of working. It’s unlikely that Thawne will ever feel anything for Barry beyond his own supremely twisted adoration, no matter how many times the Flash pummels him into the ground. It’s just not the way Thawne’s brain is able to process information anymore.

It’s complicated, messy, and uncomfortable, but it’s also one of the clearest articulations of exactly what makes Reverse Flash such an interesting villain in the scope of not just the Flash family of books, but the DCU as a whole.

#the flash #eobard thawne #barry allen #eobarry

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watchtower-feed · 4 years

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Losing My Mind (Part 2)

SSA Main ✧ Luthor ✧ 1 ✧ 2 ✧ 3 ✧

“I want you out of my head, Y/N.” He turns to you, “Now.”

You scoff, “Do you think I love seeing you hurt people? We can’t control it Lex. The links are a sealed deal.”

He smiles, a knowing smirk, his tell when he’s got an idea playing through his head. “You said you know of my plans.”

You narrow your eyes, “Everything you’ve done is only temporary. I’m your last piece and I’m going to make sure you never find me.”

Lex shakes his head lightly. He walks up to you and you tense. He holds his hands up by his side for you to see. Then slowly he leans in and leaves a peck on your cheek. He moves his mouth close to your ears and whispers, “Remember, Y/N. I don’t need powers to find you.”

“I do not understand.” Dr. Fate’s eyes stare intently at the man you’ve known your entire life.

“What’s not to understand?” he mocks. “It’s simple. Really. Even old brains can comprehend it.”

“I don’t understand why I’m here.” Dr. Fate’s tone is a lot more stern. His eyes are glaring from within his golden helmet. “The Moirai are Greek. I am not.”

“Hmm.” Your soulmate pretends to mull this over in thought. “Yes. But you’re both ancient divine beings, aren’t you? From what Savage has told me--” he pauses to turn to the immortal hero in the room, expecting his icy glare to turn more hostile. “You’re much older.”

Dr. Fate presses his lips together.

“Listen, Nabu.” Lex stresses the name, Dr. Fate’s mortal name. “You have a new body now-- an immortal body thanks to me. And we both know I don’t do favors for free.

“But surely it’s fine if you don’t want to repay me. I’ll just fail at my plans and turn myself in to the Justice League. Then I’ll tell them everything I’ve been up to. Including that body you’ve been using.”

Silence fills the room and your soulmate’s smirk irritates Dr. Fate to the point of victory. The Justice League member walks up to where the Fate sister is lying on the floor, unconscious. Next to her is a cauldron. The ancient artifact that once held every living being’s past, present, and future.

Dr. Fate reaches down to touch the Fate sister’s forehead with his hand. Where their skin meets, a golden glow peeks from in between. It dimmed away when Dr. Fate stood up.

“Well?” Lex asks without patience.

“The cauldron once held destinies before an Olympian god had spilled its content down to Earth. Zeus was alerted the moment it happened. There was enough time to prevent our destinies from falling into our own hands.”

Luthor purses his lips, “And instead placed our destiny in the hands of other people.”

“Your other half.”

Luthor clenches his fist. He’s thinking about his parents on the farm and the foster family that tried to take advantage of him. But Dr. Fate was right. There is also you.

“Do I have enough energy from the ‘destinies’ I’ve collected?”

“No. To wield more power than the gods, you need every single link in existence.”

Lex purses his lips, “I assume that includes the links of every single baby being born by the second.”

Dr. Fate doesn’t nod or shake his head. He stares at Luthor with the same standing position he’s assumed all this time. “For what you desire, you only need one last link.” He strides forward until he’s looking down at Lex from inside his golden helmet. “I know what you truly want even when you haven’t realized it yet. So be reminded.” He leans down to match Lex’s eye level. “Gods are not to be threatened.”

Your soulmate’s fingers twitch, making Dr. Fate look at them. Then he disappears, leaving Lex alone breathing out slowly until he can find his voice again, “And yet.”

He turns to the cauldron and touches the rim. Despite being a man of science, he could feel the ethereal energy emanating from it. It’s the same feeling when you’re around.

“Did you enjoy the show, soulmate?”

You step out from the shadows and approach the cauldron. There are no images of gods and mighty heroes embossed on it but only of a creature with four legs and four arms.

“See how close I am?” Your soulmate’s eyes are wide and filled with excitement. His hands almost clapping, forcing himself from committing a habit he used to do with you.

He steps forward and holds your face in his hands. You suddenly feel weak. Like all you want to do is melt back into his touch. Go back to the past together and stay there.

“All I need is our link, Y/N.”

Suddenly there’s that prickling feeling in your chest. You grab his hands and squeeze them with your trembling fingers. You close your eyes and push back your tears with the anger boiling inside you. Then you finally look back with a steely gaze. “You’ll never get me, Lex. You’re not the only one with friends.”

You disappear while Lex’s hands remain in the air, still feeling the press of your fingertips, but holding nothing.

✧ ✧ ✧

You finally make it to the rendezvous point in Gotham City. You reach an unusually quiet alley at the East End and Batman steps out of the shadows to greet you.

“Were you followed?”

It’s not like you’re here to exchange pleasantries but you had at least hoped to see his soulmate with him. “No,” you answer.

“Did you take the link blockers?”

“Yes. Two hours ago. I brought enough for the next 24 hours.”

Batman nods. He has been suspicious of you since day one. Of course, he wouldn’t allow his soulmate to be any more involved in this. Not when it’s your soulmate you’re plotting to take down.

“Flash will take you to the safehouse. Another team will be staying with you while the Justice League raid the labs.”

You’re surprised. Even though this is your plan, you’re not allowed to know the specifics in case Luthor makes it in your memories. You did ask Batman to only tell you what you need to know.

Batman is backing up against the wall. “Stay close. Stay alert.”

Suddenly, everything was a blur of red with small streaks of yellow. The only thing stable you can see is the jawline of the fastest man alive. He’s carrying you in his arms and he steals a quick look at you. “Are you really Luthor’s soulmate?”

“Yes. Why would I lie?”

“Why would you admit you’re his soulmate?” he asks with a raised brow.

Suddenly you feel no sympathy for the speedster. “I love him.”

“Oh,” he mutters, shoulders slacking but only for a moment. “So why help us? He had my soulmate kidnapped but didn’t take her link.”

You stare at him and realize this is why he’s the one taking you to the safehouse. He volunteered.

Since the Fate sisters refuse to see any hero or villain, meta or human, the Justice League knows very little about the links. And since you share a memory link with Luthor, you’re the closest expert they’ll ever have.

“Ever wondered why there are so many types of links?” you ask and Flash only replies by raising an eyebrow. “It’s all the same energy, divine energy from the Greek gods--”

“They’re real?”

It’s your turn to raise an eyebrow, “You have an Amazonian on your team.”

“Right,” he chuckles sheepishly, “Sometimes I just forget-- Continue.”

“When the energy turns itself into a link between soulmates, in order to completely seal their bond, it changes itself into one that will perfectly suit them.”

Flash scoffs. “A tracker on a speedster. That’s not even clever.”

“Lex thought so, too. So he went to Eobard Thawne--”

Flash skids to a stop. The inertia against his grasp might leave light bruises on your arms and legs. “Thawne gave his soulmate link-- his tracker-- to Luthor? That means he really is after just one of each link.” Flash is staring down at the ground and you see his eyes widen before they turn to you. “That’s why his real targets have been League members-- powerhouses.”

You eye him curiously. You had told Batman and his soulmate all you know but it looks like he didn’t share that with the Justice League. Or maybe the League isn’t even in on this after all. Maybe no one else is in on this. Not Martian Manhunter nor Miss Martian.

Your nerves have gotten hold of you and you didn’t notice when you’d started running again. You want to ask the Flash, to make sure Batman trusts you enough to try your plan. But you stop.

“Something’s wrong,” Flash says, tightening his grip on you as he looks around inside an empty warehouse near a loading dock. “Someone from the team should’ve been here by-- AAARGH!”

A bright blue light hits Flash’s back and he throws you away before it reaches you, too. You watch him quickly turn to ice as you fall against the hard floor. You used your arms to brace your fall and protect your head, grazing them and the stinging feeling makes you weak.

A pair of black shiny loafers settle in front of you. “I told you, Y/N.” Hearing his voice for the first time-- the first real time feels different, like listening to the lyrics without the instruments. As if it’s the only sound that’s ever existed. He bends down. “I don’t need powers to find you.”

You look up and the moment your eyes meet with his, every single memory you’ve shared flashes in your mind. An album of recollections. A film reel of everything you’ve been through. Every single moment of being together but not.

The moment it’s over, you close your eyes shut and massage them. Lex has been wiped from the memories you’ve once shared but you still remember the feeling of him being there, as well as every single conversation you’ve ever had. The good and the bad.

When you open your eyes, Lex is still massaging the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed. You watch tears slip through his eyes and only then do you notice the warmth on your own cheeks.

You reach out and wipe away your soulmate’s tears. At your touch, his eyes snap open and he stares at you. It’s as if he’s truly seeing you for the first time. He touches your cheek and your skin is warm and soft. He can finally tell the difference, that every you in his memories had been a lie.

You watch Lex narrow his eyes at you before he stabs your arm with a tranquilizer. It acts quickly and your whole body gives in. Your consciousness fades as Lex catches you and carries you in his arms.

✧ ✧ ✧

You didn’t know what to expect once you woke up but the sudden feeling of loneliness wasn’t even a guess. You sit up from the armchair you find yourself lying in. It stands out from the bland interior of yet another Cadmus lab.

There are scientists and guards littered about. Computers humming lightly in the background. In the middle of the room is the cauldron surrounded by a few scientists with tablets and Lex.

Suddenly the loneliness fades. But you realize why. Lex had taken your link.

You rise up and almost sprint. He turns around and you grab him by the collar and push him back against the cauldron. But your own strength is meager compared to your soulmate’s. Even that fact infuriates you.

Tears are streaming down your face and you’re glaring at your soulmate. You scream at him, “You took it away!”

Lex is staring at you with a puzzled look before his eyes narrow and his expression becomes bored. “Not yet.”

Your eyes widen and Lex sees himself completely reflected in them, looking back. He gently removes your hold on his collar and holds both of your hands in his. “Much like the timer link, Y/N, our memory link disappears when we meet.”

Your eyes narrow as if you’re in pain. Lex’s thumb brushes the skin on the back of your hands. “And just like with every other link--”

“The souls’ links still exist,” you finish, suddenly remembering what you know. The fear of losing your link has made you lose focus and lose sight of the plan.

“Now,” Lex lets go of your hands and turns to the cauldron. “I suppose this is the part where I tell you my plans.”

You wrap your arms around you with the sensation of his touch still lingering. “I already know,” you whisper.

“Humor me,” he answers. He turns to you with a familiar smirk he hasn’t worn since he was a teenager. “One last time.”

Being so close to losing him forever and knowing that this will truly be the last time, you turn away and stare at the cauldron. It’s no longer empty. It’s filled with an ethereal hue of gold and silver lines stirring around inside. Touching it might feel like cold air or soft clouds.

“Guesswork is never enough for you,” you start and Lex hums in agreement. “You wanted proof that the souls’ links still exist. And Dr. Fate was your first-ever customer.

“You found a couple with the immortality link. You took away their link using the Fate sisters’ scissors-- another experiment you needed proof of. Then you offered the woman to Dr. Fate as an immortal magical host.”

You grip the ends of the cauldron, unfazed by the metal’s warmth.

“I was there when he brought the woman back. She was older. Dr. Fate believed you did something wrong and you let him believe just that. But you knew--” your eyes narrow as you stare into the cauldron. Lex watches as the ethereal energy’s light dances across your features. “With her soulmate dead, his soul lingered around her, causing her to age. Alone.”

Lex sighs, “Even in death, destiny haunts us. How inconvenient.”

You’re so close to your boiling point. You turn to Lex and you’re shouting, “But that wasn’t enough for you! You found another couple and offered another sacrifice to Nabu while keeping their soulmate in eternal captivity!”

Lex lazily waves a hand without looking at you. “You’re getting off-topic, Y/N.”

You clench your teeth and take a swing at your soulmate but it’s weak. Lex is able to block it and hold your wrist. “Tell me. What am I planning?”

You lean in and your voice is laced with spite, “You’re after what you’ve always wanted, Lex. Control.”

Lex stares at you before he smiles and lets go of your hand. You take it back and this time there’s no lingering touch. “You want control over your own life and that means control over everything. Everyone. You want to use the divine energy from the links to fuel the Fate sisters’ cauldron and be in charge of the world’s destiny.”

You laugh but it sounds empty and forced, “But like Dr. Fate said-- like I’ve been telling you, it’s not going to work.”

Luthor raises an eyebrow at you but he’s smiling, “My. What a spy you’ve grown to be.”

This irritates you more and you stomp forward, “You can’t change what’s already been done, Lex! The past has passed, and the future isn’t in your hands.”

Lex rolls his eyes at you, “Don’t try to be the smartest person in the room, Y/N. It’s embarrassing.” He signals to one of the scientists before turning his attention back to the cauldron. “With every single link in existence, I would’ve become the god that decides everyone’s destiny. And you know what, Y/N, I never wanted that.”

The shock of what you heard made you take a step back.

“Becoming a god would’ve made me into the very thing I hate. Superman. Metahumans. Aliens. Extraordinary beings that hold our lifelines with the tips of their fingernails. I have no desire to be one of them.”

The scientist walks up to Lex carrying a suitcase.

“You’re right, Y/N. The past has passed and we can’t change it. Not completely. But what is within my control are people’s memories. The only proof that the past even existed.”

Lex opens the suitcase and inside is a pair of old and damaged scissors, rusted and bent. He takes it out of the suitcase and holds it in one hand.

“The gods have controlled our lives using these links and I intend to do the same using ours. I’ve collected every single memory link in the world, Y/N. Being the rarest and limited, it wasn’t all too hard. Especially with a god on your side.

“The only one missing is ours.”

You suddenly press your arms against your chest but your soulmate doesn’t advance toward you.

“By erasing my past and altering people’s memories, I can finally peacefully live in a world without soulmates and links. I’ll erase everything we know about them and chalk them up as anomalies with no sense nor purpose.

“It’ll be the perfect world. A world where I’ll be whatever I aspire to be. All without you burrowing into my brain like a parasite. Forcing my hand into killing my family and going on about an imaginary lover--”

“Lex, don’t do this. Please. You can’t--”

“I can.”

You’re starting to take a step back and guards are approaching you. Lex waves them away and he holds out his hand to you. He’s asking you.

Your eyes narrow and you beg him not to do this.

“Please. I… I don’t want to forget you. I don’t want that! This link has brought you uncertainty and muddled memories but Lex, every moment we shared was real. I was with you in every single one. I felt your happiness and sadness. I’ve seen your anger. Just because we weren’t there physically, doesn’t mean they were imaginary.”

Lex doesn’t answer you. He takes a step forward and lightly touches your hand. The gentleness he’s suddenly showing keeps you from pulling away.

“Lex, please. The world be damned, let me keep my--”

Don’t worry, YN.

“Don’t worry, Y/N,” he holds your hand and his thumb brushes your skin.

There’s no mistaking it. Lex’s words came with an echo that vibrated inside your mind. They’re here. Batman followed through.

“I’ll make sure both you and I will forget everything. You won’t have to get hurt anymore.”

You force yourself to focus back on your soulmate. There’s no lie or sarcasm or pity in his voice. This is Lex offering you his sincerity for the last time, showing you that a part of him still cares and might love you.

It almost makes you wish this didn’t have to happen. That maybe you’d be satisfied with playing cat and mouse for the rest of your lives. But your soulmate isn’t just destroying your link, he’s willing to take away everyone else’s.

And your memory link is gone. Losing your souls’ link is a small sacrifice for the love of your life, to keep him from spiraling into darker places where he can’t come back from.

You raise your hand and offer it to him. He smiles at you but you refuse to look. He presses his palm up against yours and makes sure your pinkies are touching and aligned. Then he takes the scissors and snips at the invisible string tying you together.

The moment it snaps, you see the golden thread burst from thin air. Lex holds it with the scissors and turns to the cauldron.

But before he can drop it in, you rush forward until you’ve tackled him to the ground. The scissors fly across the room and opens, and your link disappears in midair.

“No!” Lex turns to you and tries to push you off but stronger pairs of arms are also holding him down. “What--”

The air moves and both Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian appear beside you.

You watch Lex’s eyes widen and turn from one alien to another. Once they’ve entered his mind, his eyes start closing. You lean down and whisper, “A courtesy, my soulmate.”

✧ 1 ✧ 2 ✧ 3 ✧

✧ Watchtower Masterlist ✧

#Lex Luthor #Lex Luthor imagine #DC imagines #DC fanfiction #Lex Luthor x reader #SSA #superhero soulmate au #watchtower-feed #atbucud

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bigskydreaming · 4 years

Text

For @imashittalkingmushroom who requested some Tim content. Excerpt from one of the seemingly endless WIPs I toil away at in my downtime because me pace myself, in this economy, hah. This one’s called “The Vienna Game” and is Batfam ensemble versus a new rising threat, which Tim has a revelation about here. This part is just a rough draft for the moment, but you get the idea.

THE VIENNA GAME

Chapter Five: Pawn Storm

Barely five minutes after Tim’s head hit his pillow, he sat bolt upright in bed, heart hammering in his throat.

“They’re all connected,” he said, wide-eyed to an empty room. The lack of a response bequeathed by his surroundings was a bit, well, lacking, so he leaped to his feet and raced down to the hall to the Batcave’s nearest access point.

“They’re all connected,” he shouted again as he took the rough-hewn stone stairs three at a time. His words bounced and rattled off the walls of the cave, winging upwards into its darkest recesses and rousing the bats from their nests overhead. They scattered in every direction, deeper into the darkness, as they reacted to his urgency and intensity with shrieking complaints.

If only his actual family could be similarly moved. But no, they had to suck instead.

“Whozit whatzit howzit?” Dick swiveled in his chair, just enough to shoot the younger boy a quizzical eyebrow but not enough to necessitate removing his feet from next to the Batcomputer’s keyboard, where Bruce was currently drilling holes into them with a patented (and thus wholly ineffective) Batglare.

“What is it Lassie? Did Timmy fall down the well again? One bark for yes, two for no,” Jason said brightly. He bent at the waist and braced his hands on his thighs as though actually talking to a dog; it had the unfortunate side-effect of making his stupid brother a stupid firmly planted rock that did little more than shift the merest micro-meter when Tim rolled his eyes and brusquely shouldered past him.

“That doesn’t even make any sense. I’m Timmy,” he said irritably. Too late he realized the trap he’d blearily wandered into as his jackass brother practically cackled with glee. Tim reddened and quickened his pace to the Batcomputer. “Oh shut up.”

Jason swivelled, but whatever his intended follow-up, he abruptly cut off as an apple core arced out of the shadows and bounced off his head. The second eldest pivoted sharply once more and scowled in the direction it’d come from as Tim absently took note of the several other apple cores scattered around Jason’s feet.

“Would you stop that?”

Cassandra, target of his ire, merely contemplated him for a beat before shaking her head.

“No thank you,” she politely declined, and she bit into a fresh apple with a loud crunch.

“You will be cleaning those up, not Alfred,” their father said, wearily enough Tim got the sense this had been going on for quite some time. His sister just shrugged.

“Worth it.”

Bruce exercised the better part of valor and shifted his attention back to Tim. “And didn’t you say you were going to bed?”

“I did say that,” Tim said agreeably as he barreled forth unto the Batcomputer. He batted (hah - oh no, the sleep deprivation was real) Dick’s feet aside and rebutted Dick’s injurious expression with an apologetic one of his own; apparently appeased, Dick just lithely shrugged and lifted his linked legs straight off the desk’s surface and then just never stopped. Instead he kept lifting his legs up, up and away until he’d transitioned into a perfect handstand on the seat of the chair, which he then transitioned out of by gracefully flipping over the chair’s back and onto his feet. Because see, Tim’s eldest brother’s middle name was not in fact ‘John,’ it was ‘Just That Extra.’

“I even did that,” Tim continued as he set his fingers to dancing swiftly across the keyboard. “But then I realized something.”

“You look ridiculous when you pop your collar,” Steph said knowingly.

“What? No. Wait, when have I ever done that?”

“Umm, the last time you were drunk, duh.”

Tim paused just long enough to shoot his ex an absolutely baffled look, over where she was lounging bonelessly next to Cass.

“When was I drunk?”

Steph tilted her head to the side and squinted in thought. “Drunk, concussed....whatever. It was definitely one of those two. I have pictures. They’re not good.”

Perhaps sensing his impending spontaneous combustion, Bruce interceded, raising a hand to quiet the perpetual storm of sibling (and Steph) nonsense.

“What’s this about, Tim?”

“Our newest Rogue, the one we just finally caught last week,” Tim reported, turning his attention back to the Dance of the Keystrokes. “We have a problem.”

Their father frowned. “Desperado? What’s the problem?”

“His name,” Tim said grimly. He finished pulling up the string of files he’d only minutes ago linked together in his own mind. Flashing into existence on the wall to wall screens before them were all the notes the various members of their family had compiled on the new villain in town, as well as a number of other files for a good dozen or so other relatively new or unknown villains scattered across the globe, with these latter documents pulled from the digital archives of various superhero teams and law enforcement agencies worldwide.

Blitz, a speedster located in Southern California, their indistinct form pixelated and blurred virtue of the crackling halo of electrical energy they seemed to wear like a cloak of St. Elmo’s Fire.

A Filipino man and woman purported to be fraternal twins operating out of a number of hotspots throughout Southeast Asia, with a combined name whose translation from Tagalog roughly amounted to ‘Double Check.’

A young brunette woman seemingly barely out of her teens, with eyes hidden behind an overly large pair of sunglasses, linked to a series of crimes in Argentina and Chile and allegedly going by the name ‘Swindle.’

A black man in his mid to late twenties, moving across the Iberian peninsula, with no reported name given, just a strange adherence to a symbol that appeared to be of a windmill, of all things, and that had local press dubbing him ‘Don Quixote.’

King March, a white man in his late forties to early fifties, with black hair and greying temples and a stern but smug disposition in all the files Interpol had compiled on him due to his frequent appearances as a person of interest throughout Eastern Europe.

A short, acrobatic Latino teleporter who offered up only the name ‘Castle’ in his sporadic run-ins with various hero organizations across the globe.

Tempo, suspected to originally hail from Sri Lanka, and last sighted in Hong Kong of all places...and by no means the only one of this assortment of individuals engaged in criminal enterprises in a city known for its Batman Inc presence.

Undermine, a masked man so far content to operate just out of Australia.

Flag Fall, another masked individual largely spotted in the Southeastern U.S.

An unseen person or persons known only by a calling card left in various Saharan regions, identifying them as someone named ‘Tabia.’

And lastly, a mature black woman out of the UK, sporting a wry, enigmatic smile in the only known picture of her, alongside her alleged pseudonym: Zugzwang.

“It was pretty much total coincidence I put it together,” Tim said as his family gathered more closely behind him to survey the assembled files over his shoulder. “I’d come across most these files over the past couple months, just in passing, as I like to familiarize myself with the various players in most Batman Inc. operating cities, and I was just reading this last file before bed, just to kinda wind down, y’know....”

“That sentence makes me so sad I don’t even have the heart to make fun of you,” Jason interrupted. He frowned. “Wait, that implies I have a heart. Hang on, that doesn’t sound right. And is this, what, sympathy I’m feeling right now? Eww, that is not the emotion I ordered. Take it back.”

Tim glared at him briefly, and then foraged on. “Anyway, as I was saying, I happened to be reading this last file before bed, and her name stuck out for me and from there I just started connecting some dots. See, alone, none of these names stand out as particularly significant, but put them together, and what happens?”

“They all have multiple meanings,” Damian said, scowling at the screens with focused intensity. “Mostly innocuous, but they’re also all....hmm. Chess terminology.”

Tim nodded enthusiastically. “Bingo! Ten points to Stabby Smurf.”

He bent over the keyboard again and started pulling up various video files, catching sight of reflections out of the corner of his eye as he did so. Duke seemed to be mouthing “Stabby Smurf” with a kind of horrified awe and Damian himself seemed unable to decide if he was offended or not. Whoops, that part hadn’t been meant to come out aloud. Tim coughed to cover a grimace slash smirk and hastened back to his point.

“For instance, based on geographical location alone, Flag Fall seems to be an obvious reference to an actual flag, but the term also refers to timed chess matches, when a given player has run out of time to make a move. Swindle isn’t just a term for cheating or fraud, but in chess, refers to when a losing player tricks their opponent into falling for a decoy move that ends the game in a draw instead of a loss. King march is a term for when you advance your king up the board, tempo is a single turn or move, a double check is when two different pieces put an opponent’s king in check simultaneously, and undermining is when you capture a defensive piece of your opponent’s and leave their king undefended.”

He stopped for a breath and Damian quickly stepped into the breach and picked up where he left off, seamlessly following the train of thought. “And Tabia comes from the Arabic for ‘essence,’ but in chess is a key point, specifically a point of departure from which you can perform any number of signature moves. The windmill symbol utilized by this individual in Spain and its surrounding regions most likely then does not reference Don Quixote, but rather a looped series of moves, usually brought upon by a rook and a bishop, which forces an opponent’s king to ‘windmill’ back and forth between just two or three squares in order to keep out of check.”

“And then Blitz of course refers to a specific opening gambit, that can bring about checkmate in four moves or less,” Tim resumed. “And while Castle has so far been assumed to be nothing more than a surname according to various heroes who have encountered him, largely no doubt due to the fact that he doesn’t affect any kind of costume or disguise, when you consider that pretty much all his demonstrations of teleportation utilize a kind of ‘switching’ of two persons’ relative placement in space/time, either as a signature or an actual staple of his power, its far more likely his name is a reference to ‘castling.’ Which of course then just brings us back to Zugzwang, which is a German term that loosely translates to ‘compulsion to move’ and specifically denotes any scenario in chess in which a player has no choice but to move, even though all moves available to them are inevitably going to worsen their position.”

They all took a minute to absorb that then, speed-reading their way through the various files with all the quickness that made it an actual possibility one or more of them might someday make it all the way through a read-through of the entire Wayne Manor Library, even taking into account the minimal time any of them allotted to the having of actual ‘hobbies.’

It was Cass who found something new to seize upon next, though she never once flicked her eyes away from where they tracked the movements of one videoed individual to the next, screen by screen.

“It’s not just the names,” she reported, scrutinizing each figure intently. “They move alike. When they fight. Its not a lot. But enough that they probably trained together, or at least shared a teacher.”

Tim nodded again. “I thought so too, but I wasn’t sure. I don’t have your eye for that, but it seemed like they might.”

“Reeet, record scratch,” Steph jumped in then. “Not to be all ‘talk nerdy to me, baby,’ since we don’t do that any more and whoops, totally forgot for a second that your dad is legit standing right here, wow, awkwaaaaaard, but for those of us still waiting to buy a vowel, why is this a problem with that Desperado dude specifically?”

“Because we’ve been operating off of the assumption that he chose his name as a more obvious reference to simply being some kind of outlaw,” Bruce said. “But in terms of chess specifically, a desperado piece is any piece that is trapped or in danger, and then sacrifices itself to achieve some kind of maximum damage or compensation that greatly outweighs the loss of itself.”

Steph nodded and pursed her lips. “Cool, cool. Okay so first off, let me just say how glad I am that it was you in specific that decided to follow up on that. Definitely the best of all timelines there, like just so, so absolutely stellar, that. It in no way compounded the awkwardness of the moment or contributed to my pending death by mortification. Secondly, oh, like. Yikes, so that’s not great, huh.”

“No, its not,” Bruce said seriously, with only the barest of twitches in the proximity of those things other people use to smile, aka lips. “If all of this turns out to bear fruit, as I suspect it will, the relative ease with which this Desperado was captured is nothing short of ominous. But luckily, we now have a chance to get ahead of whatever else might be in the works there. Excellent work, Tim.”

Tim squirmed, digging deep into the well of his bodily mastery and various techniques for exerting mind over matter. Don’t blush, don’t blush, you’re a super cool crime-fighting dude, not a total dweeb. “Like I said, it was mostly just dumb luck.”

“Hey now, none of that, Baby Bird,” Dick said, clapping him on the shoulder. “You still had to spot the pattern and connect the dots no matter how circumstantial you feel happening across the first dot was. That’s all you, kiddo.”

“Dick, I’m almost eighteen,” Tim whined. Ugh, his brother was the worst. He was going to be calling him Baby Bird when he was eighty at this point. And there went all his attempts at bodily mastery. Insult was added to injury when he stumbled to the side, then, though that had more to do with Jason hip-checking him out of the way so he could take over at the Batcomputer’s keyboard.

“Hey! What the hell was that for, Jay?”

“Umm, saving your ass, duh,” his other older brother said. Tim narrowed his eyes.

“That tracks how, exactly?”

“You were well on your way to immolation by way of embarrassment thanks to all the attention, so I’m stealing your thunder, double duh. Like I said, saving your ass. You’re welcome,” Jason said distractedly, busy with whatever else he was doing aside from being King of the Assholes.

Correction. That brother was the worst.

“Gee, thanks ever so much,” Tim intoned acidly.

“Don’t mention it, brat.”

Tim was still working on a return volley when Jason found whatever it was he was looking for and called up some more files onscreen.

“Okay, so check it out. Remember back in March, when we caught wind of some ‘new talent’ looking to establish a foothold in the local underground, and once we routed them, the only head honcho we could seemingly trace all of that back to was someone we assumed to be named Cassie or Cassandra based on what little we could decrypt of her communications? So now I’m thinking what if we filled in the gaps there wrong, and her name actually was Caissa?”

Tim looked around, but the name didn’t seem to be ringing any bells for anyone else either.

“Okay, I’ll bite. Who the hell is Caissa?”

“The fictional regurgitation of some plagiaristic hack from two hundred years ago.”

“Jason,” Bruce sighed. Jason rolled his eyes.

“Fine, whatever. So there’s this poem by this untalented dumbass named William Jones back in the 1700s, about a made-up Greek goddess of chess, named Caissa. But really, its just a rip-off of a much older poem from the 1500s by an Italian dude named Hieronymus Vida, in which the character of Caissa was originally named Scacchia. So I mean, I’m just saying, if this chick was going by the name Scacchia, I would have pegged what that was a reference to right away, because like, I have taste and so I’m way more familiar with the original version than the ode of a derivative hack. But I guess you just can’t count on bad guys to default to the superior take,” he lamented with a mournful sigh.

“But wait, aren’t you a bad guy?” Duke inquired, all bright eyes and fake innocence. Jason shot him A Look.

“Not this week, duh. Keep up.”

“Oh, sorry, my bad. I forgot to look at the calendar again.”

“You’re forgiven,” Jason said magnaminously. “Anyway, might just be a hunch, but worth looking into, I’d say. If her name really was actually Caissa, this Desperado could be working for her, and he might actually just be Round Two.”

Cass nodded. “Makes sense. Also restores my good name. Thanks little brother.”

“Any time, little sister. This mean you’ll stop throwing shit at me now?”

“Nope.”

“I hate you.”

“I know. Keeps me up at night.”

“You’re nocturnal, you bipedal asshat.”

Cass just smirked some more and sashayed away. Then flipped into a handstand and started walking away on her hands because clearly, she’d been spending too much time with Dick.

Which reminded him - Tim turned his attention back to his oldest brother, mortification forgotten or at least put on hold for the moment.

“Hey, so, a lot of the files noted that several of these people are likely polyglots,” Tim said. “Since Cass thinks they have some kind of shared combat instruction in their background, I’m thinking there’s a chance we could get a better idea of what regions they all might have been in, in order to get that shared instruction, if we could isolate what languages or dialects or even accents they might have in common, y’know? You’ve got the best ear for languages, what do you think?”

Dick nodded thoughtfully as he perused several of the files. “Its a good idea. I’ll get into it. First though, I’ve gotta make a few calls.”

Their father shot him an appraising glance. “Harper?” He asked.

Dick nodded again. “Yeah, Roy, but also Helena and Tiger. Can’t hurt to have all three of them read in on this. Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and where there’s chess, there’s bound to be Checkmate. I’d find it way too big a coincidence if there’s not a connection there somewhere, and if there is one to be found, I’d say those three are our best chance of finding it.”

Bruce made a sour face. Dick arched a challenging eyebrow. Bruce sighed.

“I’m not disagreeing, I just don’t like it.”

Dick laughed. “Well, you don’t like anything, so really we’re all just in awe of your dedication to your Brand, Pops.”

Bruce rolled his eyes and sighed again, before turning his attention back to Tim. “As for you, I think you’ve contributed enough for one night, don’t you? Why don’t you get back to what you were doing before this....what was that again....oh right, getting some sleep?”

Tim made a face of his own. He was way too keyed up now - again - still - to go back to bed now. And again, must he reiterate, he was almost eighteen, helloooooo.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

“Oh good, I’m so glad that’s what’s catching on as the family motto.”

“Don’t see you going to bed,” Tim sulked in a most mature fashion. The absolute height of maturity. Nay, the apogee, the zenith, we’re talking orbital here.

“Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne,” Jason interrupted in a thunderous facsimile of their father’s impressive baritone. “This is a Do As I Say, Not As I Do household!”

“This from the son who makes an art form out of never doing either,” Bruce said dryly.

Jason shrugged and buffed his nails against his chest, blithely unconcerned. “I go my own way. Its part of my charm.”

“Oh cool,” Duke cut in excitedly. “Are we playing that game again where we just make up our own definitions that have nothing to do with the actual words we say?”

Jason gasped and pressed his palm flat over his heart. “Et tu, Daisy Dukes?”

Duke nodded gravely. “Et mi, Sweeney Todd.”

“Boys,” Bruce said wearily.

Both stopped and shot him expectant looks.

“What?”

“I actually have no idea, to be honest. It just feels like one of those things I should attempt to say periodically. Never mind. Carry on.”

Jason snorted and rolled his eyes at Duke as the two of them wandered off towards the opposite end of the cave. “As if we were ever going to do otherwise. He’s so weird sometimes, I swear.”

Duke hummed in agreement. “I think its on account of him being an ancient eldritch being.”

“I’m only forty-two,” Bruce called after them, aggrieved. They ignored him.

“Did you know, he was actually there to witness the actual dawn of time,” Jason said. “And yet, wake him up before noon and its like you’ve committed murder. And I would know. I’ve actually murdered people.”

“That’s true, you have.”

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saiilorstars · 3 years

Text

Sweet Ambitions

Ch.1: Anais

Story Masterlist // Masterlist of other OCs

Fandom: Supergirl // Pairing: Winn Schott x OFC

Summary: Spending her entire life cooped up in secret, Anais relishes in her new freedom. It's only later that she learns it's not easy living as a human when she also wants to be Solar with Supergirl. She has good-hearted ambitions but that's not the case for those around her. Not everyone is Kara Danvers, or Winn Schott. "Friends" lurk by with double intentions and to top it off, CADMUS rears its ugly head to make Anais wonder what side is she really on: human or alien?

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @perfectlystiles

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]

A young woman snapped a picture of the sky just as a couple of humming birds flew by. The angle was perfect! She lowered her professional camera, revealing sparkly green eyes. She was dazzled as she saw her picture on the camera screen. "Dad, I got another one!" she called for her father but noticed he'd gone inside the house. "Mom?" she then called but no one answered.

"What do you mean she's been infected?" the young woman began to hear voices from the inside. Super hearing allowed for some interesting eavesdropping sometimes, and when her adoptive parents were secret government scientists, the information was even juicier.

"We're not sure but she might have been affected," went the voice of a man she immediately recognized. It was for that reason that the woman put her full attention to the conversation. "Supergirl's civilian form is usually a kind woman and now she's acting far colder than ever before. We tracked her initial behaviors back to a fight she had. We need your expertise on Kryptonian weaknesses."

The woman's eyes widened in alarm at the important name. Supergirl? She was affected with what? The blonde let her camera hang around her chest and walked into the backdoor of her home.

"I assume you still hold the records from Superman?"

"Well of course we do. What kind of employees would we be if we didn't retain our subjects' records?"

The woman stepped into the cool kitchen and followed the voices of her parents and the man into the living room. "What's going on?" she didn't hesitate to come into the conversation despite her parents' constant reminders she was a subject the DEO was wary about no matter how long it'd been since they'd first found her.

A dark-skinned man immediately laid eyes on her. They were rather cold for the first couple of seconds, something the blonde didn't quite like but was ultimately used to. It was the first impression many employees got from him. "Hello, Hank," she said cautiously. "It's been long since you've visited." She cracked a tiny bit of a smile, and how could she not? He was the man responsible for her rescue when she was a young girl who'd lost her mother.

The man gave a nod, somewhat smiling now. "It is nice to see you again, Anais. How are you?"

Anais glanced at her parents to see their typical uneasiness whenever the DEO was around. It seemed like no matter how many years passed by, the DEO would never be fully welcomed in their home. "I'm...okay. I heard about Supergirl, what's happened to her?" No one answered her. Typical. She sighed, letting her long straight blonde hair swish each time her head turned. "Seriously? I follow Supergirl's actions — I even have collages about her — so I really want to know if she's in trouble—"

"So you can help out," her father finished, settling a hard look on her. "We know how the story ends, Anais. And you know we can't allow you to go anywhere near the DEO and much less Supergirl."

"Supergirl wouldn't act so cold with me like the DEO has," Anais threw that back to Hank Henshaw. "The Department of Extra-Normal Operations should've welcomed the first benign alien just like they did with Supergirl. Did I have to be Kryptonian for that or what?"

"You being a Solista had nothing to do with our case on you, Anais. You are a peculiar case—"

Anais rolled her eyes. She heard the story far too many times already. "Yeah, yeah, what makes me different and a threat is why you keep me away. I thank you for what you did for me when I was a little girl and you know—" she glanced at her parents with all the love in the world, "—how grateful I am to you for taking me in but now I want to know about Supergirl. And good luck getting rid of me. I have the speed and the strength to outmatch you." Her straight white teeth were a pretty sight despite her sour warning of her presence.

Anais Allen(-Mjorlkand) did not play when it came to aliens, even if she was only half of one.

Bearing that in mind, while also counting for precious time, Hank decided to let the woman listen in. He knew she was virtually harmless, despite the weariness of the government. She'd only been five years old when he found her and her dead alien mother. Her now-adoptive parents fought tooth and nail to take her in and prevent her from being a full blown lab rat for the U.S. government. As far as he knew, and he did, Anais was a model citizen.

When Anais learned that Supergirl may have been affected with something they still didn't know much about, she was all for helping. Like before, it didn't quite matter how many times everyone said no.

"Supergirl can be in trouble and I may be the only other non-evil alien that has the strength to keep up with her!" she trailed after her parents and Hank towards the front door. "Not to mention more speed! I am a dedicated speedster, remember!?"

"Anais, the DEO may not be ready for you—" Mrs. Allen began but Anais shook her head to stop her.

"But I can be trained! C'mon! Just...just let me visit at least? I'll be under constant supervision! You can even tag me if you want—"

"That wouldn't be necessary," Hank cut her off, rather put off by the suggestion.

Anais set her hands on her hips. "Then let me come, please." It was clear as day her parents weren't on board with the idea. Despite being adopted and partially alien, they came to love the girl as their own child.

However, the situation was tough and no one knew that more than Hank. His dark eyes flickered from the hopeful woman to her parents. He hated making the tough calls. "You would need to be monitored—"

Everyone winced when Anais squealed in delight.

"Hank, she can't—"

Hank raised a hand to stop Anais' father. "Unfortunately, she is well over the legal age—"

"23 years!" Anais was quick to remind, even waving a hand above her head. Her parents shot her the clear look to be quiet.

"Wouldn't this go against the rules, though?" Mrs. Allen wondered, continuously glancing at her daughter with fear. "It was clear we had to keep Anais under constant supervision and away from society until we were sure…"

"That I wasn't gonna accidentally blow people up, yes I know," Anais rolled her eyes. "Which I haven't, okay? Except for that one time I accidentally blew up the garden shed."

"And?" Mr. Allen threw a mock-glare.

She sighed and added in a much quieter voice, "...and the garage." She straightened herself up and put on her more serious face possible. "But I'm 23 now. I've practiced enough times to know what I'm doing. Just give me the chance to actually help."

Her hopefulness was answered again with a conditional yes from both parties. She would be under the direction supervision of Hank and any other trusted employees he would need. Anais didn't care. All she knew was that she would finally meet Supergirl and possibly even National City if she had free time.

Oh yes, she would definitely be taking her camera!

~0~

The DEO was bustling with the newest Fort Rozz escapee and with little to no help from Supergirl herself. Her lack of presence, however, was not a complete damper on Anais' mood.

"Oh my god I know this place is meant to hate me but it is so cool!" Anais' laughter echoed in the main room, attracting the attention of most employees, among them Alex Danvers.

"Uh...who is she?" the woman came to stop Anais from touching a desk.

"Ow," Anais pouted and rubbed the back of her hand where Alex had smacked her.

"Anais Allen. She is a special DEO interest who may be able to help us with Supergirl," Hank cleared his throat, warning Anais with a glance not to disclose more about herself. Alex looked Anais over with reasonable suspicion. At a time like this Hank decided to bring in some stranger to help with her sister? "Her parents are working on a possible explanation to Supergirl's condition," Hank went on, hoping to get eyes off Anais.

"Her parents being…?" Alex expected to know the answer but Hank left it briefly with "special DEO scientists" and moved on once again.

Anais still flashed the older woman a smile though Alex didn't return it. Anais tried not to look so disappointed - she could feel Alex's concern for...Supergirl? Anais tilted her head as she tried to make sense of the feelings she could actually feel. Because yes, at times, she could be an empathic. She could literally feel other people's feelings, whether they were good or bad. It was a power she was still developing.

But Alex's concern for Supergirl went far beyond that of co-workers, though not couple feelings. It was that same love Anais felt from her adoptive mother: family. With that in mind, Anais paid extra close attention to Alex's behavior while Hank and the other DEO employees brought up the Fort Rozz escapee.

"Two armored vehicles have been attacked in the last six hours. Both carrying hundreds of thousands worth in gold," Hank was describing the situation. "Now, these two have goons managed to take out a number of highly trained and heavily armed security personnel."

"Alien weapons?" asked Alex.

"Almost. An alien is their weapon," Hank had one of the employees pull up a profile picture of a rather sizable man with—was that an eyepatch?

Why must villains insist on being ridiculous? Anais could never figure that out. Her father always loved watching those silly human movies with awful costumes and representation of aliens.

"A K'hund. Stronger than your average Fort Rozz escapee," Hank warned the crowd. "Now, we've obtained intel on their next heist, but we have to move fast. Lucky for us, we have an alien of our own."

"Yeah, that would be me," said another woman, a new woman that Anais immediately recognized as Supergirl. With a gasp, Anais turned around and saw Supergirl herself standing behind the crowd. She was looking rather bored by the ensemble of employees.

"You're late," Hank pointed out, not that Supergirl seemed to care for her tardiness.

Anais opened her mouth to make herself known but she began to get the same feelings from the other alien...and they were rather...mixed.

"I had other things to do," Supergirl said sourly. "You know I do have a life, right?"

Alex's eyes widened at such an imprudent - and certainly not like Supergirl - thing to say. "Supergirl…"

The alien in question raised a hand to stop Alex from whatever she was going to say. "When can I kick alien ass?"

Hank was just going to skip over her language for the time being. It was just more footage to collect and hopefully discover Supergirl's irrational behavior. "Let's move!" he gave the order to the rest of the employees.

As the employees began to spread out, Anais latched a hand to the nearest one she could. It was Alex.

The brunette woman gave Anais a clear look that said 'hands off'. Anais pulled her hand off Alex's arm and pointed in the direction Supergirl went off in. "She's your sister." The phrase made Alex freeze with shock. This only allowed Anais to continue on with what she wanted to say. "I felt that off her hostility towards you. It's not like the one she has against Hank! But to be fair, all her feelings are rather mixed up—"

"Okay, what are you talking about?" Alex grabbed Anais and led her towards the side.

Anais blinked, realizing that just like everything of the DEO was new to her, it was new to Alex too. "Oh, that's right, I'm sorry. I'm—" she gestured to herself, "—a low-level empathic." Alex's blank stare made Anais smile widely out of embarrassment. "It basically means I can feel other people's feelings on occasion. It's really low so the feelings have to be extremely strong for me to catch on sometimes. For example, when Supergirl came in you got this whole concern that...while reasonable, didn't exactly fit within the role of employees."

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. Things were getting ridiculous now. "So you could...you think Supergirl is my sister?" she dropped her hand. "Did you forget the part where I'm a human and she's an alien?"

"I know the concept of adoption, Alex," Anais said all too calmly, furthering irritating Alex. "I was adopted by humans too. And if I ever did get a human sibling — even adopted — I would love them too."

Alex's mouth opened several times before she actually talked. "Whatever the hell you are—"

"A Solista," Anais was all too happy to name her species for anyone.

"Not the point," Alex gritted her teeth, making Anais' smile vanish to get serious. "Just….just tell me you can help her? Supergirl?"

"Your sister?"

"Fine, yes - can you help her?"

"Well, I'm not a science genius but my parents are. They studied all of Superman's records and they even got to perform some exams themselves. They've got the brains and I've got the bronze," Anais flexed an arm as a joke but Alex was in no mood for such. With a sigh, Anais got serious again. "I'm half human, okay? But physically I can keep up with Supergirl. And I will try my best to help wherever I can."

That was all Alex needed to know. "You should wear a mask or something before you leave…"

~ 0 ~

Against Hank's better judgement, Anais was allowed to accompany the DEO taskforce to get the Fort Rozz escapee. The condition was the mask - first of all - and to have her monitored from the DEO all in the meanwhile.

"Stop touching it," Alex scolded Anais the third time the blonde started fiddling with the strap around Anais' arm.

"You guys seriously couldn't have gotten me a smaller thing to monitor me with?" was all Anais could say about it.

"We're trying to get funding. And it we were a bit out of time," Alex leaned back against the wall of the van. They were on their way to Supergirl's location, hoping to just get out and catch the escapee when Supergirl was done.

"I told you I didn't even need to be here," Anais gestured to the back of the van with a roll of her eyes.

"And Hank said you had to be under my supervision," Alex reminded with a touch of a smirk.

Anais didn't have the chance to come up with a good comeback for that repeated statement due to the van making a big swerve. She screeched when Alex practically jumped over her to get out the backdoor.

"Where did he go!?" she soon heard Alex's confused voice. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. He got away."

Anais sped out of the van and came to a skidded stop beside Alex, startling both Alex and Supergirl. "Hi, big fan!" Anais wiggled her fingers at Supergirl then looked at the dumbfounded Alex. "Right, I'm a speedster too."

Supergirl's eyebrows shot up at the presence of the knew alien in town. "Do I have to kick her ass too?"

Anais' smile faded.

~ 0 ~

"Is this really necessary?" Anais asked the female scientist reading off from a handheld tablet about Anais' tests results collected from her short moment in the field. "Because my parents have run these a thousand times. I swear."

The scientist said nothing. She merely came back to unwrap the monitor around Anais' arm.

Anais rolled her eyes and looked around for anyone she knew, and by that she just meant Alex or Hank. It was clear Supergirl was not in her right mind at the moment. Just my luck. She focused more when she started hearing voices of Supergirl, Hank and Alex not too far from the room. She shouldn't but oooooh her superhearing really wanted to make action.

"...how 'bout you get off my back for once, Hank?"

"Supergirl…"

"I thought we were in a good place here."

"We're in a good place, when I do what I'm told. When I don't, you come down on me. I am tired of it! You want to catch the K'hund, go try it yourself! You're just as strong as me, if you wanted to be!"

"You know how dangerous that is for him!"

Anais made sure not to make any faces that would giveaway what she was doing. What did Supergirl mean by that? Hank couldn't possibly be as strong as Supergirl…

"And it's not dangerous for me too? Every Kryptonian on this planet wants to kill me expect my cousin. I have to live with that! What are you so afraid of? You talk about honoring your people, and yet you refuse to be one of them!"

"Supergirl!"

When Supergirl finally did leave, there was a trail of awkwardness left in the building. Anais did her best not to show any indication she'd heard any of that. After being released from examinations, she was turned over to none other than her parents.

"I thought the deal was I would help if I could," Anais glumly said after catching sight of her parents.

"Oh you still are," Alex remained in the building despite it being rather late. "After what my sister—er…" Anais smirked. "Fine, whatever. She needs help. And I'm gonna take it from whoever gives it. Your parents are keys."

"Dorks. They're dorks," Anais didn't hesitate to correct. The two women walked into the room Hank had brought the two scientists into.

"Annie!" Mr. Allen immediately went over and hugged her. "You're okay?"

"I'm embarrassed but sure…" the blonde hugged back nonetheless. By this point in her life, she was more than used to her parents' over-coddling.

"We feel we have a lead but we need to talk to the person who owned the building in the first place," Mrs. Allen remarked after hugging her daughter as well. She was worried sick as well but knew how Anais got in front of people when they happened to express too much love.

"And who would that be?" asked Hank.

"A Mr. Maxwell Lord."

It became clear to the three visitors that this name was not unknown for the DEO workers.

"Alex looks like she wants to punch this guy…" Anais couldn't refrain from commenting. This time, Alex didn't disagree.

"I hate him. And now we're gonna get him," Alex looked specifically at Hank for this one. Maxwell Lord had been one problem after the next and she was drawing the line at infecting her sister.

"That'll have to be tomorrow, I'm afraid," Hank said, not missing Alex's incredulous reaction. "It's late and we need to figure out how we're going to go to Maxwell Lord. I'm sure you'll be willing to help with that."

Seeing no other option on the table, Alex took it. "You bet."

"As for you three," Hank looked at the visitors again, "We secured a hotel for you to stay the night, all expenses paid. Tomorrow morning I will personally take you to Maxwell Lord for your questioning."

"And me?" Anais curiously wondered. The plan was great, it just didn't seem to include her as much as she wanted.

"It's best if you stay hidden," Hank replied, not surprising her too much.

"We agree," Mr. Allen said all too pleased. "We don't know if this substance is affecting all aliens in the region."

"Dad—"

"Don't even try it, dear," Mrs. Allen softly smiled at the blonde, urging Anais to save her breath. "It's the safest option for you."

Sure. Anais put forwards her best understanding smile possible. Her mind had already come up with an assignment of her own for the next day. The best part was it had exploration in the main part.

~0~

CatCo. was busy as usual early in the morning. There were new issues being made for the following deadline and Cat Grant was not a woman who accepted tardiness. This was the spectacle Anais walked into after the elevator dinged open. She didn't even mind that two employees had nearly run into her with stacks of papers. Her smile widened when she potted the Art Department on the far left of the bullpen. She'd never been anywhere near this sort of place.

In her awe, she now bumped into someone. She stumbled back a step - as did the other person - and blinked with terrible guilt. "I'm so sorry! I'm lost!"

The other person turned out to be a dark-haired man with green eyes. He didn't seem upset when Anais did a quick and discreet look-over. "Don't worry. I'm Winn Schott, the I.T., can I help you?"

"Uh…" Anais quickly looked to the side in thought. She didn't really think about what she would do after coming into the place. It took her very little effort to figure out who Agent Alex Danvers' sister was - a Kara Danvers - and where said sister worked. It helped that she worked for the Queen of all Media. But now that she was here, Anais didn't even know how she would find Kara nor what she would say to the Kryptonian.

In all this thinking time, Winn had stared at the blonde woman, waiting for her answer. "U-uh...hello?" He waved a hand in front of Anais' face to bring her back to the present.

The woman blinked back to the present and widely smiled. "I'm, uh, looking for...uh...Kara...Danvers…"

Not a moment after she'd spoken the name did they hear an elevator ding. What confused Anais was that this elevator was set up opposite of the one she'd come in through. When the doors slid open, a dark blonde woman in a tight black dress, holding a latte in hand, emerged.

"Why are there two ele…" Anais trailed off as Winn dashed towards the second blonde.

"That's Cat's elevator!" he reminded Kara in a rush.

This did not seem to do much for the woman. She walked over to her desk, which happened to be a couple feet from the grand office. "It is absolutely ridiculous for her to have her own personal elevator, plus horrible for the environment," the woman casually rolled her eyes.

"KE-RAH!"

Winn winced at the loud scream of Cat. Anais still remained where Winn left her and only mouthed 'Ke-rah?' in confusion. It took her only a couple seconds to put two and two together.

Kara Danvers!

And to prove her thoughts, Winn was ever so helpful. "You are literally impervious to bullets and I'm worried for your safety right now!" he managed to get out before Cat arrived with eyes blazing in anger.

Definitely Kara Danvers, Anais began to smile.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" demanded Cat. Another woman, a dark brunette arrived just a couple seconds later, holding a couple papers on hand which Anais knew at once were photographs.

"Your latte, Ms. Grant," Kara held out the cup, still looking unbothered about the situation. "Walking from the main elevator takes an extra 90 seconds, which means your latte's 90 seconds colder."

Cat's eyes flickered from the cup to Kara. It was as if she was waiting for Kara to snap back to the one shy assistant Cat had known for a while. But when Kara didn't, Cat accepted it with conditional terms. "Brazen. That's a new color on you. I don't mind it. Yet. What do you want?"

The brunette woman was startled. Cat hadn't even turned to give her proper attention but she would take whatever she got. "I've got a scoop for you. Can we talk? In private? Allez." Cat was never one to refuse a scoop and so agreed to see the woman in her office.

As soon as they were gone, Anais moved up to Kara's desk. "U-um, hi. You don't know me but I-I—"

"I don't," Kara settled a rather cold disdain look on Anais. This was nowhere near the Kara Danvers that Winn knew and loved. He looked between the two with rather concern.

"Right, but believe me...I know you…" Anais almost shivered when she began to feel some of the coldness inside Kara. "I think you're sick…"

Kara laughed and languidly pointed at Anais. "And who's she?" she asked from Winn.

"I-I don't know...we were getting to that…" the man stuttered and motioned Anais to get on with it.

"Anais Allen, nice to meet you," Anais shook hands with Winn then attempted to do the same with Kara but the latter only offered a condescending stare. "Okay, let me try again. I'm from the DEO—" and this certainly got attention from Winn, "—and my parents are studying some...possible leads to your...odd behavior."

Kara frowned. "I am feeling just fine," her spat startled Anais. She moved around the desk, causing Winn to back up for space. "So you can tell Hank and Alex and all those little people that they can stop worrying. And you—" she got in Anais' face, "—can go back to wherever it is you came from. I don't need you. I doubt anyone here does. Bye."

She left Anais wide eyed but not offended. That darkness inside Kara was what scared her, actually.

"I…" poor Winn did not have a word to explain her friend's erratic behavior. His finger pointed after Kara and despite having his mouth open, he couldn't get past his stutter. "I don't—"

Anais raised a hand to stop him. "It's fine," she spoke serious for the first time. She turned to him with a matching earnest face. "Give me a rundown on Kara Danvers' usual personality."

"What—"

"It's fine, I know who she is," Anais then leaned forwards to whisper, "I'm an alien too."

This just made Winn's eyes nearly pop out of his head. "Y-you're a…" his finger made a swirling motion above his head.

Anais smiled, mildly amused by him. "I'm a low level empathic and what I just felt from Kara was utter coldness."

"Empathic? So then you can feel…" Winn trailed off as Anais nodded to confirm his thoughts.

"Very little but right now it's enough."

""Uh, well...Kara is…" Winn paused to think about his description and soon settled on a short one, "Do you know the Powerpuff girls?" Anais gave a slow, silent nod. "Picture Bubbles."

Anais couldn't help laugh. "Okay…then...this Bubbles...has got some weird super villain-esque development going on. Can I use a phone?"

"Yeah, of course," Winn led her back to his desk which turned out not to be that far from Kara's.

"I don't have a phone, sorry," Anais offered a sheepish smile for her lack of technology.

"That's a new one," Winn gestured to the phone for her to use.

Anais was about to dial when his words registered in her mind. "Hold on, I just told you that I'm an alien with low level empathic abilities and that I'm here from an organization that deals with aliens but me not owning a cellphone is the shocker?"

Winn saw how that looked and offered his own sheepish smile. Anais' smile turned into another laugh. "So...what exactly are you going to do?" Winn asked after Anais finally dialed a number. "You're gonna call the DEO?"

"Worse, my parents," Anais didn't need to be empathic to know how angry her parents were going to be with her after discovering she left the hotel without their permission. "It was nice knowing you." She took in a deep breath and began to talk on the phone.

~0~

That same night, Anais was brought back to the DEO and had a round of lectures going from her parents to Hank...and even to Alex.

"You could have outed Supergirl to people!" the older Danvers sister was the last one to have her turn.

"But I didn't," Anais tried to point out her good things as much as she could. "That Winn guy already knew Supergirl. Plus, it's not like I went announcing who she moonlights as. I do know things."

"Well you showed poor judgement today, Anais," Mr. Allen still retained that punishment voice of his Anais knew all too well.

"No, I didn't,' Anais sighed deeply. "I am so tired of being treated like that five year old Hank found. I'm not her anymore. I'm a grown woman and it's high time you started treating me like one."

This outburst, despite calm and collected, might as well have been her screaming because her parents were offended.

"Anais," Mrs. Allen began, her voice calm but full of warning for Anais to keep it down, "You know we want you to be safe. And we just want you to be a responsible adult—"

"Then cut the leash!" Anais exclaimed, startling everyone in the room, when she stormed out of the room.

Only Alex seemed to be truly taking in what Anais was saying. It was familiar to Alex since she and Kara had a similar conversation when Kara decided to become Supergirl.

"We should get to work on that antidote," Hank pushed the two scientists towards the tables behind them. "Maxwell Lord already confessed to the red kryptonite situation. He'll be more than glad to work from his cell." He then motioned to the tablet that would produce the video chat between Maxwell and the scientists. There was no way in hell he would he getting out until they reversed what he'd done to Supergirl.

~0~

After a failed night of clubbing, Kara got to meet Cat on their usual balcony spot, as Supergirl.

Wasting my time, Kara kept thinking just as Cat emerged from her office. "What do you want?"

Cat sensed the frosty attitude already but she preferred to think it was nothing for the moment. "Well, I would like to know if Ashton Kutcher and his camera crew are hiding underneath your cape. Supergirl would never release an evil alien caught in the act of armed robbery. So, I assume I'm being Punk'd." Despite replaying Siobhan's images of Supergirl doing just that, she couldn't believe it. There had to be a proper reason for it.

"I wouldn't assume anything from now on, Cat," Supergirl casually waved the media Queen off.

"Did you just call me Cat?"

Supergirl got up from her chair and went to lean on the balcony. "You branded me in the media as a Girl Scout. 'Supergirl is brave, kind and strong.'" Mmm-hmm? Isn't that kind of a stock characterization? Very two-dimensional. Everyone knows real people have a dark side."

Even Supergirl's steps were off, Cat noticed. Usually the Kryptonian would tread lightly, determined to figure out what was wrong. The Supergirl right now, though, walked with a condescending air. A superior one. "Yes, but you don't get to be a real person. You're a superhero. You get to represent all the goodness in the world."

"Yeah, well, I'm sick of it. And you know what else I'm sick of? Enabling all of you in your victimhood. 'Oh, well, my building's burning down," Supergirl mocked the humans she now thought worthless and idiotic, "La-di-dah. Supergirl will just swoop in and save the day.' Well, get used to the flames, people, 'cause I quit."

And yet, none of this made sense to Cat. "Supergirl... I fear that you're having some sort of mental breakdown. Don't worry, it happens to the best of us, and I'm happy to take you to Dr. Shuman for emergency Lexapro, that is, if your alien brain will respond to the SSRls. But in the meantime, I would lay low. This haughty attitude is highly unsuitable."

Supergirl scoffed. "Well, I learned it from the best. Cat Grant. You're the most arrogant, self-serving, mean-spirited person I know."

Cat nearly lost it but she kept herself cool when she made her own response. "Now, you listen to me. I made you. And you are not going to let me down."

Supergirl almost laughed. "Or what? Wait, I forgot. You're the most powerful person in National City. At least that's what they say on TV. You want to see what powerful really looks like?" she struck a strong hand forwards, grabbing Cat's arm. "Watch." She threw Cat over the balcony and peered below to watch the woman scream in terror during her fall. Then, just a mere inch from the pavement did Supergirl catch Cat. By this point, there were several people on the spot watching. With hair all over her face, Cat watched as Supergirl towered over her. "True power, Cat, is deciding who will live and who will die. And don't ever call me again." She sprang into the air and left her spectacle.

~0~

The next day, Alex walked into the favorite coffee shop that Kara usually visited in the mornings. She spotted the blonde alien she was searching for, ironically not her sister yet, sitting at the counter. It appeared Anais had only ordered a small espresso.

"How'd you even find me?" Anais spoke quietly in her seat. Her finger traced the espresso cup despite its heat. Knowing Alex was looking at this action, she added, "I'm impervious to heat. Part of being a Solista."

"Right," Alex made a mental note to do some research on what a 'Solista' was. There had to be a record of it in the DEO.

"So how'd you find me?"

"Your monitoring gave us a specific vitals to search for, specifically heat levels."

"Ah," Anais picked up her espresso and took a big drink from it, proving once again her impervious to heat ability.

"Listen, you and I, we don't know each other that well to have a heart to heart conversation but I know you have professionalism and initiative."

"Well that's great, any way you can pass the message to the others?"

Alex let the sarcasm slide on account of the situation. "I get you want freedom—"

"Do you really?" Anais challenged, lowering her cup. She knew that Alex meant no harm. She was probably trying to find some help for her sister. Nothing to be ashamed of. It was simply tiring to be stuck in the same spot. Anais was done with it. "They found me when I was 5 years old. My mother was an alien and my father a human who became afraid of her when he learned what she was. He left us. Humans murdered my mother out of fear and when the DEO found me, they thought that I could turn out to be a threat. But my adoptive parents, they didn't see me that way and fought and negotiated to take me in. They adopted me under special circumstances and conditions. Those conditions came from the government and it said that I could not be left unsupervised. I'm a rare species as it is, and I'm half human, so...you can imagine the interest in me. Eighteen years I've lived in isolation with only my parents and godparents. These people are older, scientists, and human. I love them but I want to go out and do something. Have a life."

Alex lowered her gaze after listening. It was easy to forget that not every alien would've had the same nice backstory like Kara and her cousin. Some of them could have very well ended up as lab rats. Anais, while being lucky to have found sympathizing human parents, didn't necessarily boast a social life. She was kept under wraps that not even Hank was able to undo. "I'm sorry," Alex truly felt for her. "I'm sorry that you have not had this opportunity. My sister sort of had a similar problem when growing up. We asked her not to use her powers, but…"

"She's now Supergirl. She got over it," Anais then added in a quiet voice, "Wish I could've met her and not the evil bitch living inside of her at the moment."

"Kara isn't right—"

"I know that," Anais showed no resentment towards Kara for the same reason. The woman wasn't in her five senses. "And that's why I wanted to help. I wanted to go see Kara for myself and assess. I felt her coldness, her... condescension. The real Kara is suffocating in there."

Alex felt tears come to her eyes as she thought about her sweet sister trapped in a woman of hell. "Can you help?"

"I'm not a scientist but I can help with the delivery of an antidote," Anais let her eyes glow a fiery orange, startling Alex for a second. "Supergirl's my hero. It would be an honor to help her."

Alex smiled with gratitude. Just as she opened her mouth, a television screen near them produced Cat Grant's face. "Citizens of National City, this is Cat Grant, live from Catco Plaza. As you all know, I have been Supergirl's most outspoken champion. So, you can imagine how difficult it is for me to tell you that I and Catco can no longer stand behind Supergirl."

Anais' mouth slowly fell open. "What is she…?"

"I made you trust her. I gave you my word that she was safe, a friend. I was wrong. Supergirl has changed. She is unstable and extremely dangerous. She threw me off of a building last night and threatened my life and…"

"She did what—"

Alex couldn't believe what she was hearing. "No one told us..."

"Who knows what else she is capable of? It's not easy being let down by our idols. Having someone who embodies our heroic ideals helps us believe that we can be heroes, too. Sometimes heroes fall. So, please, for your own safety, stay away from Supergirl."

"She just turned the city against Supergirl," Anais came to the realization not long after the transmission had ended.

"We have to head back to the DEO," Alex began to get up from the stool. "Something tells me Kara's not gonna take this lightly."

"You should go see her. I'll get back to the DEO. I promise," Anais dropped off the money for her drink and started out. She could not let the mantle of Supergirl drop like that, not when she had the means to stop it.

When she got to the DEO, she quickly passed all the warm welcome from her parents and got to business. "Look, Mom, Dad, she needs help stat. I could feel the coldness inside her and it is awful. She needs our help."

"We've got the antidote almost ready," her father promised. "Maxwell Lord might be a suspicious man but he does regret this red kryptonite situation."

"He should," Hank came into the room and shut the door. "He may have turned Supergirl into a monster now."

"One that the city might learn to fear quick," Anais knew that Cat's transmission was on a constant loop for those who hadn't caught up with the latest news.

"No need, it's coming along just fine," Mrs. Allen was in the middle of dropping in a red liquid into a beaker. "Might I suggest prison time for this Lord man?"

"We wish," Hank was bitter just thinking about their powerless situation. "Unfortunately, making red kryptonite isn't exactly a crime."

"But it was a murder weapon," Mr. Allen frowned.

"Didn't exactly kill anyone."

"Your law system isn't very good," Anais meant that in general for the humans.

"Well we do try, Miss Allen," a dark-skinned woman walked into the room with several guards. Anais instinctively took a step back towards her parents. She could practically smell the official government scent off the woman. "I'm Senator Crane," the woman introduced herself. "And as of now, you Miss Allen, are the being who will take Supergirl down."

Anais' eyes widened with alarm. She quickly glanced at her parents for some help, even Hank. Mr. Allen put his hands over her shoulders and looked directly at Senator Crane. "Our daughter is part of an exclusive contract that does not permit her to use her powers in front of civilians."

"And as of right now, that contract has been voided," Senator Crane responded with that authorization that only a person in true power could use. She motioned one of the guards to hand over a pile of papers to Mr. Allen, which turned out to be a contract. "As of now, your custody of Subject 1740, Anais Mjorkland, has been terminated. She is now DEO property—" Anais' mouth fell open in overwhelming offence, "—to which—" the Senator threw a glance at Hank, "-I order to use this new asset to take Supergirl down."

"Excuse you—" Anais was about to go on a full rage rampage but she felt her father squeeze her shoulders, urging her to keep calm.

"Senator," Mrs. Allen began, her motherly concern etched across her face, "My daughter is not an 'asset' and she most definitely is not property you can just hand around—"

"I am sorry," the Senator repeated her apology, not that any of the family believed her. "I understand the terminology is difficult—"

"Offensive," Anais snapped. "It's offensive."

"—but the condition to keep the child was to give conditional custody to the U.S government. The custody is now the DEO's and Mr. Henkshaw knows how to utilize his materials. We thank you for all the years you put into her but you are now relieved of any responsibility of her."

"Are you kidding me!?" Anais exclaimed, her head repeatedly looking from her parents to the Senator. "I'm 23! You can't—you can't do this! I want to help Supergirl, not kill her. I could never hurt her."

"As of now, you follow the orders the DEO gives you," the Senator flexed a finger for Anais to come to her and Hank.

Anais shook her head, unable to take a step away from her parents.

"Senator…" Mr. Allen pleaded with the woman, but the deal was done.

Anais belonged to the DEO.

"You need to get ready, Miss Allen. We are sending you out."

"Dad…" Anais' eyes filled with tears. Suddenly her fight with her parents seemed petty and now all she wanted to do was take refuge with them. "Mom?"

Mr. Allen brought a hand to his forehead after reading the contract. "This is...it's legal...I don't…"

"I order you to assemble the troops for backup," the Senator warned Hank before taking her leave with her guards.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Anais repeated, not that it mattered anymore. There wasn't much anyone could do at the moment and she knew it.

"Sweetheart, no one is going to let you become property, alright?" Mrs. Allen cupped her face. "We're going to fix it, I swear. You're not a subject to us, you're our daughter."

Hank cleared his throat to get their attention. "Anais, for now, it's best to just follow the contract. Afterwards we can personally go over it and change it again. But we really do need to bring Supergirl the antidote."

"We trust you, Hank," Mr. Allen warned him. "You saved her the first time...don't let anything happen to her."

"Of course," Hank's gesture for Anais to follow him was hard enough seeing, let alone following it.

With a gulp, Anais took one last look at her parents then walked out of the room with Hank. For the girl who'd always wanted to go out, she was terrified now that she had the opportunity.

~ 0 ~

Hearing what the DEO was planning on doing was probably the second most horrible thing Alex had heard that night. Her visit to Kara's apartment had been unsuccessful on her part — evil Kara got to say everything off her chest.

"Take this," Alex gently handed over a simple mask to Anais as the troops readily got into the vans that would soon go on the hunt for Supergirl.

Anais stared blankly at the mask in Alex's hands. Alex thought this entire thing was difficult enough, she really didn't want to deal with a refusing alien. "Look, please just take the mask. Hank said you need to protect your—"

"I know what it means," Anais quietly said and crossed her arms. "I don't need it."

With a sigh, Alex held the mask closer to Anais. "I don't like this any more than you do, believe me, but they're orders."

"No, I meant, I really don't need it," Anais raised her head and let Alex in on her secret. Anais' face glowed golden as something formed over her eyes - a mask.

Alex watched in awe as the golden light formed a mask that went around Anais' eyes with small flame-figures streaking midway down her cheeks. "How'd you do that?" asked Alex who now lowered the mask in her hand.

"It's just creating shapes with my powers, honestly. My mother said it was basic enough so that all Solista toddlers knew how to do it, even a half-Solista."

"Oh…" Alex knew this was just as troublesome for Anais. Honestly, she felt ready to die.

"Ladies," Hank called to them from the other end of the room, "Are we ready?"

"Don't really have a choice, do we?" Anais glanced at Alex, neither of them ready for the plan. The antidote was ready, but the way they would deliver it and the circumstances of it were not very pleasing.

~ 0 ~

Supergirl had made herself known for the wrong reasons all on her own. Cat's informative transmission remained on a constant loop and so that was the first thing she took down. Strong, white lasers shattered the street screen hanging from a freeway bridge. She laughed maniacally as the humans screamed in terror.

"Idiots," she flew to the next closest transmission and proceeded to punch it with a sole fist. She watched with satisfaction as it too shattered and crumbled to the ground.

And then she began to think why just go for the transmissions? All those pathetic humans waiting for her to rescue them like she had no other things to do. Well, now they would have to save themselves. She started causing havoc around the streets, making cars crash into each other and cracking cemented roads.

It was all just too much fun.

In all that fun, she missed the speedster coming in from behind who rammed into her. Supergirl's scream as she tumbled across the street almost matched that of the humans'.

Anais skidded to a stop, wide, blinking eyes taking in the destruction Supergirl was causing. "Oh my God…"

Supergirl raised her head, her blonde hair flipping over her shoulders. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Hopefully, the girl who saves Supergirl," Anais answered with nothing but honesty.

"I'm not the one who needs saving," Supergirl got back on her feet and dusted off her new black one-suit.

Her eyes flickered to the side. Anais followed it and saw a couple of humans still inside their car, trying to get away from them. "Supergirl…" she barely got the words out when Supergirl picked up a sewer lid and threw it like a boomerang at the car. "No!" Anais sped towards the car while Supergirl laughed once again.

Anais reached the sewer lid first and grabbed it like nothing, redirecting it somewhere else. She glared at Supergirl for that awful trick. "We have the antidote, see?" She pulled out a small metalic gun with the red liquid showing off in the back. "Just let us cure you."

"I don't need cures. I need people to understand that their Girl Scout superhero is gone," Supergirl gestured to the mess around them. "Though if you want to take the mantle...then it's me vs you."

"No, that's really okay—"

Supergirl fired her heat vision at Anais, something the alien speedster hadn't really processed in time. This time it was Anais whose screams echoed down the street. She scrunched her face and decided to fire back with the same power, only a bigger one. Her heat vision met Supergirl's, and the two's powers reverberated in a deadly manner.

And then suddenly, Supergirl swerved to the side and forced Anais to fall forwards from the lack of an opponent's response. Supergirl flew towards Anais and delivered a punch right on her stomach. Anais felt that to the core, literally, as she landed against an already crashed car.

At the same time, a D.E.O. car arrived and Alex jumped out from the back with another weapon similar to Anais', only much bigger. Supergirl glanced over her shoulder. "Outnumbering will not help you." She turned around just as Alex took aim. "Classic Alex. Always in time to ruin the fun."

"Supergirl!" Hank arrived on the spot as well. "Stand down!"

Supergirl's smirk said the opposite. "Supergirl, yes." She threw her heat vision at Alex which then made Alex drop the weapon to the side. She charged directly for Alex, and twisted Alex's arm before slamming the human against the D.E.O. van. Hank couldn't let anything happen to either woman. The man changed into a green creature - an alien - and crashed with Supergirl onto the ground.

Anais had shaken off the stars from her attack and sped back to the scene. Her mouth fell open at the sight but she could see that this was not enough to stop Supergirl either. Just as Supergirl fought against the green alien - later to be known as a Martian - Anais summoned up as much power she could.

"Back for round two—"

Anais punched Supergirl across the face and then rose in the air for a final trick. A golden light encircled her body and released blasts of golden energy directly at Supergirl, proving to be quite a menace as Supergirl was knocked onto the roadside. Her skin shined with the same energy of Anais' as the former screamed, hands nearly carving into her face to get the energy off her. Still in the air, Anais fired the antidote from her small gun and hoped to God it would be over. Supergirl's skin then showed streaks of red but ultimately wore off as a black cloud steamed from her body. After such an attack, the Kryptonian collapsed on the ground.

Anais lowered herself to the ground with a growing smile. Supergirl would be alright now.

"Go, please" she heard Alex. She turned her head and remembered Hank's reveal. Bringing her hand to her mouth, Anais watched as multiple DEO troops surrounded Hank and despite having the ability to escape...he changed back into his human form and put his hands behind his head, lowering himself to the ground.

He was arrested on the spot.

~ 0 ~

When Kara woke up, she felt her forehead connected to some machine. Her eyes flickered to the side and immediately saw Alex standing beside her. "Did I kill anyone?" Kara's voice was quiet and weak.

"No, you didn't kill anyone," Alex could see the emotion just about to pour from her sister's eyes.

Kara then noticed the cast around Alex's arm and remembered what she'd done. "Your arm..." she choked on her own tears.

"Broken bones heal and this will too," Alex promised her.

Kara sniffled until she couldn't hold it any longer. She burst into sobs. "It was so horrible, Alex. It was so bad. It was so horrible. Every bad thought I've ever had, it just came to the surface. I couldn't stop it. I didn't mean it...I didn't mean what I said to you! I'm sorry, I'm sorry for what I said!"

Alex set a comforting (healed) hand on Kara's arm. "Kara, you're my sister and I love you. No matter what. There's some truth to what you said. We're going to have to work on that."

Kara could only nod. More memories began to surface into her mind. "What about J'onn?"

There, Alex could not answer very well.

~ 0 ~

Anais watched her parents go back and forth with different calls attempting to open up negotiations with anyone in power to redo the contract of her custody. Now that Hank Henshaw was revealed to be another alien - one presumed to have killed the real Hank Henshaw - the contract was even harder to change. The only thing Anais could do to pass the time was to visit the quaint coffee shop she had the previous day. Her parents refused to leave the city until the custody battle was done and won so they would be staying in the hotel to see it through. She herself had no legal say, ironically, in her own battle.

"Thank you," Anais accepted an espresso from the counter girl and gazed up at the screen above her to see her own figure in the screen. A small smile came to her face as CatCo. passed the few shots of her they'd gotten from people last night, fighting Supergirl. No one knew where the mysterious new fighter came from, but unlike Hank, she was being rejoiced as a new hero.

Poor Supergirl, Anais inwardly sighed. This was never how she pictured her first meeting with her favorite superhero. Fate was a tricky thing. But perhaps it was only getting started.

Someone cleared their throat behind Anais' stool and when Anais glanced back she saw a much different Kara Danvers standing there. Even her clothes had reverted to a preppy assistant type. It fit her, thought Anais.

"Hi, um…" Kara didn't know what to say and so awkwardly pushed her glasses up. "Uh...I wanted to thank you, um...for helping my sister and...me...last night. Um...I bought a gift." Anais watched her quickly lay a manila folder on the counter. "It's for you and your family."

Anais reached for the folder and opened it up. She found a couple papers inside and skimmed it (speed reading was a big no in public). With widened eyes she glanced back at Kara who awaited with a sheepish smile. "This is a new contract," Anais lowered the contract to the folder. "The one my parents are fighting for right now."

"I know," Kara managed a small smile through her utter sorry and embarrassment. "I talked to Alex about you and she told me what happened with you and your parents. It was my fault—"

"No, none of it was—" Anais tried to intervene but Kara kept going, determined to finish.

"I said and did awful things and it hurt a lot of people. I want to make amends and fix what I can. You are not property. You are not an experiment. That contract gives you your freedom to decide on whatever you want. The only clause is that you must work with the DEO. as I am, and follow up with them and the government with your training sessions."

"Tr-training session?" Anais repeated. It was the only thing her mouth could form because everything else was still being processed with all its implications.

"Um...given your abilities, I thought I could use a hand...a partner...out in the field," Kara admitted then added, "Especially since the city hates me right now." It was how she got the contract pushed through. Supergirl was in dire need of some help to regain her reputation and since Anais had already done such a good job before, she would be the perfect partner.

"I would...I would love to," Anais began to smile at the prospect of working with Supergirl. "This is like a dream…"

The two women shared a small laughter in their seats.

"You know, yesterday...and the day before...you didn't meet the real me," Kara began again, this time quiet and guilt-riddened. "I would really like to start new again, if you would give me the opportunity."

"Of course," Anais didn't have any doubts who the real Kara Danvers was. Bubbles. She inwardly laughed at Winn's comparison.

Then, out of nowhere, Kara held a hand out. "I'm Kara Danvers, nice to meet you."

With another smile, Anais shook Kara's hand. "Anais Allen."

#ocappreciation #arrowverseocs #supergirl #winn schott #fd: supergirl #supergirl fics #winn schott fics #supergirl imagines #winn schoot imagines #oc: anais allen-mjorkland #oc: solar

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niiwa-angel · 4 years

Text

What Makes a Family chapter 4

Wally lay very still in his bed as he listened to the front door open, and his uncle announce himself. He waited with baited breath as wisps of conversation drifted through the floorboards, biting back his anxiety as h heard Barry start to get angry.

“Wally had a Panic attack today.” The disembodied voice of his uncle snarled, making the little boy flinch in his bed, tears springing to his eyes. He had thought that Barry wasn’t angry with him, had even promised that he wasn’t, but it appeared that he had lied, given how furious he sounded downstairs. Hals voice, at the very least, sounded calmer, but Wally couldn’t catch what he said. Silently climbing out of bed, Wally laid down on the floor and pressed his ear to it, desperate to listen in on the conversation.

“-started to hyperventilate- though he was going to black out-“ Barry’s voice snapped, floating up in bits and pieces from the downstairs kitchen.

“What Did I Tell you? They Don’t want you.” his fathers voice said from the back of his mind, Wally shook his head to clear his thoughts and pushed his attention back to the conversation downstairs.

“-clenching his fists so tight- cutting himself- his own nails! –ot that problem sorted out- finally calmed down, asked him what freaked him out- talked back to me. He thought I wasn’t going to let him eat!“ Wally didn’t need to hold his head to the floor anymore, Barry’s voice had risen to a shout. Wally closed his eyes, feeling his breathing dip out of control.

“I am going to kill Rudolph!” Wally sat bolt upright, distracted from his panic.

‘Wait, what?’ Wally thought, ‘are they on my side?’ Creeping to the door, Wally slowly turned the handle and pulled it soundlessly towards him, grateful that it didn’t squeak. The voices from down stairs sounded clearer now, and Wally could hear that someone was crying.

“-That was a trained reaction Hal! He didn’t just pick that up! How often did Rudy not feed him because Wally was curious? He’s just little boy Hal, he didn’t deserve-“ A choked sob made its way up the stairs, and Wally walked, stunned back to his bed.

‘They’re on my side.’ He thought, not sure what to make of that.

‘No, no their not. Why would they take your side? You deserved what you got and you know it!” His father screamed in his head, the quiet noise pounding in his ears. The red head laid down on his bed, turned his eyes toward his still-open door.

“No I didn’t.” He whispered to the voice, “Or they wouldn’t have taken me from you.” Wally waited for a response, and smiled to himself when he didn’t get one. ~~~~~~ Barry and Hal stayed in an embrace for a few minutes, waiting patiently for the other to take back the reins of their emotions before releasing. Hal stepped back, wiping some stray tears from his eyes.

“Okay, let you and me finish the dishes, then head to bed.” He suggested, as Barry finished composing himself.

“Hal, it’s only eight fifteen!” Barry said with a teary laugh, cheeks still stained red from tears. Hal nodded, and then shrugged.

“So we can watch a few episodes of Looney Tunes on my personal laptop.” The pilot said, nudging the blond a little to get to the sink. “I’ll wash.” Barry rolled his eyes and snickered a bit, before reaching over to pick up the towel, the two of them working together in a comfortable silence before Hal spook.

“It might be a good idea to seek professional help.” He suggested quietly, eyes not leaving the pan he was scrubbing at, though out of his peripheral he noticed that Barry had nearly dropped the dish he was drying.

“You think we should take Wally to a therapist?” He asked, turning to place the dish safely in the cupboard.

“Well yes, but I also meant for us.”

“Why do we need help?” Barry questioned. Hal took a deep breath, thinking hard about his words.

“Babe, when I got home, you were so upset that you were nearly breaking the dishes. And it’s only going to get worse from here, Wally has a lot of scars and some of them we can’t see. I know that we want to be there for him, and we absolutely should be, but we also need to take care of ourselves! What if today, you slipped into relative time? Or what happens if Wally lets something slip in front of me and I lose control of the rings full powers? One of us could get hurt, we could hurt Wally, and we could reveal ourselves to the whole public.” Hal was slightly out of breath by the time he was done, and near tears once again, but to his relief, Barry seemed to be putting real thought into his words, nodding his head slightly.

“Okay, I agree, but, I also think we should look around for support groups. We can’t be the only people struggling to help abused children, and maybe others who have gone through the same struggle could give us some pointers.” Hal smiled, happy that he had married a man who didn’t immediately get defensive thinking that Hal was criticizing him.

“I was also thinking; it might be a good idea to introduce Wally to Roy.” Hal said, waiting for Barry to be shocked and wasn’t disappointed.

“Why? Wally’s eight and Roy’s twelve.” Barry pointed out. Hal shrugged.

“Well, Roy was in the foster care system for years before Ollie took him in and he bounced a lot. Dinah let slip that Roy told her some of his foster parents hit him. I don’t know, I was just thinking he might be able to understand Wally’s feelings better than we can.” Hal swallowed a lump I his throat, wondering how anyone could ever hurt a kid, and why it felt like it was happening to every kid he knew, while Barry was nodding.

“Okay, fine, but if I hear that Roy’s teaching Wally to swear or any other nonsense, I’m putting an end to it.” Barry threatened, eyes downcast on the remaining dishes left to be dried.

“Deal.” Hal smirked, finishing up the last pan and started helping Barry put things away, and the silence resumed once more. When they had finished cleaning the kitchen, Barry wrapped his arm around Hals waist, leaning against him, Hal smiled, and draped an arm over his shoulder.

“Ready for bed, love?” Hal asked, feeling the news of the day weighing on his mind, draining his energy. He could feel Barry nod against his chest, and started towards the stairs, awkwardly climbing the stairs while both men were still pressed together. When they got to the top of the stairs, Barry turned away from their bedroom and crept toward Wally’s room.

“What are you doing?” Hal whispered, hoping to not disturb Wally, Barry just shrugged off the question and started to gently push the door further into the dark room.

“I just want to check up on him.” He whispered back, slipping into the child’s room. Curiosity getting the better of him, Hal wandered over to the doorway and took in the sleeping child on his bed. Wally wasn’t under his covers, they were kicked back, like he had been too tired to pull them over himself.

“Tuck him in.” He suggested from the door, while Barry knelt beside the bed.

“He might be to hot.” Barry argued, not taking his eyes off his nephew, Hal snorted.

“The kid’s skin and bones, I guarantee that he isn’t hot.” Barry nodded, and carefully maneuvered his sleeping child so he could pull the blankets up, tucking them in around his shoulders and brushing a hand lightly over his cheek.

“Good night kiddo, I love you.” Barry whispered, pressing a light kiss to Wally’s forehead before standing up and walking to the door, both speedster and lantern standing for a moment to take in the dark room.

“Love you Wally.” Hal whispered to the darkness, and both he and Barry left, Hal pulling the door closed behind him. Hal was lost in thought all the way to the bedroom, mechanically showering, brushing his teeth, and putting on boxers, smiling as he watched Barry slip an old tee shirt over his head. Drawing back the covers, Hal climbed into bed and plugged his phone into its charger while Barry did the same on his side, pulling the blond closer, Hal said.

“I was talking to Ollie earlier.”

“Oh, how is he?” Barry questioned, getting comfortable against his lover’s chest, lacing their fingers together.

“He’s well, he was wondering if we would be interested in coming up this weekend, it being a holiday and all.” The pilot answered.

“He knows we would have to bring Wally, right?” Barry asked, as more of a joke than a serious question.

“Yeah, he actually specifically mentioned Wally, saying that he wants to meet his new nephew.” Hal retorted, squeezing Barry’s hand.

“I don’t see any issue, but we should probably tell Ollie that if he’s really forward and just starts calling Wally his nephew that he’ll probably get freaked out.” Barry warned, knowing that Wally would be incredibly intimidated by Oliver’s boisterous personality.

“Yeah, I warned him about that already, I also asked if Roy would be cool to hang out with Wally for a little bit. You know how older kids can be with younger ones, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t stepping on his toes, and Ollie said that Roy’s been pretty excited about having Wally come over, guess he’s got some new video game that has a multiplayer setting he wants to try.” Hal laughed, remembering how Ollie had told him Roy was practically begging to have Wally come over for a while. Barry smiled, shifting in place to get comfy. “Alright, sure, let’s go hang out with the Greens this weekend. I’ll talk to Wally tomorrow, hopefully he’ll be excited. Oh by the way, guess what?” Barry asked, a devilish grin spreading across his face as he remembered a part of his morning.

“What?” Hal asked, glancing down at the scientist.

“Wally’s a Flash fan.” Barry gloated, causing Hal’s face to fall.

“No. Not my nephew, you’ve corrupted him somehow, I know it.” Hal gasped, faking a sob.

“Yep, told me this morning. You loose Jordan.” Barry giggled, gasping when Hal grabbed him and rolled to look him in the eye from above him.

“It may be too late for you, but I’ll get Wally liking Green Lantern soon enough.” He teased, face so close to Barry’s that their noses were touching, both of them biting back smiles with varying degrees of success.

“Do your worst.” Barry challenged, lifting his hand to run through Hals brown hair. Both of them laughed, Hal falling back to his space, Barry resuming his place with his head on Hal’s chest, though not before leaning over him to switch off the lamp, both of the relaxing and drifting off to sleep. ~~~ Wally nearly cried when he heard the door of his room being open, and he heard footsteps on the hardwood of his floor.

“I just want to check on him.” Wally summoned every piece of self-control he had to feign sleep, keeping his breathing slow and his eyes closed lightly despite how freaked out he was. He heard Barry coming closer to his bed and kneel next to it.

“Tuck him in.” A voice called from where Wally assumed was the hallway.

“He might be to hot.” Uncle Barry said. Wally was almost relieved when Hal said something he couldn’t catch, and then Uncle Barry was pushing an arm under him and lifting him up to move the covers before putting him back down and cocooning him in the blankets. Though Wally was grateful for them, both for the warmth, and so that neither adult could see how his hands were shaking, or how they suddenly stopped when a hand began to brush over his face.

“Goodnight Wally, I love you.” Uncle Barry whispered, carefully kissing his forehead before getting up to leave. Wally listened to the footsteps until they stopped, and Hals voice from the hallway called.

“Love you Wally.”

Vaguely hearing the door close, Wally waited until he could hear them in their room before he opened his eyes and checked his clock, waiting for them both to be asleep.

“They love me.” Wally thought, surprised at how good it felt in his heart to have heard the words. ‘Even though I freaked out on Barry, they love me.’

When eleven o’clock finally rolled around, Wally crept from his bed and down the hall, pasted the stairs. The door to the master bedroom was ajar, making it easy to slowly enter the room, though rather than stay by the door, Wally made his way to the bed, seeing the two adult’s up-close. Swallowing his fear, Wally carefully climbed up on the bed, listening for any noise either made, before curling up near Barry’s midsection, between him and Hal.

“Thank you for holding me.” He breathed to the sleeping man. Wally stayed still on the bed for another fifteen minutes before leaving to go back to his bed, careful to leave the door in the same position he found it in, happy now that he had thanked his uncle. ~~~~~ Hal’s eyes snapped open as he heard Wally leave and the door close. He smiled a bit to himself, a plan to talk to the child already forming in his head. Pulling Barry close, he drifted back to sleep.

#Hal Jordan #halbarry #HalBarry family #fanfiction #angst #fluff #Wally West #Kid FLash #Barry Allen #flashback #Green LAntern

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barryslightningrod · 4 years

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Hey!🤗 How ‘bout 27, 28 & 39! Thank you!✌️

27. best review you ever got

I love every review I’ve ever gotten ❤️ Including the gif responses on Tumblr 😂 But these are some I’ve saved to read when I’m having a bad day that make me laugh or make me tear up. I couldn't pick one and they remind me how much fun this is:

“My word! This fic is amazing! What I loved most about it was that it's quite poetic and artistic in creating its own canvas of Barry and Iris, how colourless both of them felt after the breakup and how full of life they are together. I genuinely enjoyed the art commentary at the beginning and the seriously hawt sex. Hot damn. The paintbrush should have grossed me out but it was seriously hot af.”

“Where does one even start with this precious story you've given us? You paint such a beautiful setting with the ice cream parlour and Noah's feelings of having to work on such a busy summer day and of course, the sweet West-Allen family. I love the idea that Barry and Iris's love creates this little bubble around them that protects them and that they unintentionally get lost in their own little world with just the two of them. It only makes sense that this little world would expand to include their two sweet children. So much loves abounds between them, so much so that even Noah can see it in such a short amount of time. This story captures all that Barry has ever wanted: building a life with Iris and making their own traditions with their children while also keeping the memory of his parents alive as best as he can. Goodness. This is truly such a special little story.”

“Whew, chile....this had my blood pumping first thing in the morning. LOL. OOC or not this was SUPER HOT so thank you for sharing.”

“Once again, love the character reveal, specifically, Iris's determination, self-reliance and work ethic, even while masturbating! But like you say in one of the comments, I can only imagine that she does feel like this regularly. While there are many, many benefits of being with a speedster, there are a ton of drawbacks and regular loneliness is one of them.But check out how neither of them is surprised when Barry returns. She's relieved and not embarrassed and he just comes in and finishes the job without hesitation. sigh.”

The stories I've read from you so far are perfect in rendering the sheer emotion that's generated between these two. You can really feel the palpable force or love and pain, joy and sorrow between them. It makes reading that much more enjoyable”

“OMG *CRIES* THIS WAS SO TENDER AND SO FLUFFY CUTE I DIE!!!!!This cuteness is TO MUCH FOR MY POOR HEART *AHH*I DONT THINK THERE ARE WORDS ENOUGH TO EXPRESS MY LOVE FOR THIS OMG (Hence all the caps)“What’s your treasure, Daddy?” Don poses.“You guys are my treasure,” Barry answers with soft reverence, the glimmer in his eyes as he looks upon hischildren visible even from where Iris stands, and her heart swells so tremendously that she feels it might burst."*flows of tears* OH MY GOSH!!! BARRY ALLEN IS THE BEST FATHER EVER SERIOUSLY..I MELTED WITH EACH WORDHE WOULD SAY TO HIS KIDS AND HOW LOVING AND CARING HE IS OF THEM WHILE IRIS IS AWAY GAH MY HEART“You’re my treasure, you know that?” she murmurs, clutching him more tightly.His beaming in response is instant as he recognizes that she’s been home all along, and he slides an arm down her back to tug her close to him while they head to their bedroom together.Yup, Iris thinks to herself as she leans her head against her husband's shoulder, upholding what she always believed. I wouldn't change a thing."*DEAD WITH FEELS* AHHH IF THE INTERACTION WITH THE TWINS WASNT ENOUGH, THIS WITH IRIS WAS THE CHERRY ON TOP!!!! GAH SHE LOVES HIM SO MUCH!!! SHE WAS TOTALY IN AWWS OF HIM AND I CAN'TI HOPE WE GET SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN THE SHOW BECAUSE IF NOT IMA RE READ THIS A MILLION TIMES OVER.. IM LIKE DROWNING WITH FEELS RIGHT NOW ITS NO JOKE LOL THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!*Goes to a corner to cry some more happy tears*”

“Gorgeous! Iris's love for Barry is so tangible here, and I love how you managed to draw out how Barry says things to Iris and waits for her to interpret them for them both! Such a great piece, and one of my favorite moments! Thanks for writing and sharing!”

“You write sexual sensuality so well. It's so beautiful. It's like you really understand their characters and how they would approach their relationship. Well done, as always!”

“So much perfection. I can practically feel the smut that is to follow. The sizzle is REAL. And how wonderful that Grant's tweet inspired this! Just another wonderful after-effect to CP&GG's flirty twitter convo. hehe.This is my favorite:"His reply is instant. Right now? Your legs, he admits."Lmao. It's just so...like a knee-jerk response. He doesn't think much of it, just answers the question honestly & immediately, and just so casual. That stops immediately with HER VERY SUGGESTIVE response. haha. Oh goodness. But all of this was so lovely & steamy, in only a way yours can be. It's sexting for crying out loud & yet the UST is just...I mean..."Goddammit, Iris."XD So fabulous. Can't wait for your next piece!(Oh & also! - Even for The Flash? Especially for The Flash. lol)”

“Thank yo so much for this amazing fic. I wanted a fic like this for so long, even though about writing it myself but with lack of time it's hard. This is everything I wanted, because ever since she said she couldn't stop thinking about him and really wanted a fic where that was the case and you did it perfectly. Thank you. This is magnificent.”

“This is beautifully written. I wouldn't class it as smut per se but it is most definitely erotic and the pacing was perfect for a short story. I couldn't believe it was only 600+ words because you managed to get so much in there: Iris' regret, Barry's longing which turned into his conviction when they did get it right. Thank you so much for sharing and I hope to see more from you.”

“I couldn't get through a sentence without crying and trembling (you fuck me up). Wow! you took my breath away. It took me forever to finish reading because I had to stop and wipe my eyes several time. Excellent execution! Thank you”

“You did them justice with this short piece. A blow job has no business sounding this romantic, but it is, because you channeled the WestAllen into your words with your amazing talent. Thank you for sharing!”

“Beautiful story. Perfectly in character. I could definitely see them having "private" vows and "public" vows and that Barry would be the one to suggest it....he's such a romantic. Loved this so much and thanks for writing.”

“Ok for real, you are soo sooooo talented and I always look forward to reading your fanfics, those writers should reaaaaally hire you one of these days. Am supposed to be prepping for an exam but am literally glued to my phone right now reading and re-reading your fics, but what can I say.... TOTALLY WORTH IT:-P!!!”

“Inksmudge does westallen better than the tv show does westallen”

“AND PLEASE BE RESPONSIBLE THAT THIS FIC MADE ME SOOOOO TURNED ON AND SEXUALLY FRUSTRATED THINKING ABT WESTALLEN GET ON AFTER SEEING CANDICE AND GRANT GORGEOUS HIATUS FACES ON THEIR RESPECTIVE INSTA TODAY KNOWING DAMN WELL ILL NEVER GET OT ON THE SHOW”

“Whenever I see you posted a story, it's like fanfic christmas or easter. You know, because you don't do it a lot so whenever you do post it's special. It's like when you open your ask on tumblr. I'm just like "Ohh Ink is Back, YAY!" No matter what the story is about. Cheers!”

“I don't know how you do it--how you manage to integrate love, lust, grief and sadness into one beautiful thing. This particular chapter feels like a combination of the ones that came before in terms of themes. Iris trying to maintain on her own, the struggle to have and give up control, her beef with the Speedforce, etc. But I would also like to point out just the DAMN GOOD WRITING. Your writing is so fluid and your vocabulary so rich that you kind of make it look easy, to be honest. But sentences like these are just real gems://She cries his name loudly, moans in euphoria like she needs the Speed Force, God, whoever took him to hear her as a vengeance, to know that she had him back and was never letting him go.//That line just won't let me go.”

28. worst review you ever got

I can't remember if it was my brief story about Barry and Cisco getting haircuts together or the little story I wrote about drunk Iris after Cecile’s baby shower, but someone on Fanfiction.net reviewed it as just “Stupid.” I deleted the comment 😂

39. do you want to be published someday?

I would yes, but I think I would want to be published for poetry or a personal narrative essay as of now. I don’t have many ideas for original fiction at this time, but I would be thrilled to be published for that one day. A girl can dream 😔

#ladykendiceismoi #asks #fic talks #ask games

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givemewallywestorgivemedeath · 1 year

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I think something that also gets me is outside, irey, the west side of the speedster bloodline families are chosen to become speedsters whether it’s Barry’s spirit, fate, the speedforce itself, they have a element of being chosen for the job while the Allen side of the family, outside Barry, are born with these powers, they are just given their connection and their strength, there is no sense that they had to earn or learn anything. Obviously, this is a massive oversimplification. But I think when it comes down to the differences, I think that’s also often why a lot of the Allen vs West descendants come into conflict on a theme level. Like, the question of is it better to be born with great power or given it later on. What makes someone better? The answer is neither but it something hat floats in their heads. Like for instance, Wally isn’t Barry’s son but he was chosen by him while the twins must have felt proud to be Barry’s kids but didn’t feel especially wanted.

(Side note: this is also sorta why I kind of hate yjtv’s flashfam so much sometimes bc esp season 2, they play up that obviously Bart is better bc he’s BLOOD RELATED to Barry. And it’s just weird and so….oddly light years away from the core of what makes the flash fam great, but whatever)

Huh. I don't mean to poke holes in your thesis here but I don't think there's enough to say anything definitive vis-a-vis given vs inherited?

Given, Inherited

Wests: Daniel, Wally, Ace, Irey, Jai, John

Allens: Barry, Don, Dawn, Bart, Jenni

Barry, Daniel, Wally and Ace were all given their speedforce connections through accidents/fate. Don, Dawn, Irey, Jai, Bart, Jenni and John all inherited their speedforce connections from their parents, albeit with different rates of inheritance. Don and Dawn's powers were present at birth with no abnormalities or malfunctions. Bart, Irey and Jai manifested malfunctioning powers at birth. Jenni manifested powers at puberty with no abnormalities or malfunctions. John manifested powers as an adult after extreme stress and danger. It was assumed that his lab accident gave him powers but it was later revealed that they just triggered his latent powers to activate.

And that's not even looking at the long line of superpowered Allen descendants shown in Chain Lightning.

There are a lot of Allen descendants that inherited speedforce connections but there are also a lot of West descendants that inherited speedforce connections. We just have a skewed perspective of it because we've seen more of Barry's family tree (his grandkids and all the Allen descendants in Chain Lightning). But John's existence several centuries in the future shows that the West genes have just as much sticking power.

That's not to say that I think you are wrong, it's just that I think it's more of a localized issue. Specifically, this is a Wally & Ace vs Don, Dawn and Bart issue. And the issue is all about Barry at its core.

Subconsciously or not, Barry gave Wally and Ace their powers. In doing so he made them metaphorically his children, his 'Kids' if you will. If you look at the emphasis on speedforce connections and inheritance through bloodlines, Barry giving them those powers was a symbolic adoption of sorts. It didn't stop at metaphors and symbols either. Barry raised those two as his sons. They were his kids.

Wally struggled a lot with Bart being "actually" related to Barry. When Bart first showed up Wally was being very hard on himself and he felt like a failure. A large reason why he hadn't stopped being the Flash was his sense of duty to Barry and the legacy. He was the closest thing Barry had to a child. He was Barry's legacy and, even if he thought he sucked at it, he had a duty to carry on for Barry. Bart threw that entire line of thought into question and caused him to spiral. The fact that Bart could do things he couldn't? It was just fuel on the fire. In Wally's mind he was just a pretender to the throne and Bart was the rightful heir. It isn't a coincidence that Wally only thought about Bart in terms of Barry at first and wanted to be his guardian. Keeping Bart safe, training him and giving him the mantle was the only way Wally thought he could make it right. (It's a really good thing Iris didn't let that happen and Bart wanted nothing to do with the legacy aspect, cause that would've been a disaster)

The powers definitely played a part in it but it wasn't because Bart was born with powers. It was because Bart was born with Barry's powers. I mean, Wally had issues with Bart being able to vibrate through walls (a thing Barry could do but Wally couldn't) but Wally had no issues with Bart's ability to create scouts (a thing neither Barry nor Wally could do). It had nothing to do with Bart being 'more adept or skilled'. It was all about Bart being more like Barry than Wally was.

It was the same when Wally met Jenni. The only reason Jenni escaped Wally's jealousy and misplaced self loathing was because she provided him with two bigger threats. The Tornado Twins.

(what's interesting is that this word choice 'favorite son' legitimized Wally's relationship with Barry in his head. Here were Barry's "actual blood" children confirming that Wally was Barry's son. This is what caused Wally to realize that his issues with the twins were unfounded and silly)

The twins hated Wally. He was the prodigal son. The golden child. Barry loved Wally, Iris loved Wally and the twins grew up in the shadow of an older brother they could never live up to. To the twins, Wally was the son Barry chose. They were the kids Barry never asked for.

So, TLDR: I don't think the question is "Is it better to be born with great power or develop great power later on" but rather "is it better to be born Barry's kid or develop that relationship later on".

#i don't think Wally and Ace are ever really jealous of the Allen kids being born with powers #wally gets jealous of Bart's abilities but only in connection with Barry #Wally had issues with Barts ability to vibrate through walls (an ability Barry had) but not Bart's ability to create scouts #because Barry didn't have that ability #it wasn't about Bart being better or more skilled. it was about Bart being more like Barry #likewise Barts issues with Wally were more about Wally's relationships with people. ie why did Bart's family like Wally so much #Bart thought they liked Wally more than him and he didn't understand it. Wally was chosen. beloved. and Bart wanted that #Bart was comparing his teenage self with Wallys adult self instead of Wallys teenaged self.#so Bart saw rules and supervision for him and freedom for Wally. he didn't understand that Wally had the same thing at Barts age #don and dawn also saw wally as beloved and chosen. whereas they were just unavoidable burdens #basically they all have issues. its not really about the powers tho imo

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123movieess · 4 years

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The Flash: Marathon - Review

It's funny to think how little we knew about the future direction of The Flash coming into the second half of Season 6. Crisis on Infinite Earths had been casting a huge shadow over the series, to the point where we didn't even know if Barry Allen would still be alive come January. And even once it became clear Grant Gustin's Barry wasn't the one sacrificing his life to save the multiverse, there was still the question of what conflicts and villains would drive the series post-Crisis. Thanks to "Marathon," we now have a much clearer sense of how the series will move forward from the crossover. This episode deftly balances the need to reflect the events of Crisis while also building a clear path forward.

Surprisingly, the tone of "Marathon" isn't as lighthearted as you might expect now that Barry has just been given a second lease on life. Apart from that early CC Jitters scene, this episode is a fairly glum exploration of how the various members of Team Flash are moving forward from Crisis. This does feel like an appropriate choice, however. With multiple heroes having sacrificed everything to save the multiverse, a lighthearted, feel-good midseason premiere would probably ring hollow. This goes back to one of the main strengths of Season 6 - it's better at tone management and knowing when to be funny and when to let the drama carry the day.

The Flash

"Marathon" is also notable for featuring Arrow's David Ramsey in his first guest role since that show wrapped. I'm sure we were all hoping this episode would follow up on Arrow's big cliffhanger, but the script is very careful to place this episode's events before the Diggle family's departure from Star City. Instead, Dig plays a more understated but still important role, helping Barry come to terms with Ollie's death. I appreciate how this storyline subverts expectations by revealing there's no actual mystery at all and Ollie's final gift is truly just that - a gift to commemorate a friendship that helped establish the Arrowverse as we know it today. Plus, it never gets old watching Dig deal with Speed Force-induced motion sickness.

In another surprise, welcome twist, Iris is turning out to be the driving force of the show's post-Crisis status quo. Her ongoing investigation and partnership with Esperanza has never really been one of the more compelling pieces of the Season 6 equation, but this episode goes a long way toward changing that. While a bit plodding at first, there's a growing sense of danger and unease as Iris digs deeper into the mystery of McCulloch Technologies and invites both physical and legal disaster. That culminates in a very satisfying stinger scene that makes the identity of the series' latest big villain abundantly clear.

Along the way, we also get a surprisingly different take on Doctor Light, one that doesn't seem particularly beholden to any prior comic book incarnation. While it's a little strange seeing Kimiyo Hoshi depicted as a ruthless assassin when she's always been the heroic counterpoint to the fiendish Arthur Light, she does make for a fun secondary antagonist in this episode. And with the Arthur Light version having recently appeared in Titans, it stands to reason The Flash may have been limited to using Kimiyo.

The promise of an ongoing Team Flash vs. Mirror Master storyline is extremely appealing. For all that this series has done to refine the Arrowverse formula and showcase speedster villains like Reverse-Flash and Zoom, it's never really taken advantage of the full scope of Flash's rogues gallery. Specifically, the Flash Rogues have always felt like an afterthought. Captain Cold and Heat Wave barely spent any time as villains at all before reforming and shifting over to DC's Legends of Tomorrow. The rest have been used as minor, forgettable footnotes.

Even Mirror Master suffered that fate back in Season 3, with the Sam Scudder version of the character being used as a one-and-done threat to Central City. Mirror Master deserves better, and it seems that he's finally getting better. The twist being that the classic Evan McCulloch version is being transformed into Eva McCulloch, a billionaire inventor who now exists as some sort of warped, journalist-snatching mirror demon. And as with the previous Bloodwork arc, the hope is that the the condensed nature of this storyline will prevent too much fluff and filler from gumming up the works.

Barry and Dig's quest aside, the lingering effects of Crisis are most clearly felt in Cisco's emotional journey. "Marathon" is great about exploring both the humor and the tension that arise in trying to come to terms with a new world built on the ashes of multiple worlds. Having Supergirl and Black Lightning as permanent neighbors is great, but what about all the new and resurrected villains that have appeared alongside them? That's to say nothing over Cisco's guilt and regret over taking the metahuman cure. That's the tricky thing about the old great power and great responsibility mantra. Do superheroes get the luxury of a happy, peaceful retirement? Can they even appreciate that retirement when it comes? These are interesting questions to explore, particularly in light of how Smallville's Clark Kent was portrayed in Crisis.

Carlos Valdes delivers what is easily the episode's strongest performance, especially late in the game where his guilt begins to overwhelm him. It's a welcome reminder that Cisco is far more than just the obligatory snarky tech whiz, but a character who's grown and evolved and suffered every bit as much as Barry himself over the course of six years.

I do wish "Marathon" gave us a better sense of what Cisco's Arrowverse future entails. There were rumors last year that Valdes was leaving the series after Season 5's finale. Clearly that rumor didn't pan out, but maybe there was a kernel of truth to it? It's hard to tell if Cisco's absence is temporary as the series builds toward a new status quo for the character, or if Cisco is being phased out so Valdes can pursue other projects. It would be a shame if Cisco exits the picture just as the series is finally finding its footing again.

One thing is clear - Nash Wells is now being positioned as Cisco's temporary replacement on Team Flash. Having a Wells as a more permanent presence on the series is always a nice thing, particularly one who isn't as aggressively annoying as Season 5's Sherloque. While this episode highlights the fact that his adventurous swagger is a mask for his loneliness and guilt over his role in Crisis, there are some concerns regarding Nash's current characterization.

For one thing, it's a little bizarre seeing him revert to his old Nash persona so soon after his turn as Pariah. I'm not clear on how much time was supposed to have passed between Nash's disappearance and his return as Pariah, but he definitely had the air of a man haunted by countless years of watching his failure play out in front of him. Neither the writing nor Tom Cavanagh's performance reflect the full weight of that experience. If anything, Nash seems more bothered by his daughter's estrangement than his role in the death of the old multiverse.

On that note, do we really need another running subplot about Harrison Wells trying to reconnect with his daughter? It's a redundant plot twist, and seemingly unnecessary given how much drama this character already has to process. The hope is that Nash can better find his place in the team Flash dynamic in this second half of Season 6, but there are reasons for concern right now.

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sunshinesunsethappiness · 5 years

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It seems I’m in a speculating mood. The subject this time? Crisis and Barry potentially disappearing.

I know there are theories about how Barry will not disappear (I’ve seen Nora sacrifing herself for him and then being Born as part of the tornado twins, for instance) but what about if Barry does disappear?

(I admit I find the thought of Barry not disappearing during the crisis a little strange. Not that I want him to disappear. I obviously want a happy west-allen family, but it has been such an important headline/event for 5 season now, for it not to happen would feel a bit.... strange? Whether Barry disappears or not, I hope they give this story the weight and time it deserves.( I expect with Nora’s plan of trying to save her dad in the open now that we’ll see more of it. ))

This speculation isn’t very likely, but it’s fun to speculate.

Before I go into my speculation, I want to quickly look at the options if Barry does disappear:

-Barry disappears and per what we already know he’s still missing 25 years later in 2049. Like in the comics he re-appears 25 years later. While pretty interesting, if they’re doing Crisis on Infinite Earths next year I can’t see them going this route unless they do a permanent flash forward. And 25 years seems a lot of time to jump

-Barry disappears but he reappears much earlier than the 25 years. While a legitimate option, it does seem very close to Barry disappearing in the s3 finale and reappearing in the s4 premiere. Also, if the crossover takes places in the middle of the season, will the rest of the season be Iris and the team trying to find him? It would be like a longer version of the s4 premiere and the writers tend to like to go to the status quo of team flash beating crime as soon as possible. I think the longest non status quo arc concerning Barry has been the prison arc, he went to prison at the end of 410 and was released at the end of 413, so about 3 episodes.

-And another option, one I want to speculate about today, is Barry disappears, but Iris and Nora disappear with him.

Elseworlds was very much a set up crossover for Crisis on infinite earths. Which also means that you can look at the themes and ideas they decided were important enough to put into these three episodes and assume they’ll be carried forward or play a role in Crisis on infinite earths.

That brings me to their decision to have Barry talk about Iris being his lightning rod. Lightning Rod was used twice in the episode, once in an important moment in the episode.

Now I was confused by the way they used Lightning Rod in this episode. One, just because I didn’t really like the way they used it. imo it trivialized not just the concept but Barry saying it. (But that’s just my personal opinion.) But where it becomes relevant for this speculation is in that what Barry said was not even true.

We’ve only seen Barry use the line one time and it was not to convince Iris of anything. He was sort of giving up and thinking they were done for. He said it and it sparked an idea in Iris. So why shoehorn in the use of this term into the episode in a way that isn’t even consistent with what we’ve seen on the Flash?

-The episode poked fun at a lot of Flash things, so it could be just that they used this concept to continue with that and make it funny regardless of how it was used before. I’m not ruling this out, because I do feel that the writers take liberties or exaggerate issues and things that actually happen in the shows

-But... they didn’t have to specifically use Lightning Rod. So maybe they needed to introduce the lightning rod idea into the crossovers specifically as a preparation for the next crossover (it’s been introduced on The Flash but not in the crossover) so they shoehorned it in while keeping with the tone of the episode. Later in the episode it was used again in a more serious moment (that imo again as much as I loved it was a little trivialized by what he said before) .

So maybe Iris being Barry’s Lightning Rod will come into play in Crisis On Infinite Earths.

That this concept, one way or another, will or could come back in crisis on infinite earths is imo compounded when the writers tweeted out a picture with Barry’s lightning rod quote and a picture of Wally and Linda having a speed force type moment, that is a type of Lightning Rod moment, but it’s not a typical lightning rod moment where the person who is being pulled in by the speed force is grounded to our world by their lightning rod.

It’s a moment from infinite crisis where Wally appears in front of Linda to say goodbye to her because he has to keep running and he feels he’s being pulled away, but she refuses to say goodbye, kisses him and they all disappear.

Now, Lightning Rod is mentioned right before this scene. Wally tells Linda he loves her more than anything and that she is his lightning rod, but that he has to keep running.

However, it’s not Linda functioning as a Lightning Rod here keeping Wally to Earth. It’s Linda refusing to let Wally go and thus she and her family go with him to wherever he is going. It’s a type of lightning rod moment I think, but not a normal/typical one where one person keeps the other from disappearing in the speed force..

They could have posted the Rebirth Barry and Iris lightning rod moments like ‘as long as I remember Iris I’ll be alright’, The writers know full well that this is linda and wally, but this is first of all about the concept of a speedster and their lightning rod and second, I think this situation is actually potentially relevant for crisis on infinite earths because its It’s a picture of a flash disappearing.

Sounds pretty familiar with what is potentially happening in Crisis On Infinite Earths, right? Barry disappearing. (in the comics by this time Barry had already disappeared, so I suppose it’s the other way around, the picture reminds (vaguely) of Barry disappearing, but Wally’s wife and children go along with him)

He appears in front of his wife to say goodbye, he has to keep running despite how much he loves her. But his wife refuses to let their family be broken apart and they all disappear ( I’m not 100% sure, but I think it turns out later that they’re alive living in an alternate reality)

Could we perhaps get a scenario similar to this? Probably not this, but something where Barry does disappear, but Iris (and Nora?) this time go with him? It could be the shows nod to Barry and Iris ‘disappearing’ to the future together in the comics. (I actually once made a post about potential endings for the show and of them was that Barry and Iris to the future and another flash takes over Barry’s mantle in the present, but that has nothing to do with this, lol)

This option has the same problems as the second one. Where do you go from there and how long would it last? it could be interesting to see the other angle. Instead of just seeing how the team is trying to get them home, we could see how Iris and Barry are in the speed force and their adventures there/trying to get home. But again, the show likes returning to the status quo of the team working together pretty fast, especially when Barry is involved.

In infinite crisis, Barry actually also makes an appearance. He appears out of the speed force to help Bart.

Like I said, it’s not a very plausable theory, but about the lightning rod concept in general, when you think about it, when would it be more appropriate to fully show the lightning rod concept than during the big event of the flash (maybe?) disappearing? It would be the most dramatic way of showing it.

Or, maybe it will be Iris being his Lightning Rod that will keep him from disappearing or make him reappear at the end of the crossover/faster?

They introduced the lightning rod idea to the crossovers, tweeted out an image of a flash disappearing with his family. At the very least infinite crisis and this particular image is/was on their mind while writing (also, twins!)

#the flash #westallen #flash comics #infinite crisis spoilers #flash speculation #crisis on infinite earths spoilers

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comicgirl08 · 5 years

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The Flash recap: A member of Team Flash breaks bad amid family drama

Beautifully directed by Jeff Cassidy, “Snow Pack,” is all about family drama. On one side, we have Barry and Iris, whose marriage is threatened by Barry’s latest screw-up. Then, we also have the Tannhauser-Snow family (a.k.a. the titular snow pack) drama, which involves the return of the villainous Icicle, Caitlin, and her mother Carla working through some of their issues. Although these stories are mostly isolated from each other throughout the entire hour, they’re connected by the episode’s interest in exploring what it means to be part of a family, specifically what responsibilities do members have and what do they owe each other, which I found very interesting. Honestly, this may be one of my favorite episodes of the season.

The last episode of The Flash ended with Barry dropping Nora off in the future; he could no longer trust her because of her relationship with Thawne. While heartbreaking to watch, this development was also frustrating because it felt like Barry was regressing. After four and a half seasons, you’d think Barry would have learned not to pull an Oliver Queen and make unilateral decisions about his daughter without consulting her mother and his wife, Iris. But, apparently, he hadn’t. Thankfully, The Flash recognizes just how annoying Barry’s decision was and wastes no time laying into him.

“Snow Pack” begins exactly where it’s supposed to: With Barry and Iris arguing about sending Nora on a one-way trip to the future. Iris essentially becomes a proxy for the audience and brings up the fact that Barry continues to make the same mistakes over and over, specifically making decisions based on his emotions. Barry, on the other hand, can’t see past how betrayed he feels and keeps insisting he’s right. He does the immature thing and points out that maybe Iris would understand how he felt if Thawne had killed her mother in front of him. Honestly, it’s almost too brutal to watch because both Grant Gustin and Candice Patton are giving it their all. Furthermore, Cassidy’s use of close-ups on their faces puts us right into both characters’ minds, which heightens the emotion and make the argument more intimate. (In fact, it felt like there were more reaction and close-up shots than the average Flash episode. There was a sense that Cassidy was inviting the audience to peer even deeper into the characters’ brains to figure out how they were feeling and question everything.)

In the wake of their big fight, Iris takes some space from Barry. She even starts to write a letter, but Cecile and Ralph stop her from making a mistake out of anger. Instead of talking to Barry again, though, she decides to see her daughter. With Ralph’s help, she absconds with the time sphere and jets off to 2049. While the episode doesn’t do too much with this surprising new Ralph-Iris pairing, it does enough to make me want to see them work together more in the future.

In 2049, Thawne is busy teaching Nora how to use the Negative Force, which would allow her to return to 2019 undetected by her father. The Negative Force was created by Thawne and is the opposite of the Speed Force. Whereas Barry’s speed comes from his hope, speed from the Negative Force is fueled by anger. Unfortunately, Nora doesn’t have enough pent up rage to make it work her first time. But that’s about to change.

When Iris arrives in the future, she finds Nora outside of Thawne’s cell. A suspicious smile creeps across Thawne’s face when Iris shows up, and Cassidy’s camera lingers on it several times throughout the scene, inviting us to question what’s really going on in that twisted mind of his. Throughout the entire conversation, Thawne sides with Iris and suggests Nora listen to her mother. Unfortunately, the fact that Iris came back for her without Barry angers Nora further to the point that she’s actually able to access the Negative Force and speed off back to 2019, leaving Iris in a room alone with Thawne.

Thawne offers Iris some advice about helping Nora: “She needs you both united,” he says. “I like your anger but don’t let it drive Barry away. The only way for you to help Nora is by doing it as a family, otherwise you’re simply leaving Barry the exact same way he left Nora.”

No matter how many ups and downs The Flash has had over its run, it has never faltered when it comes to its characterization of Thawne. Despite what Barry may think, the Reverse Flash isn’t just completely evil. That was clear in season 1 when he showed some remorse about screwing the team over and seemed to actually like mentoring Barry. And here, it’s clear that Thawne genuinely cares about Nora, meaning he’s not the cold murderer Barry believes him to be. In fact, Iris even tells Barry as much later on.

Speaking of which, Barry learns a similar lesson about how family never leaves back in 2019. Icicle returns and kidnaps both Caitlin and Carla — who can’t stop bickering with each other for five minutes — because he wants to create his own little killer ice-meta family by giving Carla her own icy personality. Thankfully, Caitlin/Killer Frost manages to break free right as the Flash shows up to save the day. Killer Frost leaves Barry behind to save Carla, who was placed in a dangerous machine and goes after Icicle in a shoddily rendered fight sequence involving multiple ice slides that ends with Icicle trying to kill his daughter once she reverts back to Caitlin. Seeing his daughter in peril gives the real Thomas Snow the strength to regain control of his body for good and he vanquishes Icicle before he murders Caitlin.

In the wake of the battle, Thomas apologizes to Carla and Caitlin because “family shouldn’t leave family,” which strikes a chord with our favorite speedster. But there’s another twist! Cicada II interrupts the Snow Pack reunion and kills Thomas, who dove in front of her knife to save his daughter, before making off with a piece of tech Icicle had stolen from Carla earlier in the episode. What does she plan on doing with it? I have no idea, but it definitely involves her younger self, whom she kidnapped from the hospital earlier in the episode.

However, it’s not all bad news. After this ordeal, Caitlin and Carla decide to get drinks, and Barry and Iris put their argument to bed back at the loft. Both of them apologize for acting out of anger and agree to work together. Elsewhere in Central City, though, Nora comes speeding out of the Negative Force with glowing red eyes à la Reverse Flash. Looks like Nora just broke bad, which can’t be a good thing at all.

#TheFlash #BarryAllen #XS #NoraWestAllen #KillerFrost #CaitlinSnow #Icicle #ThomasSnow #IrisWest #ElongatedMan #RalphDibny #ReverseFlash #Cicada #SpeedForce #CentralCity #TheCW

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oldnatgwenaccount · 5 years

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See You Again

Bucky Barnes | Song Imagine

Masterlist

Description: You were Bucky’s best girl back in the 40s before you both were shipped off to war. You were Sargent Major Y/n Rogers of the 107th with Bucky as a Sagent under you. Once Steve met up with you and Bucky on the battlfield you all go on a mission and you lose both of them, and yourself not long after.

Requested: No

Note: Inspired by every Marvel crack that made me hate everything. Also you are a speedster because of experiments done by HYDRA.

It's been a long day without you, my friend And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again We've come a long way from where we began Oh I'll tell you all about it when I see you again When I see you again

You lost Steve and Bucky in the early 40′s. You lost yourself later that year. SHIELD rescued you from a HYDRA base in 2008. When your twin brother Steve was found, you were estatic but your heart still mourned the loss of your boyfriend, your Bucky. Steve wasnt just the closest thing you had to him but also your daily reminder. A reminder that he was gone and never coming back.

Damn, who knew all the planes we flew Good things we've been through That I'll be standing right here Talking to you about another path I Know we loved to hit the road and laugh But something told me that it wouldn't last Had to switch up look at things different see the bigger picture

The day you watched Bucky die was the hardest day of your life. You watched as your plans and dreams were crushed. The wedding you had been planning would never happen, the child you had yet to tell Bucky was on the way would never know their father, and the happily ever after you craved was gone. A few months after Bucky’s death and Steve’s disappearance, HYDRA captured you and because of the experiments held on you, you lost the baby. You barely remember your time at HYDRA, having your mind wiped so many times and being in cryo freeze so often. Once SHIELD got you out and you were reunited with Peggy, things looked up. And then Steve was back and you saw hope.

Those were the days hard work forever pays now I see you in a better place How could we not talk about family when family's all that we got? Everything I went through you were standing there by my side And now you gonna be with me for the last ride

You stand at the entrance of the Smithsonian Museum. You stare at the sign advertising the Captain America portion of the World War II exhibit. Fury called you the night before saying you’d start a tour guide job at the Smithsonian. He seemed to have left out the part about the World War II exhibit would be your sector but you guessed that's what made you ‘perfect for the job’ as Fury told you. You walk straight in and put your things away in your locker.

“Hey y/n, your first group is here, Its a groups of local elementary kids who are studying World War II so they’re all yours.” Matt says, poking his head into the break room.

“Okay.” You follow Matt out and see a group of 10-year-olds, and about 3 adults. “Hello everyone! Welcome to the Smithsonian Museum!”

“Hi!” all the kids say.

“My name is y/n and I’ll be your guide today. So lets make out way to the exhibit and then we’ll begin.” The kids follow you to the entrance of the exhibit and you stop turning to look at them. “So does anyone know anything about World War II before we begin?” Multiple kids raise their hands. “How about the young man in the blue?”

“I know Captain America was the greatest soldier before he disappeared.”

“You know, Captain America wasn’t the only person who was known as the greatest,” You tell the kid.

“Who else?” Another asks.

“Well for starters, his twin sister Sargent Major Y/n Rogers and Agent Peggy Carter, and...” You pause a little trying to calm yourself before cry at his name. “And Sargent James Barnes.”

“The kids actually read about Miss Rogers and Sargent Barnes yesterday.” One of the adults, who you assumed was a teacher, tells you.

“Oh really, you know, I was really close with Sargent Barnes.” You tell the kids.

“No you weren’t. You’re too young.”

You laugh at the kids reaction. “Well thank you for that compliment but I can tell you all don’t recognise me at all.” All of the kids give you a weird look and you laugh before turning around and walking to a specific exhibit. Once you reach the exhibit, you turn around as the kids gather around. “Sargent Major Y/n Rogers, at your service.” The kids look between the photo of you on the exhibit to you and back a few time before they get excited. You and the adults laugh.

“Sargent Major Y/n Rogers, born in Brooklyn, New York, July 4, 1918. Steve and I were the only children born to our parents, Sarah and Joseph Rogers. Joseph, our father, was apart of the 107th and died during the First World War. Our mother was a nurse and died of tuberculosis a few years before the Second World War. Steve and I spent most of our childhood on the streets of Brooklyn with James Barnes. Except for the times Steve got beat up too badly or was really sick. Then we stayed in and just gave each other company.” You say before moving over slightly.

“Sargent James Buchanan Barnes.” You freeze and stare at his exhibit. “He was uhm.... he was a great friend to Steve and I. The best if that. Bucky was always the one to save Steve from fights and just an overall caring guy. He was the first to register for the war. I followed suit and the Steve.” You suddenly see a screen change and see a video of you and Bucky sitting together, laughing and his arm around your shoulders,a couple soldiers standing round you two. Then it changes to you and Bucky dying of laughter seeing Steve in his captain America suit. Steve laughing at you childish ways. “Alright guys, lets move on.”

First you both go out your way And the vibe is feeling strong and what's Small turn to a friendship, a friendship Turn into a bond and that bond will never Be broken and the love will never get lost

You wave to the kids as they walk towards the exit. You smile as each one converses about their favorite part and how cool it was to meet you. You turn around and walk back into the exhibit. You glance around at some of the photos and videos before you spot a familiar super soldier standing in front of the Memorial stand for Bucky.

“Never expected you to know about this place.” You say standing beside him.

“I never expected you to be able to talk so much about him and not cry.” Steve tells you. “You were great with the kids.”

“Well before I was in the Army I did want to be a teacher. I guess this as close as I’ll get since my credentials are a little out of date.” You laugh.

“You two were so happy together.” Steve smiles slightly at the video of You and Bucky.

“We were all happy. Guess that kind of crashed when Buck died and we both disappeared.”

“Yea. I guess it did.”

And when brotherhood come first then the line Will never be crossed established it on our own When that line had to be drawn and that line is what We reach so remember me when I'm gone

“Steve, you really need a girlfriend.” You laugh as you and Steve climb the stairs to yours and his shared apartment.

“You’re as bad as Natasha.”

“Great minds think alike.”

“Alright well I have to go.” Your neighbor, Kate, says. “My aunt, she’s kind of an insomniac.” Everyone goes silent and awkwardly stands around. You clear your throat and elbow your brother, addressing your neighbor.

“If you want, your welcome to use our machine. Might be cheaper than the one in the basement.” You facepalm and Steve just send you a glare.

“Oh yea? What’s it cost?”

“A cup of coffee?” Steve smiles, elbowing you in return for moments ago.

“Thank you, but I already have a load downstairs and you really don’t want my scrubs in your machine. I just finished a rotation in the infectious disease ward so.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate.” You mutter.

“I’ll be sure to keep my distance.” Steve says.

“Well I hope not too far.” She starts to walk away and Steve tosses you the keys. “Oh and I think you left your stereo on.”

“Oh, yea, thank you.” Steve says, smiling and Kate finally leaves. Steve glances at you and you shake your head. Steve leads you out the window by your door and over the the window leading to the hallway of your apartment.

You and Steve slowly make your way in. You grab your gun from the closet and Steve grabs his shield. You both slowly make your way towards the stereo. As Steve rounds the corner, he notices Fury sitting in the arm chair.

“I don’t remember giving you a key.” Steve sighs, leaning on the wall. You move around him, gun at the ready until you see Fury and drop it slightly.

“You really think I’d need one?” Fury asks as he groans, struggling to sit up. “My wife kicked me out.” Steve and you give a puzzled look.

“We didn’t know you were married.” Steve says.

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.” Fury responds.

“We know Nick, that’s the problem.” Steve turns the light on and Fury stops him, turning the light back off before typing on his phone. Ears everywhere, you and Steve read, sighing.

“I’m sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash.” Fury turns his phone again and you read, Shield compromised.

“Who else knows about your wife?” You ask.

“Just my friends.” You two and me, Fury writes on his phone, showing you and Steve. Fury slowly moves towards you and your brother.

“Is that what we are?” Steve’s asks.

“That’s up to you.” Suddenly four gunshots sound and three bullets go through Fury’s back, the forth into your abdomen. You shake it off and quickly help Steve pull Fury away from the outer wall. You and Steve go to see who fired and Fury pulls you back, opening his hand to reveal a flash drive. You nod and take it, placing it in your pocket. “Don’t trust anyone.”

Suddenly there’s banging on the front door and it busts open. “Captain Rogers? Major Rogers?”

“Captain, Major, I’m agent 13 of SHIELD special services.”

“Kate?” Steve questions.

“I’m assigned to protect you,” “Kate” says as she rounds the corner.

“On who’s order?” You question.

“His.” She says, moving to check on Fury.

“Foxtrot is down, he’s unresponsive. I need EMTs.” “Kate” says into a Walkie-Talkie.

“Do we have a 20 on the shooter?”

“Tell them we’re in pursuit,” Steve says as he takes off running towards the window where you both see the shooter.

“Steve!” You shout running after him. You phase through the wall next to where he crashes through and run up the wall to the roof. You look around and see a man running away. You quickly follow him, refraining from using your speed so that way you have Steve as back up once he reaches the top. You and the shooter both jump down to another roof we’re Steve lands, busting through a window. Steve throws his shield and the shooter freezes and catches the shield with one hand. You get a good look at the shooter and notice his strickingly blue eyes. Something that you would have ignored had they not been extremely familiar. You soon shake off the feeling as the shield comes flying towards Steve. You rush towards your brother’s side. When you both look up, the shooter was gone.

You instantly start coughing and see blood come out on your hand. “Steve?” Your brother turns around to see your shirt soaked in blood and your face pale.

“Y/n!” Steve runs over and carries you to help.

How could we not talk about family when family's all that we got? Everything I went through you were standing there by my side And now you gonna be with me for the last ride

“Yes sir.”

“Agent Sitwell, my dear friend, how was lunch?” You say into the phone. “I heard the crab cakes are delicious here.”

“Who is this?”

“The h/c girl in the sunglasses at you 10 o’clock.” You glance at Sitwell. “Your other 10.” Sitwell looks to you. Sam raises his ice tea, addressing Sitwell.

“What do you want, Miss Rogers?”

“Your gonna go around the corner to your right. There’s a grey car two spaces down. We’re gonna take a little ride.”

“Why would I do that?” Surely asks and you laugh lightly, responding. “Because that tie looks really expensive and I’d hate to mess it up.” You watch Sitwell look down and see a red dot on the middle of his chest.

So let the light guide your way hold every memory

As you go and every road you take will always lead you home

After Steve nearly killed Sitwell, you, Steve, Nat, and Sam make your way to the triskelion to stop the helicarriers take off, Sitwell blabbing the whole way. But before he can share too much he is ripped from the car and tossed across the freeway. Natasha climbs into the front seat as you quickly dodge the bullets coming through the roof of the car.

Sam quickly brakes and a man flies off the roof. As he looks up you instantly recognise him but before you can say anything a black jeep rams into the back of the car. Just as the car starts to flip, the shooter on the black jeep and the steering wheel of your car now gone. Steve gabs his shield and busts out his door, dragging Sam and Nat out with him. You phase through the car, landing onto the freeway. The shooter fires a rocket and it led straight to Steve’s shield, sending him flying over the freeway barrier. “Steve!” You shout, speeding down to the street below, moving civilians out of the way. You run up to Nat and you both start running away from the men, searching for Steve and Sam.

“Get the civilians to safety, I’ll handle the ghost.” Once everyone is safe you watch Natasha drop from a gunshot and umrun to her aid. “Wheres the ghost?” You look up and see him about to shoot you when Steve runs up and knocks him away. You slow the bleeding of Natasha’s wound before running to help Steve. Once your beside your brother you both punch the ghost and he stumbles back. Steve continues to fight him and you grab his shield. “Steve!” You shout as you throw the vibranium shield to your brother. Steve continues to battle the ghost before he throws him and the ghosts mask falls off. You both stare at him until he turns around and your previous suspicions comeback, only confirmed this time.

“Bucky?” You and Steve day simultaneously.

“Who the hell is Bucky?”

It's been a long day without you, my friend

And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

We've come a long way from where we began

Oh I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

Your heart shattered in two the day you found him. The man you loved, that you were meant to marry, was alive. The only problem... he didn’t even know who you were, let alone the fact of who he was.

When I see you again

-^-^-^-^-^-

This absolutely sucked but I was bored so enjoy my shitty writing with an absolutely shitty idea I thought of at 1 in the morning.

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kierantc-blog · 7 years

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DC Rebirth In Review - The Justice League

Welcome to part 3 of my DC Rebirth In Review series. DC are dropping the Rebirth branding in December and i thought i would reflect on what has and hasn’t worked in the Rebirth initiative.

To recap, you can check my previous posts, Part 1 - The Superman Family and Part 2 - The Batman Family, but in this post i’m going to be looking at the Justice League titles. To be clear though, this will be about the League specific books as well as the solo titles for the core members.

Justice League - This has probably been the most controversial of all the Rebirth books because for a lot of people the series has been nothing but a downgrade on Geoff Johns’ epic run in the New 52, and in a way they’re right. Bryan Hitch’s story telling style is all over the place but i believe the narrative he’s trying to put across is very good. It’s like having a pot of the best tea in the entire world but not being able to pour it into a cup properly. Hitch has been teasing a new Crisis event, the Forever Crisis, and who knows if that’s the way Rebirth will end or if it’s something else but it should be more exciting than it is. Also the artwork on this book has suffered massively from the bi-monthly schedule. The best talent is currently on other books and it needs to come on Justice League sooner rather than later. With Deathstroke’s Christopher Priest taking over the title soon, we’re certainly in for an increase in quality but until then, Hitch’s Justice League is worth a chance, but if you don’t like the first arc you certainly won’t like the rest. - 4/10

Justice League Of America - This book came with a lot of promise, excellent Rebirth one shots and a hero team of promise, and so far it hasn’t really delivered on it but it does show promise and improvement with every issue. Steve Orlando is a great writer, he’s doing some nice work on Supergirl and his Midnighter books have been wonderful too, but he has been slow on the narrative with this team. Right now the series is concentrating on a Rebirth mystery that came up in DC Universe Rebirth #1 with The Atom Ray Palmer sending a message to his protege Ryan Choi about a problem in the Microverse, and so far it has been good with Batman, Lobo, Ryan and Killer Frost searching for Ray. It hasn’t had the most consistent artwork but it has had some beautiful work from Jamal Campbell (Vixen Rebirth #1 & issue 7) and the legendary Ivan Reis, which make it a step above the other JL title. A must buy if you want a different kind of Justice League book. - 6.5/10

Green Lanterns - When Rebirth was announced, many people were disappointed with Sam Humphries being the writer on this book but he has changed minds emphatically with some stellar work. Writing for 2 relatively new characters in Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz isn’t easy but Humphries has made these two people into humans you can relate to and want to see succeed while also showing a lot of respect and knowledge to the Green Lantern lore of old too. The series has unfortunately suffered from some inconsistent artwork but it’s still an incredibly good read that has expanded on the mythology of the series introduced by Geoff Johns. - 8.5/10

Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps - Just like with Humphries on Green Lanterns, people were disappointed to find Robert Venditti writing for Hal Jordan once again, but honestly i was hopeful as i enjoyed his post-Johns era work and thought he could get better, and it’s hard to argue against that given his run on this book. The biggest task he faced was combining a series of books into one, this series takes story beats from his previous Green Lantern book as well as Green Lantern Corps: Edge Of Oblivion, Sinestro and Omega Men and manages to combine them into one cohesive story, albeit a bit slower than some might like. My only problem with this series is the name of it, it suffers from the Birds Of Prey thing by them shoving Hal’s name on the front of it for no apparent reason. The artwork for this series is largely excellent for a bi-monthly title with Rafa Sandoval and Green Lantern veteran Ethan Van Sciver providing the bulk of the work. If you love the Lantern series you will almost certainly enjoy this one too. - 9/10

Wonder Woman - With a blockbuster movie on the horizon, the Wonder Woman series needed a big pull for Rebirth and DC more than delivered by bringing back legendary Wonder Woman writer Greg Rucka. Mixing the old with the new, Rucka uses older elements of Diana’s story and mixes them in with the New 52 elements but also deploys a unique story telling tactic by using the odd-numbered issues as a current day story and the even-numbered issues as a story titled “Year One”, a re-telling of how Diana first met Steve Trevor. The use of this type of story telling only works because of the bi-monthly schedule, otherwise it would take 12 months to tell a 6-issue story, but it works perfectly. The artwork is split between Liam Sharp on the current day story and Nicola Scott on the Year One story, and each one compliments the stories with incredibly detailed pencils. They are later joined by the excellent Bilquis Evely to round up one of the best art teams on one run. Rucka’s run on Wonder Woman ended with the culmination of both stories meeting in the middle in issue 25, and my only complaint about it was that a lot of questions were left up in the air but hopefully they will be answered soon as new writer James Robinson is living up to Rucka’s run quite handily so far. A must read for fans both old and new. - 9/10

The Flash - Written by Joshua Williamson with art by Carmine Di Giandomenico, Barry Allen witnesses a Speed Force Storm that turns random citizens of Central City into Speedsters like The Flash, and introduces the series to a new Speedster villain called Godspeed and a group known as Black Hole. While Williamson is often accused of exposition heavy writing, he also manages to make the story both easier to follow and also engaging at the same time and uses the supporting cast rather well. A later story starring Eobard Thawne AKA Reverse Flash is the highlight of the series so far, my only complaint story wise would be that Barry always seems miserable or down on his luck. Give the guy a break! The art by Di Giandomenico is rather sharp and frantic but it’s perfect for a book about a man who can run really fast. The latter half of the New 52 comic was a large disappointment for myself but Williamson and Di Giandomenico have brought the series back to prominence. There is a slow burn with the stories but i’m still engaged with them and interested as to where they might lead so that is always a positive. - 8/10

Aquaman - Of all the comics, this one feels more politicised than the others. The first 2 volumes deal with Atlanta’s relationship to the United States and how Arthur controls his kingdom, not to mention how the other members of the Justice League view him as a hero. One of the great things about this run is that it wasn’t afraid to come out of the gates quick, setting up a war between Atlantis and America with Black Manta manipulating both sides. Artwork duties are split between a group of artists such as French artist Philippe Briones, Brad Walker (Green Lantern: New Guardians) and Scot Eaton (X-Men), and they provide a similar, albeit simple style that allows for lots of action to be peppered into each issue. Aquaman is now a monthly title as opposed to a bi-monthly one but it hasn’t diminished in quality at all as it has popular artist Stjepan Sejic on art now, and together he and Dan Abnett are carving out quite the legacy under the sea. - 9.5/10

Cyborg - One of my favourite DC You books returns with a new writer in John Semper Jr. Semper is most famous for writing the animated Spider-Man series from 1994 so he’s not unfamiliar with comic book characters, but this marks his first foray into comic book writing itself and i must say, he’s doing a good job of it too. The problem with Cyborg in relation to other characters is that he doesn’t really have the supporting cast that the likes of The Flash and Batman have, so Semper has had to build him one, with new friends like Exxy the hacker and new Detroit hero The Black Narcissus. Part of the reason i like Semper’s work though is because he clearly has the Silver Age influencing him into writing big, crazy sci-fi stories. The move to a monthly has helped the book somewhat in the art department but i feel that the right artist on this book could make it a smash hit in the same way Sejic has on Aquaman. - 7.5/10

Green Arrow - Of all the Rebirth books, Green Arrow is one of only a few that kept its previous writer in the shape of Ben Percy. In Percy’s pre-Rebirth run he was accused of being a bit grim but his Rebirth series is more or less the opposite. Fan service is on display here as Dinah Lance AKA Black Canary is introduced, and for the first time since Flashpoint the romance between Oliver and Dinah is back. And that’s not the only thing as Oliver now sports his famous goatee. While the story is a bit more peppy and action orientated, Percy’s villainous Ninth Circle retain some of the grim that he had become known for but coupled with the wonderful visuals from Otto Schmidt and Juan Ferreyra the Green Arrow book finds a perfect balance that has been missing since the Lemire run in New 52. - 9.5/10

Trinity - DC took the logical step of combining both Batman/Superman and Superman/Wonder Woman into a much better Trinity series. The series, while short, so far has 2 distinct runs on it. The first is by Francis Manapul who pulls off pure magic by writing, pencilling and colouring all of his Trinity issues, the only thing he does do is the lettering. Getting back to the core of what makes the Trinity special, he opens up the past of each member to the others, allowing them to experience each other’s lives a bit more and gain a closer understanding. The second run is one revolving the idea of Trinities in DC and was started by Cullen Bunn, but now being written by Suicide Squad writer Rob Williams, involving the classic Trinity meeting the Mystic Trinity of Constantine, Deadman and Zatanna, the Dark Trinity of Red Hood, Bizarro and Artemis, and the Evil Trinity of Circe, Ra’s al Ghul and a reluctant Lex Luthor. The latter story concerns a run in with the sister of the Lazarus Pits, the Pandora Pits, which want to unleash evil on Earth. Even though both stories are different, they don’t take away from the fact that Trinity is an excellent returning series for DC, one that allows them to tell more concentrated League-centric stories without taking over the main Justice League books. It’s a must buy for Manapul’s work alone, truly a work of art. - 9/10

Conclusions

With movies coming out in the DCEU slate relating to these characters, interest in them is at an all time high and DC have done a relatively excellent job of providing interested new readers with excellent content to peruse in titles like Green Lanterns and The Flash, as well as satisfy old readers too with some excellent fan service in series like JLA and Green Arrow.

While the majority is excellent, the flagship Justice League book should really be better. Christopher Priest taking over the book provides a glimmer of light though, as the series really should be one that leads the way for the rest of the DC Universe.

Thanks for reading!

Next Up: The Young And The Violent (Teen Titans, Suicide Squad etc. lol).

#Justice League #Justice League Of America #Wonder Woman #The Flash #Aquaman #Green Lanterns #Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps #Green Lantern #Green Lantern Corps #Cyborg #Green Arrow #Trinity #DC Comics #DC Rebirth #Comics Books #Comic Books #Comic Book Review

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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The Flash: Inside the Return of Jay Garrick

https://ift.tt/38em5TC

Jay Garrick, the original Flash, gets his first solo story in over a decade in The Flash #750.

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Jay Garrick was the first Flash of the DC Universe. Debuting (appropriately enough) in the pages of Flash Comics #1 in 1939, he was a founding member of the first superhero team in history with the Justice Society of America, proved so popular he earned a solo book (with the quaintly 1940s title of All-Flash), and ran laps around every other speedster in comics until 1951 when he and most other superheroes not named Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman were quietly put out to pasture in favor of romance, horror, crime, and war titles. Jay was replaced by the sleeker, more jet-age friendly Barry Allen in 1956, and in an era where kids were still expected to outgrow the comics of their youth, it seemed that Jay was destined to become a forgotten relic of comics history.

But you can't keep a character with Jay's jaunty, Mercury-helmeted flair down, and by 1961 the character returned for regular team-ups with Barry. The explanation for his absence became the lynchpin of the entire concept behind DC's famed multiverse. You can make the argument that 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, still the greatest superhero crossover of all time, and its recent wildly successful TV adaptation, only exist because of Jay Garrick. Over the next 50 years, Jay became something of a superheroic elder statesman, offering fatherly advice to speedsters like Barry Allen, Wally West, and Bart Allen in the pages of The Flash, while mentoring other young heroes in the pages of JSA.

But the original version of Jay was removed from continuity at the start of DC's New 52 era in 2011, and it seemed that DC Comics was ready to sweep Jay and his Justice Society of America compatriots under the rug in favor of adventures focusing primarily on Barry Allen and the Justice League. But just as surely as Krypton's red sun will rise in the morning (wait, no...that's a terrible and inappropriate comparison), DC continuity will always evolve, and after 2016's Rebirth restored the legacy of the Flash family, long an essential part of the Flash mythos, it seemed inevitable that Jay Garrick would return.

But it took another full year before Jay finally showed up in The Flash by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. Jay's return took place in The Button, a tale which saw Batman and Barry Allen picking up the threads of Rebirth that would eventually lead to Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's Doomsday Clock. Jay only made the briefest of appearances, emerging from the Speed Force to the confusion of a Barry Allen who didn't yet remember a character who once meant so much to him (and readers). Since then, the Justice Society made their triumphant return thanks to the events of Doomsday Clock, and Barry spent some time with Jay and the JSA thanks to "The Justice-Doom War" story in the pages of Justice League.

And now we're about to get our first Jay Garrick solo adventure in over a decade, as part of The Flash #750, an 80-page giant anniversary celebration that will celebrate the history of the Scarlet Speedster and lay the groundwork for what's to come. We spoke with writer Joshua Williamson, who has been steering the adventures of the Flash and friends for nearly four years, about what it was like to finally spend some quality time with the Flash who started it all.

Den of Geek: How did you envision Jay's voice? You've written the entire Flash family, so how do you make Jay's voice distinct within that?

Joshua Williamson: It's interesting with Jay because I'm writing a different version of him. Because the version of Jay that I've always heard in my head was always Geoff Johns' version from his Flash run or from JSA. That's always the one that I've heard as this sort of elder statesman who was wise and kind of saw the world with a different perspective. He was, I don't want to say slowing down, but he just had kind of this older ... wiser point of view on things than Wally did. He wasn't quite like Barry, because Barry was always calm and measured. Barry's always sort of suffering and kind of tragic because of the things that happened in his past and always kind of lost in his head, whereas Jay's not like that. Jay is not lost in his head. I think Jay kind of tells it like it is. I think he's a little more of a straight arrow.

So one thing I thought about was how this version of Jay that I'm writing is not the "learned" version of Jay. It is not the one that went through all this crazy stuff and now is at the other end of it and is kind of a little more seasoned. This is the Jay that has only been the Flash for a little bit. But even if you go back and you read those old classic stories, he still even then was a little more measured. There was a little bit of a humor to him, a little bit of a smirk. It was a little different. So I really approached it from all of that. I kind of put all of that into a pot and just kind of started stirring them in my head. The hard thing was making sure he didn't sound like Barry. I don't want him to just be another Barry.

There is a line of dialogue in there that makes me feel like he does share a certain hopeful worldview with Barry.

Yeah, I think that's a Flash thing. It's important to the Flash family and I wanted to make sure that was still there. That is still a part of it. And Barry was influenced by Jay. We did that thing and in The Flash: Year One we showed Barry reading those old Jay comics. I wanted to maintain the idea that Barry's first encounter with Jay was reading those old comics. So a lot of what Barry got going into being the Flash he got from Jay and I wanted to keep that, and one of those things was that idea of maintaining hope during dark times.

That hopeful theme, and the fact it takes place in the early 1940s, makes this feel like a kind of sequel to the story that Scott Snyder and Bryan Hitch did in Wonder Woman #750. So is this supposed to kind of be the next chapter of that in a way?

I wouldn't say the next chapter, but I would definitely say it's in the same vein. It's supposed to honor that story and show these things are happening and this story is moving forward. I think it's another sign of a bigger story that we're telling in the DC Universe that you're going to start seeing more and more.

There's other stories inside The Flash #750 aside from this one that kind of move a couple of things forward that you'll see in the spring and then the summer leading into the fall. So I would say it's not like it's a sequel, but it is another piece of that puzzle that we're building.

There was a moment in a recent issue of Justice League where Barry is in the 1940s with the JSA, and he tells Jay he feels like they've already met, but Jay doesn't feel that way, since their first meeting hasn't happened for Jay yet. There's obviously coordination with you, Scott Snyder, and other DC writers. I feel like that's happening with these JSA stories. How were these kind of divided up between everybody?

I mean, I actually wrote this Jay story before the Wonder Woman story was written. And Scott and I talk fairly frequently throughout the week and throughout the day, we bounce back and forth and kind of get on the phone or get on chat so we can talk to each other. I mean we just talked to each other. It's that easy. We talk to each other and we discuss what we're going to do and he knew I was going to be doing this story and then I thought he was going to be doing that story and there was a little bit of an "Oh, okay, can we connect these?" We make sure it's all part of the thing.

Scott's always really liked Wonder Woman and he's always wanting to do a story with Wonder Woman in this specific area. So I think it was perfect for him. I always wanted to bring Jay in and do a hopeful story with Jay. This one Jay story you're getting is eight pages in an 80 page book. And it's funny...once you read all 80 pages, these eight pages are going to take on a whole new meaning for you. You're going to look at certain things and be like "Oh, that's what this was about." It'll actually start to build.

There's a lot in those eight pages though. I was actually amazed at how much info you get into this and I feel like some of that is just because David Marquez's art is just so clear and beautiful.

It's so beautiful. [David] and Alejandro [Sanchez], they had never worked with each other before they started working with each other on Batman/Superman and they just clicked immediately. And it's on fire. They worked so well together. I'm hoping they work together from now on like this. Because you look at those pages, it's awesome. I mean that's probably the coolest two page spread of Jay Garrick that exists is that first spread the two of them did.

Yeah! Did you suggest putting them on this story when you were conceiving it? How did that come about?

David was wrapping up Batman/Superman and he's going to be working on some other stuff at DC. But him and I are good friends and we were talking to each other a lot, and I had been talking to him about maybe doing something Flash related, even if it's just covers, just to keep working with him because I like him a lot. And then we knew we were doing this story and we were looking at the room we had and I was like "oh hey, there's eight pages here."

So yeah, before I wrote one word, I knew David was drawing the story and that definitely impacted sort of what I was thinking with it. And I think that Batman/Superman is a bit of a darker story. And so with this it was nice to kind of give David something that was a little more hopeful and bright and a little more positive. But that was all going into my head as I wrote it. Once I knew David was drawing it, then I started writing it just with him in mind.

Talk about the little tweaks that have been made to Jay's costume, which I think are even more apparent here since we're just seeing them so big and clear for the first time. Did you have any input on that and is there now a full blown Jay Garrick DC style guide about how this character looks across the books?

That design is almost three years old now. Jim Lee and Jason Fabok worked on that costume maybe about three years ago because we knew that Jay was going to be in The Button. So that was just the costume design they came up with during that time period, and I was in those conversations. But generally you let Jim Lee be Jim Lee, right? You let that guy go cut loose and he was working with Jason, who's also a great designer and a great artist. So a lot of times when you're working with those artists, you just kind of take a step back and watch and see what they come up with. I like this new design. I like all the little touches that come with it and I'm glad that we got to continue using it because we only got to see it once in The Button in one issue for a few pages. So it was cool we got to bring it back for this story.

We don't really associate Jay with having the kind of rich rogues gallery that Barry has or even that Wally has. And here we get that one panel with Ragdoll, the Fiddler, the Shade, the Thinker, and Rival all together. So how much of that did you talk about with David? Have you started sketching out in your head the weirdness of the Keystone villains or the culture that they might have compared to the Central City Rogues?

No, I didn't really get that deep into them. I mean I like those villains and I think they speak to that specific time period and they were great for Jay. My rule for that one panel, and I talked to David about this, was make sure they look deadly. Make sure they look cool. Make sure they look like they're a threat. I wanted to make sure we showed that in that moment. The most important thing to that was to show a little piece of his world.

I didn't want to get too deep into what his villains were like just yet. I really like Jay's villains and I think there's something really interesting to them. But right now I'm just not in a position to flesh it out as much as I would want to, but I wanted to make sure I showed them.

Why did you settle on the Thinker as the one to showcase?

Once I looked at all these villains, I looked at the visual of the Thinker. I actually really like Thinker and I've never used him in the book since I've been working on it. I went back and looked at some other stories and every time I kept coming back around to Thinker and it made sense. Because it really came down to being either him or the Fiddler. And I like Ragdoll a lot, but I just kept going back and forth with them. I just liked his visual and I liked his story and I like his character and I thought this is the best character for this moment in time to show what Jay's going through.

What kind of research did you do for Jay? How far back did you go?

I knew the Flash pretty well even before I got the job. I could have these conversations with people and we can get deep into stuff and I can cite issue numbers. But admittedly Jay, I was a little less knowledgeable about compared to everybody else. Wally, Barry, and Bart, I knew those characters really well. I would say the pre-Crisis Jay I was not as familiar with as post-Crisis Jay. I knew post-Crisis Jay pretty well. So when I got the job on The Flash more than four years ago, I started reading up on these things. The thing was that I wasn't able to write much of Jay, so I didn't always go back as deep. I would go to little things here and there. I was looking for stuff, especially little stuff with some of the villains.

I would say about maybe two years ago, I started reading more and more Jay books and being fascinated. When I was a kid I had this book, it's called The Great Comic Book Heroes by Jules Feiffer. It's this collection. It's a hardcover that came out in the 1950s that has the origin of a bunch of heroes. There's some Marvel, some DC, but Will Eisner's The Spirit is also in there. It's this really weird collection of things that are pre-Silver Age. It's like right on the cusp of the Silver Age. And in there was Jay Garrick's origin story [From Flash Comics #1 in 1940] and that was my first encounter with Jay even as a little kid. I knew who the Flash was. But my first real story I read with any Flash was probably the Jay one. I've always been fascinated by his origin in that first issue. So whenever I go back, I always go back to that first issue, because everything you need to know about a lot of these characters you can get from the first issues of the books.

I kept reading that first issue and figuring out more and more about Jay from that, and then gradually read a few things here and there. I've almost read all of them at this point. I just don't know as much about him as some of the other Flashes. I mean he was on the book for over a hundred issues. He was the Flash! In preparation for the story I made sure I read that first one again because we're kind of building out this new sort of mythology with him a little bit. As you can kind of see I'm trying to make sure I honor the character. I always come back around to that. I make sure I honor the character and what has happened and never negate or go against something, just add new levels to it. So that was really my priority was going back and just seeing those key things with his character and how I can make it so I can honor that and just continue to add the Flash mythology.

The Flash #750 arrives on March 4.

Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.

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Interview Mike Cecchini

Feb 7, 2020

DC Entertainment

The Flash

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