“Speed provides the one genuinely modern pleasure.” Aldous Huxley
“You don’t run against a bloody stop watch, do you hear? A runner runs against himself, against the best that's in him. Not against a dead thing of wheels and pulleys. That's the way to be great, running against yourself. Against all the rotten mess in the world. Against God, if you’re good enough.” Bill Persons
You talk to these ‘heroes’ these ‘Titans’ as they call themselves; you chide them not for arrogance, but for daring to presume they are anywhere near as good as you.
What good is a ring of emerald light if it is not as fast as you? What is the point of a taser if the lightning that runs in your veins is ten times as powerful? What is martial arts training against a blow that can be landed faster than a blink of the eye? What is super strength and flight if someone on the ground can leave you behind? What good are arcs of silver against your own true quicksilver? What good is mastery of some small chunk of Earth or other, when the whole Earth is your playground?
But the woman in black can almost match you in speed, you must admit. And also, however reluctantly, you acknowledge that moving at a slower speed, they saw details that you had missed.
Defeating these little nests of Markovians is easy, almost too easy. The question is why are they here? What did they come here for, and what do they want?
That vigilante from Gotham could figure it out, given time. Perhaps even his red-cloaked rival. But they would take too long. And waiting is not something you have ever done well.
Though it galls you to admit it, you will have to swallow your pride and ask your enemies for help.
But then, the Rogues have a stake in this too, and they are nothing if not self-preserving.****
“I need you to talk to them,” Flash said.
The woman in the blue and gold bodysuit and matching domino mask sneered at him. “And why should I do that?”
“Because whatever this Markovian plot is, it will eventually affect all of America. Besides, it can’t be a coincidence that they are concentrating on our city.” He lowered his voice, softened it. “Talk to them, Linda, please.”
“You don’t have the right to call me that anymore.” She narrowed her eyes. “I am the Trickster.”
“That was your choice.”
“And you gave me every reason to choose it!” she shot back. Then she drew a deep breath. “I’ll talk to Commander Boomerang. No guarantees.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not doing it for you,” she snapped. “Only because I believe you may be right. Markovia has always been waiting to take over, the Rogues have known that for years. And we kneel to no one. Remember that.”
“I know.” He hung his head.
She backflipped away into the shadows, and was gone.
The Titans found him a few moments later. “Any luck?” Robin asked without preamble.
“Some,” Flash answered. “It’s a chance, anyway. What about interrogations?”
Anarky found himself conflicted by that remark; on the one hand, he hated such fascist tactics; and on the other, the Markovians were the greatest tyrants the world knew, and had to be stopped at all costs. So for once, he remained silent.
It was Terra, who had conflicting emotions of her own, who answered. “They would often kill themselves rather than speak. Cyanide capsules are standard, and of course we’ve taken those away from them; but they are still very hard to break.”
“You speak from personal experience?” Flash asked her.
Terra looked away. “You could say that.”
“I’ve tried reading their minds with my ring,” Green Lantern added in a frustrated tone. “But the unconscious ones are simply blank, and the conscious ones just keep giving me name, rank and serial number.”
“The Markovians must have implemented some sort of psychic defense training,” Robin pointed out. “Makes sense, with all the fallout from the uprising.”
“For ordinary troops in the field?” Anarky asked.
“These aren’t ordinary troops, these are special ops,” Terra responded.
“If we can save the debate for a less urgent moment?” Supergirl put in dryly.
“The point is, we have to find a way to get through their mental defenses,” Argent said.
“Or....find a way around them,” Flash said.
“You think the Rogues can help with that?” Robin asked him.
“Possibly. Or we can find out how they’re getting into the city,” Flash said.
“How.....and also where,” Terra said, eyes lighting up.
****
In a dark, shadowy chamber, the Rogues were holding council.
“Should we trust them?” Trickster asked uncertainly.
“Trust is not necessary,” Allen said. “The information is solid, we’ve confirmed that for ourselves.”
“But,” Reflector added, “We will handle this our own way, not as Flash and his ‘friends’ want.”
“How?” Trickster asked.
Boomerang smiled an unpleasant smile. “By taking the fight to the Markovians directly! Our way!”
The youngest member of the Rogues spoke up. “No argument from me on hitting them. But we should still hit Flash, too!”
“Easy, young one,” Max, the elder of the group, chided him. “Patience and resourcefulness is the key. We will take Flash down when the time is right.”
The young boy lowered his head and clenched his fists. “As you say, Absolute Zero.” But in his mind, the young man burned with resentment.
As the meeting broke up, Barry Allen put a hand on his shoulder. “I know you resent him, given the way you two are connected, and I don’t blame you, but--”
“But right know we can use him. I know. I know.” The Rogue known as the Destabilizer grit his teeth. “I tell you though, if one of those Markovian idiots shot him in the head, I wouldn’t cry.”
“Nor would I, my young friend,” Allen reassured him. “Nor would I.”
****
You burn through every corner of the city, over it and around it.
You find a few more cells of Markovian spies that you hadn’t already, but that is cold comfort. None of them have special instructions or orders that you can find.
The Green Lantern is confident he can break through their mental defenses....given time.
But all of them are sure that time is something in short supply.
It is the earth elemental, Terra, who finally stumbles across the solution. But perhaps that is not surprising, given the nature of her powers.
How else could the Markovians have entered the city? Without the Americans detecting their arrival?
How else but....underground?****
Terra watched Flash and Supergirl vanish into the sewers.
Robin had never seen her so shaken. “What is it?”
“Mother has been here,” she said, trembling and pale. “She must have been digging this tunnel for months, even before I defected. This is part of some long term plan I wasn’t even aware of!”
“Wait a second,” Anarky put in. “Under the sea bed? Seriously?
Terra shook her head. “That would be problematic. They probably took submarines from the Baltic Sea, that’s where the main submarine works is at. She punched the wall in frustration. “We should’ve hit them there! In any case, they probably got close to the coast, and tunneled that way.
“Why Keystone?” Green Lantern wondered. “Why not Philadelphia, or New York, or Gotham? What are they looking for?”
Robin and Anarky realized it simultaneously. They rose to their feet, staring at each other.
“What, what is it, what?” Argent asked over and over, getting more and more fidgety with their silence.
“They are interested in Flash,” Robin said slowly.
“And his enemies,” Anarky chimed in.
Robin nodded. “These groups were meant to study and spy on the metahuman community here.”
“But they’re no match for any of us,” Terra protested.
Robin nodded again. “They’re just observers. Whatever the real threat is....”
“Must be below,” Terra breathed, “Where we just sent Supergirl and Flash!”
****
The Markovian Empire had not been idle since Terra’s group had struck. Between them and the older, quieter cabal that had already been troubling them, they knew it was time to pick up the pace.
More Rocket Men, certainly. Better armed and armored troops, naturally. But more than this.
For many years, the Empire had sought out metahumans to exterminate them, imprison them, or experiment them. Superpowers had been reserved for the royal family alone.
Given the rise of the Titans, this elitist attitude had been revealed for the self-destructive tactic that it was. Fortunately for the Empire, there were many children who had been raised in the Empire, loyal to it’s cause, who had either been unaware of their abilities or suppressed them so as not to upset the Royals.
Now they were called forth, to serve the Empire.
There were two Rocket Men here, new in gleaming, more advanced armor. There was a girl in gold and red, fire dancing in her eyes. There was a man who had been experimented on by the Empire’s metasurgeons. They had transformed him; and he appeared, for all intents and purposes, to be undead; a zombie. But a zombie with a living, cunning, mind. And last but not least, there was a woman with acid in her veins and poison in her fingers.
They had radio contacts with all the spies; they knew their operatives had been compromised. They knew the Titans were on their way.
So they waited, but they waited battle-ready, eager with anticipation.
****
“Supergirl, come in!”Supergirl opened her communicator. “Yes?”
“I’m not waiting for you,” Flash said, and ran off.
Supergirl rolled her eyes.
“We think the Markovians may have a truly powerful ambush force waiting for you down there!” Terra’s voice was panicked.
“Then catch up in a hurry. Flash has gone on ahead, and we’ll most likely have to rescue him.”
“Oh GREAT!” Terra said with feeling.
****
“Now I REALLY wish Ravager were here,” Anarky said.
“No time to fetch her now,” Robin sighed. “Let’s move!”
They had barely gone when someone arrived.
The Destabilizer had found them relatively easily. They were not nearly as discreet as they liked to believe. It was too bad none of the other Rogues were ready to deal with this situation as they should. The Flash was as much of a threat as any foreigner, he knew that. Kill the Flash first, then deal with any other enemies. It should have been done years ago.
But he would rectify that now.
Nodding to himself, Destabilizer followed the Titans underground.
****
Barry Allen was on his way back to his lab when his Bluetooth beeped. “What now?”
He froze as the voice of the Reflector explained that Destabilizer had gone missing and hadn’t gone back to his ‘school’. Which was more of a laboratory prison cell really, but that wasn’t the point.
“You don’t think he went after--what am I saying, of course he did. And if Flash is working with those vigilantes, they may take him down. Blast! You guys go in after him; I have to go back to the lab to work on the Markovian situation.” Barry cursed and cut the connection. One of the great regrets of his life was that his chemical concoctions and short-range telepathy didn’t enable him to be a full time Rogue in the field. Oh, he was useful to them as he was, as the man inside; but at times like this he chafed at being unable to go out and wreak havoc for fun and profit--and at this particular moment, save his ‘son’ from his own foolish pride.
But he could only do what he was capable of. He quickened his pace to his car, to return to the lab, blowing out a sigh of frustration.
****
Flash whipped back to Supergirl. “There are five of them. Three metas, two armored guys.”
“I thought you said you weren’t going to wait?”
“I didn’t!” Flash burst out in nasty, sarcastic laughter. “God, you guys are such idiots! I’m a super speedster; I don’t have to wait! I reconned the situation fast enough that they didn’t even know I was there!”
Supergirl stared at him for a long moment. “I have been on this planet for only a short time now, but my researches have been no less extensive for that. And in that time, I have met no human that impressed me as little as you.”
Flash blinked, then flew at her. Somehow she blocked his punch.
“My physiology allows me to match your speed,” she said, squeezing his hand gently. “And I have other gifts; unlike you I am not casual or careless in their use.”
It was at that moment that the other Titans arrived.
“Is there....something wrong?” Terra asked carefully.
“Not at all,” Supergirl said lightly. “Flash was just explaining that he did some reconnaissance on our foes with his speed.”
“.....right.” Flash massaged his hand as Supergirl let go. “This way...”
He led them on at about half speed, noting with unease how Supergirl kept up.
****
She had been out of town for a while, checking out the west coast. But it was good to be back.
She smiled to herself as she slipped into to town, surfing on air, literally. Her golden surfboard left a trail of energy behind.
The civilians glared at her, then ducked away. Her smile became an outright toothy grin. She liked it when they were afraid of her.
Abruptly, a bullet cracked just past her head! She whirled and glared. Some jumped up spec-ops trooper with a gun. He had two friends with him, too.
She put up a shield of golden energy and blocked the next two shots. Clearly not members of the Rogues, nor any kind of police response. The cops were corrupt, but only brutal in their interrogation rooms. Jack-booted stormtroopers weren’t really their style; they relied on their pathetic champion the Flash for that.
But he wasn’t around; must be busy. So she lashed out with her golden energy and crushed them to death.
She frowned down at the bodies. “Markovians? What the hell has been going on here?!?”
She decided to check in with the Rogues. Clearly things had changed for the worse while she had been out of town.
Golden Glider flew towards the nearest Rogue safe house, frowning thoughtfully. Clearly she needed to get involved.
****
The “undead” man saw them first. He emitted a painful moan. The fire elementalist and the rocket men leapt into action.
Green Lantern caught the fire girl in a ray of green, putting her flames out, and she dropped, unconscious.
Flash was all over the Rocket Men before they even knew he was there, tearing their armor off and leaving them stunned on the floor.
But while he was dealing with them, that left enough time for the girl of many poisons to scratch him. He went down, shivering.
“Not lethal,” she told him. “But it will slow your hyper metabolism long enough for me to get you home.”
That was when Supergirl’s fist cracked into her face.
“So you’re conscripting metas against us,” said Anarky as his taser zapped the undead man. “Clever, but not clever enough!”
He was astonished when the zombie man merely grinned and glared at him. “Talking about not enough,” the zombie groaned and reached for him.
Green Lantern blasted the undead man away, knocking down Anarky in the process. But the Zombie got up from where the blast had put him, and advanced.
Terra smashed him down with a rock, but he started to get up again. Argent slammed a bolt of silver into his head. Finally, he dropped.
“If he’s at all like the undead we knew of in the old country,” Argent said by way of explanation, “Head shots are the only way to put them down. That bolt wasn’t strong enough to kill. So he’ll probably get back up again..”
“I suppose I should be surprised by that,” Robin said, “But given the vampires we faced in London, I suppose not.”
“Thanks,” Anarky hissed at Lantern.
“You’re welcome,” Green Lantern responded blandly.
Terra was standing before a bizarre high tech piece of equipment. “This is no mere communications array,” she said. “They have other radios for that,” she gestured around to the various other devices in the room. “But this....I don’t even know what this is.”
The machine whirred and blinked, and a single spire rose from its center. At the top of that spire floated a golden stone. Literally floating, half an inch over the top of the spire.
“Mother, what are you up to now?” Terra whispered softly.
“We’ll figure that out later,” Green Lantern said from where he was kneeling over Flash. “Flash isn’t recovering from that attack yet.”
“The villainess said he would be slowed down enough for her to take him back to her ‘home’.” Supergirl said.
“He’s not going anywhere. Neither are the rest of you,” a new voice cut in.
They turned and stared at Destabilizier, who had followed them down.
Supergirl tensed, ready to fly at him.
“Who are you?” Terra asked.
Destabilizer merely smiled and spread his hands.
Waves of energy coursed through the room.
Supergirl launched herself at him, but hadn’t even gotten halfway before she collapsed, writhing in pain.
The others were affected even more strongly. Terra threw up. Anarky simply keeled over. Argent screamed and went to her knees.
Everyone went down before the Destabilizier’s assault. Even Flash and the Markovians villains twitched and moaned on the floor.
Destabilizer grinned as his most hated enemy and all his “friends” writhed and trembled. And those others, the outsiders who didn’t pay their dues to the Rogues, them too. So much the better.
But Flash was the prize. He’d show the Rogues. He’d show them all. He’d finally to be the one to kill a Flash. And for him, it was even more personal.
He had been born in Barry Allen’s lab, grown at an accelerated rate, from Flash’s own DNA, a stolen blood sample. But instead of duplicating Flash’s speed powers as they had hoped, his powers were different. He warped and disrupted the basics of morality itself. Given enough time, he could tear anything and everything apart.
“Sorry, ‘dear brother’,” Bart Allen grinned, “But your time is up.”
****
You are dying.
Destabilizer is killing you.
What the poisonous woman started, that clone brat will finish; for you are already can’t heal as fast as you should.
You will be torn apart.....To Be Continued!
